The Punisher, Season 1, Episode 11: Danger Close
So yeah, I've been immensely enjoying the Punisher for the simple fact that they actually took the time to develop the Punisher into an actual character with flaws, motivations and relationships instead of a simple one-minded gun-toting murdering anti-hero. And it's perhaps not as true to the original concept of the character, but I've always disliked the 80's Anti-Superhero trope so having the Punisher still retain that single-minded zealousness of killing his enemies, while adding a huge chunk of care for his friends like Curtis, Karen, Micro and his family makes him so, so much more engaging as a character. But even a character like the Punisher can't really just be all nice and cuddly throughout the entire series, so this episode returns to some awesome kick-ass punishing.
And by god, that final action sequence as the Punisher, complete with the badass skull spray-painted on his vest, goes on the warpath against Billy Russo's Anvil army is just insanely awesome. He starts off stalking the abandoned base that he and Micro hung out in, stabs one wayward mercenary, slices off his head and throws it with a grenade attacked onto a bunch of other mercenaries and just goes to absolute town in killing every single soldier in the compound. It's the Punisher at his most pure, unadulterated badass. Perhaps it undercuts the discussion earlier in the season that Frank feels guilty about killing US soldiers that are just following orders, but he knows these are Billy Russo's direct subordinates so... it's... okay?
He's also screaming bloody murder for Russo's name, which is cool, but Billy doesn't actually go into the raid himself because he's a smart man who has minions doing orders for him. Which is cool.
And besides, a good chunk of the episode's earlier scenes has him go absolutely and utterly berserk. It's not enough that the origin story of the Punisher is pretty bleak -- his family was killed in a shoot-out meant to kill him, and he was turned into a hired gun by Schoonover and Rawlins for their own gain. And in the past episode, he's nearly killed during the whole Lewis ordeal, he's framed as a terrorist, and perhaps worst of all, Billy Russo is revealed to be working with the enemy. He gets into a bit of an argument with Micro about him going to Madani without informing him, but priorities quickly change when Billy Russo's minions go to the Lieberman house and attack Micro's family -- a family that Frank himself is buddies with.
It's a harrowing scene when the policeman that enters the Lieberman abode turns out to not just be some dude responding to Zach's stupid (but understandable) phone call to the Punisher Tip Line when he began asking Sarah things that a random police officer shouldn't know. Sarah's horrified realization, and her valiant attempt to knock out the Anvil minion does not end well, and because Micro's busy arguing with Frank, he missed the moment when that's going on in the cameras -- and his "OH GOD" expression when he realizes what's happened is absolutely heartbreaking. Frank is hellbent on saving the Liebermans, and it's amazing. He calls Leo, who managed to sneak out, manages to gain her trust and sends Micro to pick her up (the reunion between the two is very sweet) while he lies in wait in the Punisher/Micro base, ready to ambush the Anvil army that Billy Russo is sure to send after him. And, by god, that scene doesn't disappoint.
The Madani/CIA stuff gets a lot more engaging in this episode too as Madani brings in her mentor Rafi (who isn't dirty as I thought he was) and tells her about the whole story. Now why didn't she actually do any of this before I don't fucking know, but she goes for Billy. Rafi calls her out on needlessly prodding the sleeping dragon, but Madani wants to 'shake the tree'. Madani's story has been a bit of a mess, and I don't really buy her wanting to have a personal confrontation with Billy Russo as anything but a stupid-ass move, but she finally meets Micro and the Punisher at the end of the episode, ready to team up at last.
They also go to former CIA director Marion James, who shows up for a short scene in an earlier episode, and while I really think that Madani definitely could've been more tactful in that conversation, they did manage to rattle Marion enough for her to confront Rawlins... who's far more concerned about saving his own skin than anything, ready to offer up Billy Russo as an independent agent who acted without his orders. Marion and Rawlins' conversation is definitely well-done (and I really wished some of the perhaps unnecessary screentime given to Madani or Lewis was given to develop Marion instead). Marion refuses to allow Rawlins to go any more, and even gives him an ultimatum -- give up Billy Russo and resign, because she won't let her stick around in the CIA any longer even if it costs her own career.
Although Marion is still straddling the shades of grey, accepting the way that preserves the CIA without that much of a public fuss, ready to accept Rawlins' offer to order Frank's death by Billy's hit squad, arrest Billy and have Rawlins step down. Her action of sanctioning getting rid of the Punisher to protect America by preventing Operation Cerberus' leak is the type of 'take justice into my own hands' that you could compare with vigilantes like Punisher, killing one man to prevent more chaos from spilling out, but like Punisher, Marion also has a moral code -- in this case, she refuses to allow Bill Rawlins to stick around. Again, this is where I wish Marion had a bigger role in the series.
So yeah, definitely a great episode -- perhaps the strongest Punisher episode so far? We've got a CIA B-plot that doesn't suck, Frank and David get really strong emotional moments, wand the episode's well-focused... and we get a murdering, ass-kicking Punisher.
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