The Punisher (2017-) Season 1-2

Title: The Punisher

Year: 2017

Genre:  Action | Adventure | Crime |

Seasons: 1 | 2 |

Runtime:  53 min/episode

Creator: Steve Lightfoot

Starring: Jon Bernthal, Amber Rose Revah, Ben Barnes

8,6/10

VIOLENT SHOW ABOUT PTSD, KILLINGS AND CORRUPTION

SEASON 1

Jon Bernthal starred as the hard-core anti-hero The Punisher aka Frank Castle in the second season of Daredevil. He provided some nice action scenes throughout that season. He was one of the top players of that season. Because of the impact he had on these characters Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson, the same character achieved his own Netflix series that became to be one of the most grisly and brutal series on the market due to the graphic and violent images.

The first seasons originate and narrate an origin story about Frank Castle’s misery and how his family got murdered. It goes down to how Castle finds this out and track everyone responsible for the set up and murders them. On the other side, there is a Homeland Security aka Special Agent Dinah Midani. She is on him quite often in both seasons. She tries to track him down as his trail becomes even easier to be found. He befriends a computer-hacker that goes by the name Micro. A fun character and brings on the comedy on the side to the series that tend to have a very dark tone. Although, this is the best season yet. This is a season where you can grow within Castle and how he transforms to the person he is by the end of the first season. It’s rather a grave shift on how he gets a liking for each murder he commits. He thrives for it and evolve even in the second season. The first season has a two antagonist that tracks down Castle by the end. His chief on the CIA and his best friend Billy Russo from the Marine, who betray him big for money, greed and status.

In the conclusion they both meet their rightful justice, if you want to believe the system this show wants you to believe. It has some of the most violent, realistic scenes with mature content which indicates that it isn’t for everyone.  The sad part is that disappointment from Daredevil arrives once in a while – Debra Ann Wolf. How she got this job as a paid actor is a mystery. She is the downside of this show and Daredevil, mostly because she can’t act. It feels forced and makes you vomit projectile. She is one of the worst characters in the Netflix MCU. But other than that, this appear to be a strong first season with a engaging storyline with some ambitious plot throughout the whole narrative. There is some contrast between each of these characters – especially between Billy Russo and Frank Castle. They’re best friends just as they’re each other’s enemies. The most interesting part is to watch on how their estranged relationship evolve in the process. How it basically goes downhill for both parts.

SEASON 2

For those who watched the first season of The Punisher recalled on how effective it actually was. The dark tone, language and the constant violence combined with the politically drama and corruption. It sure to say it did an impact on many of its viewer and is probably critically acclaimed to be shortly after Daredevil. Generally, it got praise and glory from the fans and critics. It even provided a storyline that included war veterans with horrendous PTSD where Frank is one of them.  They came into a new light and obviously, this season; not that much has changed.

This season, it rather more philosophic than earlier instalment. It’s more emotionally and more devotion than before. Charming that even must sound, it does change, and it has even become more included for this season. Second season continues the narrative and storyline of Frank Castle against the corruption and crime. He starts out in Michigan where he randomly gets himself involved with a big conspiracy that is all the way to the U.S. Senate. It has some new and more characters. It doesn’t need all it’s new characters, mostly because they don’t bring the story so much further.

Agent Dinah Midani, Billy Russo and Frank Castle is some of the main characters throughout the series and by the end everyone has got themselves a villain on their own. There is so much content and ambitious that the runtime of the season doesn’t add up to the pace it tries to provide. It doesn’t work that well. It feels a little too much for the small format. Half through the story, the pace begins to feel even more rushed and underwhelming. It’s safe to say it’s exaggerated on how poorly it’s executed.

Frank Castle begins to show an active conscious too, which is weird. It brings on a completely different side of this protagonist. He didn’t evolve that much under the first one but in this season, he is more emotional than before. He craves for murdering people and bring the justice in his own brand way. He has someone by his side right from the beginning – Amy; a girl who he helps protect as a guardian of sort during this process. She becomes more of a substitute of his own late daughter since they both was in the same age. He resists on killing people because of his addiction. Amy might be a distraction in the beginning. Within the first half of the episodes, he is relentless against her which is understandable is some regards. She is annoying, spoiled and mouthful. On the way to eliminate the enemies she gets fond of Castle who doesn’t want to protect her but has no choice. She becomes a more acknowledgeable character that grows on you. She isn’t the best one, but she is clever enough to make it all worth and entertaining, which is the point. Their relationship evolves and they certainly go through a lot together which sometimes can be difficult to even comprehend.

The second season feels like a closure on the series with a possible continuation. It If the series would proceed, it would be because they would include Daredevil and Kingpin in an upcoming season. It had some great potential to become some great show but instead it brought on a safe card and an emotional train wreck. On how that would turn out, remains too be these Netflix shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, tends to hang by a thin thread.