Within the first few minutes of the first episode of a show, you can tell a lot about a character. In House of Cards, Frank Underwood kills a dog that has been hit by a car, with his first lines explaining why.

“There are two kinds of pain,” he tells us as he breaks through the fourth wall. “The sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain. The sort of pain that’s only suffering. I have no patience for useless things.”

From the get go he is powerful, ruthless, & manipulative.

The next scene Frank is at president- elect Garrett Walker’s election night. He breaks the fourth wall again & introduces other lead character. You now know that he has a sense of humor as he describes: “Linda Vasquez, Walker’s chief of staff.
I got her hired. She’s a woman, check, and a latina, check, but more important than that, she’s as tough as a two-dollar steak. Check, check, check.”

He then throws a “Welcome to Washington” line and the show has begun.

Frank says his time has come, and with 22 years in congress he feels that it is long overdue.  Frank gets screwed over by POTUS-Elect , who goes back on the promise to nominate him for secretary of State, Frank calls out Walker’s chief of staff: “The nature of promises, Linda, is that they remain immune to changing circumstances.”

Frank’s capacity for evil is evident right away. You then see his personal life with his wife Claire Underwood and the masks they wear to the outside world. Claire’s asserts “We do things together. When you don’t involve me, we’re in free fall,” making them the most powerful couple on TV.

The first episode closes with Frank and Claire alone on a weeknight late.

Frank: I know what I have to do.

Claire: Good.

Frank: We’ll have a lot of nights like this- Making plans, very little sleep.

Claire: I expected that. It doesn’t worry me.

Frank: I better get to work.

These lines are chilling and keep you wanting to watch more.