When the smoke clears the Punisher has stood taller than the other Netflix shows, with Daredevils coming in a very close second. I am not sure how I will even bring myself to watch the 3rd season of Jessica Jones. Which is a shame as the first was pretty good. The second season finds the show still apologizing for being from a comic book, even though Jigsaw's gang wore masks. Jigsaw was a pretty big disappointment. They gave him a few scars and called it a day so not even coming close to the movie version. Where the show does work is in some of it's grittier moments and the raw fighting style of Castle.It is often more depressing than it is dark.
There is less cross over with the Marvel Universe as a whole , which is a mistake on their part. If it is in the same world as Luke Cage, when how far removed should Stilt Man be ? He does wear the skull a little more this season. He has his van. But I think the depiction of him from the 2nd season of Dare Devil. They did bring up online why does this ignore the events of Infinity War? While I don't need this to have happened, I think a vigilante like Castle would have proved more needed in a world run rampant after half the population disappeared. What does that look like on a street level. Half the police force would be reduced it could be like Mad Max anarchy in the street with the Punisher being the one who is left to clean up after it.
Instead what we got was another gangster tale that could have been from any true crime show. What did set it apart is knowing what the identity or persona of the Punisher does to people . The skull was an effective tool to get into Jigsaw's head and made him even crazier from the ptsd it instilled .The show was not boring it kept me watching , but like many of the Netflix mishaps , it tended to go off into side stories of characters that were not the Punisher and not as needed. This could have been invested in something that would have been more engaging in the Marvel world around it. Even pulling from other ties like how the Owl was created in Daredevil and never fleshed out . Worth watching if you are fan of the character as he has really settled into the role so here is hoping for a season 3. Not holding my breath.
