House of Cards (2013)

:

Season 5
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 1, 2013
Season #: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
6.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 222 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 121 out of 222
  2. Mixed: 47 out of 222
  3. Negative: 54 out of 222
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User Reviews

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  1. streetspirit
    Jun 11, 2017
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A once good show has literally jumped the shark.

    SPOILERS

    We waste ten episodes on a drawn out election which will literally test your patience. And then all of a sudden, the characters disappear.

    Frank pushes the Secretary of State down the stairs and that's it. It's never mentioned again. Is she dead? In a coma? Has anyone thought of investigating what happened to her?

    And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Claire poisons Tom, screws him and watches him die with him inside her.

    There's a bunch of other characters doing horrible things but you'll be too confused about their motivation to care. They're all just as corrupt as Frank and Claire.

    Don't get me wrong, parts of it are very watchable, but it should do considering its huge budget. Do not think for one moment that this equals quality.

    The show will return but they really ought to wrap it all up with one more season. A huge disappointment.    … Expand
  2. sr4151_
    Jun 5, 2017
    6
    Having only watched half of the season, I am bored. Maybe if this were the second season, it would get higher reviews. The problem is... the writing has deteriorated and the show seems to have no direction. We have seen the Underwoods move all the way up the ladder. Now, we are supposed to be afraid of them losing their power... But, that just doesn't feel very real after what we have seenHaving only watched half of the season, I am bored. Maybe if this were the second season, it would get higher reviews. The problem is... the writing has deteriorated and the show seems to have no direction. We have seen the Underwoods move all the way up the ladder. Now, we are supposed to be afraid of them losing their power... But, that just doesn't feel very real after what we have seen them pull off before (e.g. killing multiple people and getting away with it). Other characters are just not very well developed (except a few like Doug and Leanne). Since this isn't season 2, but season 5, I just can't stand watching more of the same (especially, when there are so many better, fresher shows out there).
    *Will edit when and if I finish watching this season...    … Expand
  3. Rajiwo
    Jul 15, 2017
    4
    After a surprisingly disappointing third season and a failed attempt to come back in the fourth, House of Cards ended up being its own cartoon. It lost all of its charm: the seriousness, the revelations, the writing, the coherent characters, and its biggest asset, its credibility.
    Season five is more 'watchable' than the previous two, but it became a more of a HoC comic rather than what    After a surprisingly disappointing third season and a failed attempt to come back in the fourth, House of Cards ended up being its own cartoon. It lost all of its charm: the seriousness, the revelations, the writing, the coherent characters, and its biggest asset, its credibility.
    Season five is more 'watchable' than the previous two, but it became a more of a HoC comic rather than what we all loved. Writers were more interested in staying out of America's political debate, by making Frank a character beyond good and evil, than to stay true to the show's essence.
    I got to the point to which I'm just watching to know how it ends. That makes it more better than a 3, but can't get it much further.
    Farewell.    … Expand
  4. sunzoomspark
    Jun 4, 2017
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mild spoilers may follow.

    First, in regards to the previous seasons: I thought seasons 1 and 2 were quite well done, 3 dipped in quality and 4 was somewhat better but both were still fairly decent. I'm not very judgmental about TV seasons dipping in quality from the first ones because I come to expect it - as long as the next seasons keep up in some way, I'm alright with it.

    That said, this season of House of Cards was pretty miserable and a noticeable decline in quality. Character development was really absurd and dull, the subplots go nowhere, the main plot's final twist was so stupidly orchestrated you wonder why you ever thought Frank was intelligent. Frank and Clair's political advancement/rise in power this season pretty much relies on having a lot of blind trust from allies, receiving convenient dirt on their enemies, and pulling off murders as if the threat of being caught did not exist.

    For whatever reason, the suspense of the Underwoods falling from grace is pretty nonexistent in this season, but the reasons that they're able to get away with their dirty play has become baffling. The republican ticket is taken down by a couple of hot-headed audio clips, which is nothing compared to what the Underwoods have on their plate. No longer do the Underwoods seem all that cunning so much as everyone around them seems idiotic or hopelessly devoted (with the exception of Doug Stamper, this is pretty baffling).

