An Unsatisfying Resolution

"My turn." — Claire Underwood, "House of Cards"

When season five of "House of Cards" ended, it was clear that Claire was going to be front-and-center. What was less clear is all the turmoil that would occur before that season took place.

By now, unless you've been in a coma lo these many months, you know that Kevin Spacey isn't a great guy, and has since become persona non-grata in Hollywood. And that's the right thing to do. What he's been accused of is inexcusable, and it makes sense that "House of Cards" would cut ties for its final season. It also makes sense that the show would end (something that was supposedly going to happen whether Spacey left of not).

Earlier this month we got that final season — eight episodes that are meant to continue the narratives and provide closure. Of course, they also have to do that without Spacey's Frank Underwood, who has been the focal character of the series since the beginning.

In fact, I'd argue that Claire works best as a character when playing off Frank, and visa versa. That, sadly, is the problem for this final season. Frank's not there. His presence hovers over the season, but he's not actually there.

In his place, Claire clashes with Doug (Michael Kelly), Mark (Campbell Scott) and a pair of siblings played by Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear. None of those stories is super compelling, and much of it is left incomplete to a degree. So that's equally frustrating.

But the biggest problem is we open with Frank having died. He has to remain a part of the story for all eight episodes while not being there. This becomes painfully awkward when Doug finds his audio diary, and many characters listen to it, but the audience, naturally, can never hear it.

And I won't ruin it by giving away the ending, but suffice to say I was left scratching my head and wondering, is that it? Sadly it was, and sadly it did little to bolster the legacy of a show that, at one point, was among the better on TV.

I'm not arguing that Spacey should have been in the final season. They made the right decision to let him go. However, this wasn't a show that could really continue well without its lead character. I like Robin Wright, and I appreciated the work she did throughout the series, but it was hard to carry this final season. And the storyline, well that's a whole other discussion but it was deeply unsatisfying.

"House of Cards" will always be remembered for what it did for Netflix, and for the quality in the beginning. But unfortunately, and predictably, there was no possibility for a satisfying end.