WiC Watches: The Punisher season 2
By Corey Smith
Episode 206: “One Bad Day”
“One Bad Day” finally manages to make me feel something for Agent Madani. We get an extended flashback to the aftermath of when Russo shot her. Amber Rose-Revah is phenomenal as she recounts the sexual nature of her relationship with Russo to her bosses, who just want the whole thing to go away.
Madani also finally makes up her mind, at least for the moment, about which side she’s on regarding Russo’s ultimate fate. While torturing a member of Russo’s crew to learn his whereabouts, Madani refuses to back down, and it’s a great moment for the character. Luckily, Curtis is around to play good cop, and we learn the location of Billy’s crew, who have been training up to rob a local check-cashing place. If Madani is finding herself again, Russo is on the downturn, seeking control through violence.
Before we get to the episode’s exciting finale, we have to talk about Russo and Dr. Dumont’s newly sexual relationship. It strikes me as both to hard to believe and completely natural at the same time, given the good doctor’s attraction to pain, both physical and emotional. It feels more natural for Dumont, than Billy. Still, it doesn’t appear to last long, as Billy rushes off to conduct his bank heist.
When the attack happens, the owner of the check-cashing shop refuses to open the security door for the thieves, but one of her employees isn’t willing to die for a $15-an-hour job, and Russo ends up walking out of there with a bag full of cash. Frank, disguised as one of Russo’s gang members, rips off a mask and coat to reveal the Punisher’s signature skull vest. Seeing the skull from his nightmares sends Billy into a tailspin. Barnes’ shock and betrayal that his “brother” Frank would try to kill him is powerful stuff.
“One Bad Day” is one of the season’s best episodes, and hopefully marks a beginning of a trend. I can’t emphasize how stellar Barnes is in the show’s closing moments, so much so that it makes you angry at his performance in season 1 and on shows like Westworld. I already knew Bernthal could bring it, but Barnes has been a wonderful surprise.