Writing words towards a TV series that may soon be canceled like his sisters of Netflix it is not exactly encouraging, but perhaps the lightness due to not being afraid to risk or the experience accumulated over the years are precisely the fundamental ingredients that make this new season of Marvel's The Punisher something different, capable of taking that step forward that perhaps the Marvel TV series - Netflix needed.
A story of origins
The plot restarts more or less where we left off, with a Frank Castle in the guise of Peter Castiglione, ready to wander America in search of a purpose. Things seem to be going well, if it were only a wrong choice - helping a young girl in danger - will put him in the midst of a war far from the classic mafia, but immersed in the same atmosphere of those stories read by Garth Ennis. If on the one hand then the hitman John Pilgrim - inspired by the Mennonite of the comics - will attempt to capture the girl and Frank, on the other side the demons left in New York (and shared with Dinah Madani and his friend Curtis) they will return in the form of a scarred and forgetful one Billy Russo, both outwardly and psychologically torn apart like a mosaic (or jigsaw, name his criminal counterpart takes in the comic).
From here will start the weaving of a weft that he will see The Punisher in a crossfire, between fairly coherent and cohesive psychological insights and a definitive stance on what each of the characters must be in their life and in their world.
Without going further into the plot, which does not shine with originality, but which completes its task, this second season seems almost more like a second part of the previous one, with a Frank that he will find himself forced, in spite of himself, to go back to doing what he does well, taking up the problems he had left suspended (or perhaps had not managed to finish) previously. Just the stance, proceeding in the plot, will be what will make Castle understand his "gift" in knowing how to take lives without being influenced by sentimentality, ready to do the right thing, despite being wrong in the middle.
Chaotic style
If we talk about The Punisher, we cannot dwell on the choreography: this time the subplot linked to Frank disconnected from violence has been avoided, the action starts in fourth from the first episode, with three charismatic characters, characterized and violent enough to make each episode a scattering of blood that defines this season as the most violent of the TV series Netflix Marvel.
Yet it all doesn't stop there: in addition to the psychological growth of the characters, intent on understanding how to define themselves in life, the series manages to make really interesting parallels with other films of the past. The most evident - which however only shows itself in the beginning - is the one with Leon (Jean Renò): one scene in particular, when Frank Castle and the girl walk down the street at night, remembers in detail the one (which you can find below) where Léon and Mathilda also make their way towards the camera. Of course, the parallels do not stop at the visual similarities, but also find a background in characterizations, themes and plot developments.
Taking into consideration how this second season pays homage to the great myths of the past, a particular reference is also made to the brutality seen in Punisher: War Zone. Every wound and every pain is so well represented on the screen that it impresses the viewer, in a riot of screams, blood and violence.
In terms of interpretation, the cast gives the best of themselves: Jon Bernthal returns as Frank and once again shows off his acting skills by placing a strong emphasis on the bestial side of the Punisher, Ben Barnes shines for his crazy interpretation of a character shattered in every part of his being while a cool Josh Stewart he acts as a comparison-contrast by impersonating a redeemed killer enmeshed in something greater than himself. The return of is also exceptional Amber rose revah e Jason R. Moore, respectively as Madani and Curtis. They are no less Giorgia Whigham, the girl who will start all of Castle's problems, and Floriana Lima, Russo's psychologist.
Speaking a second of the scarred Billy Russo, Netflix's choice - parallel to those taken in all of the Marvel series - was to make Jigsaw's scars more mental than physical. Russo's face will be disfigured enough to catch the eye, but far more "healthy" than the comic counterpart, a heap of skin badly sewn like a Mosaic.
It's a women's world
Despite the three characters who will agree with them are categorically macho-style males, complete with violence, psychological armor and every possible cliché that characterizes them, the whole series mounts a subtext based on the construction and destruction of the macho male: Madani, the Russo's psychologist, the girl and even Karen Page's cameo are the elements that will unlock this impasse given by a mixture of fear of not wanting to accept the truth and defense against everything that could hurt them. Precisely this becomes an important piece of the season, with a contextualization of the characters that make the lines that define good and bad really blur.
Unfortunately, not everything goes smoothly: it seems that in the thirteen episodes, the series proceeds with a certain speed in solving its fraud, only to find itself towards the last episodes with a skein too large to manage with the same speed, thus undergoing a sudden acceleration which will lead to an epilogue which - although it may be difficult to assimilate given the short time it takes place - will prepare the true arrival of the Punisher as we know him, and his violent crusade against the criminals of New York.
