Everyone Frank Underwood Has Screwed Over on House of Cards (In Order of How Badly He Screwed Them)

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What Frank ruined: Matthews' half-hearted political aspirations

How he ruined it: By distancing Matthews from the President and reminding him how great it was to be Governor

Why he ruined it: Because Matthews had the job Frank wanted

Sometimes being screwed over works out for the best. While Frank couldn't care less about what Matthews wants, Underwood's scheming helped Matthews realize that what he really wanted in life was proximity to the Steelers, the Amish, and cured meats as Governor of the great state of Pennsylvania.

What Frank ruined: Blythe's education bill

How he ruined it: By painting Blythe as an out of touch left-winger 

Why he ruined it: For political convenience

While Blythe ended season two on a high note as the new Vice President, this recent triumph only came after he endured two seasons as Frank Underwood's punching bag. First, Underwood and President Walker had Blythe draft an education bill they never intended on passing. Then Underwood leaked a draft of the extremely liberal bill to smear the President. Adding insult to injury, he managed to blame Blythe for leaking the bill. After all of that, Underwood was still able to manipulate Blythe into voting for his entitlements bill a year later.

What Frank ruined: Kern's cabinet nod

How he ruined it: By blaming Kern for an inflammatory college newspaper article

Why he ruined it: Because Kern got the job promised to Frank

Michael Kern was the first of many of Frank Underwood's House of Cards victims. As soon as he was handed the job promised to Frank, Underwood's camp was quick to smear him. Kern's nomination was withdrawn after he was linked to an anti-Israel op-ed from his college newspaper that he didn't actually write. The piece was actually written by hippie crackpot Roy Kapeniak.

What Frank ruined: Rasmussen's political standing

How he ruined it: By spreading rumors of a leadership challenge

Why he ruined it: Because Rasmussen refused to mount a leadership challenge

Underwood went to Rasmussen to get him onboard with a coup against Speaker of the House Bob Birch. When he refused, Frank told Birch that Rasmussen was after his job, leading to his dismissal as majority leader.

What Frank ruined: The teacher's strike

How he ruined it: By goading Spinella into punching him

Why he ruined it: Because Spinella opposed Frank's anti-union legislation

In crafting a more moderate education bill than Blythe's, Frank moved to severely weaken teachers' unions. Following the move, lobbyist Marty Spinella went on the offensive, calling for a massive strike. Frank eventually goaded Marty into punching him, which provided the leverage needed to squash the strike and Spinella's credibility. This ensured that teachers would continue to make $35,000 a year for a 60 hour work week, and that Republicans would have one less thing to yell about.

What Frank ruined: Her job

How he ruined it: By causing her to resign as Chief of Staff

Why he ruined it: Because she worked for Walker

Like so many other characters on House of Cards, Linda was merely collateral damage. Walker screwed over Frank, and Linda worked for Walker, so Linda had to go. Frank staged the argument that caused a rift between Linda and the President, leading to her resignation as Chief of Staff. But, Frank did get her son into Stanford, so at least she got something out of the deal.

Chances are Linda will bounce back into the political arena with little trouble. Frank says she's "tough as a two dollar steak" which is just the sort of folksy Southern description he reserves for survivors in the world of House of Cards. 

What Frank ruined: Tusk's business interests

How he ruined it: By undermining Tusk's dealings with the Chinese

Why he ruined it: Because Tusk proved a worthy adversary to Frank

Throughout season two, Frank and Raymond were embroiled in a political and economic struggle revolving around trade with China. We'll skip all of the juicy plot points regarding currency manipulation. All you need to know is that there was some back and forth that ended with Tusk testifying against his longtime friend President Walker. This lead to Tusk's arrest and Walker's resignation.

What Frank ruined: Her marriage

How he ruined it: By convincing her that President Walker was being unfaithful

Why he ruined it: Because her husband was the President

It wasn't enough for Frank to destroy the Walkers professionally. He and Claire went after their personal lives too, and the foundations of the Walkers marriage didn't prove too hard to shake. In the second season, Claire casually drops the line, "I just don't like women who sleep with their bosses," regarding a White House employee, and moments later we see Trish Googling marriage counselors. We can rest assured that the Walkers return to "private life" in Colorado is going to involve a lot of "constructive dialogue aimed at rebuilding trust."

