Spoilers ahoy of course.
The cold open begins with some Irish mobsters gathering at a funeral to toast their dead and OH MY F**KING GOD IT’S TONY CURRAN. Looking a lot more like Vincent Van Gogh again rather than an albino crimelord, he’s playing the father of one of the dead mobsters, and he attacks the guy currently in charge for failing to protect his son as agreed. He then demands they all go hunt the Punisher down. Cut to various shots of Irish mobsters terrorizing people all over town to find him, and eventually find the same apartment DD did, with the dog still there but Frank gone.Frank arrives home just in time to see them all drive off after Tony Muhfugging Curran finds something on Frank’s wall that lets him know who Frank is. Cold open ends.
Following the credits, Karen is at Matt’s place helping him get a tie on. They have some awkward conversation and leave for Grotto’s funeral. Our favourite pastor from last season gives the eulogy, and our heroes are the only people there. The pastor talks about how Grotto used to overload the collection plate hoping to balance out his sins and subtly hints that he holds Matt responsible, though he claims otherwise. He and Matt talk about how much Matt could have done, and Matt feels like he failed. The pastor basically tells Matt he needs to keep going until Castle is stopped.
Speaking of whom, Castle’s in a shitty camper van tending to his wounds and looking at a briefcase he took from the Irish, which I’m guessing is the money Tony Curran wants back. Back at Nelson & Murdock, Karen thinks there’s more going on than just the Punisher, thinking maybe DA Reyes is hiding something. She leaves with the files and Matt heads to his personal costumer to get his upgraded costume. Karen finds a guy who was on staff at the hospital when a john doe was there. Apparently his only visitors while comatose were spooks and they forced a Do Not Resuscitate order, but Frank survived.
Castle is at an amusement park at night staring at a merry go round, and stays til closing. Thgen some Irish goons show up asking him to come quietly. He gets drugged as he kills them, and then Tony Curran shows up and tases him. DD finds Foggy’s cop friend at a crime scene and gets him to admit the Irish are looking for the Punisher. He too blames DD for all of this, then gets a report about shots fird by the merry go round. He turns back to find DD gone. Back to Karen, she gets out of a cab in front of an old white two story house.
DD finds a surviving goon at the merry-go-round, and grills him for info. He gloats that the Punisher is theirs and gets his arm broken for sassing DD. Tony Curran has Castle tied up, offering to let him die with his limbs still attached if he gives up where the money is. Castle of course just stares at him and no sells the beating, talking only enough to taunt Tony Curran. He headbutts Tony and promises to kill them even as Tony starts cutting off his bloody leg.
Karen has broken in to the house and is looking around, unaware of security cameras watching her. She finds a child’s room with pictures of Frank. DD meanwhile plays live action Hitman by making noises to distract goons and take them out. Tony Curran meanwhile brings in the terrified pitbull Castle rescues and threatens to torture the dog instead, since torturing Frank’s gotten him nowhere. Frank gives in to save the dog and tells Tony Curran where his money is, whilst DD beats his way through goons to get to him.
Frank gets himself free whilst Tony Curran listens to his men get blown up. He kills the bodyguards then kills Tony Curran for not telling him who killed his family. DD arrives and it’s Enemy Mine time as they work together to get Frank out of there alive. Karen meanwhile is still in Frank’s old house as a van pulls up. Spooks who have apparently been waiting for Frank to come home are there, likely to grab her.
DD gets Frank to a quiet cemetery and Frank respects DD now after having seen him fight, thinking he might have made a good marine. DD overheard Frank asking about his family, and Frank starts spilling his guts about his family, about what happened. He talks lovingly about his daughter, and he breaks down in tears talking about his reunion with her after his tour in Iraq. He talks about being so tired. About the guilt of a simple thing like being too tired to read his daughter her favourite book, promising he’d read it tomorrow, but tomorrow never came, and holy hell I never thought Shane from Walking Dead could ever make me cry, but goddamn it I’m sobbing.
Foggy’s cop friend shows up to arrest them both, but DD convinces him to take the credit for arresting Punisher so people can see the system works. He says his vigilante days are done. He wants Hell’s Kitchen to have faith in the system and not just in him.
Our heroes are at the bar celebrating the end of all this. Karen and Matt have a moment, which Foggy smiles about. He teases Matt about risking happiness as a Catholic boy and leaves the pair alone. Karen walks Matt home in the rain holding hands. Things get… um…. very intense as they get wet, and somehow moreso after the rain stops, and the two finally act on the attraction. After a steamy kiss they part ways promising to have dinner the next day, and I like that they’re not just diving into bed on the first kiss like so many shows do.
And that’s a lucky break for Matt, since when he gets upstairs to his apartment he has…. company.
See you shortly for episode 5 folks.
