"Chapter 7" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The ...

drama series ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...

''. Written by Kate Barnow and series creator

Beau Willimon Pack Beauregard Willimon (born October 26, 1977) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He helped develop the American version of the series ''House of Cards'' and served as showrunner for the first four seasons. In 2018, Willimon created th ...

, and directed by

Charles McDougall Charles McDougall is a Great Britain, British Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning television director, director. Biography McDougall has directed for popular television series which include the pilot episode of American Broadcasting Company, ABC's ''De ...

, the episode premiered on February 1, 2013, when it was released along with the rest of the first season on the American streaming service

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Plot

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Walker (

Michel Gill Michel Gill (born April 16, 1960), also known as Michael Gill, is an American actor best known for playing President Garrett Walker in the Netflix series ''House of Cards'' and Gideon Goddard on ''Mr. Robot''. Early life Gill is a first genera ...

) finally signs the education bill, earning Frank (

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...

) a major victory by affording him great influence with Walker.

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Jim Matthews (

Dan Ziskie Dan Ziskie is an American actor and photographer. Ziskie portrayed the character Frank Niggar on a popular sketch on ''Chappelle's Show''. He was on '' Treme'', where he played a politically connected banker in Post-Katrina New Orleans. He had a ...

) expresses discontent with Walker, feeling sidelined within the administration. Matthews further questions Russo's (

Corey Stoll Corey Stoll (born March 14, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Congressman Peter Russo on the Netflix political thriller series ''House of Cards'' (2013–2016), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination in 2013, ...

) ability to run for governor of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the office Matthews previously occupied. Doug ( Michael Kelly) receives a letter from Rachel Posner (

Rachel Brosnahan Rachel Elizabeth Brosnahan (born July 12, 1990) is an American actress. She stars as aspiring stand-up comedian Miriam "Midge" Maisel in the Amazon Prime Video period comedy series ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' (2017–present), for which she w ...

), who asks for money and a place to live in return for her silence regarding Russo's DUI arrest. Frank turns his basement into Russo's ''de facto'' campaign headquarters while Russo continuously attends

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

meetings with Doug. However, when confronting his past wrongdoings, Russo starts to have doubts about his campaign. Frank contacts Christina (

Kristen Connolly Kristen Connolly (born July 12, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Dana in the 2011 film ''The Cabin in the Woods'', Christina Gallagher on the Netflix series ''House of Cards'' and Jamie Campbell on the CBS series ''Zo ...

) to get back together with Russo and become his deputy campaign manager. Doug asks Nancy (Elizabeth Norment) to house Rachel until he finds a suitable place for her. After not hearing from Frank for several weeks, Zoe texts him and asks his whereabouts. Frank tells her about Russo's campaign. She gives the scoop to Janine, who is considering leaving the ''Herald'' for ''Slugline''. Frank visits Zoe's apartment and sees Lucas (

Sebastian Arcelus Sebastian Arcelus (born November 5, 1976) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Lucas Goodwin in the Netflix TV series ''House of Cards'' (2013–2016) and Jay Whitman in the CBS TV series '' Madam Secretary'' (2014–2019). Arcelus ...

) kissing her. Afterwards, Frank lays Zoe gently on the bed. Then he pushes her dress up to just below her belly button. He then pulls down her black

panties Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genita ...

and takes them off her. He then performs

cunnilingus Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed by a person on the vulva or vagina of another person. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the human female genitalia, and its stimulation may result in a woman becoming sexually aroused ...

on Zoe while she is on the phone with her father.

Cast

Main

as U.S. Representative Francis J. Underwood *

Robin Wright Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress. She has won a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award, and has received eleven Emmy Award nominations for her work in television. Wright first gained attention for her role in t ...

Claire Underwood Claire Underwood (née Hale) is a fictional character in ''House of Cards'', played by Robin Wright. She is the wife of the show's protagonist Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and the main protagonist in the final season. She is a lobbyist and r ...

, Francis' wife *

Kate Mara Kate Rooney Mara ( ; born February 27, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for work in television, playing reporter Zoe Barnes in the Netflix political drama ''House of Cards'' (2013–2014; 2016), computer analyst Shari Rothenberg in t ...

as Zoe Barnes, reporter at ''

The Washington Herald ''The Washington Herald'' was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939. History The paper was founded in 1906 by Scott C. Bone, who had been managing editor of ''The Washington Post'' from 1888 ...

'' * Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper, Underwood's Chief of Staff *

Sakina Jaffrey Sakina Jaffrey (born February 14, 1962) is an American actress. Early life Jaffrey was born in New York City, the youngest daughter of Indian-born parents, actress and food and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey, and actor Saeed Jaffrey. Her parents ...

as Linda Vasquez, White House Chief of Staff *

as U.S. Representative Peter Russo *

as Christina Gallagher, a congressional staffer *

Sandrine Holt Sandrine Claire Holt (born Sandrine Vanessa Ho; 19 November 1972) is a British-born Canadian model and actress. Early life Holt was born Sandrine Vanessa Ho in Croydon. Her middle name was later changed to Claire. Her father, Man Shun ("Horace" ...

as Gillian Cole, employee at CWI *

Ben Daniels Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is a British actor. Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Never the Sinner'' (1991), the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for ''900 Oneonta'' ( ...

as Adam Galloway, a New York-based photographer and Claire's love interest *

Boris McGiver Boris McGiver (born January 23, 1962) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in projects such as ''Lincoln'', ''House of Cards'', ''The Wire'', ''Killing Kennedy'', and ''Person of Interest''. Personal life Of Irish and Ukrainian d ...

as Tom Hammerschmidt, editor-in-chief for ''

'' *

as Lucas Goodwin, a reporter and editor for ''

'' *

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...

Garrett Walker *

Jim Matthews

Recurring

Elizabeth Norment Elizabeth Larrabee Norment (December 31, 1952 – October 13, 2014) was an American actress best known for her role as Nancy Kaufberger in the Netflix series ''House of Cards''. She attended Yale University, and had performed in several theater r ...

as Nancy Kaufberger *

Nathan Darrow Nathan Darrow (born ) is an American actor known for his role as Secret Service agent Edward Meechum in ''House of Cards'', John Custer in ''Preacher'', Andrew Madoff in ''The Wizard of Lies'', and as Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze in '' Gotham''. E ...

as Edward Meechum *

Constance Zimmer Constance Zimmer (born October 11, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for playing Dana Gordon in the television series ''Entourage'' (2005–2011) and Claire Simms in the television series ''Boston Legal'' (2006–2007). She ...

as Janine Skorsky * Karl Kenzler as Charles Holburn *

Francie Swift Francie Swift is an American actress best known for her role as Cynthia in ''Thoroughbreds'' and her recurring roles as Haylie Grimes on ''Outsiders'' and Anne Vanderbilt Archibald on ''Gossip Girl''. Life and career Swift was born in Amarillo ...

as Felicity Holburn *

as Rachel Posner *

Larry Pine Larry Pine (born March 3, 1945) is an American actor. A veteran of the Broadway stage, he began his career playing the role of Fop in the 1968 production of ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. He has since starred in film and television, with recurring roles ...

as Bob Birch *

Suzanne Savoy Suzanne Savoy is an American actress and voice artist best known for playing Victoria Robertson in Steven Soderbergh's Cinemax series ''The Knick'' and DNC Chairwoman Patricia Whittaker in ''House of Cards'', and for her one-woman touring show ...

as Patricia Whittaker *

Tawny Cypress Tawny Cypress is an American actress. She has appeared in various television and stage plays. She starred as art dealer Simone Deveaux on the TV series ''Heroes (U.S. TV series), Heroes''. She previously held roles on several TV series, includin ...

as Carly Heath *

Kenneth Tigar Kenneth Tigar (born September 24, 1942) is an American actor, primarily on American television, and translator. Life Kenneth Leslie Tigar was born into a Jewish family in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and raised in the Greater Boston Area. He recei ...

as Walter Doyle * James Hindman as Nash Aarons * Chuck Cooper as Barney Hull * Curtiss Cook as Terry Womack

Reception

The episode received positive reviews from critics. Ryan McGee of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' said, "The show now has earned enough goodwill to not dismiss that plot out of hand, even if it feels designed to either pay off something in four episodes or utterly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at precisely the same time. The show hasn't had to get truly bloody when tying off loose ends yet." He further said, "it's probably time for the show to introduce some truly life-or-death stakes for this to move beyond interesting television into something truly compelling."

Notes

External links

* {{House of Cards 2013 American television episodes House of Cards (American TV series) episodes Television episodes written by Beau Willimon