francis underwood death episode

It needed to be both those things. Here's who really killed Frank Underwood in, Netflix and the series’ producers were left with no choice but to retool the sixth and final season of, We hear of the official reasons for Frank’s death quickly: publicly, he died in bed next to Claire, and an autopsy report states an overdose from complications with treatment for the live transplant her had. That clip confirmed the speculation that Frank would indeed die in the final season. The Spacey of it all obviously rushed that decision, but was the plan always that Frank was going to die? She’s fulfilling his fate that he has helped author. James Gibson: Our concern writing it — and I’m just being totally honest — was nothing beyond the show. With Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly, Mahershala Ali. She had died of … I imagine she’ll start with her list of enemies sitting on the Resolute Desk. But I started to really believe her emotional truth. To the very end, Doug did everything he could, no matter the cost, to protect and serve Francis Underwood. It seemed like the showdown was the inevitable showdown. Because, in a way, Francis is allowed to exist within the rules of this show. He also speaks about his father's cowardice, weak personality and drunken behavior. And what became an amazing opportunity for us in that last episode was the fact that the color red is never used on our show. Pugliese: All kinds of characters are negotiating or wrestling with the narrative over the course of the season, and that’s Doug overtly stating his version or his attempt to control the narrative as well. Who knows. Pugliese: Correct. That would be - what’s the word? No pun intended. In fact, Cashew may be the only totally innocent character on the show. Frank was an only child born on November 5th, 1959. Desperate to avenge the death of his lover Zoe Barnes, and expose Francis Underwood as the murderer we know he is, Goodwin is willing to put both his job and life on the line. Pugliese: There was a rigor that [creator] Beau Willimon and David Fincher put in place with the show as far as storytelling and even visually. As she says early in the season: “A man like Francis doesn’t just die. Whereas Claire is very much moving on. Comment . (The color red along with the "pain" reference were nods to how the series began, says Pugliese.) Desperate to avenge the death of his lover Zoe Barnes, and expose Francis Underwood as the murderer we know he is, Goodwin is willing to put both his job and life on the line. The series opened on Francis Underwood killing an injured dog, putting it out of its pain and then holding forth on the nature of pain. James Gibson: And it really enrages Doug that she thinks she can just go on without Francis. What story is she going to tell? Pugliese: All that matters is that it was Francis’ voice. Zoe Barnes flew too close to the sun and now she’s gone. James Gibson: And Claire exerting herself and taking a stand in that final way. Claire is empowered, but also a murderer. That goes back to the seeds of the whole show and the first scene [of the series], which was very much on our minds as we figured this out. New episodes of “House of Cards” won't be available on Netflix until Nov. 2, but the show has already released a clip suggesting protagonist Frank Underwood is dead. And sort of expressing the consequences that come for all the stories that have been in place for the year and maybe for a few years before as well. Pugliese and James Gibson also answer questions about the future of the franchise, and imagine what life looks for President Claire Hale beyond the moment when House of Cards finally falls. James Gibson: But she’s also setting Doug free in a way. Raised in impoverished circ… After three seasons of swaying, manipulating, and coercing, I can confidently say that those words aren't even a fair way to describe his character. But that’s because that’s the best ending for this story. Frank was going to the White House to murder Claire following the events of the season five finale and Doug poisoned Frank to stop him. However, all of the news surrounding his off-camera misconduct forced his exit from the show and Frank Underwood was killed off-camera. Pugliese: So when it finally gets to the papers, the headline of Doug's death reads: “He died of a nose bleed.” (Laughs.). DashDividers_1_500x100_2 Doug’s story about the evening of Frank’s murder also clarifies a few things. It’s just without him on screen and with other characters filling the void. And that may be something that potentially reveals Doug to himself that’s very hard for him to handle. After the screen fades to black, what does life look like for Claire moving forward? Frank Underwood's Cause Of Death On 'House Of Cards' Just Keeps Getting More Complicated . Gibson: There was nothing calculated about that. There are some callbacks in this season and this is one about Francis’ relationship to his father and that graveyard. Frank Underwood is a despicable man. As she says early in the season: “, Various suspects are brought in along the way, from suggestions Claire herself did it to her new rivals Bill and Annette Shepherd (, As Claire Underwood, who by this stage is pregnant (the child may be Frank’s, it may be Tom Yates' - Claire herself doesn’t seem sure), and, Doug dies, Francis’ reputation is in tatters, and Claire remains in the White House, still pregnant, as the, Cobra Kai Season 4’s Best Possible Cameo Isn’t From Karate Kid, How Frank Underwood Died In House of Cards Season 6, How Kevin Spacey's Firing Changed House of Cards' Final Season, House of Cards' Ending Was BETTER Without Kevin Spacey, House of Cards Season 6's Ending Explained, WandaVision's Beekeeper Explained (Why Scarlet Witch Hides His Identity), WandaVision: Scarlet Witch's Pregnancy (& Young Avengers Setup) Explained, Stranger Things 4 Theory: The Upside Down Can Save Hopper From Russia, WandaVision Introduces One Of Eternals' Most Important Powers, Korra Trends As Fans Defend The Avatar’s Character, The Mandalorian May Remove His Helmet More