Victor Petrov, the show’s Putin-esque surrogate, is combative and paranoid of Washington’s meddling in Moscow, much to the chagrin of Spacey’s Underwood who is seeking to mend ties after the geopolitical fallout of Season Three.Īs is becoming the norm with House of Cards, the show succeeds in ramping up the drama and taking its characters’ personal stories to new and unexpected places. In the foreign policy world, House of Cards continues to pull the thread of the Russia plot line that it spun last season, with a financially-strained Kremlin now seeking an International Monetary Fund bailout. Underwood’s relationship with his wife, Claire, played by Robin Wright, is strained - their marriage and political partnership is hanging in the balance. President Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, is on the campaign trail in his election bid to hold onto the seat of power he has coveted throughout the series. Netflix’s binge-inducing political drama was released Friday and the latest installment picks up right at the moment where Season Three left off. Victor Petrov, the show’s Putin-esque surrogate, is combative and paranoid of Washington’s meddling in Moscow, much to the chagrin of Spacey’s Underwood who is seeking to mend ties after the geopolitical fallout of Season Three. Sound like a parallel universe? Sort of: It’s the beginning of Season Four of House of Cards. And the Kremlin is on the verge of being overthrown by a cadre of Russian liberal businessmen. The Democratic primary is a heated contest filled with lies and backstabbing. The president of the United States has committed murder with his own hands. Warning: The following review contains mild spoilers from the first six episodes of the fourth season of House of Cards.