    I liked this show because it was fun watching Frank (and Clair) tenaciously and wittily claw their way to the top against formidable odds, but this season settles for a bunch of cheap plot points to keep them there. The last 5 minutes of the final episode were probably the best 5 minutes of the whole season simply because I think that was where the show logically should have ended up, but the ends very much do not justify the means in this case. This series is unfortunately showing that it's being dragged out far too long.    … Expand
  5. chidime
    Jun 1, 2017
    5
    What a shame. It's really sad that this great TV show has become such a convoluted mess. This was one of the most disjointed seasons of anything I've ever watched. Maybe the new showrunners thought the gaps in story-telling would work as a cinematic artform but it just made the entire show confusing as hell. Instead of genius, it left the story filled with plotholes. Then there were theWhat a shame. It's really sad that this great TV show has become such a convoluted mess. This was one of the most disjointed seasons of anything I've ever watched. Maybe the new showrunners thought the gaps in story-telling would work as a cinematic artform but it just made the entire show confusing as hell. Instead of genius, it left the story filled with plotholes. Then there were the lazy storylines. I'm still left trying to understand how a person would become comatose from being pushed to the floor. Then there was the buildup to nothing: After Claire and Frank had promised to reign chaos on the country and after their proclamation of the WH being 'their house' the best the show could come up with was taking the election to Congress. I think the new showrunners need to be fired. They have shown they cannot handle this show and the direction they seem to be trying to take it just isn't working. When the show isn't slow, it's disjointed. And when it's not disjointed, it's confusing and teeming with plotholes. I hope they get back to basics next season cos this was such a disappointment.

    5/10    … Expand
  6. ishadow
    May 30, 2017
    5
    This review will be short, because it's hard to write anything about it without spoilers.
    First 4 season are great or at least good at times.
    Fifth season is a mess. It starts rather good, but it's downhill from that. - Plot is chaotic, - character actions are illogical and plain stupid at times, - There's no brilliance the show once had. - There's just too many loopholes in the    This review will be short, because it's hard to write anything about it without spoilers.
    First 4 season are great or at least good at times.
    Fifth season is a mess. It starts rather good, but it's downhill from that.
    - Plot is chaotic,
    - character actions are illogical and plain stupid at times,
    - There's no brilliance the show once had.
    - There's just too many loopholes in the plot,
    - Too many characters are seen this season,
    - Old characters aren't developed,
    - New characters are boring,

    The main flow is that show can't focus on anything. It just jumps to new problem without resolving old ones in satisfactory way.

    I still have 3 episodes left, but I just don't have strength to watch it now, and I don't know if I still want to. I'm pretty much bored with this show.
    And it's really a shame that once great series got such a bad fifth season.

    Where was quality control? What actors were thinking? I just don't believe that Kevin Spacey was OK with everything he had to do in this season. Or he just didn't care anymore? Probably the latter, I pretty much don't care anymore. If there will be 6th season, I won't get Netflix subscription just to watch it, like I did for this season.

    Well, this review is actually pointless. If you're a fan, you will watch it anyway. If you don't watched House of Cards yet, you should at least watch brilliant first seasons.

    I'm just really disappointed.    … Expand
  7. Prosmooth
    Jun 3, 2017
    5
    The entire thing just feels silly now. So does real life in America in 2017 though. I'm not sure if this is the dumbest and soapiest House of Cards season ever--or its most brilliant. So, I'm giving it a 5 down the middle. I rolled my eyes and laughed a lot during the season--but I do the same thing every morning when Kim Jong Orange decides to tweet something stupid to the planet. It'sThe entire thing just feels silly now. So does real life in America in 2017 though. I'm not sure if this is the dumbest and soapiest House of Cards season ever--or its most brilliant. So, I'm giving it a 5 down the middle. I rolled my eyes and laughed a lot during the season--but I do the same thing every morning when Kim Jong Orange decides to tweet something stupid to the planet. It's fun to watch, I give it that.… Expand
  8. PrettyGood
    Sep 13, 2017
    5
    The fifth season on the series disappoints big time. A brilliant show in its first seasons to become a mess like this is a shame. Predictable stories and too close to reality. Robin Wright still shines, while Kevin Spacey plays it safe with his over-dramatic Frank Underwood.

Awards & Rankings

36
#36 Most Discussed TV Season of 2017
62
#62 Most Shared TV Season of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Slate
    Reviewed by: Katy Waldman
    Jun 1, 2017
    80
    The bleakest (yet somehow still extremely fun to watch) season of the show yet.
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  2. Time
    Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Jun 1, 2017
    40
    Underwood isn't Nixonian or Clintonian (pick your villain); he's a flat character for whom recognition is its own reward. This may make the show a surprisingly good fit for our times. But onscreen as in life, the desire for fame alone is insufficient motivation to compel viewers to stay tuned.
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  3. Salon
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    May 31, 2017
    40
    Five seasons in, House of Cards still trades in predictable scripting that recycles the same themes time and again. Even now we’re made to contend with an endless march of one-note side characters and expedient problem-solving via criminality, a set of moves that lost their ability to entice and shock some time ago.
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