What I’m Watching: The Punisher

The Punisher: Season 1, Episode 10 “Virtue of the Vicious” (B+)

I don’t typically see the need for time-stamped episodes that piece information together one fragmented scene at a time, especially when a series doesn’t typically employ them. But in this case it turned out to be very effective, showing how far we’ve come with four main characters all playing parts and sharing what they’re really up to with pretty much no one. Karen showing up to interview Senator Ori and speaking to Billy beforehand gave us a bit of conversation about gun control that I’ve been noticing more and more as it becomes a front-and-center issue in contemporary society, even though this episode was of course released back in November. The fact that Karen didn’t use her gun until Lewis was holding her hostage with the bomb demonstrated that it really seemed to be a last resort, and Frank got shot a whole bunch of times before he ziplined out of the building following Karen’s remark that he wouldn’t storm a place without having a way out. Both Dinah and Frank have now realized Billy’s true colors, and let’s hope they start talking quickly, and loop a conspicuously absent David in, so that they can prevent Billy from hunting them down or, worse, villainizing them any more before they take action. While this definitely didn’t look good for Frank, this was one hell of a job on his part, and it’s always astonishing watching him walk around fearlessly and talk so bluntly to the late Lewis, unafraid of what will come next since he’s been so close to dead so many times before.