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In one of the later episodes of House Of Cards Season 3, Remy got pulled over by a police officer for speeding, and when asked for his ID he says he forgot it in his office.

Things get intense between the police officer and Remy and he gets cuffed. When the superior officer arrives, he apologizes to Remy for cuffing him and lets him go without any ticket, but Remy demands that the speeding ticket be issued even though the officer insists.

Any reason why he got worked-up and demanded the ticket? Is it because he seeks revenge on the officer for cuffing him? (Assuming the officer's name is mentioned in the ticket.) Or is he too upset and doesn't want any special treatment?

Note: In the later episodes, the ticket got never mentioned.

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    Just a guess, but I recall real-life incidents where public figures have been excused traffic violations (often under circumstances where anybody else would have been treated the same way) and the incident became public, leading to accusations of abuse of power. Because this can cause significant PR problems, I think it is SOP for public figures to insist on being penalized for such offenses strictly according to the letter of the law. (But I'm from NZ, perhaps things are different in the US.)
    – Harry Johnston
    Apr 13, 2016 at 10:39
  • @HarryJohnston In they us senators are immune from minor crimes such as those. Everyone knows it and doesn't really care last I checked.
    – Insane
    Apr 13, 2016 at 11:07
  • @Insane, House of Cards is a British series. I know it's set in the US, but the original House of Cards is British. The script is virtually identical between the two. Whatever looks weird in House of Cards should be looked at from the British perspective.
    – Stephan Branczyk
    Apr 14, 2016 at 5:14
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    @StephanBranczyk Okay. But Harry said "I'm from the NZ, maybe things are different in the US", so I explained what it is like in the US.
    – Insane
    Apr 14, 2016 at 5:17
  • @Insane, I didn't mean to sound critical. I just thought that I'd add one more possible explanation to the original question.
    – Stephan Branczyk
    Apr 14, 2016 at 5:24

4 Answers 4

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This is a case of two extremes. Remy Danton gets pulled over for speeding but doesn't have his license or registration on him. He asks the cop for a break but becomes a victim of racial profiling and is slammed on the hood of the car. After he tells the officers to "google" him to verify his identity, we see the opposite extreme and he is given special treatment due to his position by being let off the hook. He doesn't want to be judged or given particular treatment be it good or bad. He simply wants to be treated like a normal person like everyone else.

Note this is my own analysis of the scene, I don't have any sources indicating that was the intended purpose of the scene but I think it was simply there for character arc development.

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  • I thought this was the only reasonable conclusion to draw.
    – nhgrif
    Apr 13, 2016 at 12:44
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There is a chance he did it for legal purposes. With the speeding ticket written, there has to be a paper trail including the officers names. This can come in useful in case he ever has to raise an issue about racism in the police force or something.

It may actually be a case of an automatic reaction by a lawyer. Remember, Remy is (IIRC correctly) a lawyer. Covering your back like this is something I would consider a reflex for him.

Own assumption - maybe there was a story here that cot scrapped later in editing. The scene itself is not clear.

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Peter Russo got in deep with Francis Underwood due to Frank "handling" his problems with the law. My interpretation of the scene was that Remy didn't want someone showing up later telling him he owes Frank or anyone else a favor now.

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He most likely plans on getting revenge on the police officer who decided he would abuse and racially profile someone. Unfortunately for the officer, it was the wrong someone and he wants the ticket so he can have the officer's information and can take proper action against him.

This is my opinion as someone who's not naive of racism.

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