Warning: This post discusses in detail major plot points from House of Cards Season 3, including the finale. Read with caution. You can find more coverage of the new season here.
House of Cards die-hards who burned through all 13 episodes of Season 3 are currently a people divided.
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Much like Iowa on House of Cards -- which in the final episodes was set to decide which candidate to throw its weight behind -- fans are in a heated debate about whether the ending of Season 3 was worth the couch time.
Why? Well, the issue here is expectations.
This season had a lot going on -- America's salty relationship with Russia (which some felt had the makings of a war), Frank trying to revive his presidential term while launching a campaign, Doug's simultaneous quest for redemption and revenge and Claire's struggle to carve out a future for herself. But in the end, the show put most of these things on the backburner and instead ended the season with a spotlight on the plotline that had been quietly bubbling in the background all along: Frank and Claire's struggling marriage.
The hints that this would happen were right there in the first episode, which closed with Claire and Frank walking into their bedroom arm-in-arm. As the show began winding down its season, everything began coming to a boil, with Claire refusing to accompany Frank on any more campaign stops and the two getting into an epic fight about it.
During their argument, Frank accused Claire of wanting too much, that the White House and being First Lady wasn't enough for her. But she fired back, "It's you that's not enough."
The season ended with three words that were a long time coming. "I'm leaving you."
The choice of final scene split fans.
Loved it
Just finished watching all the episodes of #HouseofCards Season 3 on Netflix with hubby. Epic ending! ! Season 4's gonna rock!— C'MoonShitZone (@cmoonkat) March 1, 2015
Season 3 of House of Cards was great! I think it was better than season 2. The ending blew my mind.— Raquel (@Numbrocker02) March 1, 2015
I just finished @HouseofCards season 3. I avoided Twitter so the ending would not be spoiled. I really enjoyed it. Bravo #Netflix— Michael Whitehead (@mpwhitehead99) March 1, 2015
OMG that House of Cards ending though. Like wow. Never would have seen that in a million years. I have been slain.— Taylor Raszman (@taylor_razzz) February 28, 2015
Loathed it
House of Cards Season 3 could have been more disappointing. For instance, Kevin Spacey could have burned my house down after the ending.— Steve Lafleur (@Steve_Lafleur) March 1, 2015
....not a fan of the #HouseOfCards season 3 ending...or the whole season in general— Mario (@_itsAmeMario) March 1, 2015
Solid B for House of Cards Season 3. Highly entertaining, dramatic, as expected. Not much resolution or ground covered. Weak/absurd ending.— AL (@AA_Lew) March 1, 2015
House of Cards season 3 ended was a bit of a wet fart. Looks like the story / ending is splitting off from how the UK original ended. Good.— Daniel Boutros (@DanLikesPizza) February 28, 2015
YES, I finished House of Cards NO, I didn't like the ending— Alicia Fine (@aliciaisfine) March 1, 2015
If I had a complaint it wasn't necessarily about the ending but how the season closed in other areas -- the campaign storyline paused in a weird place (we learned Frank won Iowa, but there was no closure beyond that), the Russia plotline seemed to go away without a major climax, and we didn't get more Cashew. (The latter point is probably one I'm alone on.)
The most satisfying plot of the season was easily Doug's story.
In the last two episodes, he crawled his way back into the President's good graces by turning on Dunbar at a crucial moment and then set out on a quest to find Rachel once and for all.
He did, and it was extremely creepy.
He kidnapped her, drove her out into a remote area and was about to kill her, but then she convinced him not to. "If you do this, you're not killing Rachel, you're killing Cassie," she said, referring to her new identity.
Surprisingly, it worked -- for a bit.
Doug let her go and, it seemed, was going to let her off the hook. (I believe my notes say, "That Cassie s--t worked?!")
She walked toward town and he drove his creepy kidnapper van in the opposite direction. Then had another change of heart, turned around and ran her over.
The viewers weren't witness to the actual moment, but it probably looked something like this:
In all, this season was quite a mixed bag.
On one hand, I like that we had more than a few threads left open because that's how life works -- people and situations are living, breathing organisms that don't always get tied up with a bow on top.
On another hand? I just watched 13 hours of television and if something big hadn't happened, I would have been tempted to pull a Claire and break up with House of Cards.
I guess the question is: Was the First Couple's separation and a girl getting hit by a car big enough for everyone?
Before you go back to being a normal, functioning human being, make sure to vote in our poll about the season below