OnceUponAMara
Zoe Barnes was never allowed to fly free to her true potential - she was a metro scrub, having stories that weren't news shoved in her face. Every morning for months, all she could do was moan at colleague Lucas Goodwin about how sick she was of having to report the Fairfax County Council. But every time, nothing ever came to fruition, with being told to get back to work (with significant undertones, which she noticed easily and commented on) every time, no closer to what she believed was her true calling.
That was before she went to the symphony, and then encountered a photo in her email of Congressman Francis Underwood looking at her. Everything turned upside down, after that moment, after she visited his house and began using him as her source. She didn't even know she was being played by him, because she believed that she was playing him instead.
The lure of a story worth reporting, ones that could finally get her big break, made her a helpless sheep following the Congressman down whatever road he wanted to walk down.
When she finally started being conscious of it, it was already too late. Cutting off their relationship only meant less benefits for her, and as she started rebelling against him, things started going wrong. Now, she was walking down a dangerous road, one she did not want to walk down.