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House of Cards Season 5 Episode 10: Hearing Storm

James Foley
James Foley
Director
David Fincher
David Fincher
Director
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey
Francis Underwood
Robin Wright
Robin Wright
Claire Underwood
Michael Joseph Kelly
Michael Joseph Kelly
Doug Stamper
Plot Summary: Romero's counterattack has finally arrived. The War Powers Committee is reactivated, and Romero, as one of its members, constantly targets Frank. He also receives a tip-off about Jackie lobbying for Remy's campaign funds during the legislative process. If Jackie agrees to attend the hearing to avoid prison, Romero will follow the trail directly to Frank. Doug can keep an eye on other Democrats on the committee, and Mark will look after the Republicans, but Romero is the biggest problem. To appease Romero, Frank considers sacrificing Umac and appointing Romero as the House Minority Whip. However, Romero is unyielding; when Mark proposes this directly, Romero ignores it, intent on seeing Frank in jail. Seeing Romero's stubbornness, Mark can only privately express his thoughts. Although Mark is Frank's special advisor, he still cannot satisfy his ambition. He wants to suppress Frank during his term, and only by slowly tormenting Frank in a 'boiling frog' manner through the committee can he achieve his goal. If Jackie is summoned to the committee, the plan will be ruined. Unfortunately, Romero is unmoved. Mark has no choice but to preemptively expose Jackie's illegal activities to the media. This way, Jackie cannot reach an immunity agreement with the committee beforehand and must remain silent. Although Mark takes a risky move and resolves the potential crisis brought by Jackie, the suspicious Frank always feels that Mark is unwilling to be ruthless with Romero, and there must be a problem. Doug's investigation reveals that Mark once intended to cultivate Romero as a presidential candidate, suggesting Mark is playing both sides. At this time, news breaks that former President Walker will attend the hearing. Having had his little secret discovered by Frank, Mark can no longer be concerned about Romero, and while lobbying Walker, he also threatens Romero. Romero, knowing Mark's powerful connections, agrees not to target Frank for the sake of his own future. Walker will remain silent, and Romero will no longer cause trouble, finally putting Frank at ease. Meanwhile, Claire is also handling some matters. The FBI finds Thad's frozen body in the Antarctic. Because he secretly aided Russia, Petrov refused American rescue and killed him before the rescue ship arrived. Therefore, Claire believes there's no need to bring this cold hot potato back to the country; its disappearance during transport is the best solution. With Thad resolved, there's Aidan. Jane constantly obstructs Aidan's return to the country and links the search for Ahmadi to Aidan's leaks. Claire doesn't understand what secret Aidan could have revealed that would make Russia, fighting ISIS in Syria, change its stance, and what Jane is so worried about. And Jane isn't calm either; LeAnn, on leave, comes to the Vice President's office to report that Jane had inquired about Aidan. LeAnn's action is meant to show loyalty and return to work at the White House, but Claire does not keep her. Claire finds an opportunity to warn Jane, hoping she won't make any more small moves. Jane also shows restraint and reports the latest news to Frank: Homs, Syria, will be hit by a chemical attack. If this happens, the US will inevitably send troops to protect its oil pipelines. Jane wants to tell Frank that this opportunity can be used to have the War Powers Committee discuss military action, leaving no time to investigate Frank. Frank understands and immediately drafts a redline report, ordering Secretary of State Cathy to file it with the UN. But Cathy doesn't want to submit this report; she hopes the US can intervene promptly to prevent the chemical attack. For this, she asks Jane to persuade Claire, and Claire doesn't refuse. But Claire also sets a condition: Jane must quickly get specific information about Ahmadi. At this moment, LeAnn unexpectedly encounters Aidan in the underground parking garage. Aidan, under an assumed name, has returned to the US to say goodbye to LeAnn before going into hiding overseas. Seeing her old friend safe, LeAnn is relieved and gives Aidan her small self-defense pistol just in case. But that very night, LeAnn receives an email. The email is automatically sent after Aidan's death, and in addition to a simple voice farewell, Aidan leaves a link containing all the secrets he stole from the NSA. Across town, Jane, in her dim office, shreds Thad's and Aidan's files; to achieve her goals, she can sacrifice anyone. Exhausted after a long day, Claire returns to her bedroom. The