On January 18,  The Punisher will be back on Netflix, with Jon Bernthal returning to keep the character alive on a platform where Marvel shows have been producing great quality, but still haven’t been able to survive. Fans were first introduced the the character in Daredevil season two, where fans learned the backstory of Frank Castle, a veteran and father, who’s family was killed in front of him after returning from war. When Castle returned to Netflix for his stand-alone series, we got a slightly altered background story, focusing on his war buddy, Billy Russo, played by Ben Barnes, as a force behind the killing of Frank’s family that day by the carousel.

Season two of The Punisher has some strong moments, particularly in the beginning. While season one hinted that Castle’s fighting days may be over, as he took the identity of Pete Castiglione and sat in on some group therapy, season two shows that Pete is just as much of a fighter as Frank.

The first three episodes are the best of the season. These could stand-alone as a new series about Pete living in the Midwest trying to carry on with a normal life, but his protective instinct pulls him into trouble. Unfortunately, the show moves Frank to more familiar territory, and after that move the show struggles to find balance. The storyline focused around a gang of religious extremists intent to kill Frank and the young woman he’s protecting never finds familiar territory with the second story, where Billy Russo re-emerges as a threat to New York.

The young woman Frank is protecting is Amy Bendix, a new character brought to life by Giorgia Whigham. Amy joins the other strong women of the series (such as Dinah Madani and Karen Page in Season one) on a path to prove that beneath all of the violence, the Punisher himself is a decent human being.

And that conflict, the humanity of Frank and his ability to kill people without hesitation is a topic of discussion throughout the whole season. Characters confront their own anger, haunted by demons of their past, and try to decide if they can be the type of killer that Castle can be, without becoming the person that he is. At times, it is a bit too much of people staring at their own navels, talking to therapists, and drinking away their emotions. However, ever since The Punisher branched off on his own, the show has crammed it down the audience’s throat that the people on the show are real, and not to be looked at as killers with no chance at redemption. At times this is the show’s biggest flaw – it’s trying too hard to prove that Frank is, and is surrounded by, good people.

Could Billy Russo be one of those good people? As Billy recovers from his injuries incurred at Frank’s hands, his possibility for redemption becomes a major topic. Russo loses a part of himself when he recovers, but it isn’t his humanity. If anything, the character comes back as a more tender, loving person. His arc may have felt more fresh if we had more time between the story of a mentally unstable villain seeking his north star in Daredevil before watching Billy on his own journey of mental healing. However, the therapist that helps Billy find himself again serves as yet another woman around the men of the series that helps remind the audience, and the characters, of their humanity.

I struggle to find much to say about the new villains of the season, a group of religious extremists that want Amy and Frank dead. While the show presents these characters as mysterious villains, it was hard to find a reason to care about their stories, motives, and goals. Something never really clicked to make them more than a way to add material and complexity to a show that could have been exciting enough with the stories available in New York. But they give us Amy, who is a delight, even if her storyline falters.

One high spot in the series is an amazing soundtrack of heart-felt blues renditions of classic songs, woven into emotional moments along the way. Just as Luke Cage takes you to Harlem with it’s sound track, the tunes chosen for emotional moments in The Punisher feel like American simplicity. With acoustic guitars accompanying shoot-outs, it’s as American as the single-wide trailer where Frank and Amy live for much of the season.

If you are still holding out hope for cross-overs between the Netflix shows, you should realize by now that we likely aren’t going to see any title characters showing up without a little bit of hype before-hand. However, Frank does continue to live in a world where New York City only has one cop of note outside of Harlem, and that is the beloved Brett Mahoney, portrayed by Royce Johnson. Johnson comes close to stealing the show in this upcoming season, appearing frequently, with a personality created by being the one person in law enforcement that still cares to follow the rules.

On January 18, you may not want to cancel all plans to watch the series as fast as you can, but the beginning of the season is strong enough to pull you back in, even if you don’t remember many details from Season one. And if we never see more of Frank Castle and his own side of the Netflix MCU after this season, things are wrapped up nicely enough that we won’t be as angry as those that watched all of Iron Fist. 

 

Runaways Season 2 is an unusual show to review, in that it is not often a sophomore effort is the first to truly live out the premise of the show. With the so called Runaways staying at home for most of Season 1, the first go round with the teens served as a sort of extended pilot more than anything. The obvious confidence Hulu had in the property, with its almost assured second season, allowed Brian K Vaughn and team to do things in that first season that deepened the foundation of the characters and ultimately should pay off. None the less, Season 2 is the first time we’ve truly seen the teens on the run.

