Remember you have to die.
Full Spoilers Following for Marvel’s The Punisher: “Danger Close.” Make sure to keep up with all of our Marvel's The Punisher binge here.
The Punisher gets back to basics in “Danger Close.” The past few episodes have been inconsistent, so it felt good returning to what makes this series great. Namely, great action sequences and David and Frank working together. The dynamic duo senses that the end of their journey is near and it’s slowing pushing them over the edge.
Watching Frank viciously kill Billy’s henchmen raises a question. How long can he keep living like this? Even though this is a series based on a comic book character, the writers have kept the heart of their story grounded in reality. Their explorations of post-traumatic stress and gun control have steeped The Punisher in real-world issues.
So, if Frank is more human than superhero, he can’t keep going like this forever. After Frank returns to the base all bruised and bloody, David tells him that this crusade of theirs has to end soon. The John Wick inspired shootout at the base was well-choreographed, but after watching over 10 hours of the series, it was a bit tiresome. With so much violence, it’s easy to become desensitized to what’s happening on the screen. For the first time, it didn’t feel right cheering for The Punisher’s victory.
Perhaps the writers wanted this reaction from the viewers? Looking at Frank sitting among the bodies of his victims was a depressing site. Frank looked exhausted like he had nothing left to give. Frank appeared numb to everything around him, but maybe that’s how it has to be after killing so many people. It’s admirable that the writers have chosen to try to humanize one of the deadliest superheroes in comic book history. It doesn’t always work, but it’s been great fun watching Jon Bernthal develop his character this season.
One of the scenes that worked on every level was David finally seeing his daughter. The show has been steadily building to this moment and it didn’t disappoint. Ebon Moss-Bachrach continues to give a standout performance. The way Frank had to talk him into saving his daughter was heartwarming. David and Frank have one of the best-developed friendships in the Marvel Netflix universe.
David’s family reunion was a timely event after such a bloody episode. Now that Madani, Frank, and David are all together, they can start planning their rescue of Sarah and Zach. It shouldn’t have taken so long to bring all these characters together, but that’s the way Netflix likes to run their shows. 13 episodes, even for a series as strong as The Punisher is too long.
As the season slowly makes its way towards the finale, the villains are losing some of their potency. Frank’s talk with Billy over the phone about how someday this is all going to come back to “you and me” was a hint that The Punisher vs. Jigsaw scenario probably isn’t going down until Season 2. If that’s true, then Rawlins is the guy taking a bullet from Frank sooner than later.
Unfortunately, Rawlins hasn’t been a compelling villain. This is surprising since unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Netflix properties have all had great villains. Fisk in Daredevil, Cottonmouth in Luke Cage, and Kilgrave in Jessica Jones to name a few. Rawlins doesn’t deserve to be mentioned among these iconic rogues, which is a shame since Paul Schulze is more than capable of carrying such a role.
The Verdict
“Danger Close” was a bloody affair tempered by a heartfelt family reunion with David and his daughter. After a few inconsistent episodes, The Punisher finally returned to its strong foundation centered around David and Frank. Now that Team Punisher is fully assembled, the real battle can begin.
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