House of Cards

The first original show to be fully produced by Netflix House of Cards set a precedent for Netflix originals. I had been meaning to watch House of Cards for quite a while, but each time was distracted by some other show appearing in my "Because you watched" sections of Netflix. When I finally decided to give the show I was given a drama full of political intrigue, betrayal, and scandal.

From the first minutes of the pilot episode "Chapter One" I could already tell this show was going to be different from the other shows I had seen in the past. The show starts off with a canine involved hit-and-run that builds the character of Senate Majority Whip Frank Underwood. When Frank kneels down to the dog he does something that is rarely used in film-making: he breaks the mystical fourth wall. This became a common occurrence as the show progressed, but at the very beginning it was surprising. Frank began to talk to the camera to give the viewer an explanation of events that would have otherwise been lost. Throughout the show Frank uses this to explain political situations and to show off to the audience. This gives you a first-person look into the mind of Frank and what he's planning to assist the viewer in understanding all the outrageous things he's doing to grain power in Washington D.C.

The show's precedent doesn't stop there. The show has developed a full set of intriguing power-characters like Frank's wife Claire Underwood who embodies the powerful wife of a politician who's using her role as wife of a congressman as more than just a housewife position. As CEO of Clear Water Initiative (CWI) her own charity she is strengthening her and her husband's appearance in the public's eye. From the very first episode I can tell that Claire will not finish the series as simply a housewife to a Majority Whip. Another empowered character is that of Zoe Barnes. Though she is only a reporter for the Washington Harold she is very ambitious when trying to rise above her position and publish stories that are more fitting of what she feels she deserves. It's especially interesting for a political drama to include such strong female characters into it's cast. I would say it is definitely refreshing to take a break from show's like Friends which doesn't tend to depict women in a terribly positive light, and to see women taking the power for themselves. From the first episode you can tell that these two characters will be going very far in their respective career paths as well as Frank Underwood.

Combining interesting camera angles and playing with the fourth wall with diverse characters and an hostile environment it would seem the show is going to be taking very interesting turns in the future. It will be very interesting to see the character progression of Claire, Zoe, and Frank. For the first show developed solely by Netflix it is clear, even from the first episode, why Netflix was able to rise to the production powerhouse that it's become today.