House Of Cards: 5 Reasons Frank Underwood Is No Walter White

5. He Started From A Position Of Power

House of Cards is a show that cannot work with an outsider perspective - perhaps this is the reason that when the series opens, Francis Underwood is already amongst the White House's "in-crowd". We never see how he got there in the first place, and the only direction he goes is up. His cool head and unshakeable poise make him a respectable character, but rob the ensuing drama of much of its tension. Frank is always floating above the action rather than knee-deep in it. Mr. White, on the other hand, is the very embodiment of rising from a mundane beginning to an operatic finish. He starts out a complete misfit within his own world - a chemist amidst cutthroats and drug addicts. The way the environment slowly brings out all of Walter's suppressed character flaws provides a dramatic and yet not overstated arc - something that Congressman Underwood cannot match, for he is already a demon at the outset.