House of Cards Season 3, Episode 1 Recap: The Loyal Henchman

Just because you were there for Frank doesn't mean he'll be there for you.

What happens when the person you've devoted yourself to casts you aside? That's the question raised in House of Cards' season-three premiere, and why it aptly begins with Frank Underwood, now president of the United States, unzipping his fly and urinating on his father's grave.

That it opens with a trip to a graveyard isn't surprising, given Frank's penchant for offing a character each season. But it also sets the tone for the rest of the episode, which is as dark and bleak as any moment in Doug Stamper's world, where it spends half its run time.

Yes, Doug is alive. And no, he hasn't forgiven himself for letting Rachel, who bludgeoned him in the woods and left him for dead months ago, get away. But before he returns to work, he must recover.

As he wakes from a coma, his ears can't stop ringing. His mood is erratic. And he can barely walk. When his doctor explains he has a long recovery ahead, he slaps her arm because he can't bear to hear it.

Not long after sending a lovely bouquet, Claire Underwood pays a visit to the hospital. She gets right to the point: She wants Doug to give the cops a fake story about being carjacked, and "nothing more." Of course, the police don't buy it—who drives to another city just "to clear their head"?—but this is Doug we're talking about, and Doug is nothing if not the Underwoods' most loyal henchman. So he complies.

Despite this, somehow it's still disheartening to learn how alone he is. Outside his estranged brother Gary, who drops him off at his vacant apartment, no one comes by to see him. Which is perhaps why Doug skips a trip to ER after slipping in the shower and breaking his arm. He refuses to miss an appointment with the president, so a splint fashioned from duct tape and a wooden spoon will just have to do.

At the White House, things aren't going well for Frank, either. His popularity is slipping, and his cabinet doesn't seem to endorse his agenda to cut entitlements like social security. When the Homeland Security chief speaks out, he is swiftly, and publicly, fired, making it clear Frank is not about governing so much as tyranny.

Outside the conference room, Frank worries about a Supreme Court confirmation he might lose and urges a justice—recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and eager to spend more time home with his family—to continue working, "at least for six months." The suggestion is ludicrous, but not out of the ordinary for Frank, who manages to make even this advice somehow sound reasonable.

Afterward, Frank meets with Doug, who eagerly expresses his desire to get back to work. "You know how loyal I am," he says before apologizing about Rachel. But Frank, who is clearly not over it, has something else in mind. He insists Doug stay home and rest, which cuts to the bone. Cut to: Doug hiring a prostitute and throwing away years of sobriety when he asks her to shoot a syringe of Old Darby into his mouth. It's reminiscent of Richard Russo, another political liability.

At home, Claire reveals a scheme to become ambassador to the United Nations, something Frank doesn't seem too thrilled about. The episode closes with him bringing Claire to the Situation Room, where Frank orders an airstrike that will likely kill children. Just another day in the life of the Underwood White House.

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