Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Daredevil: Born Again
TheDaredevil: Born Againfinale directors have discussed the Punisher’s feelings about hisMCUkillings, claiming it’s a form of pain relief. Punisher returned toDaredevil: Born Againin episode 9as part of one of the MCU’s most explosive finales yet. In one of the greatest scenes of the whole series, Punisherteams up with Daredevilto take down a cohort of corrupt cops with extreme prejudice, willfully killing his foes while Daredevil refuses to follow suit.
When discussing the Punisher’s feelings about killing in aYouTubeinterview with Brandon Davis, directors Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson revealed thatthe Punisher doesn’t take pleasure in killing but rather uses it as a form of pain reliefasFrank Castle’s torturous pastcontinues to haunt him. Moorhead makes this comment while discussing how Jon Berthal’s performance conveys moments of what could be seen as glee during his killing sprees. Moorhead’s full quote is as follows:
“One might think that if you’re not paying really close attention to what the Punisher does, you might think he enjoys killing. But it’s not glee, it’s pain relief, you know? It’s like saying you enjoy Tylenol. It’s not you enjoy it, it’s that it removes the pain for him.”
What The Daredevil: Born Again Directors' Punisher Comments Mean
Frank Castle Can Only Feel Reprieve, Not Joy
The Punisher is one ofMarvel’s most tragic characters. His hypermasculinity belies his vulnerability, which Jon Bernthal expertly conveys in almost every scene he appears in. When theDaredevil: Born Againfinaledirectors, who also directedDaredevil: Born Againepisode 1, explain that Frank Castle kills as a form of pain relief,they refer to the torment that Frank Castle experiences daily. This was also laid out inDaredevil: Born Againepisode 4, where Castle explains in his series debut that he still hears his dead son speaking to him. In this scene, Castle reveals:
“Every time I stop moving I still hear my little boy. I see him. And I hear his voice. He says “get ‘em, Daddy. Every last single one of ‘em, get ‘em.“That’s why I do what I do.” "
Here, Frank Castle confesses how staying idle subjects him to the torment of dwelling over his family’s heinous murder. Castle doles out lethal justice to all those he deems deserving as a form of retribution, definitively removing nefarious actors from the picture to ensure they can’t go on to subject anyone else to the pain he now experiences, or murder those as innocent as his family.His pain only subsides when he is carrying out his macabre work. In fact, Castle rarely experiences joy, if at all, and this line proves that he can only ever seek reprieve instead.
Our Take On The Daredevil: Born Again Directors’ Punisher Comments
Their Comments Show How Well The Directors Know The Character
Combined with the fact that theDaredevil: Born Againseries finale (and the series as a whole, for that matter) was one of thebest episodes of MCU TVI’ve seen in a while, I think Moorhead and Benson’s comments demonstrate how well they know the source material. The directors also lavish Bernthal with well-deserved praise for his ability to convey the emotions they describe. Now that Punisher is set to return to the MCU, I can’t wait to see more of this sentiment in action down the line.
