'House of Cards' was one of those shows that was sheer brilliance in its prime, so the first four seasons. Unfortunately it went downhill dramatically in Season 5 and has been even worse, yes it hasn't been cancelled like intended and that unfortunately has been a mistake, since Kevin Spacey was fired. Seeing as Season 6 feels even more like a completely different show (in a bad way) than Season 5 did. The prime brilliance is more than obvious in the first two episodes, both directed by David Fincher, both great in nearly every way and both among the better-directed 'House of Cards' episodes.
After a hugely promising first impression with the previous episode, James Foley's second of twelve episodes directing the show is just as great. Again, while not quite as strikingly directed as the first two episodes directed by David Fincher (which were cinematic quality in my view), things feel more settled than before here in "Chapter 4". Found this to be particularly true with the pace, tighter here and a little less mechanical (as seen occasionally in the first two episodes). And the writing also, here continuing to get tighter and sharper.
Visually, "Chapter 4" has again really quite wonderful photography and locations, the stylishness and atmosphere really shining (if perhaps not quite as much as in the previous episode). Foley's direction is controlled and taut. The music knew when to have presence and when to tone things down to let the dialogue and characters properly speak, with again some very clever sound quality.
Writing bites, thought-provokes and engages even more than it already did, also containing one of Zoe's best ever lines (in the review summary, because it is so frank and thought-provoking with also surprising substance). The political elements again don't make the mistake of being heavy-handed, are intelligently handled and didn't go too much over my head. None of those were problems in prime-'House of Cards'. The story is compelling, suitably intricate and not hard to follow, and the balance is getting better with characters and storylines becoming equally interesting rather than one character primarily standing out.
Characterisation has yet to falter. Frank even at this very early stage was well on the way of becoming one of contemporary television's most fascinating lead characters, but "Chapter 4" also has Zoe having her meatiest material up to this point and Peter, and even more so Remy, coming into his own. One of the most consistent elements, as well as the production values, has always been the acting, and it doesn't disappoint here. Spacey is on top form as usual, and so are Kate Mara and Corey Stoll.
In conclusion, another great episode. 9/10 Bethany Cox
