Were a majority of the characters ever likable on this show? Kate Mara's character in particular I despised.

I don't know that it's not their finest: the songs, the guitar sounds, the band interplay—if it's not their finest it's still among their greatest.

My 1 & 2 exchange places with each other depending on what mood I'm in:

So far they've only name-checked Remy & Jackie as having "lawyer-d up" but they haven't appeared, is that what you're referring to?

I thought they addressed the pacing in Season 4 really well—the schism between Frank & Claire, and then Frank is shot. Not long after, they introduced the Republican challenger Conway for the second half, and the show took an even more unexpected turn. Season 4 was pretty tight and kept things interesting IMO.

Got to say, after 6 months of overdosing on the news and real-life President Dumbass, getting to escape into a fictionalized version again is quite a relief for me.

I disagree—and during Season 3 where Frank's antics were more on the, let's say, mild side compared to what had come before, and it seemed they were making him more likable as he had ascended to the Presidency, it made for the show's weakest season so far.

Why is everyone in a hurry to see this show end and see Frank's downfall?

While the real-world political analogues are more pronounced than ever with this season, the thing that really tripped me out while watching is that Claire's steely, blue-eyed gaze really reminded me of Melania Trump's.

Is it that hard to believe that people are actually this vile in real life though? Esp. in politics?

He was my favorite character and they killed him off. I wish they would bring his love interest Christina back, as I liked the actress.

Keep watching. They show that the Underwood's plot armor is a very fragile, tenuous thing indeed.

What's interesting is seeing what Frank does when he doesn't actually win.

It's more of the same, but it's still intriguing to watch if you've been following along in their story.

Don't forget "America Works"

I watched up to about episode 5 or so last night, until I couldn't keep my eyes open. I thought this first installment was a little spotty (I never thought the "radicalized white kids" storyline was a very good one, and it's done away with rather quickly here), but subsequent episodes get better.

Nobody knew the Presidency was going to be a lot of work. Nobody.

It is, no doubt. I did find myself missing the vocals on certain tracks, but there's always the original for that. By all means, check it out.

I don't want to overhype you on it. What he's added in is very good. But some of it "just" sounds like Fragile tracks with no vocals. If nothing else, it gives you a good karaoke version.

He's gone back, removed the vocals, added in outtakes and pieces from the time, remixed, re-fucked with it, and it's being sold as a new version of the original "Fragile" this year, sans all vocals. It's definitely worth a listen for fans of the original.