Talk:House of Cards season 2/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: 23W (talk · contribs) 02:32, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, no copyvios, spelling and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

• Could any of the cited information in the lead be moved to the body of the article (WP:LEADCITE)?
  • Done.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 14:44, 21 July 2014 (UTC)
• The background section doesn't really make sense to me as far as chronology is concerned. The first paragraph could probably be its own section, and the second and third could probably be merged into the production section. Same goes for the following sections; "Critical response", "Reception" and "Pop culture" could be third headings under one secondary heading regarding all forms of reception. Here's how I picture it (you can copy and paste it if you think it's better):
  • I have followed your advice on this issue.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 17:18, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

Production

Writing

In interviews during the writing and filming of season 2 showrunner Beau Willimon said he had drawn inspiration for the series from a variety of sources including Robert Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson and Jeremy Larner's Nobody Knows. Lyndon B. Johnson was a repeated source for themes and issues. Willimon also commented on the fictional world of politics that the show represented: "It's a rough-and-tumble game whenever power is involved—people's ambitions, their desires, their competitive spirit will often push them to play outside the rules." Willimon noted that "I don't think about topping things ... The evolution of character is not a game of one-upmanship. It is about change. Souls are vast and so the opportunity to explore ways in which characters contradict themselves and evolve is also vast" and that season 2 provided the opportunity "to expand the world and more deeply explore the characters".

Spacey viewed continuing to portray Underwood for a second season as a continuing learning process. "There is so much I don't know about Francis, so much that I'm learning ... I've always thought that the profession closest to that of an actor is being a detective ... We are given clues by writers, sometimes clues they're aware of and sometimes not. Then you lay them all out and try to make them come alive as a character who's complex and surprising, maybe even to yourself". Gerald McRaney spoke about his expanded role by saying that whereas in season 1 the challenge to playing his character, Raymond Tusk, was in "having to learn Mandarin", in season 2 his character has become "somebody who you don't know which color hat he's wearing".

Filming

According to Governor of Maryland Martin O'Malley, production of the first season brought $140 million in the form of 2,200 jobs and transactions with 1,800 vendors to the Baltimore metropolitan area economy and the Maryland General Assembly expanded its Film Production Tax Credit so that season two could have similar impact over the course of 150 days of filming. Like the first season, the second season was largely filmed in the Baltimore area. Although production was publicized as being in Baltimore, Season 1 had based production in Harford County, Maryland, and season 2 also had its production office in Edgewood and a Joppa sound stage. The April 27, 2013 White House Correspondents Dinner spoofed House of Cards from the Maryland set prior to the beginning of the filming of season 2. Filming began on Monday April 29, 2013, which was just a few weeks later in the year than season 1 had started. On May 14, O'Malley visited the set to publicize the success of the tax incentives.

During spring and summer 2013, the show hosted several large casting calls some of which had over 1000 hopefuls. On June 13, crews began preparing the State House for filming on June 17 and 18. The Maryland State House is not available for rent so the producers made donations to various organizations. The show filmed in Annapolis at the Maryland House of Delegates and the wife of House Speaker Michael E. Busch, Cynthia, was cast as an extra. She played a United States Senator as the set depicted the United States Senate chamber. The scenes were used as part of "Chapter 16" (season 2, episode 3). On July 24, the show announced that it would film at the Baltimore County Circuit Courthouses in Towson, Maryland on July 31. The filming occurred at this location on August 7.

On August 3, House of Cards was going to film a presidential motorcade at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. at 3 PM. However, Chief of police Cathy L. Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPD) revoked the permits that morning. An MPD spokesperson explained "The Metropolitan Police Department is not the lead agency on presidential motorcades and we did not want to portray ourselves as such". As a result the production crews did a last minute filming of the desired scenes back in Baltimore. The next day, Mayor of the District of Columbia Vincent Gray stated that there was confusion on what role the MPD would play in the filming. A spokesperson from his office stated that ""MPD is not going to rent itself out as extras for film ... That's what MPD's decision was focused on. We're not going to be actors." On October 2, all issues were resolved and the motorcade was filmed as originally planned without any MPD personnel "actively participate in the filming".

