It’s been over a year since the fourth season of the Netflix original series "House of Cards" was released and there are exactly 15 days until we are graced with its return on May 30th. As painful as it was in general waiting for this new season to arrive, what’s been even more painful is witnessing some H.O.C. level madness take place before our very eyes. Since the release of season four, the American administration has undergone some of the most radical and controversial changes in its entire history.
I’m excited for the show to start up again; I’m looking forward to being drawn in by the scandal and the lies and the mischief that takes place over every hour long episode and even more, I’m looking forward to watching it unfold and knowing it’s all just a show. It’s just acting and it’s not actually happening in real life, something I, unfortunately, cannot say about the past 4 months. It’s going to be quite a relief to watch fictional President Frank Underwood dominate the country and know his words and actions have no effect on the real world.
It will also be interesting to see how the season compares to the recent political history of our nation. I recently read an article where the stars of the show claimed that what’s to expect on this season all seems quite tame compared to what’s actually been going on since January. And for those who know and love House of Cards like I do, tame is hardly fitting. Blackmail, deceit, bribery and more can be expected from the new season according to the trailer Netflix has released. And to say it still doesn’t even hold a candle to what we’re currently experiencing is saying something. The show was filmed during the time leading up to the November 2016 elections and the cast admits there were many parallels between the show and the real world, all unintentional though and that’s the scary part. However, no one could predict just how terrible things would get after the filming stopped and the waiting game for the next season began. Or maybe we could have. Neither here nor there.
House of Cards was created to give viewers and alternative political universe: your standard dramatic, back stabbing, nail biting, stuff that all good shows have, with a twist that makes it all the more exciting. Back at its conception and even potentially while they were filming this new season, no one could ever imagine that our country could actually come to such as state that the lines between this political drama and the real world would be blurred. Yet here we are. So in the meantime to avoid the chaos and the destruction of the world around me as I speak, I’ll be locked in my room watching both Frank and Claire double team the pants off the country. At least I don’t have to worry about the same thing happening with the first lady living outside of the computer screen.