Everything Wrong with House of Cards

People are often surprised when learning I'm not on the House of Cards bandwagon. Why should I be? I'm a bit too smart to feed into this highly dramatized and stereotype ridden version of Washington and our government.

Zoe Barnes = stereotype. We get it Zoe, your career is your life and you'll do anything to get ahead? I've never heard that ideology in journalism before! Zoe Barnes sleeps her way to the (sort of) top. She begins the show as a ruthless journalist and ends season one even more ruthless than before. Not much character development is involved with her, she sleeps with Underwood, ends the affair but still uses him as a source. She begins sleeping with a fellow reporter who falls in love with her but in true “I'm a strong independent journalist with no time for anything else” fashion, she refuses to return the love even though he is clearly a great guy who is also helpful and supportive of her career. She also comes off very disrespectful and in some instances down right crazy.

Peter Russo. I honestly don't even know where to begin with this characters. He is a drug addict, a coward, and above all a small pawn in Underwood's grand scheme. If Russo is meant to gain viewer sympathy, then I guess I completely missed what I'm supposed to be sympathetic towards. Throughout the first season Underwood is slowing killing Russo's career until he finally literally kills him. If there is any character I do like it is Russo's girlfriend/staff member, Christina. She is career oriented but also has a heart, however never seems weak.

Underwood thinks too highly of himself. In episode thirteen of season one Underwood clams “I pray to myself, for myself.” He says this in a church kneeling. The whole “I am God or actually I am above God.” thing is very pretentious. Underwood goes as far as killing another senator and staging it as a suicide? He thinks he can play God and if his pawns don't fall in line with his plot he simply murders them, and gets away with it at least in season one. He also talks down to all other government officials/people in general unless they have something he wants.

Side note, I feel terribly for the character Doug Stamper, what is his job title exactly? One could say Frank Underwood's puppet? He basically does whatever Underwood tells him and seems to have no political goals for himself or his own career. His only side story is helping a former prostitute get her life back together- of course this is under the orders of Underwood, who is doing so for his own political gain. I totally get that House of Cards is meant to be a dramatization because it is a television show meant for entertainment. Maybe all the meaning behind it is going right over my head. However I'd prefer for it to keep going right over my head, more likely just stay away from me completely.

The critic I chose to write in the style of is Chris Cillizza, specifically this critique found in the Washington Post.