Frank's campaign continues in Iowa, but the only topic that interests participants in town hall meetings there is the Jordan Valley.
Frank doesn't want to do the town halls if he's only going to face questions he can't answer, so he'll continue to campaign there but only do his stump speech. He asks Remy to work on getting the upcoming debate there postponed, as well.
Claire is dealing with the chaos in the Jordan Valley as well, meeting with representatives from Israel, Palestine and Jordan. She is pushing for an end to Israeli and Palestinian violence there, and wants Russia to draw down some of their troops there as well.
Israel institutes a no-fly zone over the region, threatening to shoot down any Russian aircraft that would enter the airspace, even supply planes, meaning that this situation is coming to a boil.
"Keep your no-fly zone," President Petrov says, addressing Israel. "I will be flying through it, nevertheless. Shoot me down, if you wish, because nothing can stop me from standing side by side with my countrymen."
With Petrov swearing to personally fly through the airspace himself, Israel will not shoot him down, but they will respond by increasing ground troops there. Frank decides to go to the region himself.
"I'm going to meet with Petrov face-to-face, on the ground," he says, hoping to de-escalate things there, and quickly.
There's a presidential race to run, after all.
"You can't let the campaign drive our foreign policy," Claire tells Frank. She tells him that by going to Jordan, Frank is giving Petrov all the leverage. Frank says that he's willing to throw away the peacekeeping mission, and missile defense, as Petrov asked for earlier, if it means easing tensions.
"The mission is dead," Frank tells her. "It was dead the moment those troops got blown up."
Claire asks that this be a decision they make together, and urges Frank to give her a chance to exhaust diplomatic channels before doing something rash.
"Claire, I value your opinion. I just don't agree with it this time," Frank says.
The book
"I think people need to hear your voice to hear his," Tom tells Claire, after she asks some questions about his project. Tom says he's hit a roadblock and that he needs to talk to Claire to fill in some gaps in the book.
He's digging around in Frank's past, too, calling an old friend of Frank's from military school.
Gavin comes clean
Gavin pays Lisa a visit, and tells her the truth about himself. He doesn't have AIDS, his name isn't Max and he's going away and never coming back, because he's in danger.
"You're a good person, Lisa. And I'm just not," he says. Hard to argue there. He tells her to call Doug if the FBI comes around asking questions.
Two men in a room
Frank arrives in the valley for his meeting with Petrov. "What do you require to pull out of the valley?" Frank asks. Petrov demands an end to the peacekeeping operation. Frank agrees, and concedes the missile defense point as well.
Then Petrov asks for Claire's removal as ambassador. "I think she should be gone," he says. "My final condition ... and it's non-negotiable."
Petrov tells Frank that he and Alexi played Claire like a fiddle, convincing her that Russia had attacked their own troops. Maybe they had, Petrov says, but more than that, it was easy to convince Claire that they had.
"You want to kill me now. I can see it," Petrov says to Frank. "Do you think you're capable?"
"I don't see why Claire means so much to you," Frank says. "Because she means so much to you," Petrov replies.
Frank leaves with an important decision to make.
Uncle Doug
Doug's brother is in town to help take care of him, and he's brought his wife and kids with him. "You've got two pictures on your fridge, and they're of my kids," his brother says. He urges Doug to abandon the hope of working for Frank again, and to move on with his life, to find freedom.
The decision
"I'll resign," Claire says, after Frank gives her Petrov's ultimatum. "I wish it didn't have to come to this," Frank says. Claire immediately starts working on the cover story that will be fed to the press. She isn't pleased, but seems to take it in stride.
Drinks with Tom
After breaking the news to Claire, Frank calls Tom to the White House in the middle of the night for a drink and counseling session. Tom opens up about his former life as a prostitute, and how his clients would tell him everything. He says he misses that sort of access to people's lives.
"I wish I could do that sometimes. Escape myself," Frank says. "I betrayed her," Frank says of Claire. Tom asks him how, and says that he's asking as a friend, taking Frank's hand.
It looks like they may be going to go to bed together, when Frank decides not to. He tells Tom to go home and get some sleep.
New hair, don't care
Frank's team did some focus group testing on Claire's look, and they ask her to go back to blonde. Every little bit counts, they tell her.
"We'll do what we have to," Claire says.
The Underwoods always do.
The best of Frank and Claire
Frank lighting the cigarette with the stove.
Frank's hair is held together with paste and jam, I think. I was dying to see what it looked like when that helmet came off.
Claire immediately shifting to damage control mode after being fired.
Frank's grandpa hoodie.
WTF moments
Gavin delivering the news to Lisa. If someone played me the way that Gavin played Lisa, I don't think I'd calmly ask them to leave, let alone ignore their offer for protection from the FBI. Just a thought.
Gavin giving Lisa his hamster.
Best Frank Underwood quotes
"I'm not to be disturbed."
"Sometimes it comes down to two men in a room."
"Sometimes I think the presidency is the illusion of choice."
"This isn't pretend. I'm real."