When we last left the Punisher, he
and David “Micro” Lieberman had interrupted a Homeland Security sting, stealing
a bunch of weapons and ammo. While… well, stinging the sting, Frank and Agent
Madani had a chase, followed by a game of chicken. Said game was interrupted by
Micro slamming into her car. Frank dragged her out of the wreckage and told a concussed
Madani to stay out of his way.
Back at their base, David and Frank
are arguing. Frank berating David for nearly killing a federal agent, and David
arguing that he did what he had to so the mission would succeed. Frank leaves
in a huff, shouting “Going to see your wife” when David inquires where he’s
going. David rather sheepishly replies “Now you’re just trying to be hurtful!”
At the Lieberman’s, Frank bonds with 2/3 of the family and gets invited over
for dinner.
At Homeland, Agent Stein and
Director Hernandez are looking into what happened at the Sting. Madani, despite
being told to rest, arrives and insists on working. Hernandez does let her stay
but lets her know that there is going to be an internal investigation. Unsurprisingly,
Feds get upset when they lose a bunch of weapons. He asks is she has additional
info that they can turn over now, but she keeps the Castle Card close to her
chest. Why? Well, keep in mind after the whole thing with her deceased predecessor,
Carson Wolf, she’s not 100% certain on who she can trust with this info. Shortly
after, she sees a picture of Castle during his trial, with Karen Page beside him,
and decides to interview her about it.
 |
| Think Karen misses the days when the men she met didn't have a 50/50 chance of being a vigilante superhero? |
Back at the lair, Frank makes an
offhand comment about David’s son being kind of a dick, like David. David,
deciding to take the high ground, ignores the comment and asks Frank a simple,
but important question. Who took the video? Who was it that was troubled enough
by Cerberus’ actions to risk their job, very possibly their life, to expose
this. Frank, having a pretty impressive memory, states that it was Gunner Henderson.
I assume he either A. Remembered who was standing where, or B. Knew that
Henderson was the most troubled by their actions. They decide to track
Henderson down, to find out what he knows about Cerberus, the drug traffic,
and/or Agent Orange.
Agent Orange, meanwhile, is
actually running a CIA training program in Fairfax, Virginia. It is during his interdictory
speech to the recruits, and a later medal awarding ceremony, that we learn his
real name is William ‘Bill’ Rawlins. And that Rawlins is the Director of Cover
Operations at the CIA. Oh, and he’s up for a promotion, to Deputy Director of
the CIA. Hm… the corruption runs deep with this one, me thinks.
Back with Madani, she interviews
Karen Page. The Agent in Charge and the Reporter have a surprisingly tense
moment, with both women all but stating their thoughts. Madani “I know Castle’s
alive, and you know where he is,” and Page “Yep, but I’m not telling you, and
its better if you drop this.” Later, she tries to get Stein to help her with
the Castle Case, but he’s not interested. He believes, rightly so, the internal
investigation takes precedence over a dead man’s quest for vengeance. She tells
him Frank is alive, much to his shock. After their both interviewed for the investigation,
Stein didn’t talk, he agrees to help her. On the condition that, if they don’t find
Castle or legit proof to move the investigation forward, they kick it up the
chain of command. Madani reluctantly agrees.
Frank, meanwhile, checks in on Karen.
They exchange info, with Karen pretty much begging Frank to go back into ‘retirement.’
Or, if that is impossible, capture these guys instead of killing them. After
relating a very sad, in retrospect, story about his son, Frank rather angrily
tells Karen that he’s not stopping until they’re all dead, end of story. Karen
walks off in a huff.
 |
| Hm... should I make an Oliver Queen slumming it joke, or point out the Irony of a guy named Gunner favoring a bow? Decisions Decision. |
A short time later, Frank and David
gear up to track down Gunner Henderson. Frank doesn’t really want David along, but the hacker is
being rather insistent about this. Since being discharged, the guy has been
living completely off the grid. No running water, power, or any other modern
comfort. The only reason they did find him was because of the land he owned. Once
they make it to Gunner’s property, David stays with the van while Frank goes a
hunting. He finds Gunner’s cabin, and nearly gets killed by him via several
arrows. Oh, the irony of a guy named Gunner being an expert bow and arrow
marksmen. Things calm down, though, and the two former soldiers touch base
about their recent histories. The death of Frank’s family and so on. When
asked, Gunner explains that the final straw had started with a kid. The kid had
lent Gunner a knife shortly before said kid’s death. Gunner had gone to the
grave, to posthumously return the knife and pay his respects. Instead, he found
his superiors taking the boy’s body and stuffing it with drugs, to be shipped
stateside. Yeah, I can see why he’d want to metaphorically roast the sons of
#$!#@es after that. Their info exchange is cut off by a kill squad’s arrival. See,
what with a new job opening up, Rawlins had been keeping an eye on things. He’d
learned that Madani had been working on the Castle Case, and that Henderson was
on her list of people to interview, and thus decided to nip that problem in the
bud.
Using improvised traps, a
customized spy drone David had brought, and special forces bad-assery, Frank
and Gunner take out the goon squad. Frank also take the time to deliver an ultimatum
to Rawlins via a headcam. To Rawlin’s credit, he doesn’t immediately void his
bowels. Both Frank and Gunner are wounded, pretty badly, though and both pass
out due to blood loss. Unfortunately, looks like Frank won’t make it to the
Lieberman’s for dinner. Micro finds Castle and rushes him back home. One more
battle down, dozens more to come.
The plot is definitely beginning to
thicken with this one. Discovering who Agent Orange really is, and that his
career is riding on Cerberus’ and the drug running remaining the blackest of ops,
does suggest that Frank has a shite storm on his way. People have a tendency to
play rough and dirty when their jobs and positions are on the line. I don’t
understand it personally, but then, I kind of really hate my day job. So, there’s
that. I’m curious to see where things will go with Micro’s family. The
Liebermans seem to really like Frank, and he them, but as this episode proves
his mission makes having a social life… difficult. At best. Finally, I will say
I’m curious to see what Madani and Stein are going to do if/when they catch up
with Frank. Madani is almost single minded in her pursuit of Frank, to find out
what he knows about Officer Zubair’s death. And yet, I could see them siding with Frank, in only on the idea that as
monster’s go, this one is really good at killing bad guys. Here’s hoping they
keep the bar high.
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