Finally finished this.
With most of these Netflix Marvel shows, it seems I just always watched these "because Marvel Comic Book character".
Almost every single one of these series just felt like a slog to watch.
A small number of good episodes throughout them all... but almost every season had too many episodes.

almost just needed a movie of each being only about 2 hours.

Just goes on and on and on.

my own fault for having this "condition" that caused me to want to watch them.

I finished last night and enjoyed it for the most part. But yeah, they could use some story editors at Marvel's streaming studios.

This format and number of episodes might work on a weekly broadcast show but it doesn't really carry over to a binge focused format.

The issue is they always add extra unnecessary storylines that you have to slog through. This season the Billy/Therapist storyline was fairly terrible and really they should have just expanded on the billionaire/ pilgrim story.

It ended in a satisfying way but definitely not as good as season one. How they handled Russo was borderline terrible.

I'm 10 episodes in and loving it. I think it's better than S1, but I'm probably in minority on that. I dont have much background on this particular comic, so the representation of Billy doesn't bother me.

The alt-right angle is so forced as to be laughable. It doesn't actually come off that way and I think they've done a good job in not being overtly political, actually. But, the girls forced comment about alt-right while sitting in the RV talking to Frank was just dumb and blatantly forced in. That was the only link to it at least through 10 episodes.

Meh. Better than average, but didn't move lilAM04's needle.

aggiepaintrain said:

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Enjoyed this season, S1 was better IMHO.
The psycho-analysis got old.

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Nailed it. The Billy/therapist back-and-forth was a drag throughout most of the season. On a side note, Mahoney's quickly becoming my favorite character.

Running out of Netflix material for work outs so.....questions...

Does this take place in the MCU or is it stand alone?

Do I need to watch season 1 first? Assuming yes.

Outside of X-Men and some Dark Horse stuff, this was my favorite comic as a kid.

All of the Netflix marvel series are technically in the MCU although the connection is really only mentioned in DD season 1.

Did I miss what pictures the girl had that they wanted?

AgsMnn said:

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Did I miss what pictures the girl had that they wanted?

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Pictures of the Senator kissing other men.

I liked season 2, but agree the therapist/Russo angle made the show drag. I did enjoy it as a tool of foreshadowing how she would die.

The only surprise about the ending was I figured they'd show Frank going back to the bar to re-start his new beginning.

SACR said:

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I liked season 2, but agree the therapist/Russo angle made the show drag. I did enjoy it as a tool of foreshadowing how she would die.

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She's alive at the end; what foreshadowing do you mean?

Just finished it. The middle episodes seem to drag it down. Prob good as a 6 or 8 episode season.

Good overall. I like S1 better, but also The Punisher storyline in DD S2 better.

tehmackdaddy said:

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SACR said:

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I liked season 2, but agree the therapist/Russo angle made the show drag. I did enjoy it as a tool of foreshadowing how she would die.

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She's alive at the end; what foreshadowing do you mean?

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I may have missed that she lived.

Just her fear of windows and how she was going to fall out of one.

finally finished this.

like others have said, it was a slog.

DD was certainly the best of these shows with DD s3 > Punisher s2.

I'm trying to think of something positive to write about this season but cannot. I kept getting hung up on how well & fast Frank kept healing.

bearamedic99 said:

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finally finished this.

like others have said, it was a slog.

DD was certainly the best of these shows with DD s3 > Punisher s2.

I'm trying to think of something positive to write about this season but cannot. I kept getting hung up on how well & fast Frank kept healing.

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Finished it as well. Still really liked it but you are right about the healing. He was essentially Logan in this season. Neither he nor Pilgrim would remotely survive the beatings and general destruction of their bodies they experienced unless they were meta humans.

Frank would go from barely walking in one scene to completely healed in the next with no time lag in betweeen. I was able to write it off though because I just generally loved the mayhem.


BTW, did these seasons take place before or after his appearance in DD? It felt like the final scene in this season became his full embrace as The Punisher which is what he was in DD so these were a prequel to that?

Good question and not sure. The only common character is Karen Page. Were there any timeline clues for her storyline?

mm98 said:

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Good question and not sure. The only common character is Karen Page. Were there any timeline clues for her storyline?

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She was working for Nelson and Murdock when she was visiting him in hospital in episode 12, but not sure of timing there since she worked for them in the beginning and then again at the end of DD S3 so not sure. Dude in morgue did address her as his favorite reporter so now that I think about it this must have occurred after DD seasons if this is N&M stint two after working for paper.

This has all occurred after DD3 when Karen went back to work with Matt and Foggy I think.

Although timeline isn't important when everything is getting axed.

