Season 5 on re-watch has not quite had the "like a completely different show" feel when having first watched the season, having watched all the episodes again recently to see whether my opinions of each individual episode remain the same or gotten better or worse (mostly the same just to say). My positive opinions of Seasons 1-4 still hold up, Season 5 is a little better than remembered but has things that could have been done a lot better while my intense dislike of Season 6 still stands.
"Chapter 61" is nowhere near one of the best 'House of Cards' episodes overall, but for me it is towards the top half in ranking for the season. It is not a great episode but is a pretty good episode, with most of the season's good things but also with some of its not so good things. The tautness of the episodes of Seasons 1-4, very like the rest of the fifh season, is not quite there, yet there are great things like a typically stylish visual look and great characterisation, which is hardly unusual for 'House of Cards', if anything on the most part they are two of the best things about the show when at its best.
Almost all of the 'House of Cards' episodes have good things, though did have to seriously fish for any in the last two episodes and only succeeded with the penultimate one. "Chapter 61" is not an exception. The production values are right on and likewise with the music. The writing has sharpness and bite in near-prime-'House of Cards' style. Frank's bitterness-filled inauguration speech is one of the show's best speeches and classic Frank Underwood.
There are also enough compelling moments in the storytelling, didn't find myself bored to tears, insulted or scratching my mind. Hammerschmidt's role is interesting and advances events. All the acting is great.
However, the pace can be a bit slow. The official sealing of the deal part should have riveted but somehow lacked the tension and intrigue it ought to have had.
Even if it did progress somewhat the plot that it was part of.
Good episode on the whole. Albeit not a great one. 7/10