I agree with Boost. It's a rare drama that avoids being boringly repetitive by season 4 or 5. It seems like shows have a wayward period where the writers don't know where to go with it. That period after all the initial ideas have been explored (seasons 1 & 2), then all the secondary ideas have been explored (season 3, maybe 4)... Then if there's still public interest in the show...

I'd like to point out that with Spacey and Wright leading the cast, the acting is generally top-notch.

***
There's always the constant Hollywood casting problem with putting noodle-bodied actors in high military roles. Military people, especially top military people, carry themselves with a certitude that is unmistakable. I can't really fault the show for it, but I'm sensitive to it, so it's a distraction.

Like those odd (bad) foley moments, where something just sounds off - and you realize that ALL the sounds are fake, for just a second, but it's enough.

***
The only thing that really bothers me about House of Cards is that I can't figure out how someone with apparently no political acumen got elected president in the first place. Does anyone else see that as a serious hole in the plot? Did I forget some one-off explanation for how it happened?