In August, several areas in Harford County were used for filming season 2, including areas in Bel Air and Edgewood. Havre de Grace had been used in season 1 to depict Underwood's home district in South Carolina. The Liriodendron mansion was the scene of filming on August 12 and 13. Bel Air police were paid $1550 for August 13 duties at another filming location.

Although there were reports that the filming was largely completed by October 1, Willimon tweeted on that date that he had just finished writing the season finale. Willimon and others tweeted that filming was completed on November 8. The following week, House of Cards workers got involved in the Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts.

According to an October 10 story in The Huffington Post, executive producer Rick Cleveland stated that he believed that season 2 would be the final season because both Spacey and Wright prefer to act in movies than in television. However, Willimon remains optimistic that the show will continue. The Baltimore Sun reporter, David Zurawik contested the journalistic process of The Huffington Post report because he says Modi Wiczyk, CEO of Media Rights Capital, the company that produces House of Cards, told him "I would basically be shocked if there wasn't [a season 3, 4 and 5]". A few weeks later, Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos confirmed that Netflix had an earnest interest in continuing House of Cards beyond its second season.

Release

On December 4, 2013, Netflix announced that the 13-episode season would be released in its entirety. Along with the scheduling announcement, Netflix confirmed that Francis (now Vice President) and Claire would "continue their ruthless rise to power as threats mount on all fronts". After season 1 received four nominations for the 71st Golden Globe Awards on December 12, a season 2 trailer was released on December 13. However, the first official full trailer was released on January 6.

Willimon has stated "In conception of the second season, I put a lot of thought into the doors open to us in seasons three and beyond ... I didn't want to paint ourselves into a corner in the second season." On February 4, 2014, Netflix announced it had renewed the web series for a season 3 of undisclosed length.

Season 2 was made available in its entirety on February 14, 2014 (Valentine's Day) at 12:01 a.m. PT. Prior to the release of season 1, three reviewers, Hank Stuever of The Washington Post, Nancy deWolf Smith of The Wall Street Journal, and Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times, commented on possible binge viewing by Netflix customers. Stanley notes that the show "is probably seen best one episode at a time. It's a delicious immorality play with an excellent cast, but the tempo is slow and oddly ponderous—a romp slowed down to a dirge". De Smith also notes that due to its "relentless theme", "House of Cards might go down better in smaller portions and thus be enjoyably prolonged" deriding potential binge watchers as people who liken a delicacy to a "bag of M&M's". However, Stuever disagreed about season 1 saying "So, on the iffy chance that House of Cards draws you in and you simply cannot stop watching, then, yes, you may power-binge your way through all 13 hours at once". Upon viewing the four episode season 2 preview Time's James Poniewozik says "I could easily see powering through the season in a free weekend, precisely because no individual episode needs much time to sink in". Stanley also felt the second season was "binge-worthy" upon viewing the preview. However, some critics still support dieting on the episodes with slower consumption.

Reception

Critical reception

Critics had access to the first four episodes of the season for previewing as early as late January with a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). According to Pam Brown of The West Australian, the season 2 NDA included the following statement "I understand and agree that any breach of these conditions will cause irreparable harm for which recovery of money damages alone would be inadequate."

The season was generally well received. As of April 4, 2014, the review aggregator Metacritic gave the season an 80 rating based on a sample of 25 critics. Another review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes gave the season a score of 88% based on a sample of 33 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10.

James Poniewozik of Time says "It is the same show you saw last season, the same weaknesses and strengths intact, but, as it makes clear before the first hour is over, every bit as brutal and sanguinary." According to Sara Smith of The Kansas City Star, "The shock and delight of the showy storytelling ... has faded a bit". Smith says that Barnes, Skorsky, and Goodwin's "investigation sucks them down a rabbit hole into a surreal underworld no sane reporter would explore". Regarding Frank, Smith says "A show can successfully revolve around one man, but a flawless winning streak gets monotonous" and that "it's time for someone to take Frank down a notch". And yet, the second series offers, as Laura Ludtke says in her review for the "Oxonian Review", "a serious departure from its transatlantic counterpart and from the first series in the portrait it offers of a couple defined by their political ambitions."

