House Of Cards: Every Season Ranked Worst To Best

Season 4 was a breath of fresh air after the relatively subpar season 3, with Frank digging himself into more and more holes after embarking on his re-election campaign, with Claire a constant thorn in his side. The return of veteran journalist Tom Hammerschmidt (Boris McGiver) as the main investigatory force behind Frank’s past actions was a good call given his connections to Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) and Lucas Goodwin (Sebastian Arcelus), particularly after the latter’s return and swift involvement in the season’s most shocking moment – the attempted assassination of the President that resulted in the death of Edward Meechum.

Frank's temporary absence gave Claire a chance to shine and properly enter the political arena, attempting to secure the nomination for Vice President. Similarly, the returns of Zoe and Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) as hallucinations during his recuperation were a magnificent touch, haunting him and reminding the audience that this wasn’t a man to root for.

In terms of criticism, ISIS substitute ICO felt a little too tacked-on, whilst cast bloat became an issue, with the likes of Remy Danton (Mahershala Ali) and Jacqui Sharp (Molly Parker) lost in the shuffle and rightfully written off after the season’s end. But amongst the new faces, Frank’s Republican opponent Will Conway was an excellent addition to the mix, letting on just about enough that there were some skeletons behind his seemingly heroic public persona.

The season was also notably Beau Willimon’s last as showrunner. His absence was certainly felt afterwards.