Chapter 7 (House of Cards)

"Chapter 7" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American political thriller drama series House of Cards. Written by Kate Barnow and series creator Beau Willimon, and directed by Charles McDougall, 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.

Fandom house-of-cards:Chapter_7

Plot

President Walker finally signs the education bill, earning Frank a major victory by affording him great influence with Walker. Vice President Jim Matthews expresses discontent with Walker, feeling sidelined within the administration. Matthews further questions Russo's ability to run for governor of Pennsylvania, the office Matthews previously occupied.
Doug receives a letter from Rachel Posner, 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 meetings with Doug. However, when confronting his past wrongdoings, Russo starts to have doubts about his campaign.
Frank contacts Christina to get back together with Russo and become his deputy campaign manager. Doug asks Nancy 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 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 and takes them off her. He then performs cunnilingus on Zoe while she is on the phone with her father.

Cast

Main

Kevin Spacey as U.S. Representative Francis J. Underwood
Robin Wright as Claire Underwood, Francis' wife
Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes, reporter at The Washington Herald
Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper, Underwood's Chief of Staff
Sakina Jaffrey as Linda Vasquez, White House Chief of Staff
Corey Stoll as U.S. Representative Peter Russo
Kristen Connolly as Christina Gallagher, a congressional staffer
Sandrine Holt as Gillian Cole, employee at CWI
Ben Daniels as Adam Galloway, a New York-based photographer and Claire's love interest
Boris McGiver as Tom Hammerschmidt, editor-in-chief for The Washington Herald
Sebastian Arcelus as Lucas Goodwin, a reporter and editor for The Washington Herald
Michel Gill as United States President Garrett Walker
Dan Ziskie as Vice President Jim Matthews

Recurring

Elizabeth Norment as Nancy Kaufberger
Nathan Darrow as Edward Meechum
Constance Zimmer as Janine Skorsky
Karl Kenzler as Charles Holburn
Francie Swift as Felicity Holburn
Rachel Brosnahan as Rachel Posner
Larry Pine as Bob Birch
Suzanne Savoy as Patricia Whittaker
Tawny Cypress as Carly Heath
Kenneth Tigar 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 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."