What Frank ruined: The dog's ability to breathe

How did he ruin it: By strangling it

Why did he ruin it: Because it got hit by a car

In the opening moments of the series, Frank strangles a dog after it's a victim of a hit and run. He assumes he is putting the dog out its misery, though we never get a look at the poor guy to judge for ourselves. Regardless of Underwood's intentions, there is definitely a crime against tasteful symbolism and metaphor committed in this scene that is unforgivable.

What Frank ruined: Galloway's artistic credibility

How he ruined it: By making him appear like a publicity hungry hack

Why he ruined it: Because Galloway banged Frank's wife and wouldn't lie about it

As far as Frank and Claire are concerned, a healthy marriage is sustained with a certain amount of extramarital activity. But, this freedom is tolerated as long as it doesn't negatively impact their careers. Adam Galloway is the sexy British photographer that every woman wishes they banged in their twenties, just the kind of man you would imagine Claire took to bed in her youth. All would have been well if Adam could have stayed away from the Underwoods and stuck to his hot young wife, pretentious photography career, and impossibly large photography studio.

Of course, he couldn't—because once you go Claire Underwood, you never go back. Adam is ultimately forced to tell the world that he forged his nudes of Claire as a tacky publicity stunt.

What Frank ruined: Her career

How he ruined her: By intimidating her into self-imposed exile in academia

Why he ruined her: Because she was a good journalist

As many recent college grads know, going back to your hometown to live with your parents is the worst. Janine has it worse than most, as her return to the nest wasn't motivated by millennial unemployment, but by the threat of politically motivated assassination. As of this writing, she seems doomed to a life teaching college-level journalism and collecting tamales on RateMyProfessor.

What Frank ruined: Darnell's parole

How he ruined it: By bringing Darnell unwanted media attention

Why he ruined it: Because Darnell was an unintended consequence of political feuding

Though he only appears in House of Cards briefly, Darnell earns two distinctions in his one-episode stint. This is Underwood's most indirect screwing over, as Darnell's parole violation is a byproduct of Frank's enemies going after Freddy. Darnell is also the least nuanced in a slew of broadly drawn House of Cards characters. In 2015, television creators can somehow still introduce young parole-violating black men into their storyline even if they are totally irrelevant to the story.

What Frank ruined: Their family

How he ruined it: By murdering their father

Why he ruined it: Because they're cute kids on a prestige drama, and something terrible was bound to happen

Like a good baby boomer, Frank Underwood is already busy screwing over the younger generations through his self-serving actions. Though the Russo kids come from a broken home with an addict father, at least they had a dad before Frank Underwood came along. 

What Frank ruined: Her life

How he ruined it: By exposing her to a controlling obsessive

Why he ruined it: Because she became a part of Frank's dirty work

When you become an escort after escaping your abusive father, you probably think things can't get much worse. If you're Rachel Posner, you would be wrong. Early on in the series, Posner accepts a cash payment from Underwood associate Doug Stamper in exchange for her silence. A season later, she's found herself a kept woman controlled by Stamper, before murdering him after a roadside misunderstanding. 

So yeah, things can get a lot worse.

What Frank ruined: Feng's life

How he ruined it: By exposing Feng's corrupt business practices to the Chinese government

Why he ruined it: Because Feng was an ally of Tusk

Unfortunately for Xander Feng, the punishment for corruption is a bit stiffer in China than it is Stateside. While Tusk can expect to get off with a slap on the wrist and maybe minimal jail time, Feng looks set to receive the death penalty following his extradition to China at the end of season two. Underwood only arranges for Feng's return to China after promising him immunity in order to get valuable information from him, managing to make Feng's probable execution sting even worse.

What Frank ruined: Russo's life (that is, Frank killed him)

How he ruined it: By owning Russo, alienating his constituents, enabling his addiction, and ultimately killing him

Why he ruined it: Because Russo didn't have the stomach for the game

Underwood systematically ruined a man's life, and his victim's only crime was getting in over his head. Damn, his arc hurt so good. But the greatest victim in Russo's downfall wasn't his family, his constituents, or even Russo himself: it was the audience. A void was left with the absence of Corey Stoll's masterful work on House of Cards.