All the bullets, blood and broken psyches came crashing down as The Punisher wrapped up its second, and likely final, season on Netflix. Battle lines were drawn for all involved heading into it. Amy had Pilgrim in her sights, Russo and Dinah rushed toward a showdown in Krista’s apartment and Frank steadied his gaze on both of his tormentors. The Schultzes weren’t left out as the walls they built around themselves finally came crumbling down as well. Krista and Russo’s vision of a future beyond the street warfare wasn’t short sighted. It just left them behind in favor of more deserving souls.
Dial M For Mommy & Daddy
Anderson and Eliza remain in their mansion built on political manipulation and weaponized rhetoric. They discuss Pilgrim’s return while watching over his sons as they prepare for Rebecca’s funeral. Eliza’s ruthless nature seeps out once again when she tries to convince Anderson that Pilgrim cannot be allowed to come back after finishing his job. She sees him as damaged goods and believes that his boys will be better off in their care.
Anderson agrees as his phone rings. He answers, believing it to be David. Frank is on the line instead. He reveals his capture of David and that he knows everything about their criminal actions. Anderson threatens Frank, but his words only inspire Frank to punch David. Frank offers a trade, David for Amy, believing she is being held by Pilgrim. The damning phone call ends, but Frank recorded the entire thing. David might not be responsible for anything, but he provided a strong insurance policy after all.
An enraged Eliza calls Pilgrim, putting his son on the line initially before taking the phone and manipulating him to finish the job. Pilgrim lies about having Amy and gets Frank’s contact info to set up an exchange for David. He doesn’t have Amy in his grasp, but he doesn’t realize just how close she is and what she can bring to his door.
Broken Men In Black
Amy summons Frank to the hotel and sicks the Punisher on Pilgrim. Unfortunately, she gave him the wrong room. He kicks down the door of the room next to his and a firefight breaks out through the shared wall. Frank moves to the room on the opposite side and ultimately busts through the damaged wall. The two rush into the hallway as Amy approaches the door, catching her between the two. Pilgrim takes Amy and heads for the parking garage. That exchange can now happen after all. Frank takes out a few cops in an elevator before leaping onto Pilgrim’s car as he speeds away. He is thrown off and Pilgrim speeds off into the night.
Frank returns to the trailer to find Curtis and David gone. Frank’s bargaining chip is gone, but it doesn’t keep him from scheduling the swap with Pilgrim at the trailer. Amy tries to reason with Pilgrim ahead of the meeting, asking him about the righteousness of his actions. Pilgrim wishes he could let her go, but she asserts that Anderson and Eliza are using him. He can still take control and change his own path. Pilgrim disagrees. It’s too late for him.
Frank and Pilgrim’s final showdown begins with a bluff. Frank lies well enough about having David that Pilgrim releases Amy, allowing her to run away. He comes clean afterward and the two beat the holy hell out of one another. They both can barely pick themselves up off the ground, but the fight continues until Pilgrim falls. Frank moves in for the killing blow but Pilgrim has one final request of Frank: don’t hurt my boys when you kill Anderson and Eliza.
Loneliness Of Death
Russo opens fire on Dinah immediately after seeing Krista fall. He charges toward her, taking three bullets in the gut. The pain doesn’t keep him from strangling Dinah until they both pass out. Dinah wakes up to find Russo gone and Mahoney on the scene. She informs him about Russo and Krista’s relationship and he tells her that Krista is still alive. Russo might have escaped but he is losing copious amounts of blood. Dinah’s bullets likely killed him. They’re just taking longer to finish the job. Dinah rejects her badge and gun as she leaves.
Krista’s first visitor in the hospital is DInah. She offers and apology to Krista for Russo getting her involved but Krista proves incredulous. Russo didn’t drag her into anything. Dinah points out that the blood on her is Russo’s and that he is somewhere out there dying alone. Krista doesn’t believe her, steadfast her belief that Russo will come for her and kill Dinah. Dinah leaves, finally blaming Krista for her actions.
Dinah’s assessment of Russo’s situation isn’t far off. He employs a back alley doctor to remove the bullets from his stomach but passes out from the pain after refusing anesthesia. The doc makes off with his duffel full of cash and dumps Russo’s body in a dumpster. His last resort is to call Curtis from the support group meeting space. He asks Curtis to come and keep him company as he dies. Russo doesn’t want to die alone. The door to the room opens but Curtis doesn’t walk into the room. Frank does. He kills Russo without saying a word, fulfilling his final wish. Russo didn’t die alone after all.
End Of The Rough Road
The Schultzes dinner is interrupted when Amy enters with a gun pointed at them. She confronts them about all of the deaths and pain they have caused. Eliza tries to stab Amy but takes a bullet to the back of the head from Frank. He shows Anderson the recording of their phone call promising to hand it over to the press if he doesn’t leave David alone. Anderson’s son actually cares about making the world better, unlike his parents. Frank leaves a gun with Anderson, offering him two choices: live with the truth of your actions or end your own life. Frank and Amy reunite a still alive Pilgrim with his sons as a gunshot rings out from inside the mansion.
With their battles settles, the time comes for Frank and Amy to part ways. He sees her off at the bus station, sending her to Florida to live her dream as a marine salvager. The two joke before sharing a tearful final embrace. Amy gave Frank something to care about in this world once again while bringing Amy out of a life of darkness. She has one last question before leaving. Why did Frank come after her in that dingy Michigan bar? He brings up her original nickname for him, Rough Road, and how she looked more scared the tougher she tried to act. Frank watches Amy board the bus with a tear in his eye. When she looks back, Frank is gone.
Curtis, Dinah and Mahoney find Russo’s body. The three concoct a cover up to keep Frank out of the conversation. Maybe Dinah put five bullets in Russo instead of three. Mahoney asks about Frank’s future, but Dinah and Curtis ask him who he his talking about. Frank gets a call from Dinah while scoping out a gang meeting three months later. She is now with the CIA and offers Frank a job. He turns her down. He already has one.
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