'The Punisher' Recap: 'Home'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK... 

As I settled in to watch the next episode of Marvel’s The Punisher, an idea that I made mention of in my last recap, wherein I pondered upon what exactly Frank Castle was up to since he was suddenly playing nice with Homeland Security, kept rolling through my mind. Because it just seems so unlike Frank to play well with others and do anything by the book when it comes to justice since he has become so accustomed to doing things his way, and as it turns out…I was right to be suspicious, because Frank was indeed up to something.
 
But executing his incredible plan was merely the gateway to an incredibly special episode. Because ‘Home’, gave us powerful insight into Frank Castle’s mind, and how his pain and thirst for revenge drives him and by giving us all of that in this story…well, it made for quite the sweeping tragedy when all is said and done and the only way we were able to travel with Frank on this painful journey, was to follow his sneaky plan to a tee.
 
In essence, he used Agent Madani and her quest for justice and closure as the catalyst to get him the revenge he so desperately desires. He gave her testimony and even helped set up a prisoner swap and grand deception so that David could be reunited with this family. But his real intent was to be captured by Billy and Anvil, because he knew full well that his capture meant he would finally get the chance to see Rawlins face to face, and potentially put him down once and for all and it was during his capture and subsequent torture that we finally went inside the mind of the Punisher and what we found, was completely and utterly heartbreaking.
 
Because deep within his mind, are memories upon memories of his beautiful wife and they are the only thing that brings him a semblance of joy or a reason to go on, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing because love can make us soar, the issue at hand with these memories is that Frank has clearly viewed his mission as a one way ticket, and the reason he was so morose and lost at the start of the series, is due to the fact that he expected to die somewhere along the line so he could find his Maria on the other side and live those memories out for all eternity and to hear him admit to Billy in straight forward, non-sarcastic fashion, that he wanted to die was heartbreaking to say the least and gravity of that admission hung heavy over the rest of this tale. 

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​Because suddenly, this episode felt like Frank Castle’s swan song, and that feeling only intensified once Rawlins showed his ugly mug at the now defunct hideout, since every single punch that Agent Orange threw, brought Frank that much closer to the end and to watch the Punisher, take that kind of punishment, knowing full well that the memory of his darling wife kept him going for one minute longer, just so he could finish the mission and go ‘home’ made this entire sequence a sobering affair because now we truly understood just how much his pain and his desire for revenge fuels him since this kind of abuse would have killed any other man. 
 
However, despite the fact that it seemed his revenge would never come to fruition, a stunning assist from Billy helped his dream finally come true and in powerful and uncomfortably violent fashion, The Punisher made William Rawlins pay the price for his crimes with his life and at long last the mission had come to an end, and as Micro and Homeland Security converged upon the facility to save Castle’s life, the final choice to live or die was up to Frank and in what appeared to be his final moments, where he could finally let go and hold Maria in that place where we all go when our lives come to an end…Frank Castle managed to surprise us all by choosing to leave her behind and live…
 
While that should in fact be a happy ending of sorts, in reality, his decision merely adds to the tragedy of this episode. Because by declaring a world filled with revenge and fighting to be his home, Frank has in essence let all of us know that he might be lost forever to the anger and fire within his soul. He was able to get his revenge, he ruined Billy Russo and William Rawlins by getting a taped confession, but he still needs more and I have no doubt that once he recovers from his vast amount of injuries, Billy Russo will become the focus of his fury.
 
Either way, this story will stay with me for a long time, because you so rarely see comic book stories add this kind of depth and agony when it comes to their characters and now more than ever, I am rooting for Frank Castle to find the peace he so desperately seeks because he truly deserves a chance to know what that kind of tranquility feels like, especially now that we know what kind of powerful pain this man is carrying in his heart. Until next time. 

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