Early on, this new reality helps the show come to life. The obvious hazards of being on the streets, struggling for money and food, and trying to adjust to falling from the 1% to homelessness make for engaging drama in the beginning of the season. This setup gives the show an edge and sense of danger that was too often missing in the first season, filmed mostly in mansions. Sadly the premise is stripped away far too quickly as the characters move into digs that are comic accurate but which also blunt the point end of being a runaway in the first place.

My general concern with this season, and the show in general, is that far too often it feels uncomfortable in its own skin. Some of the time it is a teen melodrama that is almost embarrassed of its super hero trappings. At other times its a super hero show that has long lulls where puberty seems the real villain, not the alien antagonist. Some fans will undoubtedly feel like the mix is just right, giving them just the right dose of each. And the source material, the modern classic comic series, is a bit like that as well. For me it just felt like both halves seem rushed in order to make sure that the other half isn’t underserved. As such the adolescent soap opera doesn’t have space to breath and the comic fight scenes feel far too short.

The challenge of a large cast is obvious in this show. Characters disappear for a few episodes at a time. That’s the nature of this beast. Generally, the show is at its most alive when the characters are all in one room, at least the six protagonists. The wit is fast paced and typically well timed by the actors. It can have an Alan Sorkin kind of electricity in the dialogue. But too often the characters are sent off on character development homework side missions, which don’t have the same energy. Chemistry is what makes and breaks this show and it is often a roller coaster entity in season 2. Some scenes are spectacular and others just lack punch.

The powers and special effects on the show also tend to get under served in production. For a group of kids constantly running head long into trouble, they seem to always leave their dinosaur at home. Maybe just once it would make sense to bring along his muscle, if only the show wasn’t hiding him away lest they over play their puppeteering skill or blow out the budget. One consistently wonders if the brief VFX scenes are due to the desires of the show runner, or a property that maybe is misplaced in TV financing world. Its not that anything looks bad, its just all very short. A mid-season climax point that is clearly meant to be a special effect bonanza ultimately feels like 25 actors looking at each other menacingly without enough things actually happening. In particular, the Runaways as a team don’t manage the kind of combinations and power complementation that makes a team up like the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, or even Quake and Ghost Rider on Agents of SHIELD, so satisfactory.

A mention should quickly be made of the characters and their arcs. Nico is coming to grips both with her new relationship and the fact that she has replaced Alex as the de facto leader of the group. This weight is in fact heavy for her. Molly continues to grow out of adulthood and into a role with more agency. This leads to the kinds of mistakes all people make when maturing. Alex is sort of the outsider after falling out with Nico, so viewers get to see him connect with unlikely people in a new community. Chase is stripped of all the things that made him a hot shot. He’s struggling with a more domestic role and how to show sensitivity. Gert has some personal health issues that throw her off stride. And Karolina is trying to figure out who she really is. This leads her to seek answers in a really questionable place. The performances all have highs and lows, with Allegra Acosta’s Molly maybe being the most consistent character.

Generally the acting in this show gets a little cringe worthy at some times. The material leans so heavily into the world of melodrama its is kind of hard to take some lines and takes seriously. Did they really just say that? Somewhat paradoxically, the show really clicks on two ends of the spectrum. First of all, the relationships and the experiences of hurt ring true. When these characters are people first and superhero second, they tend to be believable. Secondly, some of the world building, particularly some later season flash back work, is interesting and engaging in part because it’s completely over the top. Its just the in between stuff that can be messy.

As a huge fan of Season 1, this second season does feel like a step back. One can see what the show runners are aiming for, but they just miss the execution. The pacing and storytelling are too muddled and ultimately it feels like that hurts the performances. Too many hand break turns are happening for any groove to occur in the show. Actors are trying to do legitimate human emotion on minute and then ten minutes later they’re in the midst of a monologue about cosmic pseudeoscience or engaged in hokey slow mo fights. A lot of good stuff is in this season, and the fans will probably still enjoy it, but the show needs to make more hard decisions about what it really is and what it really wants to be.

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After a read of Chris’s Venom review, they, Izzy, and Anthony are joined by returning guest Sam Riordan (@JustSamPlease) and total rando Peter in discussing Sony’s “Marvel” “film” at length, topics including its production history, character arcs, choices of accents, and overall genre weirdness. Like the movie itself, this episode is a mess, but expect to hear a lot about Tom Hardy’s old MySpace profile and the wonderful Eddie/Venom fanart the crew has found.

Recommended Reading:

• Fan art of Venom and Eddie Brock’s relationship celebrates the romantic side (Polygon)
• Eminem – Venom (Music from the Motion Picture) Lyrics (Genius)

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Next Week: The Shared Universe Model (Part 1 of 2)

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