Rachel Posner is Cheating on 'House of Cards'

Warning: Spoilers. House of Cards lives and breathes on surprising deaths, and as shocking as it was to see Frank "Sociopath" Underwood kill Zoe "I Don't Mind Meeting Sociopaths in Dark Places" Barnes, it was perhaps more surprising to see Rachel "Can't Catch a Break" Posner brick Doug "What's Up With That Guy" Stamper to death. Development of the Rachel storyline was so ambiguous and subtle in Season 1 and most of Season 2, it always felt like it should have some sort of big payoff to the series that just kept not coming. Until it did. Rachel killed Doug just as Frank took his seat in the Oval Office. And now, just as things have gotten interesting for Rachel Posner in time for House of Cards Season 3, we might be losing actress Rachel Brosnahan to WGN America’s new series, Manhattan .

In Manhattan, it looks like Brosnahan will play another woman with secrets much bigger than herself, but the main question on my mind is, can she play both women at the same time?

Filming for Season 3 of House of Cards is already in production, but there's no word if Rachel's disappearance will be left a mystery, or become yet another chink in Frank Underwood's delicate political armor. With Manhattan's debut last week — and quite a riveting one, at that — it could be difficult to collaborate schedules (and contracts) for Rachel to be a main character on Manhattan and a recurring character on House of Cards. As Manhattan was picked up straight to series, it's already wrapped filming on Season 1; and with House of Cards' Season 3 filming starting a little late, and potentially pushing back its release date for better Emmy consideration, its filming schedule could be flexible enough to work with a (probable) Season 2 of Manhattan.

Even with filming schedules potentially aligning, however, it would be easy to just leave Rachel's story alone. Very few living people know about her connection to Doug, and Frank sure as hell isn't telling how he bribed her, and used her, and murdered Peter Russo. It wouldn't be out of the question for Rachel running off into the woods post-homicide to be the last we see of her. It might even be the most hopeful future we could design for her.

It would be easy to leave Rachel out, yes. But the bottom line is Rachel Posner needs to be in HoC Season 3.

There aren't a lot of truth-tellers left in House of Cards, and there certainly aren't any innocents. Perhaps, after killing Doug, Rachel is no longer the former, but she certainly still has the capacity to be the latter. And Season 3 needs a little honesty; because Frank has reached the top — the President of the United States — exactly where he's always wanted to be. There's only one place left for him to go... down. And Rachel is one of the very few people that could take him there.

Season 3 isn't a safe place for Rachel, and you could certainly understand her not wanting to go up against the Commander in Chief, even with the knowledge that he should not, by any means, be in control of the United States. But now, free of Doug and his creepy following eyes, there are people Rachel could trust. She could talk to Ayla Sayyad, or convince Janine to get back in the "gotcha" game. I know it's selfish, but if there's a chance that Rachel Brosnahan can return to House of Cards (and there is), then Rachel Posner belongs in Season 3.

Images: Nathaniel Bell for Netflix; Netflix (2)