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TV Week 69 homicide. But despite his protagonist's calculating, callous and even murderous nature, Willimon sees his saga as more nuanced than just the careful execution of a well-thought-out plan. "The key thing about Frank and Claire, is they're not chess players staying 15 moves ahead. If they were, then it would be boring. They would simply execute the moves they require to achieve checkmate," he says. "Politics is much more like jazz. It's reacting to what's going on around you — taking a lemon and turning it into lemonade. Politicians work in chaos, and they try to bring order to the chaos. They're constantly confronted by the unexpected. And the real test of a great politician is how they confront the unexpected and turn it to their advantage." The power couple is not oblivious to the consequences of their actions, either — whether it's the murders of Peter Russo (Corey Stoll) and Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) or even the suicide attempt of Megan Hennessey (Libby Woodbridge) after Claire decides she no longer needs the sexually assaulted marine's help to further her cause. "We see them thinking about the risks," says Willimon. "For a man who's committed murder not once, but twice . . . for a man who has, at times, placed his entire career, freedom, life on the line, the stakes don't get much higher personally. One of the things that makes House of Cards so compelling is the fact that we know every move this man makes has the potential to affect the entire world. The stakes don't get much higher than that." While the storylines of the third season remain a well-kept secret, a 45-second trailer gives us a glimpse into the life of Frank and Claire in the White House, revealing in just a few beats that all is not well between the Underwoods. In the final seconds of the teaser, Claire confronts Frank about the fact that the two of them are murderers. "We're survivors," growls her husband. "I think he takes huge risks knowing that if he wagers wrongly, it could be the end of him," says Willimon. "That's why he's willing to go to such great lengths in terms of eschewing ethics and morality in order to protect himself, because of the types of risks that he's taking along the way. The bigger the prize, the bigger the risks, and he's learned to take them." For the man who has dedicated his professional (and much of his personal) life to the Underwoods, their journey through the political landscape and personal struggles continue to endlessly fascinate. "I think that they are the darkest and brightest sides of ourselves," says Willimon. "They're an extraordinary species that seem almost non-human, and yet they constantly remind us that they are. I'm hard-pressed to think of two characters who have remained as much of a mystery to me as they have over such a sustained period of time. And wherever there's that type of mystery, you hold onto it for dear life because it's bigger than you are. And you're in for a wild ride." ■ What manner of political havoc will Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) wreak now that he's the most powerful man in the world. Frank and Claire take the term "power couple" to a whole new level.