Television Review: The Punisher (Season 1, 2017)

In 2017, Netflix has taught us that its new Marvel series, previously met with eager anticipation, are to be greeted with considerable scepticism, if not outright dread. It is no longer merely a matter of evident creative and financial fatigue, or even the anticipated decline in quality following the surprisingly strong debut seasons of

and

. Rather, it appears the Netflix superhero multi-series project, much like its cinematic counterpart, has become a victim of a process even its creators seem powerless to halt. Thus, each new series or season appears destined to be worse than the last, partly due to objective constraints, partly due to the enforced repetition of a narrative formula that results in increasingly drawn-out seasons culminating in ever more melodramatic and less convincing cliffhangers. Many had anticipated such a fate for The Punisher, the latest addition to Netflix’s Marvel roster, yet fortunately, it has largely managed to evade this trajectory.

The protagonist, portrayed by Jon Bernthal, was first introduced in Daredevil’s

as a significant figure and something of Daredevil’s alter ego, pushing vigilantism to brutal, bloody extremes. Frank Castle has ample justification for his actions—which have amassed an unprecedented body count among New York’s criminal underworld—given that his beloved wife and children tragically perished in a gangland shootout. Simultaneously, his bloody and highly efficient vengeance is underpinned by his credentials as a Marine special forces officer and extensive combat experience in America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His military past, during which he uncovered the dark realities of “spreading democracy” through torture and prisoner executions, as well as his superiors’ involvement in drug smuggling, remains a source of profound, unresolved trauma. A stroke of luck for Castle is that authorities now believe him dead following one of his spectacular clashes. David “Micro” Lieberman (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), a hacker and former NSA analyst, finds himself in a similar predicament: his attempt to expose corruption in Afghanistan led to the investigation turning against him, and after barely surviving an arrest attempt, he too is presumed dead. Unlike Castle, Micro’s family remains alive, and his desire to reunite with them drives his reluctant recruitment of Castle to uncover evidence clearing his name. Castle agrees only because he believes Micro’s hacking and analytical skills will aid his quest for vengeance. Complicating matters further is Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah), a Department of Homeland Security agent investigating Castle’s Afghan history, who becomes entangled with Castle’s former comrade Billy Russo (Ben Barnes), now the owner of a security firm lubricated by political and business connections.

Netflix’s Marvel series distinguish themselves through a commitment to realism, rendering their plots and protagonists far more plausible on New York’s actual streets than their garishly costumed cinematic equivalents. In The Punisher, this realism reaches a new, potentially unsettling level. Frank Castle is no superhero—his abilities are entirely human, and he frequently endures the grim physical consequences of ballistic impacts. He is not even a conventional hero, owing to his morally dubious tactics, which include torture, mutilation, and killing sprees, raising questions about whether he derives a twisted satisfaction from it all. Yet Castle remains a complex character, retaining vestiges of humanity while acutely aware he can never rejoin normal society. Bernthal’s performance elevates the role, cementing Frank Castle/The Punisher as his finest work by that point.

The decision to pair Punisher with Micro as both partner and moral counterpoint proves astute. Much as Punisher served as Daredevil’s foil, Micro—played with brilliance by the relatively unknown Moss-Bachrach—fulfils a similar role here. While rooted in the original comics, the character draws significant inspiration from Edward Snowden, avoiding geeky stereotypes. He embodies Castle’s closest approximation of a conscience, while Micro’s family, whom Castle occasionally visits, represents an idyllic substitute for all he has lost. The Punisher’s grounding in reality is most evident in its exploration of the fallout from Western “spreading of democracy” in the Middle East—a trauma from which neither the modern world nor Castle has recovered. This extends beyond the protagonist to his superiors, mired in corruption and human rights abuses, and his comrades. Here, the producers reveal their expected salon-leftist convictions: one antagonist, an alternate version of Castle portrayed by Australian actor Daniel Webber, espouses pro-Trump rhetoric, defends gun rights, and descends into deranged terrorism. Similarly, Madani’s character is reduced to clichés, functioning less as a credible federal agent than as a token emblem of “political correctness,” her authority undermined by predictable romantic subplots.

The series’ greatest flaw, particularly this season, lies in its drawn-out pacing. The narrative crawls through early episodes before accelerating near the end, still weighed down by superfluous instalments. The finale epitomises this issue, following the penultimate episode’s spectacular showdown with an anticlimactic, unconvincing confrontation between Castle and the primary antagonist. Despite these shortcomings, The Punisher was a compelling series. However, its creators had to exert extraordinary effort to prevent the anticipated quality decline in the second season.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

(Note: The text in the original Croatian version was posted

.)

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