The genius of Kevin Spacey’s character, Congressman Francis Underwood, is revealed in his honest asides to the audience. Each aside builds the audience’s understanding of how a Psychopath in Charge thinks, strategizing his next move and forgiving his latest moral failing. His marriage to Claire is much more rare than a psychopath in Washington DC as Clare is also a psychopath with an arrangement and understanding with her husband. They tell each other everything (when needed and convenient) and they quest for power together. Nobody is safe from their relentless pursuit of power and influence.
Robin Wright’s character, Claire Underwood, is a perfect portrayal of a female psychopath in the work place, targeting other women and using anyone she can to get what she wants. She grooms her next victim by finding out everything she can about her. Then and only then does she go for the kill.
Although I have only watched the first season, I can tell you this marriage is doomed to fail eventually, as all alliances made with a psychopath are temporary.
Psychopaths In Charge 
I think season 1 portrays this perspective best, and as the show progresses they get further and further away. I was with their perspective up until Season 3. Whereas the treatment of the Legislative branch revolved around back-deals, blackmail, deception, and intimidation, it seems that the Executive Branch, according the House of Cards, is an entirely different affair.
[THEMATIC SPOILERS] No one holds any blackmail over President Underwood, no one pulls his strings — hi is in control, and ‘his people’ serve him truly and faithfully with good intent. That is, Underwood is just the rotten apple from the tree of the Will to Power. The Presidency itself is portrayed as much cleaner institution than their corresponding treatment of Congress.
So while “Vladimir Petrov”, a lankier, taller, and more Swedish Putin (Why do the Swedes tend to play the Bad Russians?…) — is accused in the open of false flags — the apartment bombings in Russia (a real event, one I think was indeed a false flag), and the fictional “Jordan Valley Incident”, when Our President lies about overt ops, we are clearly led to believe that it is With Honest Intent and For The Good.
The first two seasons hit Congress hard and pretty true. Now I know why — this has been a hagiography of the Presidency, and it was utterly silent on the skulduggery of the clandestine services. It’s okay to hate on the opposition, but not the allies. And it is clear with whom the creative owners of House of Cards have allied themselves.
They even play it as though elections matter! Within a given party!
(So yes, I appreciate the exposure of the Pschopath In Charge. It’s better than nothing, but there’s too much untruth around the Psyhopath to take the portayal as anything but a limited hangout. Blame it on the President, everybody. It’s just a bad Nixon once in a while. Keep voting, keep paying tribute. The system works, just keep pushing those screens in your voting booth behind your little privacy curtains. The Bad People in Charge? Your own fault, voters. Feel ashamed and vote different next time! Good luck, suckers.)
Agreed. Great analysis!
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