House of Cards Power Rankings: Introduction

If you have not yet watched the first season of House of Cards, you are missing out. The whole thing is on Netflix, and once you get hooked it should take you three to five days to finish. It's a political drama (which doesn't sound super interesting), but believe me when I tell you that it's a gripping show. As we write this introductory post, we are talking about how it's by far the most political show we've ever watched. For 21 year old kids, the most political show that's ever interested us was 24. Don't ask me to choose between Jack Bauer and Frank Underwood because I will not make that choice.

Just know that you should be watching House of Cards, and following along with our power rankings.  I've watched the whole first season. Chris has watched some of it. We're starting over (together) and doing an episode-by-episode power rankings on the blog. All of this will lead up to the launch of season two (also on Netflix) on February 14th.

Join in with us and give us your thoughts in the comments and on twitter. I'm @jaylike, he's @cmalone20, and the whole blog is @bulletsblog.

Here's how we're determining which of the characters is highest in the power rankings, out of ten points total:

• Power (5.0 points) - Power is an ambiguous word. The President of the United States would seem to have the most power of anyone in the world. But we're thinking that we might find that he's handicapped by the other players in the government. So, for us, "power" just means "power" - it's entirely subjective. 
• Goal accomplishment (2.0 points) - This is significantly less open for interpretation. Everyone in the show - executive branch, legislative branch, corporate world - has goals. Ability to accomplish those goals is important. 
• Backstabbing (2.0) - Chris put it best: backstabbing is what puts people in the seats. It adds a whole level of intrigue to the show. Let's be honest. People stabbing people in the back is what makes politics interesting enough for a major television show. 
• Sexual prominence (1.0) - Sex sells. Plus, it gives Kate Mara and Kristen Connolly some incentive to take their clothes off.