Leave it to Frank to have Russian anarchists ruin his dinner party whilst he tries his damndest to butter up Viktor Petrov, their current President. Politically speaking this is a necessary episode, albeit if it wasn’t for the theatrics interrupting the hors d’oeuvre’s it would have made for a rather eventless hour.
When it comes to Claire, her cold and calculated attitude to all things, including her marriage sends chills down your spine. As ruthless and cutting as Frank is, she is the woman that drives this twisted plot forward at every turn, even if she doesn’t realise herself, - it’s just in her nature. President Petrov seems to be more taken with flirting his way through dinner that the USA has thrown him in order to sort out their own political differences instead of addressing them head on. Older brother of Hannibal's Mads Mikklesen, Lars brings just as much talent and craziness to his arrogant and obnoxious Petrov as Mads does to the cannibalistic psychiatrist. In fact, his performance is probably the most captivating aspect about this episode. At this stage Season Three shouldn’t be allowing room for any form of a filler episode but the longevity of Frank's dealings with Petrov gave the impression they needed to pad out this chapter.
Taking such large steps to ensure his position is proving difficult and it seems a delusional Russian President is the least of Frank’s worries.