How did 'House of Cards' kill Frank Underwood? Very patiently.

This is a question that has plagued many series to come back this fall, including "Roseanne" ABC since renamed "The Conners". For the producers of "House of Cards", the answer seems to have been, in part, to bleed Frank's body instead of treating the subject of their fallen star directly in the first and then passing, as did the screenwriters of "The Conners", the "House of Cards" team only keeps Spacey in the cast, suspending his narrative about the hooks implying the political promises that Frank had made before dying, the question of posthumous forgiveness, a restored audio diary, and of course, the way he died.

[[[[Click here for a reminder of where we had stopped at the end of Season 5.]

The public assumption is that Frank died of natural causes in his sleep, alongside his wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), who is now president. Claire tells the camera that the very construction of the series will be different under itself from that under Frank, promising to tell us the truth that, as she says, her husband has rarely done so.

Nevertheless, this truth about Frank is hidden as long as possible. Pieces of information are scattered throughout the first: Frank was buried in Gaffney next to a father whom he hated, instead of Arlington. Claire has not forgiven him yet, but she can still do it. He is given a hand in the coffin at the burial – the extent of what we get from a physical representation of Frank.

Shortly after the first of the season, Claire goes out and cancels the keyword saying, "I'm starting to believe that Francis was murdered." Some very powerful people, perhaps even the Shepherds (Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear), wanted Frank dead, and now they may also want the death of his widow. Almost as if the writers were trying preemptively to reject the criticism that they did not explain Frank's death, Claire declares in the final scene of the premiere: "A man like Francis does not die. That would be – what's the word? – convenient.

And then she defiantly poses her ring on her middle finger, watching us as she returns the bird.

While the intrigues surrounding Claire's presidency are disputed, the "convenience" of Frank Underwood's death continues to stifle them at the beginning of the season. At the end of episode 2, almost as if she knew that the viewer needs an update on what has now become a mystery of murder, Claire turns directly to the camera and reveals some Further details on the last night of her husband's life: have not spoken since she denied her calls and he arrived at the White House, slamming his words and furious; the public account of his death in their bed is a lie; he died in his own bedroom; and Claire believes that "they killed her to silence me".