As of writing this, I am about halfway through Season 1 of House of Cards. Don't spoil the show for me, and the only spoiler in this post is something a character said, which is not a major plot twist or even a mystery. 

Blues and blacks and muted colours appear on the screen as the introduction plays, showcasing a city that is unflinchingly cold. Monuments and landmarks are part of a montage of the institution of power. There are no people.

There is no humanity in Francis Underwood's face. It is smug, grey, and unflinchingly cold. He commands every room he enters, with his soft, lilting words. There is no need to raise his voice.

There is a simple truth about people like Francis Underwood in the world. To play their game is to lose it. They make the rules, and reconstruct the world into their image. There is a widespread belief that power is the ability to tear people down.

A leader stands alone.

Trust is a mirage.

In a world of anarchy, people choose to relinquish their freedom; they choose to be sheep rather than to live among wolves. There was a video about a philosopher that said that religion and morality were nothing but barriers weak people put on themselves because they were too afraid to seek what they truly wanted.

Claire says her husband offered her freedom. Freedom from boredom. Freedom from the monotonous typical. Freedom to live an exciting life, doing what she wants. Francis Underwood is repulsive. He loses the second people realize they are not required to play his game. Francis wins because he exposes the sins of others, and uses it against them as they hide away from their actions. He loses the second people accept weakness and take responsibility for actions.

The arena is politics, not exactly the bastion of accountability. That is why he so often wins Michael Walzer wrote about the tragic hero that is the politician; filled with vivid beliefs and dreams, forced to compromise and taint herself to win. The only way the politician redeems herself is through suffering. Francis does not suffer.

Claire, unlike Francis, shows signs of humanity. She is Francis' confidante, yet infinitely more fascinating. Francis is blind to any moral lines, but Claire sees and responds to them. She is charitable and kind, which makes her acts of cruelty much more potent. Francis lusts for power. What does Claire desire? What enables her to straddle moral boundaries, and be equally as likely to do something terribly manipulative as terribly considerate?

Claire Underwood's husband is easy to decipher. She is the one conflicted between power lust and morality. She is human, and her story is salient.

EPISODE 1 REVIEW:

I've been curious about the novel The 100 by Kass Morgan for a while but I've been hesitant to pick it up due to the mixed reviews. This show was supposed to help me decide and it did for the most part.

The 100, is a post apocalyptic sci-fi show taking place after a nuclear war that killed all of Earth's residents and left the planet in a state of radiation. The surviving humans, who had settled in The Ark, a space station orbiting the earth, continue to hope for their return. However, the space station has a maximum capacity and it's quickly exceeding it. A quick solution is drawn up, 100 of the juvenile criminals, 'whose crimes have made them expendable' will be sent to Earth as lab rats to test the situation. If they live, then humanity can return but what happens when the kids slowly start being picked off by Earth's new residents and eachother?

For the most part, I was interested while watched The 100. It has an interesting plot and story but I can't say the same for the execution. 

We get introduced to our protagonist early on, Clarke Griffin portrayed by Eliza Taylor, is the daughter of high ranking parents, an engineer and a doctor. Charged as an accessory to the crime done by her father, Clarke is sentenced to solitary confinement and after a year of imprisonment she is suddenly and forcefully whisked away to Earth. 

I thought Clarke was 'ok' as a character. She was smart, and honest; a noble character. Her downfall was trying to be a leader. Leadership is a quality that one is born with and it was obvious that Clarke wasn't born with it. She tried to tell people to do things but no one listened. It ended up feeling like she was a whining child trying to get people to listen but no one gave her the light of day. 

Finn is Clarke's love interest, a shabby-haired fun guy who got himself put in jail for going on an illegal spacewalk and using up a month's worth of oxygen. I didn't like him. He was way too one dimensional and uninteresting. I don't look to kindly on his character given that he put others lives in danger for some moments of idiocy. 

A lot of the issues I had with these two character were also a result of the script which I did not like. On TV and in movies, the script is all we have to build the characters and when the script fails, the characters drown. Finn's role was filled with flat one liners. The actor tried to be mysterious and interesting but he just wasn't.

Despite all the negatives I did enjoy the show. My favourite part was learning about the world of The Ark. It was interesting to see the restriction they had put in place to sustain everybody. For example there is a certain amount of blood and drugs allowed per person and one can not exceed that limit or they are charged criminally. Also, all crimes are punishable by death, unless the perpetrator is under 18. I also enjoyed the interaction between the 100, at least the civilized interaction because there were some. It was cool to see them exchange stories. 

Bellamy Blake, is the only character that stood out to me. I don't like his unexplained revolutionary status at the moment, but I see what might have happened to shaped him into the person he is. I adored his relationship with his sister who he obviously loves dearly. He is also the most talented in leadership skills, so I look forward to what he does with the 100.

Overall, from what I saw in the first episode the show was very similar to other post-apocalyptic shows. I didn't see many things that blew my mind away in terms of plot and story. For the most part, I felt that it was enjoyable but not notable. I would compare it to Revolution, so if you enjoyed that show maybe you will enjoy this one.

-MARI