You may want to consider spending Valentine's Day indoors with your honey, or embrace being single, since the gripping political thriller "House of Cards" is slated to unleash all 13 episodes of its new season this Friday.

The Emmy award-winning drama will pick up where it left off, with South Carolina Congressman Francis Underwood being appointed as the Vice President of the United States.

In the second season, Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, is still the power-hungry, cold and pragmatic politician from season 1.

"One heartbeat away from the presidency and not a single vote cast in my name. Democracy is so overrated," he says in a clip of his swearing-in ceremony.

In an interview last fall with CNN, showrunner Beau Willimon explained that Underwood is really "an optimist" motived by his self-interests.

"Where I think people mistake his optimism for cynicism is that he's unapologetically self-interested. He believes ideology is a form of weakness -- a form of cowardice," Willimon said. The writer and producer added that Underwood idolizes President Lyndon B. Johnson who was known for his shrewd knowledge of the legislative process.

Willimon also stated that "House of Cards" isn't necessarily a show about politics, but instead about power.

"That power is displayed in our love lives, or our work environments, the way we comport ourselves when randomness brushes up against us," he says, adding that power can be more useful than money since, "Power has no limits if you're willing to go far enough in order to get as much of it as you can."

The trailer suggests that Underwood could be implicated in a murder investigation. He also appears headed for a showdown with Raymond Tusk, a wealthy industrialist, fellow power broker and friend of the president.

Just as intriguing is the future of Underwood's wife, Claire, played by actress Robin Wright. In the first season's early episodes, she seemed uncomfortable with unethical behavior, however, that has changed. Now she is more like her husband, said Wright, who won a best-actress Golden Globe for her role earlier this year. "She is a pragmatist in the art of war," the actress told The New York Times.