I saw a few negative comments before going into it and was skeptical about this season, seems some of the criticism was warranted.
This season has roughly the same run time as the first yet it feels almost twice as long, which isn't a good thing. To be fair, the last 3 episodes subverted my low expectations and the plot's predictability; for a moment I was worried that if a third season would happen it would have been an offshoot of this one in terms of story. Regardless if this show keeps on or not, Jon Bernthal is an amazing fit for this role - a real rough road.
I really enjoyed this season and I actually binged the entire thing in one go for once. Jon Bernthal is so good as the Punisher and his connection with Amy was so good. With the slew of cancellations of Marvle shows on Netflix, I won't be surprised to see this one go, but I hope it won't.
I said it before and I say it again: Bernthal really deserves an award for his portrayal of Frank Castle. Not that the rest of the cast is bad, even Amber Rose had some good moments and Ben Barnes rose to the next level here. But what Bernthal brings to the table to bring Castle to life is a mayor part why this show is what it is.
Now, on it's own season two was good but compared to the first it's seconds best. There isn't anything major wrong with it, just a lot of little things.
The whole religous fanatics arc with the gay son who should become president. The Russian blackmailers - all that is overused. Amy is pretty much a noisance thoughout the season and even at the end I don't know if I like her or not. And why even bother with Beth if he doesn't go back to her. That was somewhat wasted.
I also didn't like that love story between Russo and Dr. Crazy. You could see this coming from the first time you saw her and I wish that just for once writers could resist writing this stuff. I never felt sympathy for Billy on his path for redemption. He's a bad guy and all I want is see him dead. There is no way in my book where he comes out of this on the good side.
Madani was better here than in the first season and I think it was fitting that, althought Frank was the one ultimately killing Russo, it was actually she who did the job. Makes sense in a way that Frank was at peace with what he did to Russo and would not have come after him again while for Madani there was an open wound. What I didn't get though is that she quits DHS ("I am done with this") only to go to the CIA. Isn't that the same "this" ?
One of the positives was the character of John Pilgrim. Very well played by Josh Stewart. A dark and troubled soul much like Castle. His story arc was really interesting and the outcome was very satisfiying.
Like the first season it's not action all over. There are slow parts and oftentimes you wait eagerly for things to finally happen. But I must say the managed that well. Yes, it was sometimes annoying but never to the point where I became angry.
Well, ups and downs, positives and negatives aside I fear that we won't see another season of The Punisher. There is enough talk on the internet as to why that might be the case. At least we have somewhat closure with the ending of this season.
The first season was good, but this second no way, episode 4 I felt a sleep and by episode 10 stopt watching.
Jon Bernthal is back at his intense, mesmerizing best in this follow-up season of The Punisher. Unfortunately, Netflix's second go-round with Frank Castle doesn't reach the heights of its first- or even the first half of the 2nd season of Daredevil. This time the writers fall into the too-many-episodes trap, and if it wasn't for Bernthal's heartfelt ferocity the entire season could have felt like a waste. The pacing falters and the two main storylines are so hopelessly disconnected that when the protagonists from one are the main focus, the characters from the other feel like wasted space. What could have been a tight 4 episodes for each arc back-to-back get woven together and are drawn out to absurd lengths, with the final confrontation getting a 2-episode run-up that is lousy with filler scenes.
All of that said, the show still looks and feels amazing. The action is tight and every scene is shot perfectly. Netflix has done an incredible job of building out its corner of the MCU's New York. Handled carelessly the character crossovers, event shout-outs & other easter eggs would do little more than make nerds like me giggle; but the production team here skillfully uses them to ground the show in what feels like a complex reality. You don't have to have seen Det. Mahoney in Daredevil to appreciate his story arc in this show, but his choices in the final two episodes make even more sense if you have. It's a net trick that (as of Dec. 2023) Disney hasn't been able to replicate with its own MCU shows.
On balance, any fan of the first season - or any of the Netflix shows - will enjoy the second season, but you might feel a bit let down towards the end.
FIRST THOUGHTS:
Really messy season. I like the continued exploration of grief and missed connections and the consequences of our actions. But the two main plot lines never really find a good balance and there are good chunks of the season where in which the main plot was completely missing from the show. But what really frustrated me about the season was the underlying sexism baked into so much of the narrative, constantly disempowering the female characters and especially making DAREDEVIL’s Karen, a really compelling and complicated character on that show, into a needy and lovesick hanger on. There are compelling moments in this season, but some serious flaws.
Great second season
Lovely fights where Frank appeared
Okay this is a serie bla bla and some of the damages he suffer, he just recover to quicly, for a normal human after so much punches i think we would be on floor... On some parts its almost unrealistic, but well, the show must continue
From all the actors on this season i think they all made great jobs
Thanks for making this second season
and the end of this one was just totally badass like i've never expected ahahah damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Season 3? anyone knows anything?
Somehow more entertaining but sillier than the first season. Still a good piece to the MTU.
Good season, but it never quite reaches the heights of the first.
1st episode already so "wow!"
Another jaw dropping season. The Punisher is #savage. Love it!! Can't wait for season 3.
what a loose of time. not everything is bad acting is great for some charater ost too but wtf this is more unrealistic that any michael bay movie. Some character are awfull i think this type of show is just for fanboy who eat the same thing every day but shit the punisher is a great comic so sad that his adaptation is so bad...... this is so bad and he has so much potential
Absolutely great season! Binged it on the weekend. Can't wait to see the next one
Shout by RxBVIP 6BlockedParent2019-01-19T17:27:51Z
A really strong season, with great characters and tension building. Disney pulling the plug on the Nextflix Marvel's show Is a really bad move for the public, because, all those shows (yes even Iron Fist despite the critics) were just the right dosage of darkness and hope. I know that, at the time I'm writing this, neither The Punisher nor Jessica Jones have been axed yet, but there's little doubt they will be, and, if the Star Wars franchise is an example of how Disney can ruin a good story, I'm afraid that whatever reboots they'll do in the future will be far inferior to those Netflix shows. Time will tell I suppose, but I'm not optimistic.