I did love the final scene of this season with him yelling while firing double blazing machine guns. I hope Disney brings him back.

i am upset that top 10 babe alexa davalos' role was so small.

and if they werent going to have frank re-unite with her at the end of the season, they should have explained why he wasnt going to go back to her, instead of forgetting that part of the story ever happened. Him finding a non-Maria chick he would be with is no small deal..

still loved it and hopes are disney resumes it.

reb, said:

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i am upset that top 10 babe alexa davalos' role was so small.

and if they werent going to have frank re-unite with her at the end of the season, they should have explained why he wasnt going to go back to her, instead of forgetting that part of the story ever happened. Him finding a non-Maria chick he would be with is no small deal..

still loved it and hopes are disney resumes it.

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I think they made it abundantly clear through his actions. He's made it clear to everyone around him that he is a loner and will not entertain permanent relationships because he doesn't want anyone to be pulled into his life. He's a vigilante and knows the dangers of having a loved one close to him. He has made a decision that he's going to be all-in on murdering bad guys.

Finished a few days ago.

Pilgrim was an awesome villain. I almost found myself weirdly rooting for him after they fleshed out his character as more than just a hitman. Good foil to Frank as you see Pilgrim is more benevolent evil to Frank's chaotic good... if that makes sense. They both have that indestructible aspect and you see their vulnerability throughout the season despite that toughness. Well done. Only flaw... if Pilgrim is Frank's equal he should have just done what Frank did to the people controlling him. Big flaw I guess.

As far as I'm concerned the rest of the plots were filler as others have said. The Frank/Pilgrim dynamic was compelling and should have been about 80% of the season focus. Jigsaw/doc story line dragged on for too long. Two damaged people connect: got it. Didn't need to drag on.

Madani's sole focus was Billy this season so it ended fittingly but again, didn't need to drag on for so long.

Frank's constant seesawing between girl/Pilgrim/puppet masters and Billy agendas fractured the story in a bad way. I understand the entire 1st season develops that relationship so Frank has to be involved but it just didn't work for me.

Overall I was still entertained. The slow parts of DD s3 felt more relevant and focused than TP s2. I really liked the last DD season.

YouBet said:

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mm98 said:

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Good question and not sure. The only common character is Karen Page. Were there any timeline clues for her storyline?

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She was working for Nelson and Murdock when she was visiting him in hospital in episode 12...

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She just said that to the unsuspecting cop to get access to Frank. Karen was still working for the paper at that time.

He seemed emotionally weaker than usual. He immediately broke down when he saw the dead women and wanted to end his life. Not even the slightest thought that they could have been criminals as well, or that he was set up (of all people, he would be able to tell close range shot or be able to better assess what happened). He was in the room down stairs guns a blazing while none of these women ran or ducked for cover; instead they stayed standing up until he shot out the upstairs window? Way too forced.

BCG Disciple said:

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He seemed emotionally weaker than usual. He immediately broke down when he saw the dead women and wanted to end his life. Not even the slightest thought that they could have been criminals as well, or that he was set up (of all people, he would be able to tell close range shot or be able to better assess what happened). He was in the room down stairs guns a blazing while none of these women ran or ducked for cover; instead they stayed standing up until he shot out the upstairs window? Way too forced.

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Agreed on this. I had to stop the show at that point and go do something else because I was worried we were going to get any 'angsty Punisher' story line, and that would destroy the show in my eyes. Glad they didn't dwell on that too much.

I enjoyed this season. This are way better when you don't binge them. We finished in about two weeks, so I didn't feel the slog like I would while binging Jessica Jones or Luke Cage back in the day.

I liked that the two storylines didn't really intersect. I think it helped keep things fresh. S1 had a singular focus, so when it deviated from that path, or had setbacks, it felt like they were really just stretching things out.

I really liked Billy Russo overall. The look took some getting used to but he's a damn good actor.

Overall, I was pleased. If we don't get this character again, at least it ends in a satisfying way.

Edit: Side note, I didn't have a problem with the "Christian" villains. John definitely overquotes verses out of context early on, but I think as time goes on it becomes clear that he's being used by the Schultzes. I don't really know or care of they're Christian - they're clearly just interested in their own power and legacy - as evidenced by the suicide at the end. So I don't take any of it as a knock against anyone's faith, really. And I'd barely consider it a political statement either.

mm98 said:

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Good question and not sure. The only common character is Karen Page. Were there any timeline clues for her storyline?

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Mahoney was a beat cop, so I'd think DD was first in the timeline.

Random bump. The Netflix series timeline is just the release order.

IIRC:
DD1
JJ1
DD2
LC1
IF1
Defenders
Punisher 1
JJ2
IF2
LC2
DD3
Punisher 2
JJ3

As far as Punisher is concerned, it's just DD2, Punisher 1, Punisher 2 pretty much.