House of Cards

As Jim Miller's death at the hands of a terrorist adds to the campaign's problems, President Francis Underwood makes an unscheduled – and controversial – appearance in Congress. Over the objections of Republicans who want to investigate him, Francis forces his way onto the House floor to demand a declaration of war on the Islamic Caliphate Organization and authorization to do whatever is necessary to apprehend Miller's killer, Joshua Masterson. As the stunt sparks debate at home and abroad, Francis and Claire head to Knoxville for Miller's funeral. But when they try consoling the grieving family, Melissa Miller accuses Francis of being responsible for her father's death. While Francis works to get Congress to approve his declaration, Claire makes his case in a televised interview alongside Washington Herald investigative reporter Tom Hammerschmidt. Once Francis launches a campaign to convince the nation of the terrorist threat at home, New York Gov. Will Conway and his running mate Gen. Ted Brockhart must scramble to return attention to his misdeeds – a task made more difficult when Hannah Conway defends Masterson's mother Roseanne following a wave of harsh attacks. While Claire barges in on an FBI interview to request that Roseanne get her son to turn himself in, Francis asks Secretary of State Catherine Durant to carry out a lockdown of the borders. But as Conway seeks allies in Congress to make the case against the president and Claire tries to be the public face of her husband's efforts, it's clear that the country is deeply divided over the prospect of war. Amid a firestorm around the effort to capture Masterson, Francis arrives at the secret detention facility where he's been held all along. Unable to get Masterson to confess, Francis orders Assistant Director of Counterterrorism Nathan Green to kill him and then release footage that makes it look like he died while resisting arrest. Finally, as Congress prepares to use the debate over the declaration to question Francis' colleagues including Remy Danton and Jackie Sharp, Catherine Miller's refusal to politicize her husband's death prompts the Underwoods to temper their campaign of fear.

As Chief of Staff Doug Stamper looks to undermine the legislators seeking to investigate the president, Francis' military school classmate Ken Caswell approaches Claire at a campaign event with news that their close friend Tim Corbet has gone missing and is feared dead. While Caswell raises questions about Francis' relationship with Tim, back in Washington, the president issues an executive order that effectively militarizes the election in hopes that the threat of Election Day terrorism will win over state governors, including Pennsylvania's Jim Matthews. So with his running mate Ted Brockhart making a public case for caution, Will Conway attends a governor's meeting at the White House to discuss declaring war on the ICO so close to the election. While Doug fields questions about military involvement potentially being seen as voter suppression, Catherine Durant appears before the Council on Foreign Relations to argue the president's case for an immigration ban. Although Durant has reservations about the policy, her efforts to find an ally in Donald Blythe fall on deaf ears. As Francis offers EPA money to Pennsylvania to secure Matthews' support when he's called to testify in the investigation, Tom Hammerschmidt sends Herald reporter Sean Jeffries to cultivate Seth Grayson as a source. Meanwhile, after Aidan Macallan warns that his secret data mining efforts for the Underwood campaign are at risk of being exposed, Francis authorizes him to disrupt Washington's telecommunications while he erases incriminating evidence from the NSA database. Although Macallan only needs 20 minutes to get the job done, Francis insists that he not restore the system until he says so. As Francis deflects Claire's questions about Tim, Macallan creates havoc in Washington, disrupting a congressional hearing where Matthews is being grilled about campaign finance fraud. After Francis calls to console Tim's wife Beth, Macallan sends word that the hack is complete and requests permission to restore the network. However, wanting the confusion to reinforce his claim of cyberattacks on the election, Francis refuses. Finally, as Macallan worries about the consequences, Francis uses an Oval Office address about the attack to underscore the need for his declaration of war.

Already uncomfortable about a super PAC ad extolling his heroism in Afghanistan, Will Conway takes voters' questions in a 24-hour live streaming event the night before the election. As Hannah and his advisors press Conway to finally talk about the war, LeAnn Harvey senses he's hiding something and enlists a series of Underwood partisans to call in – including a soldier whose memories of the night cast doubt on his story and leave Conway rattled. As Francis summons Claire to join him for a speech in Gettysburg, Doug gets word that Gov. Matthews is reneging on his promise to consolidate Pennsylvania's polling places in response to the terrorist threat. Though Matthews backs down and authorizes the National Guard to protect the new voting centers, Doug investigates what it would take to federalize the state troops in case he doesn't deliver. Meanwhile, after Durant provides four possible leads to the whereabouts of an ICO terrorist in the U.S., Francis worries about the consequences of arresting the wrong person on Election Day. Standing down with the raid for now, Francis warns Doug not to make it look like they are forcing federal troops on Matthews. After seeing Claire in bed with Yates, a restless Francis calls Conway to raise questions about his heroism in Afghanistan and his role in Jim Miller's death. As Conway wraps up his media event, some troubling news about voter turnout in key states prompts Francis to contact the registrar in Gaffney, South Carolina. So as LeAnn and Doug confirm the dangerously low turnout projections in Pennsylvania, equally bad news from Gaffney has the Underwoods worried about hanging on to the White House.

