HTHarlan Traub
I'm used to talking to candidates, not chauffeurs.
I'm not a chauffeur.
HTHarlan Traub
Well, it's your hands on the wheel.
All S1
S1 E15Unfinished Business
[Heather Dunbar receives a call from Frank Underwood in the Oval Office.]
Heather.
HDHeather Dunbar
Mr. President?
Doug Stamper is my friend and you came very close to killing him.
HDHeather Dunbar
Excuse me?
You're aware he's an alcoholic.
HDHeather Dunbar
Yes.
And how serious his injuries were.
HDHeather Dunbar
Mr. President—
But you still put him to work, a man who's trying to recover, who's trying to get back his life. Did you honestly think he could handle that?
HDHeather Dunbar
Douglas came to us.
And you should have turned him away, if you had one ounce of decency.
HDHeather Dunbar
What's happened? Is he okay?
You don't have the right to ask me that question. And if you do anything that endangers his health again, I swear to God, I will put you in your fucking grave.
[Petrov demands that Claire step down from her ambassador post in return for a resolution to the Jordan Valley crisis]
You want to kill me now. I can see it. I read an amusing article where a Civil War re-enactor said your great-great grandfather killed a Yankee soldier with his bare hands. When I was in Afghanistan, we were ambushed by the mujahideen. [lifts his shirt to reveal scars] And the man who shot me here and here stabbed me when his rifle jammed. I pulled the knife away and slit his throat.
Yes, I know. You've told that story dozens of times to the press.
The part I don't tell is that after I slit his throat, I kept going. I strapped his head to a donkey so it would carry it back to his village. I killed a man with my bare hands. It wasn't make believe. Do you think you're capable? I think you are. You're ruthless, like me. Sometimes we must be ruthless with those who hate us, and sometimes we must be ruthless with those we love.
Are we friends?
We can pretend to be.
Sometimes I think the presidency is the illusion of choice.
[Frank is practicing for the debates]
We should focus on Sharp next.
Want me to play her?
Donald, thank you for taking your role so seriously. You should consider a career on the stage. [to the audience] Because he sure as hell isn't gonna be on my ticket.
[about Sharp] Such a shame how ruthless pragmatism gets weighed down by family values. Without that doctor and his pimply-faced brood, she could soar as high as this plane. Oh, I know - the marriage was my idea. Don't remind me.
I was thinking...
About what? Mrs. Underwood?
Jumping.
Jumping?
You ever have that feeling? In conversation?
Which feeling?
On a bridge, you look over and... step back...
Do you need me to get someone?
[Claire drops her orange juice, and seems in a trance]
He proposed, and I said, 7 years. If it's still good, another 7. If not... every 7 years. I don't hate campaigning. What I hate is... how much I need... of...
How much you need each other.
I didn't jump. I didn't step back. I... [faints]
I humiliated myself.
JJakie
Oh, you got a little beat up, that's all.
And you threw the biggest punch. hallelujah!!
JJakie
Oh, you mean the thing about your kids? That wasn't what we discussed.
Well, bubidee babadii buya, don't you see ... I had to hit you hard so she wouldn't, and besides, we had to dispel any suspicion that you and I might be in concert.
JJakie
I'm not comfortable with the dynamic we've established.
- and what dynamic exactly is that? - The leash you have me on, or the ice tea that I. have. never. tasted?
... or I'm supposed to roll the dice and just watch any trick you have to offer, huh?
JJakie
You're taking me for granted, Frank.
Oh, Jakie; what am I supposed to be appreciative of your lacklustre enthusiasm?? ... or should I just say how fortunate I am to have you sort of on my team? You're not happy with our dynamic ... well, you get in the mood!
I'm out, Jackie. No more politics.
You don't mean that. It's who you are.
That's what I thought, too, for a long time. I don't even know if I'll stay in D.C.
What will you do?
That's the best part: I have no idea.
SSuzy
[about her husband] He goes after anything in a skirt. Which I don't mind so much, to be honest. I mean, I've had a fling or two myself. What I don't like is how he lies about it. And then, when he asks if I've been with someone and I say yes, he flips out, like there's some kind of double standard. I mean, he wants to dog Christie Mulligan in the back of her brand new Escalade, fine. Why shouldn't I be able to give Kyle Beckenbauer some head for building Kayla's crib?
[to Dunbar] I have only one thing to say: Go fuck yourself. [to the audience] Christ, that felt good.
We've been lying for a long time, Francis.
Of course we have. Imagine what the voters would think if we started telling the truth.
It only takes ten seconds to crush a man's ambitions.
There's a lot more to Francis and me than what you wrote.
Maybe so, but I never got a chance to ask.
Then ask. Whatever you want.
Why aren't you with him in Iowa?
[pause] I'm headed there tomorrow.
You see? I ask a question, and neither of you answer. It's tiresome constantly swinging a sledgehammer at the facade, just to get a glimpse beneath the cracks.
Tell me what you see.
Somebody who's lost. But I don't know, maybe it's all for the best. I'd rather imagine who you might be than who you actually are. Good luck, Claire.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's House of Cards pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.