Steve Lightfoot, the showrunner for The Punisher, has commented on season two’s big death and the decisions made. Spoilers follow – you have been warned…
The second and possibly final season of The Punisher is now available on Netflix and if you’re reading this article you probably have come across the big death that takes place towards the season’s end – that is, the death of Billy Russo/Jigsaw.
Billy has been a part of the show from the beginning but his tussle with Frank finally came to an end when the latter put the dying villain out of his misery. Speaking about the scene with ComicBook.com, Lightfoot agreed that the moment was poignant:
“What’s interesting, is when we started the season, we didn’t know from start that we were even going to kill him [Russo]. And it sort of developed as we were writing the show, and it just felt like, given that Frank, you feel like so much of what was happening in season two was born of this decision Frank mad to not kill him. It just, it didn’t make sense to us that he would let Billy live again.
SEE ALSO: The Punisher showrunner comments on one of season 2’s biggest shootouts
“It somehow diminished Frank if he didn’t finish the job this time. Then, as we got into the far end of the story, because they have a big gun fight in episode seven and eight, and then there’s another confrontation in episode ten, and it just felt like the natural way for the story to go, and I like the fact that you used to word poignant, because I think there’s a tragedy to those two guys, and I sort of wanted part of the audience to be rooting for, in a way, that Frank wouldn’t kill him, but would maybe throw an arm around him and take him to a hospital or would sit with him while he died.
“It spoke to me to the journey Frank had been on in season two, to fully adopting the mantle of The Punisher, so when he got there he was just like, ‘Nope, you’ve got to go,’ and he put two in him. I think it’s a really sad scene, I think it’s sort of indicative of the fact that Frank is now fully signed up to this persona of The Punisher, and that’s who he’s going to be from now on, and he’s choosing to leave his humanity behind.”
Were you surprised to see Frank finish off Billy in the manner that he did? It was a moment that certainly took quite a few people by surprise.
SEE ALSO: Marvel “ready to go” on The Punisher season 3, but the decision rests with Netflix
Former marine-turned-vigilante Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) has been living a quiet life on the road until he suddenly becomes embroiled in the attempted murder of a young girl (Giorgia Whigham). As he is drawn into the mystery surrounding her and those in pursuit of the information she holds, Castle attracts a new target on his back as new and old enemies force him to confront whether he should accept his destiny and embrace a life as The Punisher.
The second season of The Punisher is streaming now on Netflix and sees Jon Bernthal returning as Frank Castle alongside Ben Barnes as Billy Russo, Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani, Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle, Josh Stewart as John Pilgrim, Floriana Lima as Krista Dumont, Giorgia Whigham as Amy Bendix, Annette O’Toole as Eliza Schultz, and Corbin Bernsen as Anderson Schultz.
