Netflix binges: The Punisher season 2 recap

The Punisher season 2, episode 2: “Fight or Flight”

Despite how fast paced the first episode was, episode 2 of the second season of The Punisher was just as quick and just as violent.

After the bathroom fight in episode, it was difficult to see how they could keep up that pace as the series went but episode 2 of The Punisher definitely tried. The episode started off where the last episode left off with Frank and the young girl he saved, Rachel, driving. Frank keeps veering off the road as they haven’t stopped to rest. But, eventually, he pulls off the highway and they end up at a hotel. Remember, Frank got shot at in the bathroom/bar fight, so at some point, he has to get stitched up. Well, the moment has come.

Frank and Rachel

When Frank and Rachel get to the hotel, he takes her into the bathroom so he can ensure she doesn’t escape but what actually ends up happening is that she helps to get the bullet out of his…butt. A first for Frank. The scene is as visceral as if you were there yourself but despite their new closeness, she still refuses to tell him why people are trying to kill her.

He, of course, is having none of her lies and ends up zip-tying her to the bed and taping her mouth shut. It might be the most brutal the audience has ever seen Frank be to a female character, but he wants to know what he’s gotten himself into and even after all that, she still refuses to tell him. The only things he does find are film canisters she was hiding in her pocket.

But they don’t have much time to talk as the group of bad guys that attacked them in the bar have found them. Frank, being the skilled strategist that he is, cuts a hole into the room across from theirs so they have a place to hide for a bit, but ultimately, they are found and the bullets fly.

Frank easily takes out 3 to 4 guys and saves Rachel (again) from Marlena, the woman he fought with before in the bar bathroom. He intends to take her with them to get some information out of her, but then the cops show up, arresting them all. While being processed, Frank has the best line of the episode. When asked by the police why he killed all those people, he says, “I didn’t kill them. They suffered from terminal stupidity.”

Billy Russo

Episode 2 also showed a whole lot more of Billy Russo than we’ve seen so far. He’s getting better but is still haunted by nightmares that only show abstract pictures of what Frank did to him. Other than that, Billy says he has no memory of all the hurt he caused or of what happened to him.

He also refuses to show his face; wearing a mask the entire time he’s in the hospital and even during therapy. He is in constant pain despite his doctors saying there is no reason is he should be as he is mostly healed.

Because of his pain and lack of memory, Billy’s anger is also off the charts. Because he can’t doesn’t have answers for most of the questions his doctor/therapist is asking, he gets frustrated and lashes out. The last thing he does remember is joking with Frank in their barracks.

What’s Next

This episode also features Agent Madani again. She is still visiting Billy every day despite the warnings she’s getting from her bosses. It also seems that her sympathy for Frank Castle has worn itself out. When he calls from jail, she wants nothing to do with him.

We also got to see a little more into the villain of this season, John Pilgrim. He is going to great lengths to find Frank and Rachel. He follows them, searches their hotel rooms, and after they are arrested, waits outside the police station for them.

While he hasn’t gotten his hands dirty yet, he does visit Beth in the hospital and threatens to hurt the people she loves if she doesn’t give him Frank’s name. Otherwise, he still a bit of a mystery. He is definitely highly religious and uses religion to justify what he’s doing. What exactly he’s looking for is still up in the air.

What did you think of episode 2 of The Punisher’s second season? Any theories on what’s going to happen next?