House of Cards Season 5 as Televised Nepenthe
When we started watching House of Cards in Season 1 we were immediately amused. We've been fans ever since. As Season 5 approached, though, we wondered how the show could possibly compete with the awful reality of the current administration.
Entertainment-wise, I'm happy to say, House of Cards Season 5 is a success. The show continues to diabolically portray an alternate universe of Washington politics that still manages macabre surprises along the way.
Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright portray a manipulative power couple like no other. Occasionally there are flights of fancy that take the show to an entertainingly sinister level. The "Double Indemnity" episode, for example, portrays Frank and Claire at their most charming -- and most devilish.
What I also like about House of Cards is that watching it provides a temporary respite from the day-to-day horrors being perpetrated on the American people and the world by Trump and his enablers in Congress. It's well done escapism and for that I am grateful.
Text copyright (c) 2017 by Dennis D. McDonald. The photograph of Kevin Spacey as President Underwood was taken by Peter Souza.