Marvel’s The Punisher Season 1 Episode 2 Review

Liam Hoofe reviews the second episode of Marvel’s The Punisher…

The first season of Marvel’s The Punisher dropped yesterday and the first episode got things going with a bang. The show instantly established Frank Castle’s life post Daredevil and also laid out the blueprint for the show thematically for the coming season.

While the first episode introduced us to several characters, a lot of those, it would appear were disposable, ‘Two Dead Men’ introduces what we can safely assume to be some of the season’s key characters, and it does so in an efficient, and highly enjoyable fashion.

The biggest focus this episode is on David Lieberman, also known as ‘Micro’. Micro was the character who we saw watching Frank at the end of the last episode and his intentions towards Frank are still not fully clear by the time the credits roll in this one either. Micro, has, for the most part, been an ally in the comic books, though, the pair’s relationship has always been rocky. The two finally came face to face at the end of the episode, with Frank tying Micro to a chair and knocking him out – good start.

The events preceding their meeting made for some excellent viewing too. Frank quickly figured out, with a little assist from Karen (more on her later!), Micro’s identity, and set about teasing him out by visiting his wife. A wife who presumed her husband to be dead. These scenes were expertly handled, and Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of Micro during these scenes was perfect.

Two characters who did reappear though, were Dinah and Sam, the two detectives who were out for justice. It turns out that Dinah has a potential history with Frank and this will no doubt lead to her creating problems for him in the future. Her quest for knowledge leads her to an encounter with Billy Russo (played by Ben Barnes), the man who claims to have been Frank Castle’s best friend during their days in the Marines. Ben Barnes is always a great actor to spend some time with, and former best friends are never to be fully trusted in these situations, so we will see how things develop when the two inevitably meet again.

Which brings us to Karen. One thing that has been nice about The Punisher so far is that it feels distinctly like its own show, and it’s the first Netflix show not to be shackled by The Defenders or other projects. Thus far there has been zero mention of The Hand or any of that nonsense and the show already feels fresher for it. Introducing Karen back into the fray, though, is a nice touch. Not only is it a nice little piece of fan service, but it also rekindles the potential love interest between the pair. With Daredevil off the scenes, at least in Karen’s eyes, the two could finally get a chance to get down and dirty this season – an act that would have serious ramifications, emotionally, for both of the characters.

The episode also featured another great fight sequence between Frank and Carson Wolf (Thomas Howell) and this element of the show really looks as though it could be one of the series’ strengths. The recent Netflix outings have really lost their touch when it comes to the choreography, with Iron Fist being particularly underwhelming, so it’s nice to see these scenes being so expertly handled again.

After the first episode, ‘Two Dead Men’ makes it two for two for The Punisher, introducing us to several key characters, developing Frank’s character nicely, and once again using the show’s violence sparingly. The season is 13 episodes, though, so let’s just hope it can stick this out for the long haul.