Someone should’ve warned Mahoney about trying to engage Frank in contest of craziness. Especially when The Punisher is barrelling down multiple crash courses with equally disturbing forces. Frank continued down those roads once again after being vindicated of Russo’s frame job at Valhalla. His foes diverged in their journeys as Pilgrim drew closer and Russo prepared for a new future. Both will learn that those who run afoul of The Punisher have their outcomes decided by him no matter their chosen path. Even when Frank isn’t the one doing the shattering.
Insurance Policy
Mahoney dresses down Frank as he speeds toward the police station. Frank remains calm as Dinah calls to reason with Mahoney. He isn’t having any of it, promising to arrest her after delivering Frank. Pilgrim suddenly appears in a stolen police car and sends the ambulance off an overpass in a hail of gunfire. Dinah arrives, clipping Pilgrim. The pious psychopath evades Dinah and speeds away in her car. Frank comes to and frees himself despite being severely injured. He notices the ambulance is going to blow and saves Mahoney before it goes up in flames. Frank leaves Mahoney, showing no concern when Mahoney draws his gun on him.
The search for Pilgrim is on, and Frank’s first stop is David Schultz’s apartment. His attempts to pry information out of the senator prove unsuccessful as David has no knowledge of Pilgrim. Frank forces him to leave with him, still believing David can lead him to Pilgrim. He returns to the trailer to find Amy missing and Curtis knocked out. His calls to her fail as she dropped her cell phone outside the trailer. David is brought into the trailer and again berated about Pilgrim. David again denies knowing anything. Frank shows him the photos, informing him the whole situation is about him. David becomes incensed as he realizes his parents are behind the death and chaos. He finally gets Frank to believe that he had no part in his parents’ dealings. Now, it’s time to call mommy and daddy.
Turning The Tables
Amy is on the run after encountering Pilgrim at the trailer. He interrogates Curtis, hinting at his white supremacist past once again. Curtis’s denial of knowing Amy or Frank goes out the window when she barges into the trailer. A fight breaks out leaving Curtis bloodied and unconscious. Amy escapes through a hidden door as Pilgrim leaves with a leg full of buckshot. Amy keeps her enemy close by sneaking into the trunk of Pilgrim’s car. She watches him enter his hotel before eyeing a shotgun in the trunk. Amy stalks through the hotel halls, shotgun in hand, until she identifies Pilgrim’s room by the sound of his screams as he removes buckshot from his leg.
Nothing Lasts Forever
Russo finally seems satisfied after tearing down Frank’s construct of himself. Not even news of Frank’s escape can sour his mood. Krista, on the other hand, is scared to death at the news and hides it from Russo. She doesn’t do it very well, but her act doesn’t dissuade him. He’s still sticking to their plan to leave and start a new life together. He’s happy with her and isn’t about to let the cancer known as Frank Castle back into his head.
Russo meets with his squad for the final time. They reiterate how messed up their fight against Frank ended up, deciding they want to hunt him down. Russo accepts blame for the deaths at Valhalla, but killing Frank won’t fix any of that. His family of disgruntled vets was never meant to last forever and must now come to an end with one final favor from their leader. He doles out new passports, giving them all the chance to start new lives. He takes his and Krista’s and heads back to her place, stopping to buy her flowers on the way.
Broken Birds
Dinah begins to see through Krista’s ruse during a phone call at the ambulance crash site. Krista asks Dinah about Frank while mentioning Russo. Dinah plays along and pays Krista an unannounced visit. Krista is getting ready for Russo’s return. She already has her bags packed packed and everything. Dinah brings up Russo’s call in the hospital. He used phrases similar to those used by Krista.
Dinah is clearly playing Krista now. She reveals that she brought Frank back but doesn’t understand why. The conversation shifts to Krista’s predilection to “broken bird” cases like Russo. Dinah asks if Krista has ever saved one and brings up KM and her childhood fall. Krista excuses herself but it isn’t long before she attacks Dinah with a pair of scissors. The two women brawl through the apartment until Dinah throws Krista out of the window she feared so much. Krista crashes to the ground in front of Russo. Russo, devastated, peers up to see Dinah standing in the broken window. The flowers and any hope of Russo’s new future unravel and drown in the New York City rain.
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