TV Review: The Punisher Season 2 Is A Perfect Sequel
I adored Season 1 of Netflix’s The Punisher. While I am not the biggest fan of violence, this show has so much heart, it does not feel splashy or senselessly bloody. You truly become invested in Frank Castle (played epically by Jon Bernthal), and want to see him happy with a family again. Yet, this is The Punisher, a classic, Marvel comic, and part of Season 2’s charm is realizing there is no happy ending for Frank Castle. He is 100% The Punisher.
From the first 15 seconds of its return, The Punisher reminds you that it is a gory show. Honestly, if someone lives for more than 2 seconds in an episode, they feel like a series regular. As one character remarks while watching The Punisher massacre another group of bad guys, Frank Castle is “Death.” Yet, this season is unlike the first because the tragedies that occurred to Frank were unsought. Instead, Season 2 asks if there is something inside Frank and all the characters in his world that makes them seek trouble. It is as if they are all stubborn mules; unwilling to accept they do not have the stamina to go up against the steepest mountain. One mountain is Jigsaw.
Ben Barnes as Jigsaw is the most charmingly self-absorbed villain of all time, and Season 2 does very well in juxtaposing Billy and Frank’s emotional journeys. Through Billy’s relationship with persistent therapist Krista Dumont (Floriana Lima), we are able to learn more of his child abuse history and how traumas can break a soul into wickedness. The idea makes you pity him, but still want to punch him. Notions of what it takes to heal, move on, and start over criss cross through Billy and Frank’s journeys to challenge whether a person, naturally, does not want get better. These me have a natural penchant for darkness that makes the people who loved/love them like, their loyal friend Curtis (Jason R. Moore), wonder whether the only difference between them is intention.
The riding, comparative feel between Billy and Frank’s storylines is centered on the purity of purpose, and whether they are colliding egos trying to control the lives and redemptions of those around them. (Discuss!) This question prompts a stellar performance from Amber Rose Revah as Dinah. I am so happy they invented her character for the show. She is a walking “sour grape,” and you eat up her dry humor while feeling bad that she is angrily heartbroken. Still, with the addition of Giorgia Whigham’s Amy Bendix, a street grifter, you get good, light-hearted laughs. While in the first few episodes, you might find this character to be an annoying, evasive teenager, as she softens to Frank, he softens to her, as well.
Frank’s growing protection of Amy is spurred by John Pilgrims’s chasing of her; a Christian assassin whose homicidal religiosity FREAKS YOU OUT! Josh Stewart’s portrayal of Pilgrim is wonderfully creepy. He and his “Christian” organization lead us to typical “The Punisher,” comic book face-offs. Moreover, it touches upon modern issues such as the separation of church and state, money in politics, and the alt-right. With so many deep concepts on what motivates humanity to be good or bad, Jon Bernthal’s acting hits new levels of greatness. This man is “meryl streeping” through Season 2 to assure that it feels as worthy and fluid as Season 1. IT DOES! Season 2 of The Punisher is absolutely excellent, solidifies the show as one of the best series out there, and makes you want 18 more seasons. GET ON IT NETFLIX! The Punisher premieres January 18.
