Here's what the cast and producers of 'House of Cards' had to say about writing off Kevin Spacey's character — and that final scene

(Warning: This article contains spoilers from the final season of "House of Cards," which was released Friday on Netflix.)

Days before the high-stakes drama of next week's midterm elections unfolds, Netflix has unloaded the sixth and final season of its not-quite-stranger-than-fiction political opera "House of Cards."

Friday's end brings to a close Netflix's flagship original series, which helped set in motion the company's dominance in Hollywood and upended traditional television. But reaching the finish line also came with a major hurdle: wrapping the series without its formidable lead character, Frank Underwood, who was played by Kevin Spacey before he was fired after a number of sexual misconduct allegations surfaced last year.

Season 5 ended with the show's ruthless