Marvel's The Punisher Season 2 Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs

2. How Frank Embraces The Punisher

Season 1 of The Punisher wasn't really a Punisher story at all; it was a Frank Castle story. It was all about who the man wearing the skull actually is, and the events that led him to becoming that person.

Season 2, then, goes all-in on giving us a proper Punisher tale, going to some fascinating and unexpected places with its lead character. He is, as he has to be, someone who kills lots of people, using guns and violence repeatedly to accomplish his goals, but the show also wrestles with the bigger ideas of whether or not he could be a real superhero and, with that, if he can be considered 'good'.

Bernthal's brilliant in those introspective moments, and it meshes well with Amy in particular, as Frank's forced to look at what actually separates him from Billy, and why he does what he does. Is it purely out of a need for revenge, or is it a much deeper part of who he's always been? That struggle, and how Frank both approaches and answer it, make for a great exploration of the character who has always been one of Marvel's darkest (anti)heroes.