Netflix dumped the first season all at once on a streaming platform that existed before anyone knew what the term “streaming platform” meant. When “House of Cards” premiered, no one knew what to make of it. What happens to Claire when the secret service busts in and finds a dead guy in her arms? Will she plead self-defense? If that somehow worked, will she be reelected? If it doesn’t, does she go to prison? What about the nuclear threat she drummed up to expose Doug, her would-be assassin? And what happened to the Koch brothers stand-ins, a dying Bill (Greg Kinnear) and very lively Annette Shepherd (Diane Lane)? Did Janine Skorsky (Constance Zimmer) ever publish her article? These final minutes are so strange, it’s a bit perplexing why this ending needed to be shot, edited, and streamed: Even the most die-hard “House of Cards” viewer has to feel frustrated with such an open-ended conclusion. No more pain,” and with one final glance into the camera, “House of Cards” ends. Claire then cuts off his air supply and he drowns in his own blood. She holds him in her arms as he dies, kisses his head, and tells him everything is going to be all right.

When Claire refuses, he puts a letter opener to her throat - Frank’s old letter opener - and when he sees blood drip from a small cut, he immediately apologizes. Right after Doug’s confession, he turns on the sitting president and demands she admit Frank put her in power. Frank (Spacey, unseen and unheard throughout Season 6) was pissed at Claire (Wright) for refusing to pardon him, and Doug panicked. On the night in question, Doug (Michael Kelly) intercepted the former president when he went to the White House to kill his wife. The final episode circles around the same question as the final season: Who killed Frank Underwood? Setting aside the misguided nature of structuring Robin Wright’s first season as the lead around her disgraced co-star’s dead character, let’s cut to the chase: Doug Stamper did it. It’s a hazy, empty ending that begs the question: Why make this at all? That may seem fitting for a show that serves as the last gasp of Kevin Spacey’s career, but Netflix’s torchbearer series goes out with all smoke and no fire. “House of Cards” ends with two people fighting over a dead guy’s legacy.

House of cards season 4 episode 9