Last year, Netflix launched a new political drama entitled “House of Cards.” Recently season 2 came out on the popular website, which gained numerous positive reviews from viewers.
I only recently started watching the series, and while I could go on and on about why the show has gained such popularity, I would rather talk about the wife of the protagonist: Claire Underwood (played by Robin Wright).
For those who haven’t watched the show, it is about a congressman, Frank Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey), who goes about planning his revenge for those who took away the position of Secretary of State from him.
Robin Wright’s performance as Claire Underwood earned her a Golden Globe for best actress in a television series drama, and this award was definitely well-deserved. When I began watching the show, I immediately compared her character to Lady Macbeth in the famous Shakespearean play. Both characters are wives of powerful men, but hold their own next to them and exemplify great power in of themselves. But as I continued watching, I saw how this character developed into someone that had flaws, strengths, vulnerabilities, etc. Claire Underwood became not just a strong partner-in-crime to the protagonist of the series, but a woman with a life and world of her own.
It’s difficult to talk about the moments in the series that exemplify this well-developed characters because I don’t want to spoil anything for audiences. But throughout the series (or at least what I have watched so far) there is so much strength as well as vulnerability within the character of Claire Underwood. She makes realistic choices and struggles with difficult decisions just as someone who might not be in such high power as her.
In general, the show does a good job of establishing characters initially before getting into developing who they actually are and what they want with their place in the story. Claire Underwood stuck out to me in particular because she really exemplifies the well-developed female character.
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