I just finished season 1 of Daredevil. That ish was flames!
Punishane was straight ruthless in the last episode. I definitely see where they goin with season 2, I’m down
OK I finished this series a couple days ago and this is my favorite Marvel Netflix series by far!
So many good things about the show it’s actually quite refreshing, especially after being really disappointed with The Defenders and Iron Shit.
Jon Bernthal is the perfect Punisher. There are many actors who could’ve played the cold stone-faced killer convincingly, but Jon was perfect for the role because he could also bring out the character’s humanity and emotional pain at times when it was needed. He made the character feel real and truly tortured instead of just some one dimensional vengeful entity with nothing else under the hood. There were times where I truly felt for the dude and understood his motivations, albeit twisted.
The many good points:
[details=Spoiler]- First off, the brutality! Oh yes… there will be blood. They didn’t turn Castle into a guy who just killed cleanly like an assassin, when the punishment was personal it was personal, right up close and to the point. They didn’t pull any punches and it made the character feel real. The death of Rawlins was as gruesome as it gets but oh so well-deserved. Frank Castle K-Groove rage meter is too good.
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As a guy who absolutely hated the MCU’s constant moralizing via characters like Foggy, Claire and Misty Knight, who thought irredeemable villains deserved a chance to beat the court system or that the justice system was incorruptible, I was so relieved to see this series really toned down on that bullshit, as it is very annoying and would’ve taken away from the Punisher’s perspective. They added logical opposition to his brash decisions without the characters grandstanding. You can’t build a dark and realistic “comic book” world and then detract from it with childish idealism, it creates a conflict.
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Billy Russo was truly the definition of a complicated man. His abandonment issues and hidden traumas growing up as an orphan made him into a sociopath with a huge chip on his shoulder. Dressing like he was out of a men’s catalog, the American Psycho~esque morning routine, and the subtle signs of internalized rage when he was challenged or belittled made him quite the deep villain. He dilly-dallied between wanting to do the right or “honorable” thing and selfish self-preservation that a part of me was honestly rooting for a redemption story right up until the Homeland Security raid, where he passed the point of no return. He still proved to still have his humanity when he spared Micro’s wife and kid during the exchange since he could’ve easily capped them all. It’s funny how for the viewers unfamiliar with his character they built up to the fact that he was going to get his face ruined just by the several mentions about him being a pretty boy.
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Micro was another cool character and I loved how Frank and him slowly warmed up to each other in a very natural way. They didn’t make his character into a one-note nerd and he had enough “cool” moments that allowed Frank to respect him, even if they didn’t see eye to eye every time. It’s interesting how his story arc ended so neatly, since in the comics he and Frank were a team for a long stretch.
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At first I thought Madani was going to be some kind grating feminist trope, a strong-willed morally superior Mary Sue type, but she had her flaws and was called out quite a few times for her selfish and egotistical behavior. Halfway through the season she evolved by reining in her negative tendencies and compromised.
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I also liked how they added the veteran meeting to show how war affects former soldiers in many ways, and how scars don’t only have to be physical. They could’ve easily made the whole military angle very dry and rushed, but they showed the many sides of the issue without getting too political.
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MCU Netflix series are notorious for their horrible pacing and pointless filler to make sure they get all 13 eps per season. This has lead to some annoyingly drawn out story arcs leading nowhere, most notably in Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. They managed to keep the plot threads always relevant and engaging, even though they stretched things at times, they never pushed it too far.
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Last but not least. In a series with absolutely no superpowered characters, they still managed to make the world still feel like the MCU, which sounds easy in theory, but it could’ve easily looked like 24 or some other action/drama series without those elements. Hats off to them. [/details]
And the very few issues/nitpicks:
Spoiler
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The disturbed Lee Harvey Oswald kid tie-in as a mad bombing vigilante was too convenient. They didn’t have to make him acquainted with Curtis and Frank, it was all too neat, especially since he didn’t show any signs of revering The Punisher early on in the season.
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You have a series with graphic up-close violence and relatively explicit sex scenes, and yet the writers are too scared to throw in a few well-timed f-bombs, especially in the Kandahar flashbacks? It kind of felt weird that this show had the makings of a hard-R rating but there was barely any cursing when shit really hit fan.
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We all know Frank is a die hard berserker, but the amount of “Punishment” he received in a relatively short period of time should have put him out of commission for at least a few weeks. Blood loss and a dislocated shoulder are no joke and he wouldn’t have been able to his 100 yard dash, extended CQC fights, and climbing feats with all the damage he accumulated without proper recovery. Even with the best bulletproof vest vs a high-powered rifle you will still get aggravated internal injuries and his already-broken ribcage and punctured lung would 've gotten much worse. Not really a big deal, but Castle got beat up more than even Daredevil and shrugged it off.
Misc stuff:
Spoiler
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Madani and Micro’s wife were great eye candy, but Micro’s wife was a staight up cutie pie. That cute earnest look in her eyes… if I was Micro it would’ve been torture knowing you couldn’t get to tap that again…
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With The Punisher effectively a free man and retired, where do they go from there? He’s a man without a war and his partner went home and became a family man again? It’s going to take something really convincing to make him go on his killing sprees again, maybe the shudders death of Karen Page?!
