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The Punisher: Flustercluck

Review by An Honest Fangirl

"Flustercluck."

Let's see how many times I almost type the wrong word instead of the title for this episode. My bet's going to be five.

This was a very good episode. It did sometimes feel a little long, but we got forward momentum on every plot that this season has been juggling. Meaningful momentum too. It's hard to argue against any episode like that.

If there was one major thread that tied everything together, it was the concept of faith. Faith in people, faith in religion, faith in yourself... faith and belief were brought up almost constantly. And nowhere was it more obvious than with John Pilgrim. After spending an episode or two away, he returned and even got a large, clunky exposition dump about himself!

Like most people expected, he spent his youth in a dangerous, far-right group. However, I wasn't expecting that his way into a life of supposed piety was through something as simple as a car breaking down. Such a small, innocuous thing had such a large impact on his life that it's not surprising that it would feel like the hand of God coming down to correct his path in life, especially if it brought him his wife and kids. If it weren't for all the murder, I would almost say that faith has been a very positive experience for Pilgrim.

It is not a positive for the Schultzes, however. Oh, Anderson Schultz is slimy. I can't tell if he genuinely believes or not, but he's certainly happy with the blessings God has supposedly placed upon his family. Now if only his son would fall in line. I can't tell you how happy I was when David ended up being perfectly comfortable and open about being gay. As Mikey said in his review, it makes it a far more interesting story. There is the very real possibility that this is going to all blow up in Schultz's face, and it'll be for something that wasn't even needed, wanted, or necessary.

Because you know Frank is gunning for him. This was probably the first time Amy and Frank's relationship really clicked for me, and it wasn't until the very end where Amy got to use her self-defense move after it going completely wrong last episode. There was something incredibly touching about Frank immediately killing that goon without hesitation so that Amy technically wouldn't have killed a man.

But at the same time, there's something incredibly unhealthy and broken about their relationship. At this point, I'm genuinely unsure which relationship makes me more uncomfortable: Amy and Frank's or Billy and Krista's. Although the further I go along in the season, the more I question the "Harley and Joker" designation I had given them. Sure, it seems obvious which role Krista is falling into, but there were multiple times this episode where something about her just came off as just a little bit hinky. I get the feeling that she's playing Billy. And Madani.

Wow, Madani finally had a good episode. Or rather an incredibly fantastic scene with Billy. Oh my God. Their confrontation has been building since Billy first escaped from the hospital and it did not disappoint. It was incredibly tense, but also incredibly cathartic. The relief and vicious joy on Madani's face as she explained to Billy just why Frank hated him was palpable. In that moment, she found a way to grab control of the situation back from Billy, and it really knocked him off guard for a moment there.

I could probably keep talking about this episode for awhile still, but I think I'll wrap it up here. Things are certainly a flustercluck at the moment, but I'm ready for Frank to finally actually go after the bad guys.

Random Thoughts

Is it just me, or do Billy's scars look worse than they initially did?

Speaking of scars, Krista really has some nasty ones. I can't wait to get the backstory on those.

I loved Frank just very casually shooting all six bounty hunters that confronted him.

Also just casually carrying the thumb around.
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An Honest Fangirl loves superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and really bad horror movies.

2 comments:

  1. Yeah, this was a good one. I totally agree with what you said about Amy and Frank connecting when she pulled off that disarming thing he taught her, and he killed the bad guy so she wouldn't have to do it.

    I'm again terribly worried about Curtis.

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  2. I was soooooo ohappy when David was comfortable with himself!! You might have heard me whoop with joyous relief.

    ReplyDelete

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