House of Cards season 6: What is Clare Underwood’s potential struggle?

House of Cards season 5 has been out for a little while now, but even still we should issue a SPOILER WARNING before continuing. If you are behind on the show for whatever reason, you may want to stop reading now.

Still with us? Then scroll down to get a further sense as to what one of the central struggles for season 6 could be: Trying to further understand what happens with Claire Underwood now that she is in power. She’s murdered, she’s connived, and yet she is now the person with all of the power. Is it going to be worth it for her? This is one of the central questions coming up.

In speaking on this subject further, showrunners Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson said the following to The Hollywood Reporter, while also talking about the connection that Frank Underwood built with the audience over time. (The quote below specifically comes from Pugliese.)

“The show has always wrestled with this idea of: How much humanity do you sacrifice in the pursuit of power? There’s the almost extreme version of it with Claire killing Tom Yates, who is demanding humanity of Claire. While Francis has always tried to create an allegiance with the audience and has sort of invited you in, now that Claire is finally speaking about the ambitions that she has, we were curious about what her complicity with the audience looks like and how she manifests those ambitions in the audience and, eventually, the voter.”

Exploring this world through Claire’s perspective should prove immensely fascinating, provided that there is a House of Cards season 6 coming up and the story doesn’t fluctuate between now and then. The biggest thing worth noting here is that she is a character who possesses a different sort of power and way of communicating with other people. She may not feel the need to be as complicity or as desperate to charm just because that’s not her style. She certainly does have things about herself and her past to hide, but there is charm to the point of overcompensation and we’ve absolutely seen Frank over the years walk right past that line and stomp on it.

Now, the wait begins to learn if a House of Cards season 6 is a reality — for now, it does appear as though it’s going to happen, and is just a matter of time. Expect something more in the coming weeks. (Photo: Netflix.)