A solid 9 out of 10 Definitely delivered.
I finished watching the Punisher. I loved it. It’s right up there with one of my all time favourite t.v shows. Looking around online all the audience scores are completely off the charts as well, it just further shows the disconnect the critics have right now with the people watching these shoes.
I heard someone else say about the kid as well but I think the kids main purpose was to bring the threads of Russo, Castle and Madani together and create a flashpoint combined with bringing Frank back to public knowledge.
I also didn’t feel like it was disjointed as I was watching the show, it all just made sense as it was playing along, I didn’t feel like he broke the show apart, convenient or not.
I think there were better and far less coincidental ways of bringing the characters together, the series had a lot of creative license they could’ve used without making the plot thread so direct. That said, that was hardly problematic since it didn’t really hurt the pace or the plot overall.
And I do agree with you, on top of being my favorite MCU show, it’s one of my favorite shows I’ve watched in years.
“Wu-Tang. That’s some next level shit.” -Frank Castle
Need a Punisher/Luke Cage Netflix team up special
Punisher and Daredevil Season 1 are head and shoulders above the rest of Netflix Marvel. And tbh I think Punisher may be the best yet even surpassing DD s1.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday and other stuff, I only got to watch this recently.
Like most of the Netflix MCU shws, I have basically no knowledge of the Punisher and have read none of the comics.
Pros:
Bernthal’s performance as Punisher. Badass but can show signs of vulnerability and is honorable. I feel like he could be a marine in real life.
I loved all the supporting characters in this show In Jess/IronFist some got on my nerves, but everyone from Lewis to micros kids drew me int the world.
I wish shohreh/dinahs mom got more to do but ah well
The action and fights were great and visceral.
I honestly thought that a serialized Punisher show would be difficult to pull off and keep my interest over 13 episodes. But it builds anticipation even with a slow start. I watched the last 5 episodes back to back yesterday.
-the bond between Frank and Micro was great.
–The gradual transformation of Billy Russo over the course of the show.
–Opening theme just fits Punisher so well.
Cons
Frank going to Micros house a lot and the inevitable kiss between Sarah/Frank made me lol. Also, Im surprised she never heard of Franks antics since she lives in NY.
The ending , while tying up most of the loose ends, feels kind of permanent , like they werent expecting a second season. I’m surprised some of the actions of the govt. characters were uncharacteristically generous. If they do a followup, it will be weird to transition from that into Frank continuing as the Punisher.
Maybe I missed it but regarding “orange”…
Spoiler
Besides just accumulating money and revenge on Frank for his injury, What was his motivation? He mentioned the country being lost to business(?)
**Overall: 9/10. **
I havent been this excited about a NF show since DD Season 1. After the underwhelming IF, I was hesitant about the Netflix MCU, but this was the adrenaline shot it needed.
Spoiler
His post-war motivation was to clean house so he could further climb the ladder without any potential career fallout with his boss. He used his CIA status to create a covert narco-trafficking enterprise that probably paid for his fancy house with bulletproof windows and other ventures.
Honestly it reminded me of personal stories from soldiers in Afghanistan whose job was to guard poppy fields for 8 months everyday. Art mirroring life.
Btw is wrong that I…
Spoiler
have an urge to rewatch Punisher finish off Agent Orange again?
Jessica Jones Season 2 will premiere on March 8,2018.
Trailer
Punisher S2 confirmed!
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official trailer
This definitely looks more interesting than the last trailer we got.
I just watched Jess S2.
It was decent, but fell flat in someways without Killgrave or Luke Cage.
The attempt to delve into her past and have the plot revolve around that was a nice idea.
I’ve never read any of her comics, but the twist that happens 1/2 way shocked me.
That character and Jess’s complicated relationship in the last 7 episodes was interesting to watch.
However, The character of Trish almost comes off as a villain more than the above character.
She was extremely unlikeable and I had little sympathy for her.
I was more sympathetic with Jeri Hogarth until the penultimate episode.
Malcom was my favorite character this season(probably he was more assertive)
Pryce Cheng AKA Daboog (but not fat or bald) felt like a wasted opportunity.
Oscar and his son trying to be a surrogate family for Jess was a nice contrast to all her craziness,but it seemed like Oscar was more a plot device (and DICK device wink)
I just hope that the fallout between Trish and Jess at the end isnt just swept under the rug in the next season. That happens a lot in CW shows, where there will be a big brouhaha and then 2 episodes everyone’s sunshine and rainbows.
I loled at how Jess lectured Malcolm that getting pussy is no better than drugs.
BEYOTCH, youre drunk 24/7 and fucking random boytoys in bars and down the hall after they fix your toilet/print illegal govt documents. You little hypocrite!
My favorite episode was 7 since there was a lot of backstory/flashbacks.
It was great to see -------- again in ep 10. It shows you how compelling that person was.
Overall: 7/10
(We need a compelling antagonist and some more likeable characters)
The second to last ranked MCU Netflix Season. (Iron Fist is 6.5/10 )
She’s not really being a hypocrite. He traded one addiction for another is what she was getting at.
You really should spoiler tag that imo
It’s season 2, not season 3.
Idk, this season was ok. Punisher still my fav.
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