House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 12, 2019

Some spoilers follow.

House of Cards will forever be remembered as one of television's preeminent politically oriented programs, assuming a place of prominence alongside NBC's brilliant The West Wing. A darkly compelling show that introduced audiences to Washington's morally bankrupt worlds of political maneuverings and personal ambitions, the show was a huge commercial and critical success for Netflix, which has become a powerhouse on the television landscape. But even the show's legacy as a gripping political drama will likely be forever overshadowed by its central role in the Kevin Spacey sexual misconduct story. As the show was beginning production of this sixth season, word of accusations against the actor appeared in the headlines. Production was swiftly halted but resumed days later with Netflix writing Spacey's Frank Underwood out of the story -- really out of the story, killing off his character entirely -- and carrying on in a truncated sixth and final season with his spouse, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), assuming the series' lead role. It was more than fortuitous for the show and for Netflix that the scriptwriters ended season five with Claire usurping the power of the presidency following Frank's resignation, which offered an easier out for season six to move forward without its star. The season certainly misses Spacey's work as Frank but holds together well enough, at least until the end, as a somewhat surprisingly well rounded goodbye to a show that was suddenly central to one of the great whirlwind Hollywood controversies of the 21st century.

Frank Underwood is dead. Claire Underwood has ascended to the office of the President and is at the 100-day mark. As the season begins, the first female president is told of a number of death threats against her. Her advisors recommend cancelling an appearance at a military base on the 4th of July in hopes of tightening up security measures around her. She, of course has none of it, refusing to cower in fear on the nation’s birthday. She is in further conflict with a pair of financial backers, Bill and Annette Shepherd (Greg Kinnear and Diane Lane), who are attempting to cash in on their financial influence to earn her support on a bill and of a key candidate who will work for their interests. As Claire faces threats, political and physical alike, her legacy falls into question as her husband’s shadow hangs over her tenure in office.

Robin Wright capably holds the show together. Though she lacks the absolute screen and character command Spacey brought to the program, her effective portrait of a character fighting to step out from her husband’s shadow and into her place in history as not simply the first female president but as an effective commander-in-chief while shaping her own identity and legacy represent the season’s character and narrative hallmarks. She takes fire from all sides, literally in some cases and not just metaphorically, that adds a number of layers of intrigue to the program as she fends off both threats of physical violence and threats to her agenda and character.

The show works through a series of not necessarily predictable machinations but it does hit on a number of issues which one would expect to find in a season given this one's premise and history. The show rarely plays anything straight -- admittedly there would be little of compelling storytelling if it did -- but it doesn't often push outside the envelope very far, either. It's a capably written and nicely performed season, shortened from previous outings, but doing its due diligence to wrap up the story, even if its approach and execution are a little more convoluted than is necessary even for House of Cards. The season misses Spacey's character, who exists only as a memory but does, at least, remain an influential player even in absentia; his legacy and name continually influence the show even if the character and actor directly do not.

The following episodes comprise season six. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging. Some spoilers follow.

Disc One:

• Chapter 66: As the first female president, Claire faces increased scrutiny and threats. Sibling power couple Anette and Bill Shepherd attempt to influence policy.
• Chapter 67: Claire clashes with the Shepherds and Mark Usher, who pressure her to sign the Future Act. Doug makes an unexpected move.

Disc Two:

• Chapter 68: The Shepherds push Claire on a Supreme Court nomination. Doug works to find a new path for himself. Claire consults with Jane on Syria.
• Chapter 69: As a crisis mounts in Syria, Russian President Viktor Petrov wants to make a deal with Claire. Questions arise about Tom Yates's whereabouts.
• Chapter 70: Claire allows her enemies to think she's incapacitated as they plot to remove her from office. Doug's investigation leads him to uncover a secret.

Disc Three:

• Chapter 71: Claire makes staff changes. The Shepherds try to recruit Doug to their side. With Mark facing intense scrutiny, Jane offers advice.
• Chapter 72: While the Shepherd family attempts to diminish Claire's power, Doug goes off the grid but continues angling to advance his agenda.
• Chapter 73: Claire tries to tarnish Frank's legacy. Doug provokes Claire by releasing excerpts from Frank's diary. A rift develops between the Shepherds.

House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As with previous seasons, House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season was photographed on digital and at an aspect ratio of 2.00:1, which is becoming a much more frequent sight in recent years. The picture is stylistically and technically similar to previous seasons in other ways, too, in terms of its 1080p presentation. Details are very good, offering good inherent sharpness to core textures such as faces and clothes, while viewers will also enjoy a selection of interesting and inherently sharp details around the White House, aboard Air Force One, and throughout any other locations, many of which are lavishly furnished. The image finds consistently high yield intimacy in close-up, showcasing core skin textures, and beyond, with agreeable depth and complexity. Colors are handled well, featuring a fairly neutral palette with clothes popping, notably the various outfits the new President Underwood wears throughout the season. Support elements offer robust saturation and accuracy for the duration. Skin tones and black levels are without obvious flaw. Noise and banding are kept in check and no other major source or encode flaws are apparent.

House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack does not offer prodigious surround implementation. The program's sound needs are fairly straightforward with some well integrated, though only occasionally utilized, front-end movement and a few discrete effects. A jet fighter zooms across the stage's front portion partway through episode one, introducing President Underwood's speech to assembled military personnel. When she exits the speech, after confronting a solider, a gaggle of reporters pelt her with questions, but again the track maintains a distinct front-heavy experience. The absence of significant and steady surround use is not necessarily a hindrance. For the type of material, the well defined front end usually suffices, particularly in terms of musical delivery, which is appropriately wide, fluid, and detailed in every usage. Light support atmospherics help shape various scenes, but the track is usually all about music and dialogue, the latter of which delivers clearly and efficiently from a stable front-center location.

House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season's three-disc Blu-ray release contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital copies are included. The release ships in Digipak packaging and is housed in a slip box. Attached is a card containing the brief episode summaries listed above. As a quick aside, it's nearly impossible to get the discs out of the packaging without fingerprinting them or feeling like the effort is going to tear the cardboard.

House of Cards: The Complete Sixth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

House of Cards doesn't go down without a fight. A promising beginning, a compelling middle stretch, and a fumble at the finish line defines the season outside of the Spacey controversy, and despite some flubs along the way it's a surprisingly layered and worthy finale to a classic program, particularly under the constraints and hardships that dogged its production in the wake of the Spacey scandal. Sony's Blu-ray is unfortunately featureless, but the video and audio presentations are top-notch. Recommended.