Despite election night projections indicating a narrow win for Will Conway, the Underwood campaign staff tries to remain optimistic. Seeing his presidency slipping away, however, Francis orders the FBI's Nathan Green to alert Tennessee Gov. Mitch Scanlon to the possibility of a bomb threat on a voting center in his state. Though Francis and Claire insist that the election go ahead as planned, the seeds of doubt they planted lead Scanlon to consider postponing the vote in a state Conway is certain to win. Suspecting that the terrorist threat has been fabricated to suppress voter turnout, Conway has aide Mark Usher promise Scanlon extra security to ensure that the vote goes off as planned. Though no bomb is found, Green counsels caution. But to make sure that the threat isn't traced back to him and Claire, Francis continues to insist the polls remain open. Meanwhile, as Tom Hammerschmidt presses Sean Jeffries to dig into what's going on in Tennessee, Scanlon institutes a statewide curfew and closes the polls, making it impossible to certify Tennessee's vote totals. Certain that Scanlon's actions are designed to keep him from declaring victory on election night, Conway vows to fight in court. Having concluded that he can't win the election, Francis calls Conway to concede, but then refuses to make a public concession and quietly begins legal proceedings to challenge the results. Knowing he has to stop Conway in either Pennsylvania or Ohio, Francis orders LeAnn to have Macallan create problems with Ohio's voting machines in order to force Gov. Olmstead to suspend voting there, too. So as Francis' campaign launches its own series of legal challenges across the country, Conway suspects his concession is part of a larger plan to steal the presidency. Finally, as Conway is forced to send Hannah to his supporters with a statement, Francis and Claire plot the next step in their plan to come out on top after all.

Owing to the Election Day chaos nine weeks earlier, the country still doesn't have a president. With Congress in disarray and the Supreme Court short one justice, Francis and Claire are left hoping that the House of Representatives will choose him as president and the Senate will elect her vice president. But because that could lead to a split ticket in the White House, the Senate is threatening to filibuster, creating even more havoc. To secure the votes he needs, Francis turns to Alex Romero, a young House Democrat from Arizona whom Conway enlisted to do his bidding in the corruption investigations and fight against the declaration of war. Though Romero reminds Francis that he's lost the election, President Underwood makes it clear that his political future is in jeopardy if he refuses to support the party's efforts. But when Romero returns to say that he's unable to sway his voting bloc, Francis says he'll never see the inside of the Oval Office again. When Claire looks for their support, Senators Kerry Kuilima and Susan Newman make it clear that because they can't support Francis, they can't vote for her. However, after asking if they wouldn't want a vice president who'd keep Conway in check, Claire hints at political ambitions separate from her husband's. Meanwhile, as Sean Jeffries warns Seth that Hammerschmidt is closing in on incriminating information about Francis going all the way back to Zoe Barnes' death, Macallan threatens to leak the Underwoods' secrets unless LeAnn can get the government to stop looking for him. After Francis resorts to blackmail to get the support he needs, he tells Doug if they can't line up enough votes, they have to make sure that Conway doesn't either. So after Claire pushes to stop a filibuster that would delay the Senate vote until the outcome in the House is known, Mark Usher tells Conway that Claire's election as vice president will make her the acting president for as long as it takes for the House to decide.

