** WARNING: Spoilers Ahead. Please don't read on unless you've watched "House Of Cards" Season 2, Episode 2, or if you don't mind finding out what happened.**
Quick Synopsis: After the amazing "House Of Cards" Season 2 premiere, things slowly calmed down, but just a little bit. In The White House, everything is always a mile a minute.
In Episode 2, Frank takes the Office of Vice-President while he and Claire's home is upgraded with security features, from cameras to sensors to whatever, and the house is noisy with carpentry and construction equipment. I love how Frank is unable to part with his beloved home. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Catherine Durant and her team (on Frank's advice) deliberately sabotage a trade meeting with China to frustrate President Walker's billionaire advisor, Raymond Tusk -- who, for some reason, I absolutely detest, despite his "Major Dad" past.
As rivals negotiate to thwart her (I mean, after all, she is a woman in the White House)*, newcomer Jackie maneuvers to strengthen her position for the post of House Majority Whip -- Frank's influence is strong with this one.
On the more ridiculous side of things, Lucas looks for a hacker on the Deep Web to access Frank's phone records and establish a connection to the deaths of Zoe and Peter. (I only say ridiculous because watching Lucas stare into a white laptop screen, deciphering the many layers of the internet, was hilarious. Isn't this the same guy who was cooing sweet nothings to Zoe before her death? OK, I guess he's traumatized and desperate. I concede.) Lucas also contacts his former boss Tom, who tries to convince him to stop his investigations. You can see from Lucas' wild eyes that he won't.
And finally, we see the fiercely protective Frank struggling to keep his composure at a military ceremony after Claire reveals her rapist's identity: the newly commissioned general, Dalton McGinnis, who Frank is there to honour. Watching him bite his tongue -- something Frank is never wont to do -- is as hard for us as it is for him.
Best Frank Quote: "The President is like a lone tree in an empty field. He leans whichever way the wind is blowing, and right now Raymond Tusk blows far too strong from the west."
* = totally sarcastic, guys.
