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Lucas Goodwin (born April 8, 1977) was a journalist and the Editor-in-Chief at Washington Herald. He appeared as a main character in the first, second and fourth seasons of House of Cards.
Biography
Lucas is a former editor and national politics reporter for the Washington Herald. He had previously worked at the paper's crime beat and still has contacts within the police force. As of the finale of Season 2, he is currently serving a ten-year sentence for cyber-terrorism after attempting to hack into an AT&T database in order to retrieve cellphone data.
During Season 4, he is released under a Witness Security program after extracting information from his cellmate for the Department of Justice. After failing to restart the investigation against Frank Underwood he attempts to assassinate him, but instead kills Edward Meechum, who before dying from his wounds, manages to shoot Lucas in return, killing him.
Season 1
Lucas becomes romantically involved with Zoe Barnes after she quits her job at the Herald and begins working for Slugline. Lucas was previously her colleague and boss at the Washington Herald, and his personal feelings for her often allowed her to cut corners. After they begin living together, Zoe shares that she has been sleeping with Majority Whip and [[::Category:Members of Congress|Congressman]] Francis Underwood in order to benefit her career. Lucas, along with former colleague, Janine Skorsky, help Zoe collect information to expose Underwood's wrongdoing. After the Herald's owner Margaret Tilden forces Tom Hammerschmidt to resign, Lucas takes over as Editor in Chief.
Season 2
After Zoe's death in Season 2, Lucas attempts to pick up where Zoe left off in exposing the crimes of the now Vice President Underwood. He ventures into deep web in order to enlist the support of hacktivists in acquiring Zoe's phone records, which would prove the intimacy of the relationship between Zoe and Underwood. Doug Stamper becomes aware of the activity through a connection in the FBI and initiates a plan to quietly dispatch Goodwin, directing Gavin Orsay, a former black-hat hacker currently controlled by the FBI. Orsay lures Lucas into participating in an act of cyber-terrorism, writing code that would ostensibly allow him access to AT&T's server farm. Arrested in the sting and manipulated by Stamper through the FBI contact, Goodwin accepts the plea deal they offer after consulting with former colleagues Tom Hammerschmidt and Janine Skorsky. The plea sentences him to 10 years in prison with eligibility of parole after 7 years. Goodwin tries, to no avail, to get his former colleagues to research his theories further. But without Rachel Posner and Roy Kapeniak, their story would be dismissed as another conspiracy theory. Skorsky is also forced to sign an affidavit testifying against Lucas' credibility.
Season 4
Two years after being imprisoned, Lucas is released as part of WITSEC Program, and assumes a new identity. Working at a car wash under the name John Carlyle, Lucas still desires to avenge Zoe and expose Underwood. He gains a private audience with Heather Dunbar and tries to convince her to investigate the deaths of Zoe Barnes and Peter Russo and he begs her for help, however Dunbar refuses to get involved. At a campaign rally at Hammond College (Washington D.C.) where President Underwood was speaking to an angry mob, Lucas uses the crowd to get close to Frank and he shoots him in the liver with a gun he acquired. In the chaos, he is taken down by the Secret Service while still trying to kill Frank and fatally shoots Edward Meechum instead, who manages to kill Lucas before succumbing to his wounds.
Behind the Scenes
- Lucas Goodwin was portrayed by Sebastian Arcelus in Seasons 1, 2, and 4 of House of Cards.
Appearances
| Season 1 | ||||
| "Chapter 1" | "Chapter 2" | "Chapter 3" | "Chapter 4" | "Chapter 5" |
| "Chapter 6" | "Chapter 7" | "Chapter 8" | "Chapter 9" | "Chapter 10" |
| "Chapter 11" | "Chapter 12" | "Chapter 13" | ||
| Season 2 | ||||
| "Chapter 14" | "Chapter 15" | "Chapter 16" | "Chapter 17" | "Chapter 18" |
| "Chapter 19" | "Chapter 20" | "Chapter 21" | "Chapter 22" | "Chapter 23" |
| "Chapter 24" | "Chapter 25" | "Chapter 26" | ||
| Season 4 | ||||
| "Chapter 40" | "Chapter 41" | "Chapter 42" | "Chapter 43" | "Chapter 44" |
| "Chapter 45" | "Chapter 46" | "Chapter 47" | "Chapter 48" | "Chapter 49" |
| "Chapter 50" | "Chapter 51" | "Chapter 52" | ||
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