With the releases of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp, 2018 was quite the year for Marvel Studios. However, not everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was going smoothly. Around the end of 2018, the MCU’s Netflix TV shows were in hot water due to them being cancelled. Iron Fist was cancelled, followed by Luke Cage, and lastly, the highly acclaimed Daredevil after another great season.

It was a surprise for many but there was still hope another season of The Punisher. After a well-received first season, people highly anticipated for a second season. Season two finally released
near the start of 2019, and the wait was worth it. Caution, there are going to be some spoilers for the first season in this review. You have been warned.

Season two of The Punisher begins with Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle retiring from his Punisher persona. Frank resides in Michigan still a grieving man but has also found some sense of inner peace after everything he has done to avenge his family. However, that peace does not last forever as Castle meets a young girl at a bar, played by Giorgia Whigham.

The theme of the story is about finding yourself, whether that be by characters embracing their past, trying to remember their past, or wanting to forget their past. For the Punisher, it is about
embracing who he was: a man who could not live a normal life of peace. Whenever he did have that moment of peace, it would be disrupted by conflict that brings him back to square one.

Throughout the story, you see him change from someone who wanted to be left alone and live normally, to a man who has embraced his past. Characters, Billy Russo and Pilgrim also fall under
this theme as well. Billy wants to figure out his past and is trying to change himself. Pilgrim’s story revolves around a man who was living a normal life, and he must go back into a dark place for the
sake of protecting someone, he cares about.

The show’s heart pounding action, along with cohesive story has various twists and turns that will keep you on your toes. It makes for a great experience overall, although there are moments
with pacing that make the story disjointed. However, that does not ruin the experience. The action sequences make up for it in tenfold. The performances from everyone were good. Jon Bernthal played his role as Frank well. Ben Barnes plays a more psychotic, angry version of Billy  Russo perfectly, which contrasts his more confident suave nature in the first season.

Josh Stewart’s mysterious Pilgrim is a pretty good antagonist and Amber Rose Revah does a great job portraying a more morally broken Dinah Medani. All in all, a really good performancefrom everyone.

This gets 4 out of 5 Spurs.