The Punisher Season 1 Netflix Series Review

The Punisher (2017-)
Season 1 - 13 episodes (2017)

Watch The Punisher Season 1 on Netflix
Created by: Steve Lightfoot
Starring: Jon Bernthal, Deborah Ann Woll, Daniel Webber, Ben Barnes, Jason R. Moore, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Rated: TV-MA

Plot
After the murder of his family, Frank Castle is both haunted and hunted. In the criminal underworld, he'll become known as The Punisher.
After exacting revenge on those responsible for the death of his wife and children, Frank Castle uncovers a conspiracy that runs far deeper than New York’s criminal underworld.

Verdict
Marvel's Netflix ventures have looked at marginalized populations, from Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage to military veterans. I've only seen half of this season, but instead of focusing on the revenge aspect, the season looks at what it takes for veterans to integrate into society. We get to see that from a few perspectives.
While my interest in Marvel's Netflix series had waned, the more grounded nature of this really helps. We don't have (yet) immortal beings and ninjas. It's one man grappling with how he fits in the world.
Watch it.

Review
This jumps right in with Frank getting revenge for those that killed his family. I was surprised in the first episode when Frank hangs up his skull emblazoned vest. This moves from revenge to how Frank deals with life. Not only is he a veteran, but he's lost one of the few things to help him transition, his family.
The first episode is frequently intense and creates some great moments when a bully harasses Frank. Half way through the season, the series has nearly maintained that same intensity. This has a great pilot. The visuals and framing were impressive. The Iron Fist had soured me on the Marvel stories, but The Punisher brought me back.

This story swirls around what Frank's unit did in Afghanistan. They followed orders, but it wasn't right. They were tricked into illegal activities. An FBI agent is trying to track Frank and figure out what happened to her partner during the same operation as Frank's need for revenge resurfaces when he discovers he hasn't gotten everybody.
The real person responsible is up for promotion and looking to erase any loose ends, that means Frank.

I get Frank is tormented, but the show seems to use the same flashback clip of his wife and we see it frequently. It would make sense that he's reminded of her doing mundane tasks throughout the day, but the show picked one clip of her waking him up in the morning and just reuses it.

This goes pretty far into Lewis's story. He's a veteran that's having trouble adjusting, and part of a group that Frank's friend runs. I don't know if this will be a feel good story or a tragedy. Lewis is unhinged and this could get dark.

There's plenty of violence and it's brutal. This is The Punisher after all. Frank has teamed up with a hacker Micro who's in hiding. If this season can maintain what I've seen in the first half it's going to be solid. I like the twist of having Frank get his revenge and then stop. I'm sure by the end of this season he'll be total Punisher, but this is an entertaining way to get him there.