With Francis' future still in the hands of the House, Claire is sworn in as acting president after the Senate names her vice president. In her first crisis as commander in chief, she confronts Russian President Viktor Petrov following a suspected takeover of a U.S. research station in Antarctica. As Francis devises a plan to have revotes in Tennessee and Ohio to decide who will be the next president, Alex Romero offers to help woo an influential member of the House Black Caucus to support him – even as he continues providing vital inside information to the Conway campaign. However, when Aidan Macallan starts leaking damaging information about what happened around Election Day, team Underwood shifts into high gear to protect Francis and Claire. Despite Claire's doubts, Francis pushes his revote plan, unaware that Romero is helping Conway gain the Black Caucus' support. But when Conway stumbles badly in their meeting, Mark Usher is left to repair the damage. As Claire enlists Catherine Durant to respond to Petrov's aggression, she and her husband move forward with the unprecedented revote. As a rift opens up between Hammerschmidt and Jeffries over how to pursue the investigation into Francis, Usher and Ted Brockhart worry about Conway's declining mental state. News that Macallan has been kidnapped in Indonesia forces LeAnn and Doug to find him before he can release even more information. With tensions inside the Conway camp reaching a boiling point, Claire, Francis and Durant are negotiating with Petrov by phone when he reveals that Macallan is in Moscow threatening additional leaks. Finally, as Hammerschmidt finds evidence of Doug's role in Rachel Posner's death, Usher offers to have new elections in Tennessee and Ohio in exchange for a secret agreement with the Underwoods about the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Though Francis worries that Usher's proposal on the Supreme Court appointment means the end of their political future, Claire insists that it's their only hope to put him back in the Oval Office. But as they argue their way forward, news arrives that the CIA has located Ahmed Al Ahmadi, the brother of ICO leader Yusef Al Ahmadi. While the national security team debates their response, Francis urges Claire to order Al Ahmadi's assassination to send a message to the ICO. However, after Claire asks Col. Max Braegher for a timetable, the fight for the White House is thrown into turmoil when a tape surfaces of Conway's running mate, Gen. Ted Brockhart, supporting the idea of a military coup. As Hammerschmidt inches closer to the truth about Francis' past, Durant enlists Undersecretary of Commerce Jane Davis in the negotiations to recover Aidan Macallan. While Davis is briefing Claire, the Secret Service bursts in to rush them to a secure bunker after a truckload of highly radioactive cesium goes missing in Washington. When it's presumed that the ICO hijacked the materials for a dirty bomb, Claire and her national security advisors are thrust into a debate about whether or not to proceed with the hit on Ahmed al Ahmadi. As Col. Braegher proposes a citywide evacuation, Davis reveals she has contacts in the Middle East who may be able to defuse the situation. However, as questions arise over how Davis deftly inserted herself into the high-level negotiations, Francis begins questioning the motivations behind Braegher's advice and his connection to Brockhart. As Davis suggests she may be able to facilitate Ahmadi's capture, the Brockhart tape prompts Francis to head back to the White House, where he learns that the director of national intelligence conspired with Braegher and Brockhart to fake the dirty bomb threat in order to orchestrate a coup. So once the missing truck turns up with its load intact, Davis offers to help Claire as the White House staff begins preparing a statement. Although Braegher resigns after refusing to implicate his co-conspirators, Claire confronts Usher with the truth about Brockhart's plan.

While Francis is at an all-male retreat lobbying wealthy and powerful attendees, back in Washington Claire and Jane Davis are negotiating a trade deal with China when word arrives that a Russian research ship is sinking off of Antarctica. Though Claire offers to do everything possible to save the crew in exchange for Aidan Macallan's release, Russian President Viktor Petrov refuses, warning that any rescue effort will result in more damaging leaks. After China's minister of commerce reveals that American geophysicist Thad Peterson is thought to be on board, Davis suggests they aid the rescue as part of a tariff deal – which would give the Chinese the opportunity to see what top-secret technology is on the ship. However, without proof that Peterson is there, Claire orders them to wait. As Tom Hammerschmidt uncovers more evidence against the Underwoods, Francis runs into Gen. Brockhart, Mark Usher and wealthy Conway supporters Raymond Tusk and Benjamin Grant at the retreat. In the wake of their discussions, Francis calls Doug to say that they are lining up behind Brockhart, knowing that he'll be the real power in the White House should Conway win. So following Grant's presentation about his company's project to digitize the contents of Tusk's brain, Francis faces down his real opponent – Brockhart. Although Davis negotiates a deal that includes the Chinese acting as a front for an American-led rescue, Claire sends her back to the table with more demands. Faced with responsibility should the crew die, the trade minister capitulates and rescues everyone but is unable to find Peterson. In an effort to gain leverage with Russia, Claire then orders that the ship be allowed to sink with whatever was on board – yet Petrov still refuses to free Macallan. After Davis reveals that the Russians didn't want the Chinese to find Peterson on the ship, an increasingly disillusioned Grant gives Francis a video of Conway snapping on board a campaign plane. Waiting to release it, Francis uses the video to get Usher's cooperation in bringing down both Conway and Brockhart. Finally, as Francis is about to be elected president, Hammerschmidt finds photographs placing Doug at the scene of Zoe Barnes' death.

