History WMG / HouseOfCardsUS

* He was LeftForDead by Rachel, but she's just an average young woman who doesn't seem to make a habit of exercising or murdering people, she might not even have really wanted him dead specifically as much as she just wanted to get away from him, and bashing with a rock isn't necessarily the world's most effective murder method, so I doubt his injuries are too severe. Since we didn't even see him lying on the ground or anything, it seems like a pretty strong setup for him to have a surprise reappearance.

He was LeftForDead by Rachel, but she's just an average young woman who doesn't seem to make a habit of exercising or murdering people, she might not even have really wanted him dead specifically as much as she just wanted to get away from him, and bashing with a rock isn't necessarily the world's most effective murder method, so I doubt his injuries are too severe. Since we didn't even see him lying on the ground or anything, it seems like a pretty strong setup for him to have a surprise reappearance.

* [[spoiler: The letter he thought he was burning, that contains his confession, is still with President Walker and will be key in Frank's downfall.]]

* Frank Underwood is finally at the top. There is only one direction for him to go. He will be disgraced, just like his predecessor, and will be forced to swallow his just desserts. Season 4 will be all about Frank making amends and returning to power.

[[WMG: The series is set in an AlternateHistory where AlGore won the 2000 presidential election.]]
* We know from characters' dialogue and the episode of ''Jeopardy'' playing on TV that the show's political history matches up with real life at least up until the presidency of BillClinton -- but there is never any reference to the presidency of GeorgeWBush or historical events directly associated with it such as the Iraq War. Furthermore, the show begins with a '''new Democratic president''' having been elected in '''2012''', and the Democrats in control of both houses of Congress. Therefore, the point of divergence between the ''House of Cards'' timeline and ours is AlGore winning the 2000 presidential election instead of Bush. Gore then either serves one term and is followed by a two-term Republican, or serves two terms and is followed by a one-term Republican. This may also account for the Democrats' much more centrist stance in the show, as Gore's victory and the absence of the Bush Administration means that the DLC faction of the Democratic Party is still dominant.

**** Perhaps the inferred "Bush Junior" is Walker's immediate predecessor as President. It doesn't necessarily have to be GeorgeWBush either -- it could be Jeb Bush, succeeding in 2004/2008 where his brother failed in 2000. Another possibility is that John [=McCain=] was the Republican candidate in 2000 in this timeline, who lost to Gore, freeing up either Bush brother to succeed Gore later.

* The body count is rising - season one opened with the death of [[EstablishingCharacterMoment a dog]] and built up to the death of [[spoiler: Peter Russo]]; season two opened with the death of [[spoiler: Zoe Barnes]] and ended with [[spoiler: Doug Stamper's apparent death]]. Each death leaves Frank more and more vulnerable, and if this trend continues then, once he loses the few people he has left on his side, Frank'll probably end up biting it.

* Basically, there's the shot of the former in his "office", as the camera pulls back. It's possible he and Frank's new chief of staff (who will take the position officially when [[spoiler: Doug's body is found]]) will face off. As for Rachel--well, assuming she won't just hide somewhere and never be seen again in the show (She Knows Too Much, after all), we could well see her teaming up with the hacktivist (and, what the heck, the remaining member of Zoe's team--who'd panicked after [[spoiler: Zoe's death]]) to seek to expose the truth. Of course, Frank--being Frank--will destroy them by the end of the Season. Cue Season 4.

** This WMG actually fits quite well with the one below--well, the "Clinton--Bush--McCain" version, anyway.

* After a long, sad and troubled life on the road, Jenny Curran abandons her infant son to the care of her first love and resolves to make something of herself. Drifting to South Carolina and meeting Francis, a man who is the polar opposite of Forrest, she changes her name to Claire and plots a move to the highest office in the land.

[[WMG: Claire Underwood is hiding a secret past when she was known as "[[ForrestGump Jenny]]"".]]

* Four seasons of 13 episodes each equals 52 episodes total: the same number of cards in a standard deck.

Four seasons of 13 episodes each equals 52 episodes total: the same number of cards in a standard deck.

Francis' bisexuality is touched upon exactly once in each season, not enough to make it a prominent character trait, but enough to remind us that it is there. I can imagine that a revelation that he has had relationships with men will cause a media frenzy and a backlash against him. After all, [[SarcasmMode being ruthless and Machiavellian is fine, making out with guys?]] ''[[SarcasmMode Unacceptable!!!]]''.

**** Perhaps the inferred "Bush Junior" is Walker's immediate predecessor as President. It doesn't necessarily have to be GeorgeWBush either -- it could be Jeb Bush, succeeding in 2004/2008 where his brother failed in 2000. Another possibility is that John [=McCain=] was the Republican candidate in 2000 in this timeline, who lost to Gore, freeing up either Bush brother to beat Gore later.

* We know from characters' dialogue and the episode of ''Jeopardy'' playing on TV that the show's political history matches up with real life at least up until the presidency of BillClinton -- but there is never any reference to the presidency of GeorgeWBush or historical events directly associated with it such as the Iraq War. Furthermore, the show begins with a '''new Democratic president''' having been elected in '''2012'''. Therefore, the point of divergence between the ''House of Cards'' timeline and ours is AlGore winning the 2000 presidential election instead of Bush. Gore then either serves one term and is followed by a two-term Republican, or serves two terms and is followed by a one-term Republican. This may also account for the Democrats' much more centrist stance in the show, as Gore's victory and the absence of the Bush Administration means that the DLC faction of the Democratic Party is still dominant.

[[WMG: The series is set in an AlternateHistory where Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election.]]
* We know from characters' dialogue and the episode of ''Jeopardy'' playing on TV that the show's political history matches up with real life at least up until the presidency of Bill Clinton -- but there is never any reference to the Bush Administration or historical events directly associated with them such as the Iraq War, and the show begins with a new Democratic president having been elected in 2012. Therefore, the point of divergence between the House of Cards timeline and ours is Al Gore winning the 2000 presidential election -- and either he serves one term and is followed by a two-term Republican, or serves two terms and is followed by a one-term Republican. This may also account for the Democrats' much more centrist stance in the show, as Gore's victory and the absence of President Bush jr. means that the DLC faction of the Democratic Party is still dominant.

* They fought tooth and nail to defend Pennsylvania in a presidential election, a state they haven't had serious trouble with for the past 20 years in RL. The party as a whole seems much further to the right than it is in RL, with a conservative(for a Democrat, anyway) southerner as Majority Whip and an apparent centrist as President who pushed through an education bill that incorporates a bunch of conservative policy proposals in education and that a Democrat in RL wouldn't dare to touch. If they've had to moderate their positions so much, it's a sign that the country is much more right-wing than in RL.

[[WMG: Matthews will lose the governor's race, meaning Francis can't become VP.]]