Memento Mori

Very uneven writing. The previous episode earned a rare 9-stars rating from my wife and me. We both cried during the family reunion.

This episode begins with Russo just effortlessly shooting his way to freedom. Like, he doesn't even aim.

Good thing both of Dinah's parents are doctors..

A great ending to season one, the punisher slays and the bad guys get their due. Great acting and a well developed storyline.

I was hoping for a lot from this season climax and I got it! It's an electrifying episode, full of real power and drama, and it ends in a satisfying showdown between hero and villain. Good choreography as usual, fine acting and no skimping on the bloodshed. I'm really looking forward to season two at this point...

I've never really cared much for The Punisher as he has appeared in films and shorts, although his use in season 2 of Daredevil made me look forward to this solo outing despite the very mixed reviews it received from critics and fans alike. The plot sees Frank Castle keeping his head down in a construction job until he is contacted by a mysterious hacker called Micro, who seeks his help in a shared matter. Meanwhile, at the FBI, agent Madani joins the NY office from Afghanistan, but still very much wanting to find out who killed her partner there (who had been investigating reports of marines running drugs). From these initial threads run a comparatively slow narrative across 13 hours.

That 13 hours is part of the problem, as it does seem like it has longer time that it needs, or rather than it can't deliver the type of show to fill that time out. In terms of pace it is not so much 'slow' as it is very deliberate; aside from the moments of action or violence, the show plays out in a way that suggests more weight than it actually carries. I think if it had done more with character and writing then it could have made it work, but as it is a lot of what is in here seems like it is happening to fill the time rather than being a tightly focused season. The bigger issue I had though was that it is not compelling - regardless what pace it goes at, I wanted to have it pulling me back in after each episode, and this didn't happen. Instead it plays out along the lines you expect it to, apart from the rather dour tone it has - not dark or intense, just murky and muddled.

The show is still decent enough with all this though, and it does have enough about it to keep me watching, and to enjoy the high moments - but mostly it is quite ho-hum in what it does. The cast work hard, in particular Bernthal makes a strong presence in the title role; a shame then that the material doesn't give him more. Moss-Bachrach is fine in his role, but again there isn't the material there to make more of the many scenes he and Bernthal have together. Revah is good but doesn't totally convince in her character's emotions and motivations later on, when it really counts. Barnes is effective and his character is part of the reason the show improves as it gets into the final third. Schulze is reliable as ever, and Woll shows up to keep the universe all connected, even if her thread (associated with Wilson) is one of the elements that feels unnecessary.

Overall, season 1 is 'okay' but not consistently better than that. It has its moments and strengths, but too much of it is overly deliberate in the pacing which produces a sluggish feel to so much of the narrative. The plotting is not particularly compelling or snappy either; it is very easy to be steps ahead of it - which is bad when it moves slow because one watches it impatiently waiting for it to catch up. I will still come back for a second season if it picks up on the conflict which this season ended, but I will be joining it hoping that it can tighten and raise its game from here.

Well done to Netflix et al.

After a bunch of botched job interpretations on screen in the film world, Netflix have taken The Punisher and given the whole story a welcome retelling. It worked.

Really worked! I read a bunch of The Punisher comics when I was much younger and always liked the dark take on the character, something different for a hero.

Our lead is perfect, and despite having a lower effects budget to work on, both our lead et al are given long story arcs in which to develop with great storyline.

It's violent and unapologetic for it, which is fine as that is what The Punisher is all about. In the comics he's a tortured soul and violence to execute justice is is way, whether you agree with his philosophy or not.

There was some obvious points, and some of the surprises were easily predicted before they happened, but really they could be passed over. Enjoyable and engrossing story, which really even the most stone hearted person could find something in.

Give it a try, and hopefully the second season will live up to the first. This has been my first series I've watched on Netflix, and with this good standard it won't be the last.