The Punisher season 2 reviews roundup: What the critics are saying about return of Marvel series on Netflix
Jon Berntha has finally returned as the comic book vigilante
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Your support makes all the difference.The Punisher has returned to Netflix for a second season.
Former Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal returns in one of the streaming service’s remaning Marvel television show as Frank Castle, a revenge-seeking vigilante who continues to uncover a criminal conspiracy.
A spinoff to Daredevil, which was axed in 2018, The Punisher began in 2017 and scored rave reviews upon its debut.
Reviews for this second outing, which also stars Deborah Ann Woll and Ben Barnes, are much more mixed.
You can find a roundup below.
The best reason to watch the show, aside from Bernthal’s charisma and tendency to grunt like a gorilla when he’s amped up, is the consistently brutal action. Like almost every Marvel Netflix show, 13 episodes is too long, with endless slow burn followed by a final episode that struggles to cram everything in.
The first few episodes of the season attempt to make a fairly clean break from the events, characters, and setting of season one. Unfortunately, it’s here where one of the fundamental flaws of season two becomes apparent. These newcomers struggle to measure up. Ironically, it’s only when it clings to the past that it becomes the show it was meant to be.
Season one of The Punisher was a standout among the Marvel Netflix shows because of the tightly intertwined characters and narrative. Season two loses that sense of focus and purpose. The writers seem to have an endless supply of puzzle metaphors to reference [the villain] Jigsaw, but they don’t seem as concerned with how poorly the pieces of their plot fit together.
The Punisher season one wasted a completely competent origin story gifted to it by Daredevil that ended with Frank Castle suiting up in all his trench coat and skull-vest glory, just to essentially repilot in episode one and have him literally throw it all away in a trash can fire before the opening credits. I bring all this up to give you the full scope of what I mean when I say that The Punisher season two is a massive improvement on its predecessor and even stands head-and-shoulders above some of the other shows in the Marvel/Netlix pantheon.
The Punisher season two is available to stream on Netflix now.
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