Sophomore slump – Second season of ‘House of Cards’ is lacking

This critique may contain spoilers.

House of Cards is calculated for optimum pleasure. But that calculation sometimes gets in the way of a good story.

Netflix’s hit show stars Kevin Spacey as political beast Frank Underwood, and its second season debuted over the Valentine’s Day weekend. Sadly, that second season lacks focus.

Whatever steam the show builds over the course of 13 episodes is thwarted by the writers’ need to insert asides that add nothing to the story. House of Cards has become less a show about an American monster and more about how the show’s writers think they are giving the audience everything it wants in a drama all at once.

In the first season, the formula wasn’t as noticeable because Underwood had a worthy enemy in reporter Zoe Barnes, played by Kate Mara. There were stakes because of affairs and backdoor politics. Underwood had a goal in mind and had everything to lose. Besides the first episode of the second season, which features a great/shocking moment, this new season is concerned with distracting subplots.

Make no mistake, House of Cards is still the only political drama worth a damn on television. (HBO’s Veep and Amazon’s Alpha House are better, but they are comedies.) There are ingredients to Netflix’s show that are likeable. Robin Wright continues to excel as the cold-hearted wife of Underwood. Spacey has always had charisma. Later on in the season, the Oscar-winner gets to show off his chops as Underwood gets more desperate.

In the second season, the writers are going for something more deliberate, showing Underwood’s bigger goal of dismantling the presidency. This type of move takes time, and I don’t mind the slow pacing. House of Cards can feel like Mad Men in that way.

Netflix has delivered something that is watchable, too. The design, feel and look of the show doesn’t feel like anything else on television. Netflix has made television that is an event—something major networks have been incapable of doing as of late.

However, the writers of House of Cards consistently shoot themselves in the foot with meaningless subplots. There’s an episode that devotes more than half of its time to the demise of Freddy’s BBQ joint. Another episode hints at sexual perversion of a character that is largely in the background. The show pokes at topics like the “deep web” and the FBI’s control of everything cyber-terrorism. All of these things don’t lead up to anything. It’s as if Netflix is winking at its consumer saying, “Well, studies show you like this type of stuff; so, we’re giving it to you.”

Thus, House of Cards loses its power. Rather than focusing on the strong characters of the Underwoods and Doug Stamper (played brilliantly by Michael Kelly), rather than playing out another standoff with a worthy villain like Zoe Barnes, the show lacks direction.

Sure, it’s addicting, but that’s because Netflix has made it so. We feel like we need to watch every single episode in one sitting. Imagine how different reactions would be to House of Cards if AMC were running this show, and episodes ran weekly. There would be the same complaints as there are now with The Walking Dead and Mad Men. The audience would be grimacing online asking, “What the hell is going on?”

For season three, House of Cards needs to heed the advice of its central character and learn how to run the marathon, not just the race. Otherwise, the viewers will see the show for what it really is—an algorithm.