For a few fleeting moments this afternoon, the first 10 episodes of the third season of House of Cards were accidentally made available to anyone with a Netflix account (or anyone who regularly uses someone else’s Netflix account). The final season of the series was—and still is—scheduled to arrive in its 13-episode entirety on Feb. 27, but thanks to a “bug in the system,” people with the time and freedom to watch House of Cards in the middle of a workday were treated to a truncated sneak preview. Suspecting that the episodes would not be available for long—going full Beyoncé has not, thus far, been a part of Netflix’s programming strategy—this particular writer did what any spoiler-hound would do in the circumstance: She skipped straight to the end, searching for huge, secret plot points. She was not disappointed.
Obvious/necessary disclaimer: Anyone trying to avoid spoilers about House of Cards, Season 3—and especially the thing that is sure to be most important about House of Cards, Season 3—should stop reading right now.
At some point in the new season, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright), possessor of a legendarily chic, short, icy blond haircut becomes … a brunette. That’s right, Claire Underwood now has brown hair. What else can this season have in store for us???
Screengrab from House of Cards Season 3 on Netlix
