1. Stamper is alive. Lo and behold, Underwood’s
right-hand man managed to survive that rock to the head. Cue a premier episode
devoted to his recovery, physical therapy, and eventual relapse via hypodermic
needle administered by a prostitute.
2. Claire and Frank get it on. Funny how we never
see these two copulate unless a third party is involved. Nice to see Claire
take the wheel, though.
3. Freddy joins the unemployment line. Who else
gasped with dismay when they saw the rib guru in the America Works job-application queue? Underwood later hooked him up with a groundskeeper gig, but
still.
4. Frank and Tom get handsy. Frank’s biographer
alluded to his male-escort past when he was first introduced, but it never occurred
to us that it would result in a near hookup in the private residence. No wonder Meechum was jealous.
5. Claire goes off-script. We’d count Michael
Corrigan’s suicide as shocking, but as soon as we saw Claire’s pashmina we knew
the gay rights activist was a goner. More unexpected were Claire’s defiant
accusations against that creepy Petrov, which lit the fuse for a major blowout
with Frank and eventually led her to fall into the trap laid out by the Russians. So long, Madame Ambassador.
6. Gavin pretends to be HIV-positive. The hacker’s
plot to gain Lisa’s confidence by faking a positive diagnosis was outrageous,
or, as he put it "fucked up." For her troubles, Lisa was rewarded with
ownership of the beloved Cashew. Missed that little guy.
7. Stamper kills Rachel/Cassie. Would season 3’s
final episode be similar to season 2's? It started that way, but then
evil Stamper decided that grave needed filling after all. He turned his van
around and was next seen shoveling dirt onto the poor girl’s corpse. Awful.
8. Frank lets Claire have it. The President
unleashed some powerful venom at his wife, grabbing her face and ordering her
to shape up. It was ugly to watch, and didn’t exactly go as planned…
9. Claire leaves Frank. No, the First Lady won’t be
going to New Hampshire. Fingers crossed she files divorce papers and then joins
the presidential race herself.