Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Writer: Beau Willimon
Original Air Date: February 14, 2014
Watch It On: Netflix
What It’s About: Season Two of Netflix’s original and wildly successful series House of Cards picks up right where Season One left off, with the Underwoods jogging triumphantly through the night after Frank (Kevin Spacey) finds out he’s going to be tapped for Vice President. Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) is having a mild freak out because Zoe (Kate Mara), Janine (Constance Zimmer), and Lucas (Sebastian Arcelus) know that Frank had something to do with Peter Russo’s (Corey Stoll) death. He shows up at the Underwoods to warn them about Zoe being a threat to the whole plan, to which Frank replies, “I’ll take care of Zoe.” Frank speaks to Jackie Sharp (Molly Parker) about taking his place as Majority Whip, while Claire (Robin Wright) is still battling with her former partner, Jillian, who is still sour about their falling out at Clean Water Initiative. Doug is stuck trying to cover Frank and his tracks by forcing Rachel to quit her job and move.
Why It’s So Good: If you were one of the diehards who binge-watched the entire second season last Valentine’s weekend instead of spending those nights with your loved one, you know exactly why it’s so good. After this episode’s shocking moment, you simply couldn’t stop watching, partially because you were frozen in shock and unable to move. If you didn’t shut yourself off from social media, this episode was spoiled for you about 40 minutes after it was released on Netflix during the wee hours of the morning. Because of the sheer power of word of mouth, this episode intrigued people outside the show’s regular audience, encouraging newbies to give it a shot. Sometimes all it takes is a spoiler to hook more viewers, and “Chapter 14” is the perfect case scenario. If you were one of the few folks who watched the U.K. mini-series the show is based on, you knew exactly what was coming (you lucky bastards) and had time to close your eyes.
The Most Shocking Moment: When Frank threw Zoe in front of a train, killing her.
One More Thing: It’s the ongoing question — did Frank plan to kill Zoe when he asked her to meet up? It’s very likely, but there’s also a good chance he wanted to start fresh. However, we know Frank Underwood all too well, and chances are he thought to do this long before it actually happened.
Photos: Netflix/Everett Collection
