Frank Underwood had to battle a number of demons in the first half of House of Cards Season 4 [major Episode 6 spoilers ahead] including Zoe Barnes and Peter Russo who returned in House of Cards, this time to torture Frank. After the president got shot, his damaged liver caused his body to suffer hallucinations and one of them featured a threesome with the two people he's killed. It was an interesting juxtaposition to Season 2's threesome between Edward Meechum, Claire, and Frank. Only this time, instead of Claire, it was Zoe (short hair and all courtesy of Kate Mara's IRL pixie cut). And, instead of Meechum, it was Corey Stoll's Peter Russo.
It was fitting that Zoe and Russo stepped in for Meechum and Claire considering the latter two were both essentially lost to Frank via his own actions, just like Frank killed the first two. Perhaps wracked with guilt over undervaluing his wife and being the reason Meechum died, Frank's brain blended his other crimes with his current ones to torture him as he awaited a new liver.
It's telling that after the horrors his dreams brought on him, Frank made up with Claire. Being so close to death will certainly make you reevaluate your life, as will dreaming about some of the worst decisions you've ever made. I'm not sure I believe that Frank can feel remorse, but I'd like to think seeing Zoe and Russo in that strange, terrifying dream after metaphorically losing his wife and really losing Meechum gave him a brief reminder of the value of human life.
Will this dose of guilt last for Frank? Probably not, but, hey, at least we'll always have the brief return of Zoe and Russo to look back on. #GoneTooSoon.
Image: David Giesbrecht/Netflix
