The Punisher

I took my time with the Punisher, something I haven't done with the other Marvel shows. I'll be honest, I wasn't as excited for it as I was for the other shows. That is nothing against this show, I just think I am experiencing comic book show fatigue right now.

However, I will say this. The first season of Punisher was good. I will also say that is easily the most violent of the Marvel shows, which should surprise no one that has a working knowledge of the character. His scenes in season two of Daredevil were clear evidence of what we might expect.

What I didn't expect was a deep dive into PTSD that this show traverses down. Surprisingly, it didn't feel completely ham fisted. It is definitely in your face and they do not hide from it, but I think it accurately demonstrates how each soldier is changed by their experiences and how they deal with it. The central characters in this show were soldiers in one way or another and the effects on them are shown through the show.

Frank Castle himself is a tragic character. Not to say it justifies his actions, but you can say, "Yeah, I see why he went nuts". This show does it's best to color him in shades of grey. It makes it hard to root for him at times, if only to say, "Well, he's LESS bad than those other a-holes".

He does have a code of honor and they toe that line in when he reacts and when he doesn't. This is constantly explored throughout the show. Jon Berenthal is perfectly cast as Frank Castle. He starts off quieter in the first few episodes, so you will have to be patient. I promise he will start talking more.

I really liked the supporting characters in this show. The character, Micro definitely helps to humanize Frank and works as a good foil to him. Seeing their relationship grow is fun to watch. I liked agent Madani, who spends the series chasing after Castle. She is easily the most clean of all the characters. She is fueled by her search for justice, sometimes to the detriment of those within her orbit. There's the character of Curtis who is also one of the likable people in the show, who also helps out Frank.

I was really glad to see Karen Page return for this show, seeing as they already established her special relationship with Frank during the Daredevil season. They also explore the importance of that relationship here.

Overall, this show was also very gritty and probably also shot on location mostly in New York. It keeps up with the aesthetic that we've grown used to with these shows.

With a Punisher show, you expect it to be about him going after mob bosses, so I liked that they went in another direction and had him chasing down a government conspiracy. As unrealistic as this show can get with it's violence, I think it is a plot that can resonate even to today. There's always going to be shadowy government people that are out with their own agenda.

To complain about the violence in this show would be like to complain that water is wet. Like I said before, you know what you get with a show like this. To it's credit, most episodes didn't resort to gratuitous violence, so you do get breaks from time to time. We will also have to accept that Frank is not like normal humans in that he can be a bullet sponge and still come out alive. At least it does have SOME effect on him.

My final thoughts on the show are this. I really did like. Unlike the other shows, I didn't feel like it really dragged in the middle. I think things played out at a good clip. There is definitely a slow burn and I'm starting to wonder if serialized series like this are the best way to go with the characters. Maybe episodes or two sprinkled within to deal with one off issues while still building a larger narrative is a way to go? Then again, with 13 episodes, you don't have that luxury.

I'm still deciding where I'd place this in my list of Marvel shows. It's definitely better than Iron Fist and I would put it above season 2 of Daredevil. After that, it's a toss up. This is definitely not the weakest show, that's for sure. Nothing is taking that throne from Iron Fist.