WiC Watches: The Punisher season 2
By Corey Smith
Episode 213: “The Whirlwind”
We made it, folks. After slogging our way through an up-and-down season we arrive at the finale, “The Whirlwind.” Like the phrase from which the episode takes its name, our characters — good, bad and somewhere in the middle — must deal with the consequences of their decisions ove the course of the season. Is it a satisfying end? We’ll find out, but mostly no.
The last episode ended with Madani tossing Russo’s girlfriend Dr. Dumont out a window. That would have been a fitting end for the character, but there’s an absurd about-face later in the episode where we learn that Dumont survived her fall with what looks like a broken arm. And it’s not the last time the episode pulls that move. I was rolling my eyes a lot.
Anyways, Billy doesn’t realize Dumont isn’t dead and rages off to kill Madani. The two tussle in Dumont’s apartment, and Madani puts a few rounds through Russo’s abdomen. Fueled by heartbreak and hate, Russo still manages to choke Madani to death before passing out himself.
Do y’all remember when I said Russo choked Madani to death? April Fools! Despite lying on the floor limp and unmoving and dead-eyed, it turns out she’s alive. What a twist! Or a stupid plot contrivance, whichever. Madani’s death would have had a powerful emotional impact and raised the stakes, but instead she becomes a bystander from here on in.
Before the cops show up to revive Madani by shaking her shoulder, Russo comes to and escapes. Russo goes to some back-alley doctor to get stitched up, but when he passes out, the doctor grabs Russo’s bag of cash and weapons and drops Billy in a dumpster. Considering Billy’s crimes, its a fitting punishment.
Frank isn’t idle, either. He calls up the Schultzes to arrange to swap Amy for their son David. Frank is on board with David’s innocence but still wants to get Amy back. After hilariously using FaceTime to arrange the swap (and recording the Schultzes admitting to their crimes), Frank gets a call from Amy, who last episode followed Preacher John to his hotel room and then ran. Preacher John only told the Schultzes he has Amy. Frank pulls this trick later when Curtis releases David without permission.
Between the ring-around-the-rosy hostage negotiations, Frank and John engage in a rather silly firefight, trying to blast each other through the wall of their adjoining hotel rooms. Both men seem smart enough to know the other is ducking, but continue to unload a stream of bullets at eye level through the wall. Then they swap rooms and start all over again.
Amy attempts to intervene and is immediately captured by John, who flees to avoid the cops. Those same cops arrive moments later and we get a satisfying brawl with Frank that makes the previous hotel room shootout seem even sillier. Frank goes back to the trailer and realizes Curtis released David. He does some bluffing and convinces Preacher John to bring Amy to him, and then it’s time for round 2.
John and Frank’s junkyard brawl is a thing of beauty. The two use pipes, chains and all manner of blunt force objects as they hammer away at each other. There’s some humor, too, when Frank asks John if he needs a minute between punches. Frank emerges as the battered victor, but after a plea from John not to harm his sons, Frank grants mercy. It’s the one and only time Frank is merciful with his enemies.
Circling back to Russo, who I thought would be the focus of the season, Billy has made his way to Curtis’ basement meeting room. Russo calls Curtis and begs his former comrade not to let him die alone. Instead, Frank shows up, gun in hand. Curtis ratted on Russo. Good for him.
As Russo starts into his final monologue, Frank simply guns him down and turns to leave without saying a word. It’s an abrupt but fitting end for Russo, and emblematic of what we thought Frank represented; brutal and uncompromising justice. If only it happened five episodes ago.
Frank is far less straightforward with the Schultzes. He shows up at their mansion with Amy in tow. When Mrs. Schultz attempts to stab Amy, Frank shoots her in the head before giving Mr. Schultz the choice to follow his “bitch wife” or live to deal with his crimes being exposed to the public. The “bitch wife” is a bit of a jarring line coming from Frank, as is his choice to allow Mr. Schultz the choice of suicide (which he chooses) as opposed to arrest and scandal. Preacher John waits outside with his two boys, and now it’s time for Frank and Amy’s final goodbye.
This relationship never felt fully realized. Things like Frank firing off a gun next to her head were never dealt with, yet somehow their goodbye works. Frank can barely restrain his emotions as he puts Amy on a bus to Florida. It manages to pull on the heartstrings despite everything. I can only imagine what we might have felt if their relationship had been more fleshed out.
Three months later, we pick up the action again as Madani calls to invite Frank to join the CIA, her new employer. Frank declines, saying he already has a job before entering an warehouse to gun down some cartoon caricatures of young gang members. Every single person there deserved summary execution? I guess it’s all good because we get to see Frank screaming and firing automatic weapons…right?
“The Whirlwind” feels like most of the rest of the season: wildly uneven. There are some great moments, including Frank’s brawl with Preacher John and his lightning-fast execution of Russo, but as a capper to a season that dragged itself to the finish line, “The Whirlwind” feels rather rushed, and that’s a shame.
