Yahoo News Here's why The Punisher's second season should be the show's last
No one was particularly surprised to see Iron Fist leave this plane of existence for another. After all, season two was a big improvement over what had come before, but the viewing figures still failed to recover from a poorly received first season. What did come as a surprise though was Luke Cage’s cancellation shortly after, and not even blinding reviews for the third season of Daredevil could save the OG Marvel Netflix show either.
While we wait to see whether these beloved (and not so beloved) Defenders could be revived soon on Disney’s new streaming service, the fate of Jessica Jones and The Punisher still remains unclear.
(For more on exactly *why* all these Marvel shows are being cancelled by Netflix, go here.)
Daredevil star Deborah Ann Woll isn’t confident that Jon Bernthal’s vigilante show will survive moving forward, telling fans online that her final appearance as Karen Page in the MCU is “likely” to “be in The Punisher Season 2.”
Middling reviews for The Punisher’s sophomore outing also suggest that Frank Castle may have punished his last criminal too... but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Note: spoilers for The Punisher season two follow
Ever since he first made his Netflix debut in the second season of Daredevil, The Punisher has been driven by one thing and one thing only – revenge. Just like his comic-book counterpart, Jon Bernthal’s take on Frank Castle also suffers still following the death of his entire family, but in the latest season of The Punisher, this story arc finally comes to a satisfying conclusion of sorts.
Although his murdered wife and children still appear occasionally in the form of memories and flashbacks, Frank is no longer consumed entirely by their loss. Of course, he’ll never recover fully from the trauma of that fateful day, but season two introduces a few new developments that make Frank’s pain a bit easier to bear.
One of the big changes that showrunner Steve Lightfoot made this year is the inclusion of a new sidekick called Amy Bendix. Played by 13 Reasons Why star Giorgia Whigham, the teenage girl seems to be an unlikely partner at first, even more so than Micro from season one, but it’s not long before Frank develops paternal feelings towards her.
If his daughter were still alive today, she’d be around the same age as Amy and so, by protecting her, Frank feels like he’s doing right by the family he’s lost too.
Then there’s the matter of Billy Russo to attend to as well. In the season-one finale, Frank punished his former friend by mangling his face with a broken mirror. By keeping him alive in this way, The Punisher hoped that Billy’s scars would reflect the ugliness he hid on the inside. The impact that this has on their dynamic informs much of season two, right up until the last episode where Frank finishes 'Jigsaw' off once and for all.
Not only does this help The Punisher find closure, but it also ties up all of the loose plot threads from season one too. After all, Billy played a crucial role in the death of Frank’s family and by killing him, full atonement can finally be won.
The final scene reveals that The Punisher hasn’t given up his crusade against the criminal underworld following Billy’s death and that he still takes joy in murdering those who would break the law. However, what this also reveals is that he’s no longer putting the costume on simply for his family’s sake. Now that they’ve been avenged, his mission is motivated more by a desire to protect the innocent instead of mere vengeance.
In the absence of a good therapist, this is probably the closest that Frank will ever get to true closure. The trauma will always linger, but it’s gratifying to see his story finally come full circle.
In the likely event that The Punisher will be cancelled in the coming weeks, this would be the perfect way for his story to end. Rather than drag things out or potentially even recast Frank Castle in a new Punisher show later down the line, it’s far better to end with this version of the character, finding fulfillment by dishing out punishment to those who thoroughly deserve it.
The Punisher season two is streaming now on Netflix.
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