In Season 3 Teases Pedro Pascal, The Flash Season 7 Premiere Delayed To March, Star Wars: Andor Season 1 Doesn't Include K-2SO, Says Alan Tudyk, WandaVision Shows MCU’s Post-Endgame Future Better Than Far From Home, Malcolm in the Middle Almost Prevented Cranston Starring In Breaking Bad, The Office: How Old Is Creed At The Beginning & End Of The Show, Seth Rogen Still Wants You To Watch Freaks & Geeks 22 Years Later, The Boys' Herogasm Means Season 3 Can Finally Mock Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision's Sitcom Parodies Get More Cynical In Later Episodes, WandaVision: Glamor And Illusion Marvel Easter Egg Explained, Disenchantment: The Biggest Unanswered Questions After Season 3's Ending, Where The Sopranos Was Filmed: Main Locations. Here's who really killed Frank Underwood in House of Cards. Francis Joseph Underwood is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American adaptation of House of Cards, portrayed by Kevin Spacey.He is depicted as a ruthless politician who rises from House Majority Whip to President of the United States through treachery, deception and murder. That Doug Stamper would murder Frank and that Claire Hale would end up killing Doug? If you’re too human as you pursue power, you usually pay a price on our show. THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER is a registered trademark of The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. | California Privacy Rights Various suspects are brought in along the way, from suggestions Claire herself did it to her new rivals Bill and Annette Shepherd (Greg Kinnear and Diane Lane) but it’s only in the final 10 minutes we get the truth. What was the decision behind erasing him in that way? That’s where he’s most threatening. Sitemap | Still, Claire Underwood is president now, thanks to Frank bringing about his own downfall. Francis had been planning to murder Claire, so to protect the Underwood presidential legacy (which already seemed like a moot point considering all of Francis… Claire looked both sad and happy when she stabs the letter opener into Doug. We knew that we wanted the end to feel surprising but inevitable. In addition to cutting that scene, Frank’s — and by extension, Spacey's — likeness is gone from the season. Privacy Policy | One of the really fascinating questions is: Who is the biggest monster of them all? What were her motivations in that moment as to why she had to kill him? How is she going to get away with this? The Francis Underwood-Raymond Tusk political drama continues to unfold. In the era of the reboot craze, is keeping Claire alive more appealing? So the finale itself is not really final until it’s played out with the audience. What felt true to us is that she reveals herself to be every much of an antihero as Francis ever was. And then the great surprise is that she doesn’t feel what she expects to feel. By episode’s end, both Claire and Frank’s truest loves will be hit, hard, by ruthless life-ruiner machine that is the Underwood marriage. On our “means, motive, and opportunity” checklist, Claire scores a hat trick.Jane DavisCould’ve done it on Claire’s behalf. Jackie Strause, [This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the entire sixth and final season of Netflix's House of Cards.]. After three seasons of swaying, manipulating, and coercing, I can confidently say that those words aren't even a fair way to describe his character. So rather than shy away from that, Frank's death plays a big part in Season 6. He tells Claire that he was the leak, along with Doug, and that this is what’s best for them. Did you toy with having Claire be the one to kill Frank in the end? Surprisingly for this season, he became the voice for a certain kind of humanity. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. House of Cards then concludes with Claire telling Doug to admit he’s happy Francis is gone, after which Doug snaps and puts a letter opener to her throat - the letter opener that Frank bequeathed to him in his will - only for her to get him to back down, and then stab him instead, before suffocating him for good measure. Below, in a chat with THR, the executive producers unpack the motivations behind the main characters in the final season — from Doug's fourth-wall break to Claire "weaponizing motherhood" — and explain why Frank's (and by extension, Spacey's) likeness was erased entirely from the final eight-episode story. Frank Underwood’s death. Netflix and the series’ producers were left with no choice but to retool the sixth and final season of House of Cards after details emerged of his sexual misconduct. But I don’t think ever a plan. Our show has always had a precarious relationship to humanity. Doug, however, fails to go through with the act and Claire turns the weapon on him, stabbing him in the stomach. Netflix has just dropped it's second teaser for the final season of House of Cards, and it's a major spoiler! Pugliese: I don’t think you could call it a plan. How does she possibly stay in charge and get out of this murder in the Oval — and how do you imagine motherhood would change her? The final season of House Of Cards drops hints about how Frank Underwood died between Season 5 and Season 6, and it seems that the official narrative is that Frank simply died in … The drama comes from her need to believe what she’s saying. A lot of stories are being written or re-written to have #MeToo-inspired endings. