House of Cards Season 5 spoilers: Claire to use Doug Stamper to usurp Frank's presidency?

House of Cards season 4 posterNetflix

With the nail biting Season 5 finale leaving everyone wondering if it was going to the end of the Underwood reign in the White House with a volatile hostage situation, threats of Frank's secrets being made public and Frank basically declaring war on a televised speech, the cliffhanger ending showed the Underwoods plotting their next move.

However, based on a report by Movie News Guide, it would be Claire (Robin Wright) who eventually betrays Frank to usurp power from him.

According to the news, Claire may use her aide Leann Harvey (Neve Campbell) and Frank's aide Doug Stamper's (Michael Kelly) affair to execute her plan. It can be recalled that Frank blamed Doug for the entire fiasco that happened with the hostage situation in the finale episode and refused to acknowledge his aide and confidante. This may hint at a seriously damaged relationship between the two key characters.

In an interview with Goldderby, Kelly himself acknowledged that his character's loyalty to Frank was bordering on an unhealthy addiction.

"(His loyalty) at it's real visceral core is an addiction. Everything for him is an addiction. Whether it's his relationship with Rachel, Frank, alcohol or even his job. He has to do it to the absolute best of his ability. There's no doubt that he loves Frank," he said.

It is also being speculated that Frank may be killed off from the show in the upcoming season following reports that actor Kevin Spacey was unsatisfied with the $15 million paycheck he is getting per season given the major role he has played on the show and how the show factored into the success of Netflix.

The actor also took on the position as the head of Relativity Media's movie division.

While Netflix has yet to announce the release of the following season, it has already been announced that Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese will be taking over the reigns from the show's long-time producer Beau Willimon.