We have just over two more weeks until Netflix releases House of Cards: Season 2, which will debut on February 14th. Fans have been waiting for a year, which has seemed like an eternity, to see what happens with the Underwoods and their friends (and enemies). Soon they will have to wait no longer (until they watch the entire season in one weekend and have to wait another year).

Unfortunately, we don’t have early access to the season, but Variety TV columnist Brian Lowry was able to get a glimpse at the first four episodes, which he deems “a winning hand.”

He begins, “The first season of ‘House of Cards’ achieved the dual feat of instantly emerging as a first-rate drama while simultaneously being seriously overrated – riding the ‘Netflix reinvents TV’ angle and juicy inside-the-Beltway bits to front-page coverage. No fools they, season two generally proceeds with more of the same, exhibiting a show with abundant strengths – foremost among them Kevin Spacey’s showy performance as an unscrupulous politician – but also underplayed weaknesses, including a continuing failure to present its scheming protagonist with equally matched foes. Dense and smart, ‘Cards’ is still partially skating by on reputation – and for Netflix’s purposes, that’s good enough.”

Just to give you a little context regarding the reviewer, Lowry said this of the first season last year: “The Kevin Spacey vehicle isn’t without some annoying tics, and feels a little late boarding the bandwagon of projects with Washington politics as a backdrop,” but went on to say other, more positive things about it.

I’ll let you read the rest of his Season 2 review at Variety, but suffice it to say, I still feel fairly confident that we’ll get another entertaining season of Netflix’s flagship original series. The trailers have helped with that confidence too.

By the way, the House of Cards Tumblr has put up a couple more of those cinemagraphs:

Lead image via Tumblr