I just concluded a month long vacation (got lucky with that) which I initially intended to use as a micro sabbatical. But anyone who knows my obsession with procrastination can decipher that I just completed it in the blink of an eye day dreaming. But I successfully concluded my vacation with binge watching House of Cards (after a close friend recommended it multiple times on different occasions)
Anyone who has a philosophy in Life that self-interest at any price is the ultimate value will adore the two protagonists in a series that begins with killing a dog and ends with killing Doug. Kevin Spacey's acting was brilliant though. Claire Underwood reminded me time and again of Cersei from GOT. I was desperate to see if Heather Dunbar would make it to the top job and was disappointed that she couldn't make it. The other characters which I really liked are Adam Galloway and Tom Hammerschmidt. I thought I would become fan of Tom Yates by the end of the season but then he lost his charm. I really like the actors who played Tom Yates and Mark Usher. I think they pulled it off brilliant. The only guy whom I loved watching getting destroyed was William Conway.
There is an assassination attempt on the president and he needs a liver transplant. His chief of staff asks the doctors why they are not doing it yet. He is told that the President is on Status 3 and they will start it as soon as he reaches Status 1. Why? Because it is the law. Doug ends up breaking the law to bump him up from Stauts 2 to Status 1. That scene is so sobering and tells how much we in India need to mature as democracy. But then what hope does a society which is drenched in feudalistic mind set have?
Going back to the philosophy espoused by the protagonists that there is no justice but only conquests, I would only caution someone to watch Bad Boy Billionaires documentary series in Netflix after watching House of cards just to sober you up. If you don't believe me, go to the scene where Freddie and his grandson visit the white house. The president lets Freddie's grandson sit on his chair and tells him that he too can become president when he grows up if he studies well. Later on as they are leaving the white house Freddie educates his grandson by saying that it is good to have dreams but we must not let them turn into fantasies.
