‘The Punisher’ Recap: ‘Fight or Flight’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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​Well, I am only two episodes into season two of Netflix/Marvel’s The Punisher and already, I have to admit that I’m quite impressed with what I’m seeing. Because traditionally, Frank Castle, and his never-ending quest for revenge, rarely allows for deeper concepts and notions to be explored on the silver or small screen. Instead, it’s always about the violence and his fury, and while that’s not a bad thing, since that is synonymous with the character, this new season is stunning me because it’s finding a way to balance the gunfire with quality exposition that indeed explores bigger ideas and notions since the next episode of this tale, ‘Fight or Flight’, took the time to explore the power of anger, and how hard it is to let that go. 
 
But, before we dig too deeply into that particular exploration, let’s also discuss how the series is also taking its time this year in telling its story. Because in season one, there was a strange vibe hanging over this show, as though it and the audience simply couldn’t wait to get Frank into Punisher mode and the story reflected that. But here, the show is allowing for plot details to slowly eek through and give the characters time to take inventory on what’s happening around them, and for proof, look no further than the early storylines involving Frank and our villain, a man known as Pilgrim. Because these two threads showed us how both of them are willing to take a moment and use quiet time to their advantage since Frank was able to learn a little bit about who was chasing, he and Rachel (which may or may not be her name), when they took a breather from being on the run and the Pilgrim was all about patience in discovering the truth and seeking out one’s enemy.   
 
However, while I honestly could have watched a full hour of those two men working their respective magic to get what they want, I promised an exploration on anger, and most of that came forth from Agent Madani’s storyline in this tale. For she continues to visit Billy Russo in the hospital and poke and prod him for information since she is convinced that he’s faking this in order to be put back out onto the street. And unfortunately for Madani, her actions are starting to cause friction at work since her boss flat out told her she needed to let the Russo matter go, and therein lied the exploration in question. Because the anger that Madani harbors over Billy and his lies, flows within her veins, to the point where we can now see it bubbling up on a moment’s notice and the thought of not having that anger available to her, seems to be an incredible insult and despite what her boss had to say, I sincerely doubt she’ll be keeping her distance when it comes to Billy.
 
But you can’t explore anger without involving Frank Castle and he too was subject to the proverbial microscope, since his new friend Rachel made an interesting point when it comes to Frank’s decision to prepare for another battle with Pilgrim’s lackeys at the hotel they were staying in, in that, they should have just moved on and she was one hundred percent right. They could have taken a moment to heal up and then disappeared into the world. But Frank, waited patiently to be found by Pilgrim’s goons, so he could once again, enjoy a fight and the thrill of the hunt and really, the exploration here made it clear that Frank is simply consumed by the power of anger, and sadly, because of his desire to drink from the well of fury deeply, he’s in dire straits once again since the cops picked him up, and the Pilgrim is on his way to handle this matter personally…
 
If anything, I love the fact that season two is exploring what makes these characters tick without ramming what it wants to accomplish, concept wise, down our throats, since all of this was handled in subtle and magnificent fashion and I’m quite curious to see what other notions we will be digging into in episodes to come. Not to mention, I’m also wondering as to whether or not Madani is right about Billy. Because if he is faking it, he’s doing one hell of a job since he was a mess in this episode. But all of that will have to wait, because it would appear that a showdown between the Pilgrim and the Punisher is in the cards first and well, I wish the Pilgrim the best of luck because going up against Frank Castle, always seems to be a terrible idea. Until next time.  

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