This article will contain spoilers for House of Cards chapters 47, 48 and 49.
Claire Underwood as vice president seemed like a horrible idea at first, both as a political move and as a House of Cards storyline. And yes, it still is a bit far-fetched that a woman who has never held elected office, and who very recently was forced to resign as ambassador after destroying a deal between the U.S. and Russia, could end up a heartbeat away from the presidency. But by the time Frank and Claire take the stage as husband and wife at the DNC in “Chapter 49,” I couldn’t help but feel that the series had completely earned this admittedly unrealistic turn.
Indeed, the incredibly complicated scheme to get Claire on the ticket is as entertaining to watch unfold as anything in the show’s history. Let’s break it down a bit, because the Underwoods’ plan is a doozy.
First, the Democratic leadership recommends Senator Dean Austen for the VP slot, a boring choice whom Frank particularly dislikes due to his favorability with the NRA. But Frank strategically pretends to be on board with Austen so that Claire can use this as leverage to get her gun control bill passed. If you want a pro-gun VP, Claire says, you’ll have to pass my anti-gun bill in exchange. But Frank intentionally leaves the door open (literally) during a meeting with Austen, and Claire “accidentally” allows Kate Baldwin to walk by and take notice, so now the Austin pick becomes public knowledge. The Underwoods have become scarily good at working the press.
Now, Julia Merman of the NRA is furious at Austen for even thinking about supporting such an anti-gun president. In two simultaneous meetings, Frank convinces Austen to back the gun bill, which would be a huge win for the administration, while Claire convinces Merman to make Austen pull his name from consideration. Austen, unaware of what Claire is up to, comes out in favor of the bill, but Merman pressures him to withdraw from the ticket, meaning Austen compromising his principles was for naught. The Underwoods have played them both for fools, manipulating a pro-gun senator into supporting an anti-gun bill in exchange for nothing at all, while also not having to come up with a reason for booting him. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
But oh, they're just getting started, and that’s merely the first phase of their plan. Frank says Cathy Durant should replace Dean Austen, but he suggests she be selected in an open convention. In other words, though the Underwoods will throw their weight behind Durant as VP, the party will technically be allowed to pick anyone they want. So now, the Underwoods will make it appear that they are pushing Durant, while their actual plan to sneak Claire on the ticket can officially begin.
Claire’s friendship with Donald Blythe pays off when he leaks to a reporter that Claire negotiated the Russia deal, not Durant, and of course getting those rumors to spread was all the Underwoods’ doing. Word quickly goes around that perhaps Claire would be a better choice for VP. Rule one of manipulation: make them think they came up with your idea on their own. Next, Texas goes all in in favor of Claire, which seems to be a random happenstance, but we know better: LeAnne made a backroom deal with Celia Jones in exchange for these delegates. With Donald and Celia, we can see how nicely a faux-friendship with fellow politicians can pay off down the line.
In another magnificent sequence during which both Underwoods hold meetings, Claire convinces VP hopeful Senator Baker to support her for vice president, promising him the job of secretary of state. Meanwhile, Frank promises Cathy secretary of state if she supports Claire in the wild, crazy scenario where the first lady pulls ahead. But hey, that could never happen, right? Remember that time Frank was outraged that he was promised secretary of state but was ultimately betrayed? Oh how times have changed.
And that’s basically the strategy: through various secret negotiations, get Claire on the ticket while making it appear that it was the party's choice, not Frank's, and therefore it would not be a clear-cut case of nepotism.
The Underwoods screwed up, though. They underestimated Durant, who caught on to the fact that she was being played and made a deal of her own with Governor Conway. Suddenly, in the first event of the week that the Underwoods did not meticulously orchestrate, Louisiana casts 61 votes for Durant - not for vice president, but for president. Yes, up until this point Frank was running unopposed, but technically, since it’s an open convention, delegates should be able to select anyone for president. Just when we’re lulled into a false sense of security, thinking Frank and Claire have got this, all hell breaks loose.
