Editor's Note: This is part one of Mashable's three-part review of season two. Part one covers episodes 1-3. Parts two and three will publish Saturday and Sunday.
A depleted streetlight above a jogging path in Washington, D.C., is the striking image of House of Cards season two's opening scene — as if foreshadowing 13 episodes filled with darkness. Frank and Claire Underwood come barreling down the path into focus, continuing the nighttime run they began at the end of last year's finale.
Dressed in black runners' attire, the power couple look like robbers ready to steal whatever more power they find during their merciless sprint toward a political finish line.
But as the duo discovers in the first three new episodes — chapters 14, 15 and 16 in the Netflix series — their ascension isn't without obstacles. In particular, three familiar journalists — Zoe, Janine and Lucas — trying to connect the dirty dots left in the wake of Frank's backstabbing behaviors and Claire's manipulation from season one.
The Underwoods' massive cleanup effort has a lot of stains to tackle: old enemies, precarious alliances and riveting threats to everyone's future in the nation's capital.
But the mops now have fresh blood on them after a shocking death turns plans upside down at the end of episode one.

Claire, played by Golden Globe Best Actress winner Robin Wright, tries to tidy up messes of her own in a stern way. You never know whether she's making moves to benefit herself or her husband's still-unclear vice-presidential aspirations.
Frank, played by Emmy-nominated Kevin Spacey, maneuvers his pawns and brings in new minion Jacqueline Sharp, a junior congresswoman with "ruthless pragmatism" whom Frank wants to fill his House Majority Whip position that he vacated to be the VP.

Jacqueline Sharp (Molly Parker) gives a compelling performance so far in the first new House of Cards episodes.
Image: Nathaniel Bell/Netflix
Episode two spotlights a shattered lamp. Once again where there was light it's now dark. The shining light in all of this gloom, however, is the acting.
Though the story lines are unraveling, the people are unraveling, too, in a beautifully sad spiral. It's the same level of acting across the board that earned House of Cards' first season several nominations and wins at the Emmys, Golden Globes and other ceremonies.
See also: Barack Obama Asks 'House of Cards' Fans Not To Post Spoilers
Wright as firecracker Claire, Sebastian Arcelus as disheveled truth-digger Lucas, and Molly Parker as Whip contender Jacqueline are giving the most-compelling performances so far, making them the ones for viewers and critics to keep an eye on this season.
Arcelus' take on Lucas is especially gripping, with recent tragic events affecting his appearance, his sanity and the people he confides in.
Policies and global relations take a back seat (or passenger's seat if you catch long-gone Peter Russo's drift) to these standout personal moments, but a tiff with China begins to brew, reminding us that, oh yeah, we're watching a political drama.

Tensions between Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRaney) and Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) heat up.
Image: Nathaniel Bell/Netflix
Like the birds that outdoorsy businessman Raymond Tusk watches for leisure, Spacey soars in episode three, returning in warp speed to his conniving nature.
Frank, who frequently broke the fourth wall to address the audience directly last season, appears to be spending less time this go-around addressing Netflix subscribers and more time conversing with the other characters.
Along with Frank's finagling come heavy political and tech subplots that may confuse some viewers, though the emotional delivery of these narratives may be enough to make everything understandable. Lucas, in the most fascinating subplot, makes friends with an online hacker even before they ever meet face to face. The hacker instructs Lucas to do a series of unethical duties at work before meeting in person. Oppositely, Frank is being Frank and making more enemies by using (some would say abusing) his growing powers.
While the number of Frank's foes mounts, so too may the number Netflix subscribers who tune out. But who knows? People like watching despair, and just three episodes deep, there is a torrent of desperation on several key players' faces.
Frank proclaims in episode three's tail end, "The higher up the mountain, the more treacherous the path." The Underwoods' path is truly dark, but so is everyone else's — viewers included — for better or worse.
If you can get past the government mumbo-jumbo and confounding technical wizardry, season two is worth your time to binge-watch for the engrossing acting that will leave your heart a little heavier.