Spoiler warning: This review reveals major plot points from The Punisher’s first season, and it lays out storylines from season 2.
In the first episode of season 2 of Netflix’s Marvel Cinematic Universe series The Punisher, a character asks revenge-driven vigilante Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) when he lost his family. He responds, “There are times where it feels like yesterday. Sometimes it feels like a million years ago.” That’s a telling answer from a character weighing whether he can finally move past the tragedy that transformed him into the antihero The Punisher. Unfortunately, showrunner Steve Lightfoot also seems conflicted about how much The Punisher’s past should define his future, and that indecision produces a season that can’t...