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Arguably the best part of Daredevil
season 2 is its Punisher arc. We meet
the Punisher, learn what set him on the path of becoming the brutal vigilante,
and watch as he truly becomes the Punisher.
If we look at this season in the context of Punisher’s story, this
particular episode, “Penny and Dime,” serves as the conclusion of the “origin”
section of the season.
The episode picks up with the
aftermath of Punisher’s war against the Kitchen Irish, as a new heavy-hitter
named Finn returns from Ireland to take back control of the gang. His son was one of the men killed in the
Punisher’s attack on their bar, and Finn both wants revenge and wants to get
back the money which the Punisher stole from them. To find the Punisher, the Irish start tearing
Hell’s Kitchen apart, threatening shop owners into sharing whatever information
they have. This quickly leads them to
Frank’s apartment, where they find his map of the city and his dog. They take the dog with them while Frank
watches from across the street, which gives him advance knowledge that they are
on to him.
Frank uses this knowledge to
prepare himself for the confrontation with the Irish by preparing his van with
the money. He also does some
self-surgery on his own wrist. When I
first saw it, I assumed that he had a bullet fragment that he was pulling out,
but nope: he was sticking a razor into
his wrist on the off-chance that he would need one! When’s the last time you saw Captain America
do something as hardcore as that?
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Frank goes to the carousel in the
park where his family was killed, and waits there for the Irish to show
up. Before long they arrive to take him
in, and though he fights they manage to subdue him and take him away. Finn ties him down to a chair and starts
torturing him for information to find the briefcase full of money. However, no matter what he does to Frank, he
refuses to give him anything. This
changes when they threaten to torture his dog in all the same ways that they
have been torturing him. I find it
interesting that Frank is willing to endure all the torture that Finn can think
up, but he can’t bear to see a dog in pain.
And at the same time Finn has no compunctions about hearting a
defenseless animal, which shows just how brutal and heartless he is. Frank tells them where the van is, but while
they verify that the money is in the van, he digs the razor out of his wrist
and uses it to cut the duct tape holding him to the chair.
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At this point we need to cut to
Matt’s story for the episode. He is
getting ready to leave when Karen arrives at his apartment. The two of them have had a number of scenes
together up to this point in the season, all of which suggest some definite
romantic interest between them. Karen
helps Matt finish tying his tie so the two of them can join Foggy at the
church, where Father Lantom is presiding over Grotto’s funeral. As a pastor, I find Lantom’s sermon to be
interesting: there really isn’t that
much comfort that he can offer at this funeral, so instead he focuses on the
search for redemption as a warning. After the service, Matt stays to talk to
Father Lantom about the Punisher. Father
Lantom suggests that the guilt Matt is feeling is “a soul’s call to
action”: it is a reminder that he’s not
done yet. I really like Father Lantom; I
think he’s my favorite side character in the Marvel Netflix universe. As such, I’m kind of disappointed this is the
only time we really see him in season 2!
After the funeral, Matt, Karen,
and Foggy (the only ones at the funeral) return to the office, where Karen
shows them the D.A.’s evidence on the Punisher case and explains her theory
that Reyes is trying to cover up something even worse than the Punisher. When Foggy leaves to help another client,
Karen goes to continue following the leads in the file, which brings her to a
former nurse who cared for a John Doe who was in the hospital recovering from a
head wound. While he was in the
hospital, someone ordered a “Do Not Resuscitate” with the expectation that he
would be killed by his wounds. However,
shortly after the plug was pulled, the man revived and woke up. He demanded that the nurse bring him back to
his house, which he did (costing him his job).
He gives Karen the address, and she visits the house, where she
discovers that the “Punisher’s” real name is Frank Castle and that he had a
family: a wife and 2 children. She sees pictures of his unit and the frame
holding his military honors. She finally
discovers who the Punisher is. This is a
great way to fully reveal the truth of the Punisher.