Before we continue to the chaotic convention fight, let’s back up and take a look at Governor Conway’s role in these three episodes. The two presidential candidates constantly struggle to dominate the news cycle because, as Frank explains, politics is essentially showbusiness, and they must put on the best show in town. Conway threatens to put on the superior show by picking General Brockhart, a man who resigned when Frank refused to listen to his advice regarding ICO, as running mate. It’s an unconventional announcement that would dominate the conversation and inevitably draw attention to the Underwoods’ weakness on terrorism. So Frank hits back with the open convention charade, now a far more interesting story for reporters to cover than anything Conway and Brockhart are doing. But they’re not done! As the convention insanity is unfolding, Conway holds a press conference calling on President Underwood to do something about ICO, and then Frank invites the governor to come meet with him and discuss the issue. That makes the president look reasonable and open-minded, and it completely sucks the wind out of Conway’s sails. “He called my bluff,” Conway says with defeat.
The subsequent meeting between Underwood and Conway is one of the all-time finest House of Cards scenes. This whole ordeal is political circus, and neither men is genuinely concerned about the rise of ICO, so they just sit around and chat for long enough that it appears they accomplished something. On the one hand, it’s somewhat charming to watch as the two rivals connect on a human level, show some amount of respect for one another, and play video games (although the obvious metaphor of the game representing the election process is a bit on the nose). On the other hand, it’s quite disturbing that these two powerful figures waste an opportunity to solve a real problem people are dying over.
But back to the convention. It all comes down to the superdelegates, whose support Frank needs to gain a majority and clinch the nomination. If Durant takes away enough votes from Frank so that he doesn’t win on the first ballot, all bets are off, the delegates become unbound, and Durant could deny Frank the presidency. This whole open convention situation could not possibly have backfired on Frank any more.
Backed into a corner, we see the terrifying, Walter White side of Frank come out in full force more than we have since Zoe's death. He demands the DNC chairwoman essentially throw out all the rules and get rid of Durant, screaming in her face about solidarity, as if that really matters to him. Then, Frank holds a National Security meeting, ostensibly in response to ICO’s advancements, but in reality, it’s just an excuse to postpone the DNC vote and to get in the same room as Durant, who has been refusing his calls. “I don’t use national security matters for political purposes,” he insists to a reporter. Sure you don’t, Frank. Sure you don't.
That meeting with Durant is cathartic, as she is one of the first politicians in the series' history to so viciously call Frank out on his crap. “You had the gall to take my hand, look me in the eye and lie to my face,” she shoots at him, while bringing up all the other times he’s backstabbed colleagues in order to get into the White House. She’s got Jackie Sharp on her side, too, who is calling every California delegate one at a time to tell them what a bully Frank is. Are all of the president's burnt bridges finally going to cost him?
Well, the only problem is that Cathy had no idea Frank is literally a flat out psychopath who has murdered several people. Sadly, she's a bit outmatched.
In what is by far Kevin Spacey’s greatest sequence of the entire series, Frank threatens Durant with physical violence, though seconds later insisting he was only kidding (...and then implying that maybe he's not kidding). It’s impossible to keep your jaw from dropping as Frank utters, “It’s all true. I killed them both. But of course, nobody believes it, and nobody ever will. Because that’s how good we are at making things disappear." Practically, Frank argues with Cathy that it’s in her best interest to throw her support behind Claire in exchange for keeping her job. But as an added bonus, there’s the strong possibility that if she doesn’t agree, Frank would probably have her killed.
In the end, Claire gets the nomination after the one-two punch of Durant’s support and Claire’s mother having just died. In a chilling moment, Claire agrees to assist in her mother’s suicide by giving her drops of morphine, but only after realizing how politically beneficial her death would be. Claire gets on stage and lies to the entire nation about her mother’s final wish being that her daughter run for vice president. And that just about does it.
These three episodes are, without a doubt, three of the most outstanding hours House of Cards has ever produced. The convention chaos is absorbing and unpredictable; just as we finally have a grasp on the Underwoods’ machinations, the writers throw us a massive curveball with Durant’s revenge, and for a brief time, it truly seems like anything could happen and that the first card in Frank’s house may have just collapsed. In the end, it was all just a very convoluted way of making Claire as vice president believable, but the storyline does get that job done. Had Frank nominated Claire himself, and had the country immediately embraced her, that would feel absurd. But through scheme upon scheme, backroom deal upon backroom deal, the writers have worked hard to present a somewhat convincing scenario in which this crazy turn of events could happen - or, at least, it's convincing within the nutty logic of House of Cards.
And although the initial transition from the Underwoods’ civil war into their reunion and VP mission was awkward, by the time the couple walks out on stage in the closing of “Chapter 49,” I can't argue that the result isn't satisfying as hell.