hearing is tomorrow, and Walker and Romero are no longer an issue; the hearing is just a formality. Hearing Frank plans to meet Walker before the hearing, Claire subtly advises him. Claire's female intuition tells her that Frank's decision will lead to trouble. As expected, Frank's meeting with Walker is unpleasant; seeing the person who stole his presidency standing arrogantly before him, Walker changes his mind. At the hearing, Walker interrupts his lawyer's statement and voluntarily offers testimony about then-Vice President Frank's illegal activities, causing an uproar. Frank, watching the live broadcast on TV, knows another storm is brewing. Nine weeks have passed since Election Day, and because Ohio and Tennessee refuse to certify the election results, neither William nor Frank has secured 270 electoral votes, allowing Frank to remain in the White House. This angers opponents, who gather outside the White House walls, demonstrating with protest signs. Congress is now in chaos, the Supreme Court has no justices, the executive branch is leaderless, and the government is almost on the verge of shutdown. According to the Twelfth Amendment, in such a situation, the House and Senate will vote separately to elect the President and Vice President. William, who should have won the election but now has to accept a congressional vote, is furious. The cooked duck flew away, making it difficult for him to control his temper. Four days later, Congress will determine the presidential candidate, and major media outlets are extensively discussing the issue. According to LeAnn's statistics, Frank's approval rating is less than 20%, and Claire's is slightly higher but only 30%. So she compiles a list of senators to lobby, with the biggest challenges being freshman Senator Susan Newman of Indiana and Senator Carrie Quimata of Hawaii. Since Democrats hold a majority in the Senate, Claire's situation is not very urgent. LeAnn has reason to worry that Claire might become William's Vice President, which is something Frank absolutely does not want. Frank uses his limited time to lobby senators from key states, with the leverage being, of course, the various conveniences he promises upon election. Claire is also racing against time to contact major senators, paving the way for their proposed bills. Both are counting votes almost one by one, not letting go of a single opportunity. Claire invites Susan and Carrie to the White House for a more personal face-to-face conversation. But she didn't expect to hear another layer of concern from Susan and Carrie. If the House votes William as the next President and the Senate elects Claire as Vice President, then the President and Vice President would belong to two different parties, causing many unnecessary problems. Due to Frank's past misconduct, many people don't believe he will win in the House. This will inevitably implicate Claire, and some people might therefore cast their votes for William's running mate, General Broderick. Claire now begins to consider whether to run separately from Frank to avoid her political career being affected by him. Only two days remain until the congressional election. The situation in the House is still unclear, with 21 states confirmed to support Frank, 23 for William, and the remaining 6 states undecided. As individual Democratic governors choose to support William, Frank decides to take a chance. After securing support from 3 swing states, Frank spends several hours on the last day, using gentle persuasion, coercion, and temptation, finally gaining the support of the crucial state of Maine. However, Doug's efforts in New Hampshire and Wisconsin yield no progress, infuriating Frank, who even doubts Doug's loyalty. Doug, who has dedicated his entire career to Frank, feels resentment upon hearing this. Troubles continue to mount; Aidan, unable to endure the political game, flees with the collected classified information. He also warns LeAnn that if agents come looking for him, he will expose Frank and Claire's secrets. And on the day of the congressional vote, Claire is shocked to learn that Senate Majority Leader Vice President Donald is delaying the vote, waiting for the House results. Claire is both angry and powerless to refute Donald's rhetoric of 'country over party.' Donald's action is equivalent to having senators vote for Broderick. But a dramatic turn of events occurs: because Maine switches its support to Frank, both presidential candidates receive the same number of votes, 25 each. In this situation, the results of the Senate vote will be considered, and the new Vice President will act as President until the House ultimately selects the next President. Claire now sees a golden opportunity to surpass Frank.

House of Cards Season 5

United States
2017
13Complete Series

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