Once the tape of Conway breaking down on board his campaign plane and Brockhart's comments advocating a coup are made public, Francis wins the presidency – and Conway angrily refuses to join his cabinet. Surprised when the Underwoods ask to hold off on punishing Mark Usher for his role in the Conway campaign, Doug tells Seth that LeAnn is being pushed out for her missteps with longtime friend Macallan. So as LeAnn turns to journalist Kate Baldwin for help contacting the fugitive hacker, Claire asks Jane Davis to stay on and help the new administration. Though Doug is stunned when Usher is named special advisor to the president, Francis insists it's necessary to heal the wounds of a contentious election. When confronted about his opposition during the campaign, congressman Alex Romero demands guarantees in health care in exchange for delivering the support of his renegade voting bloc. Although Doug is surprised when the president agrees to mention Romero's request for more Medicare funding in his inaugural address, everyone is stunned when he turns around and actually proposes cuts that would hurt Romero's constituents. Meanwhile, after Baldwin arranges to interview Macallan in Russia, LeAnn manages to help him escape. As the inaugural balls get underway, Tom Hammerschmidt continues to zero in on Doug's role in Zoe Barnes' death. While Zoe's father hesitates to continue cooperating, Hammerschmidt's commitment to finding the truth about his daughter convinces him to provide more evidence. As Claire begins questioning Doug's loyalty, Francis learns that Romero has reconvened the committee that's investigating him. Finally, when Davis reveals that Macallan has been spirited out of Russia to a friendly embassy in Paris, Claire insists he be brought back to the States as soon as possible.

With Alex Romero prepared to subpoena Jackie Sharp and Garrett Walker, Francis sends Mark Usher to make sure the congressman knows he will have no future in Democratic politics if he doesn't gracefully back down. Ignoring the threat, however, Romero makes it clear that he wants Francis out and would like Usher's support. So after leaking a news story that undermines the impact of Sharp's testimony, Usher says it was the best he could do and that they can now push off responsibility for the misdeeds on former Vice President Donald Blythe. Meanwhile, Sean Jeffries uncovers evidence that Francis bought his way to the top of an organ transplant list. While inquiring about what Macallan might have told President Petrov before he was extracted from Russia, Jane Davis asks LeAnn to come work with her. After Claire forces her to defend hiring LeAnn, Davis alerts Francis to a sarin gas attack in Syria that could create an opening for sending in U.S. troops under the guise of rescue. Troubled to learn that Francis will only act after the attack, Catherine Durant turns to Davis with her reservations, unaware that she worked behind the scenes to orchestrate the response. As Davis suggests that Durant may be in over her head as secretary of state – especially now that they are considering diving into war – Doug reveals that Usher was grooming Romero for a presidential run and that he may be playing both sides from the middle. Learning that former President Walker has agreed to appear before Romero's committee, Francis looks for something that would persuade him to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights. Though warned that Walker's pleading the Fifth will leave him looking foolish, Romero refuses to back down. So after Walker agrees to take a leadership role at a prominent university in exchange for his cooperation, he heads to Capitol Hill. However, as Francis and his team watch from the White House, Walker surprises everyone by agreeing to turn over everything he knows about campaign finance fraud in the Underwood White House. After refusing Macallan's request to go on the run with him, LeAnn is stunned when he's found dead from a gunshot wound in his hotel room. Finally, as Tom Hammerschmidt presses Doug about Zoe Barnes, Francis and Claire dismiss Usher and prepare to face the next crisis on their own.

