--- title: House of Cards Season 2: Most Shocking Moments description: Debriefing the twists and turns in the ongoing saga of the Underwoods canonical: https://time.com/8123/house-of-cards-season-2-most-shocking-moments/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-17T21:34:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:25:30.703Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: House of Cards Season 2: Most Shocking Moments og:description: Debriefing the twists and turns in the ongoing saga of the Underwoods og:url: https://time.com/8123/house-of-cards-season-2-most-shocking-moments/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac8542f32ea5476e/698682ac13c79f35f6190b97/hoc_ps2_036_h.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: House of Cards Season 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: House of Cards Season 2: Most Shocking Moments twitter:description: Debriefing the twists and turns in the ongoing saga of the Underwoods twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac8542f32ea5476e/698682ac13c79f35f6190b97/hoc_ps2_036_h.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 9 Most Shocking Moments from _House of Cards_ Season 2 > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Feb 17, 2014 9:34 PM UTC  Kevin Spacey (left), Peter Bradbury (center), and Robin Wright in a scene from "House of Cards" Season 2 Kevin Spacey (left), Peter Bradbury (center), and Robin Wright in a scene from "House of Cards" Season 2Nathaniel E Bell—Netflix  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Feb 17, 2014 9:34 PM UTC **SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED ALL OF** **_HOUSE OF CARDS_** **SEASON TWO.** _House of Cards_ set the bar high in terms of shock-factor with Russo’s murder last season. Some viewers might have questioned whether they could top that drama in the second season — but the end of episode one assured us that _Cards_ hadn’t lost its punch. Here are the nine most shocking moments from season two, ranked. **1\. Zoe Barnes’ death** What the whaaaatttt? If anyone doubted that any of the characters on _House of Cards_ are disposable (except, perhaps for the Underwoods themselves), the writers proved them wrong. Series co-lead Kate Mara was given the heave-ho (literally) in just the first episode. The moment was not only shocking because of the gruesome way Zoe died but by the seemingly reckless way the always-calculating Frank Underwood killed her: Someone could have seen him throw her in front of the car! But with that big twist out of the way, there wasn’t much left this season that could make us gasp. **2\. Xander Feng’s erotic asphyxiation** Who is this man? Is he being tortured? Oh, nope — this is a sex thing. What was so surprising and bizarre about the first shot of Feng with his head in a bag is that we never saw anything like it again. Sure, we get the sense that Feng is a bored and slightly scary billionaire. But despite all his wealth, he only ends up being a pawn in Tusk’s game — and his strange sexual fantasies never come back into play. **3\. Claire’s rape reveal** Claire does something rare this season — she cries. Specifically, she cries when she is forced to face her rapist. At first, Claire’s history with General Dalton McGinnis seemed to be a ploy to garner sympathy for her — much like some accused _Scandal_ of doing with [Mellie’s rape](http://www.vulture.com/2013/11/scandal-mellie-rape-big-jer.html) earlier this season. But soon Claire’s rape, like everything else in the show, becomes a means of leverage for the Underwoods. After all, her trauma leads to a bill — a bill which is later leveraged as a bargaining tool for political support when Underwood takes aim at the Oval Office. I doubt that the reveal about the rape was calculated, unless Underwood hired or blackmailed that man into sending fake anthrax to the White House so he couldn’t make the interview (and had the same man later to plant the bomb in front of their doorstep). That said, considering the brick incident last season, it’s impossible to put _anything_ past the Underwoods. Ah — there’s still so much to be unraveled in season three. **4\. Claire’s abortion reveal** I actually cheered for Claire this episode. Yes, she’s still a morally bankrupt, manipulative woman who intentionally ruined the lives of her ex-lover, the First Lady and a fellow rape victim this season. And yes, I know she was lying about the number of abortions she actually had and maybe the circumstances under which she had them. But nonetheless — her “I will not be ashamed” speech was brave and inspiring, however calculated it might have been. **5\. Rachel kills Doug with a rock** Who knew that Rachel had _that_ in her? I guess Doug forcing her to break up with Lisa was the last straw. Frank mentioned at the end of the episode that they had put an APB out on Doug’s car, so the big question is — where did Rachel go? Did she pick up Lisa and try to make a run for it? Did she dump the car? Did she wander back into that _Twin Peaks_\-esque forest? I’m hoping she teams up with someone else who wants revenge against the Underwoods — maybe Freddy or Janine. Which brings me to… **6\. Freddy thrown under the bus** No. No. No. I refuse to believe it. Freddy was easily the best character on this show, and the only person who made Frank Underwood seem human. Frank had a hard time cutting Freddy out (a harder time, I would point out, than Claire had manipulating Adam, a man she supposedly loved once upon a time). But in the end, Frank still did it — he sacrificed his only real friend for his White House dreams. The move was shocking because Freddy’s criminal past popped up out of nowhere — wouldn’t Frank or the first reporter have looked into that? — and because part of me still wanted to believe the man who throws people in front of subway cars still had a heart, albeit a cold one. Good for Freddy for refusing the Underwoods’ money. Let’s hope this isn’t the last we see of him. **7\. The threesome** We learned last year when Frank revisited his bygone college years that he had a history of sexual involvement with men. Though Frank’s sexuality is ultimately still up in the air, it’s not all that surprising that he and Claire would seduce a young Secret Service agent together. After all, weren’t they just bemoaning the fact that the limelight prevents either of them from having affairs? But even after Meechum walked in on Frank watching porn and Claire got too drunk for her own good, I still didn’t see this one coming. (Side note: Meechum was off duty so wouldn’t someone else have had to come on duty and check in with the Underwoods? Wouldn’t they have heard or seen something?) **8\. The near-death of Cashew** Cashew may be just a guinea pig, but he doesn’t deserve to be crushed underfoot. In fact, Cashew may be the only totally innocent character on the show. Those squealing noises were almost too much to bear. (Also [one of the McPoyles](http://itsalwayssunny.wikia.com/wiki/McPoyles) _would_ be overly attached to a guinea pig.) **9\. Jackie gets a tattoo** Who is this mysterious girl in a hoodie walking into a tattoo parlor? Must be Rachel, right? No! It’s the majority whip! Okay, so maybe this wasn’t that big of a twist, but the shot was a nice homage to some of _House of Cards_ director-producer David Fincher’s previous work, i.e. _Girl with the Dragon Tattoo_. (Part of me expected Rooney Mara, Kate Mara’s sister, to be the girl in the hoodie. Zoe’s sister — played by Kate Mara’s sister — showing up to investigate her death — now _that_ would be a twist.) The tattoo scene did tell us that maybe Jackie is a little more human than Frank. As she tells Remy later, she needs the pain of the needle to cope with her having killed so many people. Yes, I left Underwood becoming president off the list. But we all saw that coming from a mile away. 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