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. He threatens Claire with a letter opener, superficially cutting her and sending blood down her neck. Jackie faces obstacles as she plans to run for new whip. Melissa James Gibson: It’s always hard to pinpoint the exact moment, because it was such an organic process of discovery. Quite literally in the first episode of this season, Claire is attempting to declare independence on the Fourth of July. It makes things more challenging in some ways and, to Frank’s point about humanity, it tethers her to earthly feelings that she tried to banish after the Tom Yates murder. I don’t think that Claire entered the season wanting what happens in the finale to happen. Small Things Francis Underwood in House of Cards, Season 5 Episode 5. So Doug suddenly being that voice and knowing he may pay the price for it — and then that he ultimately does — was a trajectory that we got to explore and play with. No doubt about it. It seemed right for Claire and for the Claire-Francis story. There was a scene released ahead of the season's launch that showed Claire visiting Frank's grave in Gaffney, and giving a speech about how she will have a burial much more fit for a president. | EU Privacy Preferences, Showrunners Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson speak to The Hollywood Reporter about why the Robin Wright political saga had to end with an "inevitable showdown. A one-stop shop for all things video games. The confession explains the story Claire had crafted: after finding Frank dead, Claire told the public Frank died by her side in bed from an accidental overdose; she told the audience, however, that he was murdered. Doug dies in her arms and — in what James Gibson calls a "full circle" series moment — Claire flashes one last look to the audience after silencing the person who knows all of her secrets. Frank Underwood pushed her in front of a moving train at the fictional Cathedral Heights metro station and now she is dead! In this world, word means nothing. We hear of the official reasons for Frank’s death quickly: publicly, he died in bed next to Claire, and an autopsy report states an overdose from complications with treatment for the live transplant her had. "Claire reveals herself to be as much of an antihero as Francis ever was," says James Gibson, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter along with Pugliese about how to interpret the ending. He couldn’t allow him to kill Claire because it would further tarnish his reputation, he "couldn’t let him destroy everything we’d built", and in the end did use his meds to kill him. Visually and cinematically, finally using that and filling the Oval Office with that red was a break. It wasn't until the final face-off between the two people closest to the former President Underwood that Doug confessed to Claire (who relinquished her Underwood name) that he killed Frank to protect "the legacy from the man." Share. At the end of last season, you said that at that point, Frank could kill Claire or visa versa, and that they were each capable of anything. But this partnership [between Claire and Frank] was no longer tenable and I think that got exposed and became clear by the end of season five. James Gibson: The audience, especially in the world of this show because of its vocabulary from the get-go, are really active participants. James Gibson: We definitely considered it. James Gibson: Even at the same time that Claire is trying to establish her own rules with the show and establish her own particular relationship with us due to the direct address — as she told us last season when she said, “I always knew you were there, I just didn’t know how I felt about you” — she is trying to rewrite the rules and expand the vocabulary, and there are forces within the world of the show that resist. A visibly shaken Doug admits he didn’t have a plan, but he had to protect the legacy from the man. Kevin Spacey's image is mostly wiped from "House of Cards" in the final season, which turns Frank Underwood's death into a major mystery and shocking conclusion. Because they’ve been invited in, in a way that the direct address device really underscores. WARNING: Major spoilers for House of Cards season 6. It’s more complicated for Claire. Gallery. The near-death of Cashew. The premiere of Netflix's House Of Cards thrusts us directly into the cutthroat world of D.C. politics and we take the ride with Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey). November 05, 2018 1. Doug accuses her of using her motherhood that way, but it’s not that simple. But there’s no other way. And there are questions. James Gibson: In a funny sense, that was the most threatening thing to her and the thing she feared most, because his voice was a powerful and destructive force. Those were the final words spoken by the surviving character on House of Cards — Claire Hale — before the Robin Wright-starring political saga faded to black for the final time. Her equivalent from the original series is Mattie Storin. James Gibson: There’s a full-circle element to all of this. Casually mentioned to Claire, ju… What was Claire conveying with her final look to the camera? The Jordan Valley erupts in chaos just as Frank's campaign is picking up steam. That much was made clear before House of Cards season 6 had even hit Netflix, but the circumstances of how the show would write out the former-President were less clear. Frank Pugliese: We knew we wanted the ending to be cathartic and for it to be some sort of release; the complicated reveal of many aspects of Claire’s character. 5:45am PT James Gibson: It was an exciting discovery that we made in concert with our amazing actor, Michael [Kelly]. During the season two premiere, her investigation led to her death, with Underwood pushing her in front of a Washington Metro train to protect his own secrets. Photo: David Giesbrecht/Netflix A field of men in red hooded capes gather around an intensely creepy statue in … At what point in the process of plotting and restructuring the season after Kevin Spacey's exit did you decide that this is how the show would end? To hear showrunners Frank Pugliese and Melissa James Gibson tell it, the series finale of Netflix's first original series ended with an "inevitable showdown" between Claire (Wright) and Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) over who killed Francis J. Underwood (formerly played by Kevin Spacey). Here’s what happened in season 2, episode 8 of House of Cards. Pugliese: It gets reductive if we show any aspect of him or any piece of it. As Doug was dying in her arms, Claire said, "There. Pugliese: You are also watching Doug and Claire negotiate that in that last scene. 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