When last we saw Frank, he was just about to bed the spunky reporter Zoe Barnes fresh off of leaving her job at the Herald. Showing the sex scene between Zoe (who I have a major crush on) and Frank would of have been overkill and it is far more enticing to think about just how the little minx was in the sack. She is not sleeping with Frank to advance her career; she is smart enough to do that on her own. It is the equivalent of a young college co-ed falling for her favorite English lit professor that is dazzled by his worldly knowledge and roguish manner. Frank takes what he wants and Zoe abides as a hearty meal after their tennis-like flirting escalated into a sexual relationship. It feels organic and right despite their age difference. Zoe is finding her footing in the cut-throat world of Washington, D.C. and who better to show her the ropes than a seasoned power broker like Frank? The forbidden fruit always tastes the best. When Frank returns home to his wife Claire, I was surprised at how casually he discloses to her that he slept with the feisty young reporter. Claire and Frank’s relationship is a business partnership but despite that they are still very much in love. They both need their dalliances to function in their world that is filled with backstabbers, double-talk and people that lie right to your face. When Claire asks Frank just how serious his liaison is, he has no problem telling her the absolute truth. The endgame for the two of them is just what exactly Zoe can for them as a team. It really is a fascinating dynamic under the guise of a monogamous marriage. Teacher’s Union leader Marty Spinella that Frank is normally on good terms with is in a major bind after collective bargaining is added to the initiative. Although seemingly amicable in earlier episodes about Marty’s union, Frank favors performance standards from Spinella and that turns out to be just the thing that ignites him into a raging bull. Claire’s big Clean Water Initiative fundraiser has been building for several weeks but when visiting the hotel space where the gala is to be, the manager refuses to accommodate them. Back at the office, Frank and the Democratic National Committee are coming up with names to fill the vacant Governor space in Pennsylvania. Frank floats Congressman Peter Russo’s name and right away I believed this to be a bad idea as the politician has already gone down the rabbit hole this season with drugs, booze and prostitution. Frank consults his number two Doug Stamper and together they concoct a positive spin on Russo as a story of redemption. Peter reluctantly joins A.A. to try and prove to Frank that he can be a worthy candidate. Russo’s story is that of reclamation and he is forced to go cold turkey on the cocaine, the scotch and the hired help. Peter is haunted by closing the shipyards in Pennsylvania and the loss of thousands of jobs. He is racked with guilt over his decision to do exactly what Frank advised he do without compromise. At one point, Peter actually shows up at Frank & Claire’s townhouse to make certain that he is sober for what is to come next. Russo’s subdued ire is aimed at Frank for forcing him to extricate some of his best friends from their shipyard jobs. Ever the good hostess, Claire brings Peter to the guest room where he sleeps it off but he is still overwhelmingly guilty for the irreversible choice he made. After Frank’s usual Secret Service man is hospitalized, he is assigned a new one to keep an eye on The Whip’s home. With the education bill still up in the air, a brick is thrown through Frank and Claire’s window. The agent does not catch him but discharges his weapon on a residential street against his better judgment. Despite getting a tongue-lashing demotion by his boss, we learn that Frank is actually behind the whole brick throwing incident. It is just the right match to light the fire that is the teacher’s strike. However after meeting Spinella in a one-on-one interview, Frank shows a rare chink in the armor on live TV as the flop sweat builds and he realizes that none of the salient points he planned on making came through in any way. Peter has finally gotten through a few weeks of sobriety and started attending A.A. meetings. It turns out that Doug Stamper (Frank’s right hand man) has been going to meetings since April of ’99. The education bill is finally put through after a young boy that should have been in school was shot and killed when he should have been in school. Emotionally detached from actual feelings, Frank sees this as a way to streamline his plan and get Spinella to retreat. I have to say that it was pretty cool to see Frank and Spinella go mano-a-mano and The Whip get deservedly slugged. Sometimes the loudest sentiments are through action and not the same old rhetoric. The brick was the inciting incident and as it turns out Stamper was the one that lobbed it through Frank and Claire’s window. Frankly I do not think that a swift solution would have come without the brick smashing through the glass. What’s the cost of window when you can settle a far larger and ridiculously expensive problem? While Russo is psyched, sober and ready to make a run at the Governorship of Pennsylvania, the grilling begins and Peter seems to be crumbling under the pressure. He has to come clean about everything—drugs, booze, prostitutes, etc. This is not just a ten minute conversation and Russo cracks under the pressure. While Russo’s demons continue to chase him, all he really wants is to be with his children and get Christina back. She was his guiding light but he lost her to his substance abuse after leaving his kids alone unsupervised. Frank is on Peter’s side and believes that he most definitely can win the race but Russo does not have that same bravado. He is not so much concerned with becoming Governor as he is being a good Dad and a faithful mate to Christina. Zoe is hard at work at Slugline and the job is way more in her wheelhouse than The Herald could ever be. She even has drinks with Janine, her old nemesis when she was still at The Herald. I liked seeing Janine letting her guard down for a few minutes and act a bit nicer for a change as she loosens up with a few cocktails. Frank is continually meeting the Commander in Chief and keeping him in the loop about the rising star of the party that is Peter Russo. Frank is happiest when he has the people he despises’ attention. Russo was caught with earlier in the season with a prostitute named Rachel that “fixer” Doug paid to stay silent. However, now she is back and wants more hush money. She has a shiner on her left eye and arranges a meet with Stamper where she demands some kind of payout or she will go public. The girl seems nice enough and Stamper is able to secure a room for her at one of Frank’s staffers spare bedrooms. What else can he do? She has the goods on some seriously powerful people. After Frank meets with Christina, he convinces her that Peter really does need her back in his life. She learns that he has been sober for a month and is attending A.A. meetings, making going back to him much easier for her. I think that it lends to the on-going narrative that they are back together. Russo has been under a tremendous amount of pressure answering questions about pretty much everything from his past. He is divulging everything and trying to come clean. However, you do get the feeling that he is itching for a drink or a bump of cocaine. He is cracking under the pressure and the campaign has not even started! The multi-layered storylines that overlap continue to surprise and delight me even if it seems that a bunch of seriously eff’d up people are running our country. The need for fame and adulation is not just a New York City and Los Angeles thing; Washington D.C. is worse than both.
