“House of Cards” is literally scrapping two episodes that feature Kevin Spacey for Season 6

The news that House of Cards will go on with Robin Wright in the lead in the wake of Kevin Spacey’s firing actually makes perfect sense to fans. Yes, Season 5 wrapped up with an almost-eerily appropriate pivot to Claire ready to take “[her] turn.” But really, Wright’s slow-burn character arc and all-around badass-ery should have been setting her up to run things anyway. As the HOC team now scrambles to clear the way for Claire in the final season, they’re clearly committed to giving the show a fresh start (or a fresh finish, depending on how you look at it).

Because two House of Cards episodes that were already shot, and feature Spacey, are getting tossed entirely.

According to Vulture, two episodes the cast and crew shot during the two weeks of production they got through before Spacey’s avalanche of sexual misconduct accusations broke, plus five or six scripts featuring Spacey’s character, will be totally scrapped. Ditching the show entirely would probably have been a cheaper choice for Netflix: The streaming giant doesn’t actually produce House of Cards — production company Media Right Capital does — but it will likely have to shell out at least $50 million to acquire the final eight episodes, plus more to promote them. But knowing what a powerhouse Wright is, especially when she’s playing Claire, we’re pretty sure the investment is worth it.

It was a little hazy there for a while regarding how Netflix would move forward with the show once actor Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making unwanted sexual advances toward him when Rapp was only 14, and emboldened other victims to come forward with stories of Spacey’s predatory behavior. First, it sounded like the series was done for. But pretty quickly, fans rallied behind the idea that House of Cards doesn’t really need Frank Underwood — and Netflix did, too. As we’re all working through daily reports of high-profile men abusing their power in real life, Claire’s political ascent (we’re hoping) feels right.