The Punisher episode 12: 'Home'

Thus, we come to the penultimate episode of the show's first season.  I figured we'd get the big showdown and the last episode would be sort of a denouement.  Instead, we get a starter showdown, but all is not wrapped up quite yet.

While the show has benefited from a strong cast from the get go, they really shine here.  The Lieberman family reunion is amusingly awkward, but still fairly powerful in its own right.  The fact that they have to watch Micro "die" again a few minutes later certainly doesn't help matters.  Everything works out for them pretty well, all things considered, but there are probably going to be some awkward nights at the dinner table going forward.

As a result, however, Frank ends up getting captured by Billy and Rawlins. Even though, Frank spends most of the episode tied to a chair, he still gets some standout scenes.  His conversation with Russo when he first wakes up is one of the episode's major highlights.  It's clear that Bill still has some degree of loyalty to Frank, and while he won't hesitate to do what needs to be done, his talk about regretting the way things turned out seemed legit.  Conversely, the history only acts as fuel for Frank's hatred.  

Rawlins is also in rare form, as the sight of Frank up close seems to have driven him completely insane.  The actor is hamming it up something fierce, but it is still chilling.    The drastic turn contributes to it, but even putting that aside, it's still pretty creepy.

Rawlins' raving loon does contrast nicely with Russo's more no nonsense approach to the matter.  The disparity becomes clear when the two have achieved their goal.  Russo wants to end Frank quick and be done with it, but Rawlins is enjoying the torture session too much and insists that it continue unabated.  The two were never really simpatico, but seeing the two diverge the way they did was interesting to watch.

While the episode is more dialogue driven, it does give you some Frank Castle bad-assery, as he dispatches Rawlins in a particularly gruesome display.  Considering that Frank has done quite a bit up to this point, it says something that this still manages to leave an impression.  It's glorious, but also horrifying.  It's a good thing Micro's kids didn't see that, they'd never want to get within 10 yards of him again. 

It's been a long road, but we're finally coming to the end of the season.  While the final confrontation with Russo looms, a part of me hopes he lives to fight another day.  It seems like the conflict between the two is finding its groove and I want to see more of it.  We'll see how things will play out, though.  

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