Is Frank Underwood TV’s New Walt?
Is Frank Underwood Television’s New Walter White?
With Breaking Bad – arguably the greatest television experience ever – off the air for a while now, television fanatics have been teething for a compelling character to idolize. Enter House of Cards: A Netflix original series that follows the tale of House Majority Whip, Frank Underwood in his Machiavellian quest to become the leader of the free world.
Frank Underwood, played brilliantly by Kevin Spacey, is a character that shares many similar traits to Bryan Cranston’s adored Walter White. Both yearn for power in a way that cause them to manipulate, lie to and even murder whoever may decide it’s a good idea to stand in their way, but that’s about where most similarities end. Where Walter was coerced to the dark side of life by a desperate need to provide for his family before he died from his untreatable cancer, Frank Underwood begins his story already with a significant degree of power or political capital, as Francis so often phrases it.
Frank Underwood is a decent replacement now that Walt’s gone but the question of if this character is able to become as iconic is yet to be seen. With House of Cards now two seasons in we have witnessed Frank Manipulate his way into the Oval Office. Granted, watching Frank slowly scheme his way to the top by destroying everyone around him – the president included – was fun, as an audience we are yet to see anything truly challenge Frank’s aspirations for power. He always seems to have the upper hand and is able to outsmart just about everyone in Washington. Like I said, it’s fun to watch but it also makes you wonder how it lends to true character development if none of Frank’s actions seem to have any long standing consequences, if any at all. He’s already killed two people in cold blood and has apparently gotten away with both while still finding time to frame a journalist for digital espionage.
The Guy is Good.
By season 2 of Breaking Bad in regard to Walt we already got to see so many layers of Cranston’s chem teacher turned crystal meth dealer peeled back. He had committed gruesome murder in self-defense in the first episode of the first season and by season 2 we were looking at a completely different man – A man who, like Frank at the start of HOC, was enamored with the idea of power and legacy. The difference between Frank and Walt though is that Walt had to scrap, crawl and sometimes literally bleed to acquire his desired power. Frank just seems to have to chum up with whichever democrat or republican he might need to unwittingly do his dirty work for him.
In House of Card’s defense, the series is now getting its wheels turning while Breaking Bad had a 5 year head start, but with that being said; as engaging as Frank and HOC is I’m hoping that the show runners decide to knock him down a couple pegs come season three. As the newly appointed – not elected – President of the United States, it will be interesting to see what else Frank could possibly pine for that might cause him to cross a line he can’t return from. Until then, Walter White still holds first place for the ultimate case study of a fictional character who is corrupted by power, the anti-hero’s anti-hero.
Frank is undoubtedly very cunning as he is charming, but his story arc leans a bit too much in his favor for him to be as compelling as Walt, at least at the moment. Like stated before, we know he killed Russo and he super killed Zoe via train so hopefully these cases are not left closed and one comes back to haunt him. The show needs to place the odds against its principal character as to successfully translate exactly how fragile a House of Cards can really be.
