Marvel's The Punisher: What Does The Ending Really Mean?

3. Frank's Hardest Fight Is Not Having One

The Punisher is a series with a lot of bombast; it's violent, graphic, and as loud as a gunshot. It's impressive, then, that it ends on such a quiet note, and what we've seen before this makes the final moments all the more powerful.

With Frank Castle gone and Pete Castiglione back, the CIA conspiracy a closed case, and Billy Russo defeated, Jon Bernthal's character is, at last, a free man. The records are clean, people think the Punisher has gone (again), and while he can't completely move on, he's no longer as haunted by the past as he was before.

He can go almost anywhere and do what he wants - and that's the hardest fight the character has faced yet. He's a man shaped by his battles and thrives in the heat of conflict. Now that's gone, what does he do next? Working with Curtis and talking to the other vets will certainly help, but this is a task more difficult for Frank Castle than taking on Rawlins and Russo. As he says in the brilliant final line:

"For the first time for as long as I can remember, I don’t have a war to fight, and I guess — if I’m going to be honest — I’m scared.”