David Zurawik The Baltimore Sun notes that the season starts off with a bang: "The first hour of Season 2 is better than anything in Season 1" and at one point it is "going to knock some fans out of their seats". Poniewozik says "if you really care about spoilers, watch episode 1 the first chance you get, and stay off social media until you do." Michael Starr of the New York Post described the premiere episode as "Wow. Just... wow." Alison Willmore of Indiewire says that "Something shocking takes place early in the second season". Willa Paskin of Slate found the premiere episode of the preview to be notable for its ending, which she described as a literal "F. U." to the audience.

Willmore says that since characters have been introduced, "season two of House of Cards begins in a fashion that's far more free and quick-paced" than season 1. Willmore also notes that, "If season one slowly grew blacker in tone as it went from serious games of power and manipulation to life-and-death ones, season two starts off there and looks to only get darker in content." However, she stated that season 2 appeared to be lighter than season 1: "delivered with more of a wink by Frank than before. It may be darker, but it's also less heavy". According to Zurawak, "Willimon ... and Spacey ... have managed to bring the power of live theater to this drama with a consistency and seamlessness never before achieved in television."

Stanley praises the series saying "It's not clear exactly why this bleak series is so exhilarating and binge-worthy. It could be that just as victims of tragedy find it hard to accept that their suffering is random and purposeless, voters find it intolerable that so many of the petty, shortsighted moves by elected officials have no greater meaning than small-time expediency." She also notes that the series "is more cynical than The Americans on FX and more pessimistic about human nature than The Walking Dead on AMC". However, The Americans "is more complex and inventive" according to Stanley who concurs that season 2 is darker but notes it is more compelling than season 1. Stuever compares the show unfavorably to both Veep for its "bumbling chaos and ego implosions" over House of Cards "prohibitively sinister" execution and The Good Wife for its superior delivery of "nastiness and self-interest in power plays".

Poniewozik notes that "Francis needs a stronger nemesis, if not for the sake of justice then for the sake of excitement. And House of Cards would be a greater show if it had characters who were people more than game pieces. Still, on its limited terms, it's absorbing to watch". According to Entertainment Weekly's Karen Valby, the show's fundamental problem is that "The Underwoods have no worthy opponents." According to Variety's Brian Lowry, as conniving as Underwood is, it is unfathomable that "nobody else in a town built on power seems particularly adept at recognizing this or combating him". Valby notes that neither Tusk nor Goodwin is an effective foe, leaving the audience longing for a comeuppance in the first four episodes that served as a preview for critics and his hopeful that Sharp provides a good foil as the season progresses. He also wrote that House of Cards overplays its depiction of the edginess of "Washington being venal and corrupt". He describes the show as a "mixed bag". Andrew Romano of The Daily Beast claims the second season was better than the first because Tusk is as worthy an adversary as could be expected.

Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter describes the preview of the season by saying "It's entertaining and cruises along with a strong pulse. There's a core mystery and American politics is mocked, appropriately, for being a two-party hustle of recrimination and separatism." Goodman notes that writer Beau Willimon has Frank "pontificate to the point of spouting cliches from time to time" and Frank's "conniving wins too often". Goodman feels that the delayed use of breaking the fourth wall is clever, while Smith feels the delayed use of breaking the fourth wall is coy. Stanley notes that while breaking the fourth wall "his cynical asides are not as clever as his underhanded actions". She notes that the execution of the technique is less successful than in the original.

Goodman sums things up by saying "There's a heavier hand than is necessary at times" and "House of Cards needs to stay more focused to be successful." Starr also notes that "The show's writing, breathless pacing and even its clever use of graphics (visually superimposing phone text messages onto particular scenes) stands head-and-shoulders above most of its TV brethren."

Chuck Barney of the San Jose Mercury News notes that the preview episodes show that the series is as "handsomely crafted and marvelously acted as ever" but the episodes don't "provoke the same kind of adrenaline rush as last season". Barney was also impressed with newcomer Parker: "She's an agile actress who can deliver a sense of soft-spoken warmth but also a steely fierceness that comes with an underlying message: 'Underestimate me at your own peril.'"

