Here’s Every Plot Point We Could Pull Out Of The Incredible New ‘House Of Cards’ Trailer

Earlier today Netflix finally released the trailer for Season Three of House of Cards, and it looks spectacular.

They’ve crammed a lot of goodness into that forty-five second trailer, but most of it goes by too fast to notice the finer points. We’ve trawled through it screenshot by screenshot to sketch out an idea of what Season Three might have in store, and unless they’re being exceptionally devious (which is always possible) the House of Cards trailer wizards have let some pretty tantalising details in. Here’s what we’ve got.

(Spoilers, obviously; if you haven’t seen up to the end of Season Two, go watch the rest of House of Cards right now.)

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Doug Stamper’s Gone, Almost Certainly Dead

Underwood’s right-hand man, Doug Stamper, was attacked and left unconscious by Rachel Posner in the last episode of Season Two. While it was unclear at the time whether Stamper was killed or just injured, the new trailer shows Underwood walking through a graveyard by himself, cradling a bouquet of flowers.

That, combined with the fact that Stamper doesn’t appear in the trailer at all, pretty strongly suggests that he’s dead; Stamper was a major character throughout the first two seasons, and it’d be pretty hard for them to cut a trailer together without at least hinting at his continued presence. Either he’s dead or he plays such a negligible role in the third season he doesn’t warrant a mention.

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War With Russia And A Vladimir Putin Lookalike

Season Three’s main antagonist looks to be a fictionalised Russian President named “Petrov”, who strongly resembles Vladimir Putin and brings Russia and the United States to the brink of war. Petrov goads, provokes and intimidates Frank in ways both diplomatic and personal in the trailer. In one scene, Petrov looms over Frank in the Russian President’s office, while in another he violently forces himself on Claire in public at a diplomatic gathering.

At least one of the causes or consequences of this conflict appears to be an American imprisoned by Russian troops, who can be seen at around the twenty-second mark. While it’s not clear whether the United States and Russia actually go to war, things get serious enough for peace marchers to get all up in everyone’s business complete with some groovy “Stop Petrov” t-shirts.

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Remy Goes Back To Work For Frank

Remy Danton appears surprisingly often throughout the trailer, often at Frank’s side, suggesting he’s come back into the fold and is playing a major role in the Underwood White House.

This makes it even more likely that Stamper’s dead; without his most trusted adviser, Frank has to re-hire his old press secretary and protege-turned-rival Remy Danton. Remy left Underwood’s office to pursue higher things in the first place; now his old boss is as high as they get, and Remy’s right back by his side.

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Creepy Hacker Dude Works For The FBI Now

 

Remember Gavin Orsay? The creepy hacktivist who lives in a dungeon with a guinea pig named Cashew? At the end of last season he’d managed to turn the tables on his FBI handlers, uncovering the existence of Rachel Posner and blackmailing Stamper and the FBI into ensuring his immunity in return for his silence. Since he’s working for the FBI now, it looks like Gavin’s going to play a long-game role in Season Three; he’s one of a handful of characters with both the knowledge and the means to seriously threaten Frank Underwood, and we’ll probably be seeing a lot more of him in episodes to come.

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House of Cards Season Three premieres on February 27.