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House of Cards, S02E08: Do all lobbyists have mad P.I. skills like Remy? Also, I want to make a fanfic lifestyle magazine called Plutocrat.

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Given how Netflix presents TV shows, it’s odd they chose to name House of Cards episodes as chapter numbers. “Season 1: Ep. 1 Chapter 1.”

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House of Cards Ep. 1: Spacey and Wright’s unified smugness is pretty off-putting, as are Spacey’s fourth wall shenanigans. We’ll see.

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House of Cards Ep. 2: Real-life cable news clowns play themselves as the vulturous shitheels they are. Meta-cynicism!

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House of Cards Ep. 3: Frank is more compelling on defense than offense. I’m skeptical that Russo’s redemptive struggle will be affecting.

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House of Cards, Ep. 4: Those are some of the ugliest uglies ever to bump. Who will play Gozer?

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House of Cards, Ep. 5: Extramarital logistics. Old media dying. Lobbyist slap fight. Russo, sympathetic minus s-y-m. Busywork episode.

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House of Cards, Ep. 6: Have to admit, the reminder that Claire is stone-cold landed pretty hard. But Frank’s win struck me as inelegant.

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House of Cards, Ep. 7: Still don’t see what boning Zoe gets Frank. Glad we’re finally digging into Doug. I dig Doug. When does he sleep?

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House of Cards, Ep. 8: Frank’s past is boring. Is anyone not trying to get in Claire’s pants? And: A Philly accent isn’t that difficult.

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House of Cards, Ep. 9: Kill Bill, Vol. 3: Menopause. Leftover from Ep. 8: “Russo 2014: He’s better than nothing!” I’m losing interest.

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House of Cards, Ep. 10: Decent cliffhanger. I’m curious to see Frank deal with serious fallout for once. Claire’s Rumspringa, not so much.

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House of Cards, Ep. 11: Boundaries are what make a game engaging. Now I know Frank’s game has none. I’ll finish as a completist, not a fan.

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House of Cards, Ep. 12: I wonder if Palin would have happened if McCain was pals with Major Dad.

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House of Cards, Ep. 13: The cat-and-mouse thing seems prosaic, and the church soliloquy was ridiculous, but this was a hardworking finale.

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House of Cards, Season 1: Good, but too problematic to be great. Several fresh conflicts primed for Season 2, but I’m not sure I’ll be back.

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House of Cards, S02E01: The WTF plot sucker punch actually made me grin without irony. Maybe I warmed up to the show between seasons.

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House of Cards, S02E02: Will Frank also undermine Major Dad’s sway over Walker’s Netflix queue? “I suggest ‘Usual Suspects,’ Mr. President.”

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House of Cards, S02E03: Hieronymus Bot! Lucas’s wacky deep web adventures are fun for now, but the minute I see a Guy Fawkes mask, I’m out.

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House of Cards, S02E04: Claire’s big interview is straight-up pornography for real-life CNN execs. Frank’s pseudo bottle episode is filler.

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House of Cards, S02E05: So many Civil War LARPers, and they’re not even the ones chewing the scenery. Feng, Gavin, and FBI guy are hackwork.

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House of Cards, S02E06: Tusk is playing hardball, eh? Clever, if a bit on-the-nose. I’m kinda bummed Doug is finally cracking. He’s my rock.

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House of Cards, S02E07: Claire’s marital destabilization tactics are at the pioneering intersection of US foreign policy and Heathers.

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House of Cards, S02E08: Do all lobbyists have mad P.I. skills like Remy? Also, I want to make a fanfic lifestyle magazine called Plutocrat.

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House of Cards, S02E09: So they developed all these innocent characters just to be collateral damage in a presidential brove triangle?

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House of Cards, S02E10: All the elements of the impending boiling point are pretty boring, so I predict a seriously wacko twist just ahead.

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House of Cards, S02E11: Meechum’s… self-actualization is an anachronistic grab for water cooler talk in a post-broadcast-schedule world.

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House of Cards, S02E12: The season opener was farcical, but Frank’s endgame is looking pretty dry. Fingers crossed for a cartoon finale.

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House of Cards, S02E13: Finale as microcosm of season: the pulp isn’t pulpy enough, and all else (even Frank’s biggest moment yet) is bland.

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House of Cards, Season 2: A smart ode to the long con, a functional indictment of a broken democracy, but still too lumpy as entertainment.

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