Chapter 7 (House of Cards)


"Chapter 7" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American political thriller drama series House of Cards. It premiered on February 1, 2013, when it was released along with the rest of the first season on the American streaming service Netflix.

Plot

Walker finally signs the education bill, earning Frank a major victory by affording him great influence with Walker. Vice President Jim Matthews expresses discontent with Walker, feeling sidelined within the administration. Matthews further questions Russo's ability to run for governor of Pennsylvania, the office Matthews previously occupied.
Doug receives a letter from a prostitute named Rachel Posner, who has previously been involved in Russo's DUI arrest. She asks for money and a place to live in order to keep her mouth shut. Frank turns his basement into Russo's de facto campaign headquarters while he continuously attends AA meetings with Doug. However, when confronting his past wrongdoings, Russo starts to have doubts about his campaign.
Frank contacts Christina to get back together with Russo and become his deputy campaign manager. Doug asks Nancy to keep house Rachel until he finds a suitable place for Rachel. After not hearing from Frank for several weeks, Zoe texts him and asks his whereabouts. Frank tells her about Russo's campaign. She gives the scoop to Janine, who is considering leaving the Herald for Slugline. Frank visits Zoe's apartment and sees Lucas kissing her. Afterwards, Frank performs cunnilingus on Zoe while she is on the phone.

Cast

Following is the list of billed cast.

Main cast

The episode received positive reviews from critics. Ryan McGee of The A.V. Club said, "The show now has earned enough goodwill to not dismiss that plot out of hand, even if it feels designed to either pay off something in four episodes or utterly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at precisely the same time. The show hasn't had to get truly bloody when tying off loose ends yet." He further said, "it's probably time for the show to introduce some truly life-or-death stakes for this to move beyond interesting television into something truly compelling."