Netflix released the first season of “The Punisher” and it’s a brutal look into the lives of war veterans afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Frank Castle, known as the Punisher, first appeared in season 2 of “Daredevil” and overshadowed the Elektra storyline, which was probably the main focus of the season (considering she was the main villain of “The Defenders”), all due to Jon Bernthal’s engaging portrayal of the ruthless vigilante. You cannot keep your eyes off of him as he makes a very human subject out of a cold-blooded killing machine.
In “The Punisher,” we delve deeper into his past and what he’s been doing since the second season of “Daredevil.” He’s dragged back into his search for vengeance by the hacker Micro (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach) while being chased by the Department of Homeland Security agent Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah). With the help of Micro, we discover that his family’s death was caused by key figures within the US government who are untouchable by the law.
Except the Punisher and his brand of justice goes beyond the law.
With a thrilling and explosive first two episodes, we are reminded of how capable and dangerous Frank Castle is as a human being. The show suspends disbelief with how much damage he can take by infusing each episode with Castle’s blinders-on approach to life. He has nothing to live for but revenge. He is unafraid of death and so he moves with precision and without any doubt to hold him back. His years of training and his experience in the war zones of Afghanistan have made him an almost unstoppable force.
While the show uses its theme of violence and vigilante justice to broach such topics as PTSD, gun violence, war crimes and profiteering, redemption, and the lives of veterans coming back from the war, every episode from the third until the ninth feels drawn out to the point of being boring. While the topics and how they are tackled are compelling, all the backstory ends up delaying the narrative’s progression, making it feel like it’s dragging its feet towards its finale.
Fortunately,beginning halfway from episode nine, everything picks up again and all the exposition and backstory is used to full measure in the final salvo of episodes.
“The Punisher” still delivers the goods (with a particularly amazing tenth episode where one event is told in several perspectives and done really well). If you manage to stay patient through the dragging episodes in the middle, “The Punisher” still ends up satisfying and creating a fantastic vehicle for Jon Bernthal to show off his acting chops by giving us a killer we can empathize with.
Of course, in this day and age when vigilante justice is closer to reality than fiction, “The Punisher” ends up feeling like a fairy tale: a vigilante who only wants to kill the guilty and is somewhat careful of the innocent bystanders who may get caught in the crossfire. Even if it is a comic book show, it sounds a little too good to be believed, a little idealistic.
But considering how badly “Iron Fist” and “The Defenders” have turned out, “The Punisher” manages to save the Marvel Television Universe in Netflix and buys enough credit to see what else they will come up with next.
