The Punisher Season 1

There are a couple of reasons why it took me so long to actually get through this series. I was super excited for this show when it was released as The Punisher was one of the better parts of Daredevil Season 2. That among other reasons convinced me that I was really going to like this show. But the first few times I watched it, I couldn't really get into the first few episodes. I'll talk a little bit more about why that is later in the review, but the point is, I do think this show takes a little bit to get going and throughout the entire season but also pretty heavily in those introductory episodes, it takes a lot of fortitude to get through this show. It is raw, and its heavy.

The other really unfortunate thing about this review is that there is a very high chance that after the upcoming season in January, we will not see this incarnation of The Punisher again. Disney seems to be clearing house at Netflix and I find it very unlikely that Daredevil (as well as Luke Cage and Iron Fist) gets cancelled and The Punisher and Jessica Jones don't. That shouldn't detract from this season, this might be my second favorite Marvel series right after Daredevil, but I just don't see The Punisher making it past this upcoming season. On the bright side, at least I get another season because this first one was amazing.

The Punisher is a spin off of the character Frank Castle (played by Jon Bernthal) from Daredevil Season 2. Frank Castle is believed to be dead and at the beginning of the season, he stops being the Punisher. He killed the people he needed to kill, now he's just trying to mind his business and live with the tragedy that befell him when his wife and kids were killed.

But it doesn't take long for Frank to get a cryptic message from a computer hacker who calls himself Micro. In reality his name is David Lieberman (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and he is an NSA agent who fakes his death and has been in hiding for a year. The two form an unlikely partnership in order to expose the shady government actors trying to silence them for their involvement in an off the books operation overseas.

 All along the way, Dinah Madani (played by Amber Rose Revah), an agent with Homeland Security is investigating this operation, Frank Castle, and all the havoc that Castle leaves in his wake.

So the first thing to note is that the set up for this show takes about three episodes and those episodes, while not horrible, do drag a little bit. There are a lot of moving pieces, a lot of different character motivations, and all of it headed up by Frank Castle who is very complex and a little bit hard to understand sometimes as a character.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the character of Frank Castle, especially by the end of the series I was legitimately crying at some really great emotional moments near the end that make the whole show worth it. If you've read my blog before, you know that I think that Jon Bernthal might be one of the most underrated actors working today. I'm really glad he got the chance to take the lead in this show and I really hope to see more from him in the future because he really knocks this character out of the park, especially by the end of the series. But, especially at the beginning, there is a rough transition to bring Frank Castle from the antagonistic anti-hero from Daredevil Season 2, to the actual hero of his own season.

There's an exchange where David Lieberman says that Frank is a missile and he's the guiding system. That's a pretty good analogy. Frank is not the smartest individual in the show, he's just a tank. I think as much as we integrate characters who are Soldiers into our TV and movies, I don't think there are a lot of movies that really do a deep dive into the modern veteran experience and this show does this really well. Sure this show hits the typical talking points of PTSD, but it also examines it closely and integrates it into its characters, and especially into Frank Castle. Frank is not a conventional hero who is a jack of all trades, he's a grunt ready to kill people and get shot while doing it and he boy does he do a whole lot of both. 

The other aspect that made this show have a slow start was the fact that this show is not a superhero show, and it takes a little to totally realize that. He obviously doesn't have any powers, but he barely does any kind of vigilante work.

This show feels more like a Bourne series where Bourne is a straight up tank who can get shot over and over again and get right back up. It's got an espionage thriller feel to it rather than a crime fighting vigilante vibe and it feels a lot different than the other Marvel TV shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, or even Jessica Jones. I get how this show might have felt a little foreign to people, because it doesn't feel like the other Marvel TV shows.

But while it has a slow start, this show really picks up around the 4th or 5th episode and it really deep dives into Frank Castle, David Lieberman, their friendship, but more importantly, the experience of veterans in the US.

The same way Jessica Jones was written in the voice of women to tell stories about the experiences women, and Luke Cage was written in the voice of black people to tell the stories about the experiences of black people, The Punisher is written in the voice of veterans to tell the stories about the experiences of veterans and good lord it is raw.

A lot of this experience writing comes in the narrative of Frank Castle, but you also see it in those around him who he served with or other characters who are veterans. There are two of his Marine friends in the show, Curtis Hoyle and Billy Russo (played by Jason R Moore and Ben Barnes respectively) and there are extraordinary conversations had between these characters as well as the veterans that attend Curtis's support group that are very real and heavy.

I'm sure women or black people probably found some of the parts of Jessica Jones was hard to watch at times, and I felt that with this show. My close connection to the military made this show really tough to sit through at times because not only did it hit close to home, but there were points where it was hard for me to understand and I'm probably closer to this than most people. I think this could be a good connecting show to people like me who don't have that close connection to the stories being told by Jessica Jones or Luke Cage, but can find that connection through my connection with this show. Because this show is meaningful, and hopefully it can help bring out the just as important meaning from those other shows.