The addition of Parker is widely praised among critics. Stanley notes that as Underwood's "protégée and, like everyone else in his poisoned orbit, soon discovers that Underwood expects his people to cast aside principle and pursue his grand plan." Valby describes her performance as one "played with throbbing edge". Goodman notes she serves to somewhat counterbalance Frank.

Verne Gay of Newsday notes that "Spacey's Underwood is even more sinuous, more complex, more treacherous and so—as a result—is the deeply pleasurable show that surrounds him."

In terms of cinematography, Stanley notes that "Colors are so washed-out that the closest thing to brightness in all that gray, taupe and black is an orange Post-it note."

Bob Samuels of The Huffington Post compares House of Cards to The West Wing. He notes that whereas The West Wing depicted "political idealists dedicated to the discussion of public policy", House of Cards presents "the cynical manipulations of isolated careerists". Samuels says that in addition to presenting a new method of distribution of content, the show represents a change in our society by demonstrating the change in what is perceived as popular political television drama: "the series presents a social shift from political idealism to social cynicism". Samuels defines cynicism as "the desire to succeed in a system in which one does not believe". Regarding the extensive use of notable journalists, Samuels says, "House of Cards uses real news broadcasters to appear more realistic, but the end result is that the real news personalities end up being fictionalized." However, Politico reports that rather than give an alternate perspective, the series was misleading in its depictions especially those related to campaign financing. Romano notes that the show is "about power that happens to be set on Capitol Hill as opposed to a show about politics".

The Wall Street Journal's Wayne Ma praises the originality of the China storylines, which are rare for television: "Not since counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer stormed the Chinese consulate in the fourth season of 24 has there been a major story line about China featured on a mainstream U.S. TV series." He also lauds their authenticity of them: "The show deserves kudos for the unusual authenticity of its China story line, which has plot points ripped straight from the headlines. Chinese cyber-theft, currency manipulation, a trade dispute involving rare-earth minerals, and escalating tensions between China and Japan in the East China Sea all make an appearance in the show, rendered in the kind of detail that will ring mostly true with China watchers."

Awards

On July 10, 2014, House of Cards earned thirteen Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. Among those its nominations were Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Kevin Spacey, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Robin Wright, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Beau Willimon and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Carl Franklin. The first season was also nominated for several 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, highlighted by Kate Mara for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series and Reg E. Cathey for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Other Creative Arts nominations were received for Casting, Cinematography, Picture Editing, Music Composition, Sound Mixing, and Art Direction.

Other recognitions included a TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama nomination at the 30th TCA Awards and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series at the 4th Critics' Choice Television Awards.

Impact

Barack Obama quipped about his interest in an advance copy of the second series: "I wish things were that ruthlessly efficient ... It's true. I was looking at Kevin Spacey thinking, 'this guy's getting a lot of stuff done'." The evening before the season was posted, someone responsible for the @BarackObama Twitter account (which is run by Organizing for Action) tweeted a request that no spoilers be posted online. Since the season debuted on Valentine's Day, The New York Observer created themed cards in honor of the series with quotes such as "A great man once said everything is about sex. Except sex. Sex is about power" (an Oscar Wilde quote Underwood had stated during season 1).

Whereas less than 2% of Netflix subscribers streamed season 1 during the first weekend last year, over 15% streamed at least one hour during the business day on February 14.

References

• I wouldn't know how to structure this, but some of the quotes from the critical response section relate to themes and such rather than how much they enjoyed it. I'd recommend spinning that off into another section as well, though it isn't pressing for the sake of this review.

Overall a solid read, but a little verbose; it's roughly the size of the parent article, but that's not really anyone's fault. I'd recommend paraphrasing it more if you're going to bring it to peer review or featured article status, but I digress. On hold. 23W 02:32, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

• • 23W, I read this paragraph as something to think about in the future. I will. Thanks for the feedback. regards.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 17:28, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

• @TonyTheTiger: Lookin' good. I have a few suggestions for images, but they're subjective and not required:

• File:Washington, D.C. - 2007 aerial view.jpg by the third paragraph of the filming section;
• File:37 Lyndon Johnson 3x4.jpg in the writing section;

• Ideally some images would be good for the critical reception section, as it spans a few screens, but that's for another day. Pass; good work! 23W 19:59, 21 July 2014 (UTC)