It’s not a trap if you know it’s coming: That’s Frank’s philosophy. Madani opens up and Pilgrim plans a visit to an unholy land.

This is another example of an episode dragging things out and the decompressed issue that is Marvel’s Netflix series (and their television efforts in general).

While Russo wanders around in a haze, Frank sets his sites on “Russians” that he thinks is after Rachel.

That’s it, that’s the entire episode.

Combine this episode with the last and you’d have a much better paced series and episodes that don’t feel like filler. That’s an issue with this season so far. It wants to be a drama or police procedural in ways but it’s really a fast paced superhero/action hero series.

There’s a lot of stuff here that moves the story along and is important but… it’s doing so slowly and in a decompressed way that creates a series that drudges on and on.

Watching a show shouldn’t feel like a chore.

Overall Rating: 6.0

As Pilgrim’s past comes into focus, Frank and Rachel find themselves in police custody, where they’re anything but safe.

Assault on Precinct 13, is that you? Frank and Rachel are locked up as Pilgrim and his mysterious group find them. From there a massive gunfight that’s entertaining and the only redeeming thing about the episode.

Much like the first two episodes, this third one feels like something we’ve seen before and is just a build up to an action sequence towards the end. Each episode so far has followed similar structural builds where 2/3 of the episode is slow and plodding while the last 1/3 is all action.

The season so far is an interesting one with about 1/3 of each episode being interesting. There’s this villain, a religious nut that alos seems to be a former white supremacist, but not much depth makes his mission to retrieve Rachel feel more like a horror slasher film than anything else.

There’s also the plot of Russo which feels like it could have been sped up to achieve the same result much earlier. He’ll eventually clash with the Punisher as the various plotlines come together.

There’s nothing bad about the series so far but there’s also nothing that really stands out to make it special either. It just is.

Frank and a reluctant Rachel go on the run as a menacing adversary gives chase. Meanwhile, Madani pays Russo an unwelcome visit.

On the run and being pursued by bad guys, the episode is a typical one that we’ve seen so many times before. The victim doesn’t want to cooperate with the hero thinking he’s a bad guy. The hero makes a stand in a hotel and uses a second room (we’ve seen this one multiple times alone). It’s a very paint by numbers episode but not necessarily bad.

There’s still a lot of amusing things here. For instance, Castle was hit by a bullet in the previous episode and that has to be dug out… of his ass. There’s some slight humor to that as Rachel must help. There’s also an emphasis that Frank is really banged up and hurting. He wasn’t exactly in the best shape to begin with but here he’s really jacked up. Unlike so many other heroes, we’re reminded that he’s human multiple times. He’s also an ass towards Rachel. Yes, we’ve seen that in other stories but again, it’s emphasized we’re not really supposed to like Frank.

There’s some bad as well and that mainly revolves around Russo who’s recovering from last season and may or may not be faking memory loss. With flashes of what happened in dreams, this entire plotline feels dragged out. It’d be so much easier and to the point to have him have nightmares of the Punisher and escape while pursuing revenge. We know it’s going to happen, speed things up, get to the point, and cut a few episodes.

Much like the first episode there’s a lot to like here and some things that are rather slow and dragged out. Much like other Marvel Netflix shows, Marvel’s The Punisher has issues getting to the point and find a steady pacing to really make it engaging. Two episodes in and it’s clear like so many of those shows before it, a shorter season would benefit it overall.

Overall Rating: 7.0

While driving through Michigan, Frank stops for a beer at a roadside bar. But staying out of trouble has never been his strong suit.

After a surprisingly strong first season, the Punisher is back for a second that has him wandering. He’s cleared of charges from last season and has no roots to ground him. And, it’s clear he’s looking for that, looking for a purpose. Stopping in Michigan he might have found those roots but trouble is not far behind when he gets caught up in an attempted abduction. A young woman is being pursued by individuals who either want her or something she has. It’s all mysterious for the most part.

That set up isn’t anything new, exciting, or all that interesting, it’s pretty standard. And honestly, the episode is fairly boring until the last 15 minutes or so when the fighting begins. And that fight is what’s needed to wake you up from the sluggish and slow start. It’s brutal, really brutal, and in many ways creative. It’s what the Punisher is about in some ways. It’s an over the top jolt to get you to take notice.

The episode revolves around Jon Bernthal in the title role. He grumbles and mumbles his way through his lines and as a whole there’s issues with that from multiple characters. While some are easy to understand, others are too quiet, too mumbly. But, everyone is good in their roles.

The episode isn’t necessarily bad start. When the fight breaks out, it grabs your attention, but it takes a bit to get going and spends a lot of time setting up where Frank/the Punisher is with things. Pacing seems to be the issue because that latter segment is the exact opposite of the earlier and maybe that’s on purpose. But, when there’s so much on tv to choose from, it may not have been the best choice.

Overall Rating: 7.0