The pilot of House of Cards was perfect.

Although House of Cards is often ignored these days when talking about great series (A direct consequence of the controversy behind Kevin Spacey, as well as the undeniable decline in terms of quality since the fifth season), the first great Netflix original series (If we ignore Lilyhammer) had everything to rise to the Olympus of the greats: A political drama starring a renowned actor that, under the direction of David Fincher and with a huge budget, would immerse us in the chaos of Washington D.C., while we saw the strategy of Frank Underwood, a cold Democratic congressman who sought revenge on all those who betrayed him.

Source

Created by Beau Willimon and based on the British series of the same name, House of Cards managed to amass several achievements throughout its seasons, but in my opinion one of the greatest on the list was the brilliant pilot episode.

Why? Because although it is not particularly substantial in terms of advancing the plot, it knows how to land all the strong points of the series, starting from the brilliant performance of the infamous Spacey, to Fincher's unique direction style, elegant, but aggressive, characterized by fourth wall breaks where Underwood's character addresses us directly.

Although for many a series with such a political approach as this can be heavy, it is not necessary to watch more than a couple of minutes of House of Cards to understand that it is a brilliant reflection of the darkest aspects of human nature, something that is achieved without resorting to constant violence, Underwood makes us accomplices of each of his moves, demonstrating his real intentions in contrast to what he says to each of his colleagues.

The first episode of House of Cards didn't waste a single moment, opening with one of the most iconic scenes on television today (in which we see Frank Underwood killing a dog with his bare hands to end its suffering) followed by a sequence shot in which we not only get to know a considerable portion of the cast, but at the same time the intentions of each of them are shown. We understand the relationship he has with Claire, and the fact that any kind of apparent political stance is nothing more than a tool to achieve an objective, no matter what the cost…

When the newly elected president Garrett Walker breaks his promise to make him Secretary of State at the White House New Year's party, Frank begins his plan to destroy the political careers of everyone involved, starting from Walker, to each of the congressmen who advocated for him, for this he will need to ally himself with the journalist Zoe Barmes, a woman willing to do anything in order to advance her professional career, as well as with Peter Russo, an alcoholic politician who is at a low point in his life.

What I like about HOC is that despite having a relatively simple premise we never know exactly what direction things are going to take, and the pilot episode knows how to provide us with information in just the right amounts. We are Frank's accomplices, yes, and we generally also have more information than all the characters around him, but this does not mean that he does not have the ability to
confuse (and betray) us as well.
I feel very sorry for the decline in terms of quality that this series suffered, and, at least during its first 4 seasons, it had the ability to give us many brilliant moments, the disaster that came after does not cancel the merit of these accumulated virtues.

Do I recommend House of Cards? Not really, however, there are a couple of brilliant episodes in terms of script and direction, and there is no better example than the pilot.