This is going to be a strange and belated 9/11 blog post.

Instead of a sad and sappy ode to a city and a building that no high schooler alive today has gotten to see, instead of mourning a world that most of us scarcely remember existed, I turn my attention to the most compelling, must-see president of my lifetime.

President Francis J. Underwood.

Yes, President Underwood, the former main protagonist of Netflix’s award-winning series, House of Cards. (Spoilers ahead) Passed over for a key Cabinet position in the early days of a new presidency, the Senate majority whip from South Carolina—along with his wife, Lady Macbeth… er, Claire—schemed, plotted, cajoled, blackmailed, lied, stole, and killed his way to the vice-presidency, and then orchestrated the ouster of the President to take the top job. Driven by an enormous ego and a ruthless streak that was only barely covered by an affable Southern charm, Frank Underwood was the creature of ambition that we loved to see game the system. He was our guilty pleasure. His rise to the top was fascinating to watch because we knew this cruel and petty and self-absorbed man had no place in the nation’s most dignified office. The notion itself seemed surreal and fantastic. We were in the throes of the Obama years, who was the most popular president since Kennedy. He was a kind, decent, and intelligent man with a beautiful young family that seemed to say and do so many of the right things. Someone like Underwood could, in reality, never become President; the bar was simply set too high. With that in mind, I watched the show intently and marveled at all the political machinations.

Then came that day in November, 2016.

Somehow, the wave of progress that followed Obama’s election eight years prior stopped cold. Overnight, I felt like I was in a different country, and what was once political escapist fantasy of an ambitious, morally bankrupt person becoming the leader of the free world felt too vivid. The manipulation that enabled Frank Underwood’s rise to power felt too real to me.

Since 2016, Frank Underwood fell from grace, as did the actor who played him. Season six of House of Cards, the final season, follows Robin Wright’s Claire Underwood as the new President. It’s ironic that my political escapist fantasy now features an ambitious, ruthless, morally bankrupt woman in the top spot.

It’s almost like the universe is teasing me with what should have been.

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