I just finished 26 episodes of The Punisher and I need to get it out immediately. To be honest, I gave this series a try after 4 years because of Ben Barnes but turn out, it wasn't just him that kept me staying.
People who come to the Marvel series expect to see superheroes with out-of-the-world superpowers. But The Punisher doesn't have any superheroes with superpowers, just normal people made of flesh and bones that made all the incredible and differences, and that is how I love this series.
PLOT
They canceled the series and I am a bit annoyed, however, I think everyone has their happy ending at the end of season 2 so there is no need to stir them up. I did not watch Daredevil before jumping straight to TP so it saved me a clean plot and back story of Frank Castle a.k.a TP.
First of all, there are always two parallel stories running alongside each other in two seasons of TP.
The first season of TP exploited PTSD in veterans and how severe it affects their lives and everyone's around them. They also condemned the corruption in the military force over the deaths of soldiers. I believe the plot of season 1 is stronger than season 2 because they focus mostly on Frank Castle a.k.a The Punisher's past and its ghosts. There is only one substory that supplemented the big subject of season 1, PTSD. It's the story of a young veteran, Lewis who blamed everyone for everything that went wrong in his life and his mind.
Season 2's beginning seemed like a try-hard from the producers but then I realized it wasn't so bad after all. Season 2 doesn't have a primary theme but two parallel ones. The first is how to deal with life after trauma, either after war or after a life poor choice. And the second one is the underlying power of political and wealthy people, that they have the right to destroy every life that gets in their way of success. Sometimes I find it's too complicated to follow two stories at the same time and each character doesn't have the same amount of development but well, it helps to complete the leading characters' stories and personalities.
In my opinion, I like season 1 better. To know more about how I feel about this, let's get to the character's analysis.
FRANK CASTLE
In the title role, Jon Bernthal is fantastic. You can absolutely believe him as a revenge-driven psychopath capable of killing anyone and everyone, but also as a kind-of-charming strong-but-silent type with a heart and moral code who will definitely do the right thing. I saw Jon in Ford v Ferrari but didn't recognize him since he played a much much much softer and nicer role compared to Frank. See, talent, just pure talent right there.
The series invests a lot of time in Frank Castle's inner world, making him human and moral rather than merely a murderous machine. Though he is always hungry for violence, a bit of ADHD, I must say, he is always seeking troubles and cannot stand still, he is still gentle and has a huge heart compared to all kinds of a@$hole in the series. It's just sometimes he had the cloud of vengeance and anger blinded him. Frank loved children, it could be seen clearly how he treated Micro's children with utter respect and how he protected Amy in season 2 like his own daughter.
Not a millionaire playboy, not an alien with superpowers, no high-tech gadgets.....just grim determination from a man who's lost everything and has nothing left to lose.
BILLY RUSSO
A child abuse victim who turned Marine Corps, later on, a CEO of a private military company. An impressive journey I must admit!
Maybe he was born evil or maybe he was shaped from his childhood scars. Billy was resilient. He fought through Hell Frank put him there and back. Managed to robbed successfully some places. Billy was cruel, brutal, and ambitious in Season 1 but lost, scared, and yet still cruel and brutal in season 2.
Billy is a typical narcissist who only cared about himself. And when Frank shattered his face against the broken mirror, he lost that sense of self - the fall of narcissism in season 2.
It's irony that Billy didn't remember what Frank wanted him to remember the most so the only guy who was free from this trauma was the guy who caused it.
Billy and Krista: they’re brought together by a mutual understanding of each other’s scars, both psychological and physical. It was kinda twisted, I must say, two damaged people found each other in a whirlwind of chaos. He starts to depend on her, and then he realizes she has this Lady Macbeth who was as cruel and crazy as he was. I think he truly loved her and what told me that was the smile when he bought her those blue flowers. And I think, if there is redemption for him, it would’ve been her.
Billy's death was quick and deserving even though he managed to live that long, which was impressive. Dinah received her closure with 3 bullets and 2 more were from Frank. Some said that the writers should let Billy finish what he wanted to talk to Frank but I think Frank had had enough of all the bullshit Bill put him through and he was afraid that he might spare Bill's life if he had to listen to it. It was mercy for both of them and I find it satisfying.
DINAH MADANI
The Wonder Woman of The Punisher, Special Agent in charge of Homeland Security, New York Office. Dinah Madani.
Oh, I adore this woman, she is fearless, resilient, strong, smart, and self-driven. She is everything I wish I could be or wish I could write a female character like that. She single-handedly car-chased two armed anonymous robbers without any hesitation. She alone faced all the threats that men faced. She was afraid, I could tell but that didn't prevent her from taking another step.
I also like how they built her relationship with Russo not on any kind of romantic partner. Which separated her motives for destroying him in season 2 from being a crazy ex-girlfriend to an officer seeking justice for the wrongful death of her partner and herself. Though I like her with Russo more than Russo with Krista, I still enjoy it when she fought him hard and killed him. She came like a storm.
She is a non-white female character thriving in the world of white people and excelling in it, big time.
There you go, my take on The Punisher. Do you want to watch the series after reading this? See you in the next exciting series review!
Comments