House Of Cards Season 6 Review: 2 Ups & 6 Downs

5. The Terrible Soap Opera Subplots

It's no secret that the show's last few seasons have doubled down on the silly, soap opera-esque subplots, and season six just might cram the most melodrama into a season yet, even despite its shortened episode order.

From the peculiar relationship dynamics of power-siblings Annette and Bill Shepherd (Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear) to an outdated plot revolving around a phone app, an ever-increasing pile of bodies and a slew of laughable revelations in the final three episodes in particular, it's just too much of a daft muchness.

Clearly the writers were limited for time, but it's still depressing that this is the best they could come up with, basically leaning back on the same slushy nonsense that made the last two seasons especially frustrating. For all of the show's pretence as a "classy" political drama, these plots are anything but.