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Meanwhile, Matt visits Melvin
Potter’s workshop to pick up his new suit, which Potter has finally completed,
and which includes a number of improvements to the helmet and gloves. Potter also reveals that a number of his old
contacts (criminals) have been asking him to improve their armor, but he has
refused: at this point he is only
armoring Matt, not his criminal former clients.
The slow development of Potter’s character over the last 2 seasons has
been quite interesting, particularly since we know him from the comics to be
both a hero and a villain and to have routinely assisted super-villains by
building tech for them. I hope that in
the future we will find out about more villains who have received tech from
him.
From Potter’s workshop, Matt goes
to continue investigating the Punisher’s war against the Irish, which leads him
to a bar scene where the Irish forced information from the bartender. While there he meets up with Brett, who
explains to him that the Kitchen Irish are in the process of tearing Hell’s
Kitchen apart to find the Punisher. At
that moment Brett receives a call about the attack at the carousel, and Matt
goes to investigate it. When he arrives
he finds one of the Irish still alive and forces him to spill where they are
keeping the Punisher.
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While the Irish are torturing
Frank, Matt arrives at their hideout and starts working his way through the
guards. The two guys that Finn sent to
investigate the van find the briefcase, but inadvertently activate an explosive
that Frank left. While Finn is confused,
Frank escapes from his bonds and attacks the Irish, stopping to interrogate
Finn to find out who was there when his family got killed in the park. Finn doesn’t have any information for him,
and Frank is quickly pinned down by the guards outside the room. However, Matt shows up and takes out the
guards pinning Frank down to help him escape.
Matt prevents Frank from killing anyone, and helps him escape. Seeing Daredevil rescue the Punisher is
really cool, but there is one small loose end left by this scene: what happened to “Max” (Punisher’s dog)? We
never actually see him again in the season.
After their escape, Matt and
Frank stop to rest in a cemetery, where Frank finally starts to feel the
torture and abuse of his captivity. This
is a fascinating scene, as it really plays up the dynamic between the two
“heroes.” This is also when Frank
finally opens up about what set him on this path: he had only just returned from war and was
exhausted from everything he’d been through.
He took his family to the park the day after his return, and that was
when his family got killed. The way he
explains it is very emotional—you really can’t help sympathizing with his
plight.
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Before long Brett arrives with
his partner, and Brett start to arrest Matt.
However, Matt convinces him to take credit for capturing the Punisher as
a way to show that the system works and vigilantism is not the way to ensure
justice: “People have to know the system
works.” Bringing in the Punisher would
also be enough to get Brett a promotion, placing him in a position to do even
more to protect Hell’s Kitchen. Brett
agrees to the offer and releases Matt, saying that “I don’t know what you are,
but I know you ain’t him.” The Punisher
receives medical attention and is taken into custody, with Brett receiving the
official credit for the capture.
Matt, Foggy, and Karen watch this
play out on the news at Josie’s Bar, and Foggy indicates that he knows Matt was
really responsible for capturing the Punisher.
At this point everything seems to be going their way, and Matt and Karen
are in a really good place—on the way home from the bar they kiss outside his
building and he asks her out for dinner the next night. When Matt goes inside, he loose happier than
he’s been in quite a while. In fact, if
the season were to end right at this point, it wouldn’t be a bad ending
point. However, the season is only a
third of the way finished. And as if on
cue, who shows up but Elektra!
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I figured that Elektra would be
appearing at this point about as soon as I saw just how happy Matt was!
As a Punisher origin arc, the
first four episodes of this season work extremely well. Frank Castle is a very compelling and
sympathetic character who brings an incredible level of intensity to the
series. He and Matt (I love that he
keeps calling him “Red”) have a great rapport, and their scenes together are
some of the best. I can’t wait to see
where the Punisher’s story will go after Daredevil season 2!
What do you think of Jon
Bernthal’s portrayal of Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher? Do you like Elodie Yung’s Elektra? Let me know in the comments!
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