‘The Punisher’ proves to be Marvel’s most brutal and best show yet
By Drew Henderson: A&E Editor
Spinning off from the events of the second season of “Daredevil”, “The Punisher” sees Frank Castle’s hunt for the truth about what happen to his family continue, as he is pulled deeper into webs of conspiracy, that goes to the level of corrupt government officials and private military contractors. Unlike other Marvel series on Netflix, “The Punisher” does not suffer from the usual halfway point that the other series do, where the story changes and suffers because of it. What “The Punisher” does instead, is craft a slow burn conspiracy thriller, in the vein of other shows such as “24”. Even if each storyline does not link in the beginning, they all play an important part in the end, and serve to develop the characters on this show. Unlike “The Defenders”, you can go into this show without having known a thing about past TV shows or movies, but it would be recommended to watch “Daredevil” just for some background information, as Frank Castle makes his introduction in that show, and Karen Page, a character from Daredevil, also appears in a few episodes this season.
What could have been a one-note performance of taking out bad guys and blind violent rampages, is turned into a nuanced performance of a broken man, as Jon Bernthal is amazing as Frank Castle, as he portrays him more as a man broken from emotion, violence, and his past, then his appearance in “Daredevil”. The series almost plays as a character study for Frank, as he must deal with the violence he committed in the past, and how that has affected him mentally in the present. Shows like “Jessica Jones” touched on topics such as PTSD, but “The Punisher” does a great job of covering this heavy topic, as we not only see Frank suffer from it, but other veterans in the show as well. But a headlining performance is only as good as the cast behind the main act, and “The Punisher” has some of the best supporting cast on a Marvel show, with props going to Micro, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who acts as Frank’s support man. These two men make the show, as their banter and relationship as men who hate each other, but work together due to similar circumstances with family, make the show work as you feel for both of them. After a disappointing streak of villains, we also get one of the best villains on Marvel TV with Billy Russo, Frank’s long time brother-in-arms and friend. Russo, played by Ben Barnes, is a character whose true intentions are not even know until the end, does a terrific job of confusing the audience into thinking if he is looking out for Frank, or just himself.
The action, another thing that has been lacking in the last few Netflix shows, is the best since the second season of “Daredevil” but also the most brutal. If Daredevil fights to break his opponents into submission, The Punisher is an uncaged animal, a force of chaos, as he shoots, stabs, and breaks his enemies in the most brutal ways ever shown on television. I even found myself having a weak stomach during the final fight of the season, as it was one of Frank’s most brutal acts of the season. If you do not have a strong stomach for violence, I would recommend skipping this, as there will be blood. But if that is not a problem, “The Punisher” is one of the best Marvel Netflix series to date, with a terrific story and cast, it brings us back to grounded days of the first season of “Daredevil”.