Well, hey there! 
Awesome.  Another thread to wax twistedly on another favorite twisted show with someone who's seen it.  Although, gah, you guys are fast!  I love the idea of soaking up your favorite stuff through binge-watching (and fascinating how the shifting form of the medium is making that more commonplace, huh), but realistically have trouble having a block of time for that, and wanting space in between to let my mind peruse it.  So I'm only 5 in and you'll be done long before me, as far as spoilers here go.  But still...

Nice thoughts.  Yes, definitely Shakespearean and a heck of a sharply written train-wreck of drama you love to watch, despite it's horribleness.  And oh good, then…  you've seen THAT episode we had fun mentioning in Lars' thread.  The one where he's chewing the scenery being deliciously creepy…  ;D   Were you guys laughing and/or gaping too?  How cool was the Pussy Riot/modern issues tie-in, and the different character tete a tete's?

I find it neatly fascinating how popular it is in other countries… I mean, I never heard of the British version until this came along and thought it would be neat to watch, but wasn't sure would truly 'get' everything the same way, knowing little about their system.  But basics are basics, I suppose (plus the popularity of the actors or fascination with political portrayals?), and apparently it's hugely popular (and was pirated) in China, India, Australia, Poland, France, and Greece.  The Chinese have a big love of sharp drama it seems… this is pretty cool!:
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/10/287339133/sherlock-house-of-cards-top-chinas-must-watch-list
(can't help but wonder though what kind of light they view it in, so to speak?  Especially considering the second season arc… this article has some interesting words to say about that: http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-03-03/china-cant-get-enough-house-cards-and-scares-washington )

As far as being redeeming goes, I think Freddy fits in that list, don't you?  And Rachel/Lisa/Adam Galloway/the reporters, et al. who unfortunately got sucked into the Underwood's crossfire.  All 'innocents'?  And Peter Russo… maybe?  He just got in over his head with the game being played, but wasn't exactly innocent.  I feel like we're supposed to feel bad for poor President Walker, who was a direct casualty of the Underwoods, even though he couldn't prove it.

Everyone else, though… yeah… they're just playing the game to varying evil degrees.    Don't think I've seen too many as dark as Frank.  Still can't help but love to watch how the heck he's going to navigate each turn (even though the second season went a little over the top).  I do give Claire a point though, for trying to help that young military woman who had a breakdown, and you see her show actual remorse for realizing what happens to the innocents hurt in their political games.  She touches on that again with the American gay activist caught in Russia you've probably heard of already, and will see more of soon.

Sorry… know you didn't mean to focus on all that kind of stuff, probably!  And I talk a lot.  ;P  Often love entertainment for entertainment's sake, of course… but as would be fittingly obvious among Sherlockians, love to muse all aspects of it, too.

Well, we finished season 3 today (we could have done it sooner but we wanted to string it out a bit just to savour it a little while longer). 

WOW!!  is all I am going to say! 

I love how KS has a way of playing Francis so that despite you hating what he has done and is capable of doing you still can't help but feel some type of sympathy (at least both Dan and I do) when things go wrong for him.  It has to do with the way the character is written of course but also in the way Spacey plays him.  Incredible! 

He is so "fake" nice to people (but totally convincing while doing it), smarmy, and calm on the outside but all the while you know (because you see him when no one is looking and he allows you to hear his thoughts occasionally) he is totally capable of immense cruelty and monstrously cold deeds.  

Robin W. is something else too.  She is almost like a Cylon at times - alien like with her smooth exterior but like Frank, she is extremely calculating and measured in almost everything she does. 

I loved all of the moments we got to spend with Lars Mikkelsen as the Russian PM.  Great job of acting. 

If you haven't seen the third season then you are in for a real treat.  I think the writers enjoy keeping everyone on edge and have a real knack for pulling the rug from under our proverbial feet whenever it seems like we could guess what will happen next.  I really am constantly being surprised by the writing in this series.

-Val

This is on my 'must watch' list. The original, from what I can recall was just great! 

Bump!   …. maybe?      Val…  maybe Solar?  Just love to hear any further/deeper thoughts to above.
Alternatively, heard any news on?  Just that they're in pre-production right now, to start filming again soon. 

Oh, my bad!     Wasn't sure from post whether you had gotten through it yet or not.  Takes me forever sometimes to catch up on various shows, too (still behind on a number of things our boys were in!).    Just was wondering thoughts or things to get to hash out with, having only one real life friend as fascinated with it as I am!  And he's the right combination of sharply-written-drama-loving and political type too, talking plenty about the great acting and twisting of characters and motives, and realism of it, bordering into insanely evil exaggeration that we somehow love to watch, as you've noticed from the first couple seasons, which rings some truth no matter which country's political system you're talking about, don't you think?

And I agree, as mentioned previously... taking a cue from the way the British one was, the story kind of demands the beginning-rise-fall format, and wondered if season 3 would be it.  Typically of course, they wanted to stick a few more story lines in there and go more in depth with presidential stuff, hence dragging it out to leave us wondering about his "fall" for (a confirmed) season 4.  Which I can't wait to see, but also hope they don't extend it longer than necessary either? 
You talked before though about the 'darkness', and Francis definitely at the top of the chain for that.  Even Claire and Remy are horribly manipulative, but I still can't help but think that of them, Claire's at least the most redeemable, or at least more of a conscience?  Frank just seems to have no goals or loves other than power and his wife.