Where the last episode established the Punisher as the new threat, this episode builds on it, giving us an even greater idea of what Matt is up against.
Again, the gun toting vigilante is largely kept off screen. Instead, we're told more about him through off hand information and rumors. It turns out that Frank's been at this for some time. The way people talk, he's been built up as some sort of boogeyman both by cops and criminals alike. You'd think that it would have been brought to someone's attention before this, what with all the crime rings that he's apparently wiped out between the two seasons, but then again, it was assumed to be a group in the last episode, so I guess it is consistent.
Interestingly enough, the Punisher's rise acts as a nice tie-in to the goings on of the MCU as a whole. Jessica Jones laid down ground work showing us that heroes weren't as well received by the public as you'd think. This takes that ball and continues to run with it, making for some nice build up to the upcoming "Civil War". While no direct mention is made to the registration act, it does go to show that "team Stark" may not be as off base as you may think in regards to heroes needing to be kept in check.
Speaking of Jessica, boy she and Luke Cage sure would come in handy. I'm guessing that the big team up in The Defenders will involve the conflict with the Hand, but I could see Frank posing enough of a threat to warrant some smaller scale heroes to team up and take him down. Personally, I'd rather see both he and Elektra work with the Defenders when we get to that, but you could go either way.
At one point, Karen suggests that Daredevil caused the whole mess, that his existence paved the way for someone like Frank to go out and start a crusade of his own without the restraint. It's a very "Batman" idea, that the hero somehow triggers the rise of villains. While I think it works with the prior (sometimes) I'm not sure it's the case here. Even if Daredevil wasn't around, Frank's trauma, determination, and desire for revenge would have still been present.
If anything, you could argue that Hell's Kitchen is better off with him there. He can, after all, hold the Punisher to a stand still. Contrast that with the cops, who Matt notes are way out of their element here. He's not wrong, though you understand why Foggy would tell him to stay out of it because it's not his fight.
On that note, we are given Frank vs. Matt round 2. Again, it's an exhilarating fight. Both parties land some solid hits on the other. The fact that cops are taking pot shots at both adds another element of suspense as neither one is safe.
Again, Frank gets a last second advantage that makes for the episode cliffhanger. Where he ended the last episode by shooting Matt in the head (implied to be a warning shot given how precise it had to be in order for Matt to survive even with the armored mask), here he takes Matt hostage after the latter gets hit with some surprise tinnitus.
This episode did a good job of escalating things. While Frank clearly poses a physical threat, he's also making for an interesting existential one. Yes, that's usually how the two characters work in the comics, but it makes for interesting philosophical discussions. It might not be the straight forward "one man strives to take down the mob and save his city" arc that made up the first season, but this is shaping up to be a solid watch in its own right.
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