As Seth and Tom Hammerschmidt square off on TV over the administration's future, Francis and Claire are strategizing with Doug and Usher about what to do now that Garrett Walker has told Alex Romero's committee about their illegal campaign funds. While Jane Davis looks to advance her own agenda by gently suggesting that Catherine Durant leave the State Department, the Underwoods debate the idea of accepting censure by the House as a way to avoid impeachment. Refusing to do anything that could handcuff his presidency, Francis insists on fighting. So as new leaks from inside the White House fuel speculation about his past, Francis dispatches Doug and Usher to undermine the case for impeachment as suspicions arise that an alleged ICO terrorist arrested during the election was the wrong person. After ordering Nathan Green to record all White House communications in an effort to find the source of the leaks, Francis tells Usher that he's come around to the idea of accepting censure as a way to avoid impeachment. But when Bob Birch and Terry Womack suggest he resign rather than drag Congress through a messy process, he refuses to back down. After telling Doug that she's not the source of the leaks, LeAnn is questioned by the FBI in an investigation of Aidan Macallan’s death, while the increased scrutiny of the administration prompts Claire to tell Yates that their relationship is over and that he must leave the White House. While Doug tamps down the story about how the president vaulted to the top of an organ recipient list in the wake of his attempted assassination, Francis turns to Durant for help as more damning news arises about faulty terrorism intelligence on Election Day. Finally, as Sean Jeffries leverages evidence of their wrongdoing into a job as deputy press secretary, Usher preps Francis and Claire for the upcoming hearings. But after Doug looks to prove his loyalty by telling the Underwoods how he manipulated the organ donor process to save the president, word that Durant has been given immunity in exchange for testifying creates a new wrinkle for Francis and Claire.

With Catherine Durant threatening to expose how he manipulated intelligence data to create confusion and win the election, Francis asks her to accept blame in order to save his presidency. But when she refuses, he ensures that her appearance at the Senate will be delayed when he pushes her down the White House stairs. As Usher's sources inside Congress warn that the alleged accident won't save him, Francis embarks on a new Syrian peace plan as a way to divert attention. Meanwhile, as LeAnn reassures Francis that he has nothing to worry about from her when it comes to the investigation into Aidan Macallan, Jane Davis continues pressing Claire to take action in Syria, even if it means cutting a deal with the ICO. With Sean Jeffries looking to gain Francis' confidence by revealing the details of Tom Hammerschmidt's investigation into Zoe Barnes' death, Nathan Green warns Doug that the FBI has lost patience with the president. After Green denies being involved with the White House leaks, Claire and Francis ask Doug to admit to killing Barnes and resign. As Doug tells LeAnn that he did, in fact, kill her in order to protect their boss, Claire warns Francis that Tom is looking to complete his tell-all book about them. So to make sure they aren't confronted with even more damaging news, Claire lures Tom to a secret rendezvous at Usher’s apartment and kills him. With Syria reaching a boiling point, Davis tells Usher that she doesn’t like Francis and is working behind the scenes to elevate Claire to the presidency. While Seth tells congressional investigators that he's going to implicate Doug in Barnes' death, Nathan Green defends the FBI's investigation into Election Day attacks and the apparently wrongful arrest. Then, after LeAnn defends the president from accusations that he authorized Aidan Macallan to influence the election with NSA intelligence, Usher tells Francis about a decades-old rape accusation that could be used to blackmail Romero. Finally, as Davis warns him that his presidency is beyond repair, Francis uses his appearance before the Judiciary Committee to admit his guilt and resign, making Claire the new president.

After Francis threatens to reveal a rape allegation lurking in his past, Alex Romero changes his mind about recommending that the Justice Department file criminal charges against him and his administration. Though Claire says she was blindsided by his guilty plea, Francis insists he had to do it to protect her and that their success now hinges on her pardoning him. After Francis admits that he and Doug are the source of the leaks to Tom Hammerschmidt that led to her being president, Claire confesses to killing Tom Yates and then sending Usher to clean up the mess. But when Usher complains about being drawn into Tom's murder, Claire tells him to put it behind him and give her his best political advice going forward. While LeAnn offers to give Jane Davis whatever she has left on Aidan Macallan in exchange for being named Claire's new chief of staff, Seth tells the U.S. attorney that he has long suspected Doug of killing Zoe Barnes, but insists that Francis knew nothing about it. Although Seth hopes that the shakeup will create a new opportunity for him, Claire says he'll have to resign, too. Despite Davis and Usher's claim that there's precious little time to respond to a Syrian gas attack, Claire hesitates. Already reluctant to ask Francis for advice, she insists that he move out of the White House in order to distance her from the resignation fallout. Meanwhile, telling Claire about the lengths Francis went to steal the election, Davis suggests that she knows someone who could make the problem go away for good. After approving a raid to take out Ahmadi and launching a military response to the Syrian gas attack, Claire orders LeAnn to leave the White House until things settle down. While Doug remains elusive when Hammerschmidt questions him about Barnes, Claire tells Francis that she's sending troops to Syria. With Francis watching on his computer as LeAnn is killed in order to tie up another dangerous loose end, Usher tells Claire that he wants to be her vice president. But after saying that she wants to keep Usher on to provide political advice, Claire announces the invasion of Syria – and once she's been sworn in, cuts Francis out of the loop.