TL;DR – This does what any good first episode of The Punisher should, it shows Frank minding his own business until someone comes swinging in to wreck his life.  

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Review –

Starting the episode for the first time provoked two very different emotions, the first is that I was not ready to see Stan Lee’s name even though I knew it should be there, and also the way things are going I am starting to watch the last season of The Punisher. You know you try to ignore any external factors when reviewing something, but whether you want to admit it or not, sometimes they barge in on you. So is this the last season of The Punisher, who knows, probably, well if it, if this episode is any indication, they are going down swinging.

So to set the scene, we open in on Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) covered in blood racing down a street only to get cut off. Surrounded there is only one thing Frank can do, he pulls out a machine gun and removes the problem. Cut to two days earlier, and we see Frank enjoying the music in a bar in a small town in Michigan. He is laying low after Season One staying one night here and there, making sure not to get noticed. But in a moment of happiness, it all gets messed up. Now we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

The first thing we see is that Jon Bernthal continues to be born for this role. The gritty guy, with the deep gravelly voice and a dark backstory, has been done to death at this point. However, he brings life back into it with a depth and warmth to his performance, which makes when everything goes wrong that much sadder. He is also built like a brick shit-house, so you know I am sure there were a good many people that were very happy with his numerous shirtless scenes.    

Also this episode he fought against drunk dudes that won’t take no for an answer, corrupt cops, and a clandestine Christian Supremacist organisation. Just giving a giant middle finger to all those people who would think that the Punisher is on their side when like have you seen any of the show up to this point. What is clear is that with this potentially being the last season, they are leaving nothing on the table, which is added to by the second big bad who is currently strapped to a hospital bed, but I doubt he will remain there for much longer.

One thing The Punisher series is known for is its action sequences and the first episode of the new season does not disappoint in that direction. The climax of the episode revolves around Frank noticing a bunch of ex-military private contractor type folks are going after Amy (Giorgia Whigham), he could have ignored it, he could have walked away, but he had to do the right thing. So starts a long clash that starts in the confined area of the women’s bathroom and expands until it is an all-out brawl in the bar. The fight is visceral, with Frank going up against trained individuals, so this is not a cakewalk. There were several ‘oh damn’ moments including a creative use for a bathroom sink.

In the end, do we recommend Roadhouse Blue? Yes, yes we do. Look this is a series that you know going into it there will be a lot of violence, language and sex, so if you don’t like that then this is not the series for you. But the character of Frank is expertly played by Jon, the action is intense, and they set the world up brilliantly. Bring on the rest of the season.          

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen The Punisher yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Trailer – Click Here to View (all trailers have heavy spoilers)
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Punisher
Directed by – Jim O’Hanlon
Written by – Steve Lightfoot
Based off – Punisher by Gerry Conway, John Romita, Sr. & Ross Andru
Created by – Steve Lightfoot
Starring – Jon Bernthal, Ben Barnes, Amber Rose Revah, Josh Stewart & Giorgia Whigham with Alexa Davalos & Jagger Nelson