《紙牌屋》第四季 更精彩更香豔

US TV dramas are known for their seemingly endless seasons. In many cases, the longer a show is, the less creative and more tedious it gets. Viewers usually seek something new to binge on. But Netflix’s latest release, House of Cards season four, aims to avoid this fate.

衆所周知，美劇似乎總有拍不完的下一季。大多數情況下，一部劇持續時間越長，就會變得越沒創意，越乏味。觀衆常常會轉向新劇。不過網飛公司最新發布的《紙牌屋》第四季力圖擺脫這種命運。

After its release this March, millions of subscribers from 190 countries and regions got hooked to this new season of political intrigue. Even the writer of the original BBC version of House of Cards, Andrew Davies, admits that he was engrossed by the new episodes. “I’m hooked on it,” Davies told The Guardian. “I’ll probably binge-watch the new season.”

自三月上線以來，共有來自190個國家和地區的數百萬名用戶被新一季《紙牌屋》中的政治陰謀深深吸引。就連英國廣播公司原版《紙牌屋》的編劇安德魯•戴維斯都坦言，自己被新劇集圈粉了。戴維斯告訴英國《衛報》：“我完全看入迷了。我可能會一口氣刷完第四季。”

For many longtime viewers, the previous season was a letdown. Its plot lines were almost too pedestrian to be interesting. Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) was adrift in his new role as US president. He had beaten all of his rivals to reach the top political office, and there was almost no one worth fighting anymore. But season four aims to offer viewers the juicy twists they missed last season.

對很多常年追此劇的觀衆而言，上一季《紙牌屋》太令人失望。情節老套，毫無趣味可言。當上總統的弗蘭克•安德伍德（凱文•史派西飾）變得百無聊賴。他打敗了所有競爭者登上最高政治寶座，幾乎再無對手。不過第四季致力於爲觀衆提供上一季缺失的生動、曲折的劇情。

Underwood confronts his most potent enemy ever, his wife Claire (Robin Wright). Claire aims to amass power by becoming vice president. When Underwood thwarts her attempts, Claire moves back to Texas, her home state, to compete for a seat in the US Congress. This move injects the storyline with spice and sexual tension. As a plot twist, it is “more effective than any previous murder or immoral ploy ever [was],” Indiewire’s Nikola Grozdanovic wrote.

安德伍德遭遇了有史以來最強勁的對手——他的妻子克萊爾（羅賓•懷特飾）。克萊爾試圖競選副總統來發展自己的力量。當安德伍德挫敗了她的計謀，她轉戰家鄉德克薩斯州，爭奪國會議席。克萊爾的舉動爲情節增添了不少情趣和香豔的張力。隨着劇情的發展，這一招“比之前任何謀殺和道德陰謀更奏效”，影評人網的尼古拉•格羅茲戴諾維克寫道。

Season four also dazzles viewers with an array of new faces. Through Claire’s mother (Ellen Burstyn), viewers get an idea of how little kinship means among the power-hungry. And Claire’s political consultant (Neve Campbell) reveals the relationship between power and wealth. Meanwhile, Underwood himself has to tackle another rival: aspiring president and New York governor Conway (Joel Kinnaman). Conway’s character showcases how duplicitous one needs to be in order to get to the top. These characters’ storylines are woven together with hot-button political topics, such as gun control and terrorism.

第四季中出現的一批新面孔也讓觀衆眼前一亮。通過克萊爾的母親（艾倫•伯斯汀飾），觀衆知道了在權力和慾望面前親情一文不值。克萊爾的政治顧問（內芙•坎貝爾飾）則赤裸裸地揭開了權力和財富的關係。同時，安德伍德自己還要應對另一個對手：有當總統抱負的紐約州州長康威（喬爾•金納曼飾）。康威這個角色展現了一個人需要如何兩面三刀才能登上權力巔峯。熱門政治話題，比如槍支管控和恐怖主義等將這些角色的故事交織在一起。

On top of that, key characters from previous seasons return in the new season. The murdered journalist Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) surfaces in Frank’s constant hallucinations. And the bamboozled writer Tom (Boris McGiver) determines to expose the Underwoods’ misdeeds no matter the cost. The reappearance of these characters makes the whole series “connected and encapsulated,” IGN’s Matt Fowler commented.

此外，前幾集的主要人物也陸續迴歸。被謀殺的記者佐伊•巴爾內斯（凱特•瑪拉飾）出現在弗蘭克的幻覺中。被欺騙的作家湯姆（鮑里斯•邁克基弗飾）決定不惜一切代價揭露安德伍德的罪行。評論網站IGN的馬特•富勒評論說，再現這些人物能讓整部劇“更緊密、更精煉”。

With fresh surprises and horrors, House of Cards season four has received a wave of praise from critics for its entertainment value. “House of Cards has always longed to be an opera, right down to the soprano who occasionally wails on the soundtrack,” Vox culture editor Todd VanDerWerff wrote. “Season four comes the closest the show ever has to realizing that ambition.”

全新的驚喜和恐懼元素爲《紙牌屋》第四季贏得了評論家的陣陣好評，盛讚它的娛樂價值。娛樂新聞網Vox的文化版編輯託德•萬德維夫寫道：“《紙牌屋》一直渴望像歌劇那樣，有一位女高音隨時可能會在音軌上留下最強音。第四季是這部劇最接近實現這一野心的時候。”