The Punisher Season 2: The Feels

The Concept:

Season 2 finds Frank Castle being pulled back to New York to face Billy Russo now turned Jigsaw but first he’s also got to figure out what’s up with John Pilgrim. This season had mixed reviews to say the least. As of this writing the Tomatometer had it at 52%, Metacritic was at 58% and IMDB was at 86%. It seems this season is a love it or hate it situation. And I got to say I hated it. I enjoyed Iron Fist so much more than this mundane representation of The Punisher.

The Cast:

A lot of returning characters but otherwise did you recognize anyone? Also can you remember any of their names.. characters... backstories…? There was the mopey woman and her son who Frank becomes pseudo husband and dad for a day. Was anyone surprised when she ended up in the hospital? No. Then there was the escort mission for Frank in the whiny blonde girl. We’ve also got a religious zealot badguy, a senator’s dad and the russian mob all going after Castle because of a picture whiny blonde girl has.

As for the returning characters, we got to see one legged Curtis again, Karen Page and the FBI lady. Karen is basically a cameo whereas Curtis and FBI lady have some big feels this season. Lots of talking and character development for them. It’s just I didn’t really feel any connection to what they were saying.

The Recap:

This season Frank Castle has to fight Jigsaw and John Pilgrim! He’s been living on the road but gets pulled back into some bloody action after he meets whiny blonde girl in a bar. The mystery of who this girl is and why there are people after her last nearly all season. While he’s trying to keep her alive due to what I have named ‘Photo-Gate’, BIlly Russo is recovering back in New York and causing trouble for everyone involved. Both storylines meet in New York and things… come to a head?... kinda.

The good:

• Ben Barnes does show us how acting is done, his physical scars may have been underwhelming but his portrayal of BIlly’s chronic and psychological pain was gut wrenching
• The few fight scenes that were showcased were amazing! Crushing a guy’s head with a gym weight? Yes! Breaking a thick porcelain sink with a guy’s head? Yes! A trick double motel room shooting spree? Yes!
• Is predictability good? Cause I saw a lot of things coming… Dr. Back Scar was always going to end up on the pavement.
• Ok yes there was character development for Frank, Billy and Curtis but the slow pace of it made it difficult for me to pay attention to all the talking and all the feels.

    The bad:

• Jigsaw’s so called messed up and scarred face, more like a scratch (I’ve seen cats do worse damage) and don’t get me started on that weird mask he created.
• The violent, gruesome adult themed comic was not found this season it was slow, boring and almost family friendly. Where’s the blood?!
• Having Castle fight two different war fronts made things distracting, all the ‘Photo-Gate’ storyline did was give Frank something to do while Billy set up his storyline.
• A big void left by Micro. Not even the returning war buddy Curtis could fill it. Frank had no one to share on screen chemistry with this season.

Why you should watch or not watch it:
Don’t watch it. It’s slow. It’s boring. It’s safe. It’s confusing. It’s character development and storylines are lacking. But if you do want to watch it then plan on taking a lot of breaks, of holding your eyelids open and of drinking a lot coffee. Let’s just say this could have been 6 maybe 8 episodes long and it would have been better.

Last thought:
This is likely the last we will see of Bernthal’s Frank Castle and I am wholly disappointed in this farewell. The punisher deserved a much more action packed and bloodier ending. You know IF there were a season 3, at least they did find a way to bring him from a vengeance fueled machine to a crime fighting anti-hero with a job in the CIA whenever he wants it.