SPOILER ALERT!
One of the most notorious yet smart characters in the history of television. Executive producer and world-class director David Fincher had a difficult job to carry out and he did it perfectly by fabricating one of the most unpredictable characters ever! A modern-day psychopath who is not publicly deviant and yet famous. Of course, the character had to be a politician but Kevin Spacey was so good that after he was fired for pedophilia accusations after season 5, the average viewership in season 6 fell by 20%!
Frank Underwood is the best anti-hero the world has seen after Walter white (breaking bad). He is over ambitious and will do anything and everything to win! He is a pessimist with no regard for others' emotions or feelings. He is someone who is the most likely to stab you in the back. He is not just some psychopathic deviant. He is the worst kind of them because he is smart. As crazy as he is, he always has an elaborate plan to set his plans in motion and see them get fulfilled. Over ambition causing the downfall of someone popular can be its own genre now but back when House of Cards was released, the steps Frank Underwood took to climb up the ranks were more than atrocious. He was an old-school manipulative barbarian who thought that free America was up for grabs and those who had the power owned it (in abstract terms).
Similar comparisons can be drawn between him and Napolean and how over-ambition led to their respective downfall. It is a story, not about a shrewd callous politician, but about how sooner or later your demons haunt you and get the worst of you. Frank Underwood did become the President of America but his stay was rather unsatisfactory and not worth the efforts he took. Politics is volatile in nature but Frank's demons came to haunt him when the people who were closest to him lost his trust. The story of Frank Underwood is hence, not one of power & bigotry. It is about actions and their ramifications!