I should mention that all the characters I mentioned in that little ramble about the veteran experience are so great for totally different reasons. Bill Russo is a complicated character. Curtis might be the very heart of the show, making me anxious any time he was put in danger throughout the show. There's a kid (played by Daniel Webber) who attends Curtis's sessions and he's a really tragic and complicated character that I loved every minute of.

I do want to talk about the reappearance of Karen Page (played by Deborah Ann Wolf). So I get the feeling that they brought Karen Page into the show to be a little bit of connective tissue between this show and Daredevil. I did feel that at times it felt like Karen was thrown in this just to be a tie in, I do not think she was totally necessary to the entire show.

The only reason I give it a pass is because A) it's Deborah Ann Wolf, and not only is she just a pleasant personality as a person, but B) her character is really good in any of these series where she makes her appearances. There are two really great scenes where she has conversations with two of the main characters and as usual, these are just really well written scenes.

She has an exchange with Agent Madani where they both know Frank Castle is alive and both of them think they have the upper hand of the conversation. This is a great example of when these Marvel shows just show off their phenomenal writing. It's not always there, but there are great moments like this that sets the show apart. On a side note, I think this was the moment where I actually started enjoying the character of Agent Madani because it gave just an insight into both women.

But a more important exchange was when Karen asks Frank what his end goal is? When is he going to stop fighting and when is he going to go back to normal? And that's really where the show clicked together for me. All the metaphors, the commentary, and the plot elements snapped together and made something really great in my opinion.

So while I don't think Karen Page was absolutely vital to this series, I do think she gets a little bit of a pass because she's just a great character, is played by a great actress, and she does provide some really great moments, especially with her connection with Frank Castle. I don't think she's utilized the best she could have to make her feel like more than just a glorified cameo, but it's a piece of this show that was good but could have been better.

I mentioned before that the first three episodes are a little slow. Those episodes provide a smattering of plot points, themes, and characters that just get thrown out there. It's a lot of set up and it's not until the 4th or 5th episode that you start to see things come together a little bit more.

The show mainly focuses on the partnership of Castle and Lieberman and I thought this was done well. I do think once their partnership begins there are a few episodes that feel like detours of the main quest, which is to take down a rogue CIA operative they know as Agent Orange (played by Paul Schulze).

I thought that the themes kind of took a front seat to a streamlined story but I think it worked out for the series in the long run.

I've felt with the other Marvel shows that they streamline the show a little too much and once you get to episode 9 and 10, the plot feels a little aimless. This series has the opposite problem. The first three episodes feel a little aimless and every episode until the end feels more and more cohesive. That might turn some people off and they might feel the first half of the show is hard to get into, but I promise you, get through the slow parts, the ending is visceral and totally worth it.

The villains in this show are pretty solid. I know Paul Schulze mainly from his stint as Ryan Chapelle from 24 and I really liked him in that for how much of a dick he can be and he continues that in this show. On top of that though, he's threatening. He's smart, he know how to utilize those under him, and he is a formidable puppet master of the show.

A couple other random notes. I liked Agent Madani. Like I said before, it took a while for me to actually like her but I like her connection to the whole show. While I wouldn't call her relatable, I would say she's a pretty good typical detective character you tend to see in these Marvel shows. There always needs to be one good guy who is pitted against the main hero because the hero is outside the law and Madani fills that role. I don't know if I would be heart broken if she didn't show up in season 2, but I also see some room for development for this character to make her something more than she already is.

The one last random note is that I think the theme and opening credits could have been a lot better. I don't remember the Iron Fist opening credits but I know when I watch the opening credits for Daredevil especially, but also Jessica Jones, I really liked the song and the visuals. This one is just a lot of white on black with a guitar rift that isn't even the best one from the show. Not the worst thing about this show, but I definitely skipped it almost every time.

Season 1 of The Punisher definitely has some issues. But it also has a lot of really great things. The action is raw and it's intense. The acting is really good and the narrative is shot in a way that gets really emotional at the end, playing off how raw you probably feel.

There are definitely things I want to see improved in the second season. And you need to be aware of what kind of show you're watching. If you are really accustomed to Daredevil, this might not be the show for you, but once you get the real feeling for it and get past the slow parts, this show is intense, the action is great, and it talks about some really interesting and thought provoking topics about the experience of veterans in a post 9/11 world. I do recommend checking out the first season of The Punisher, despite the fact that it might be cancelled two weeks after the next season comes out. Regardless of that impending doom, I do think its good this story got told on Netflix.

The one big benefit about waiting so long to watch and review this show is that with the second season being so close to being released, that's where I'll talk spoilers. There's a lot to discuss that would spoil this show, but I don't think I'll be holding too much back in that review so stay tuned.

Those are my thoughts on The Punisher season 1. What did you think? Comment and Discuss below! You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @MovieSymposium as well as send me your requests for films and TV shows I should review in the future. If you follow me on Twitter, you can get updates on future movie news and reviews coming out of this blog.

Thanks for reading!