Memento Mori

"First time, as long as I can remember, I don't have a war to fight. And I guess, if I'm gonna be honest, I just... I'm scared."

- Frank Castle

Memento Mori is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of the television series The Punisher.

Synopsis
As the authorities close in, an exhausted but unbroken Frank vows to put an end to the war that has consumed his life.

Plot
Dinah Madani and Micro take a heavily wounded Frank Castle to her home. Dinah's father, a doctor, treats his wounds including performing an emergency pneumothorax due to a rib puncturing his lung. With everything against him now, Billy prepares himself at Anvil headquarters. Removing a bullet that he suffered in his escape from the hideout, he empties his safe of money. Sensing agents closing in on him, Billy skilfully kills them all during his escape then blows up the building.

While recovering, Frank learns that Billy escaped, while Marion James and Rafael Hernandez survey the crime scene at the hideout and William Rawlins' corpse. Micro provide Frank with money that he stole virtually from criminals so that he can return to some semblance of a life. Dinah tells him to disappear. She warns him that if she ever sees him again, she will have no choice but to arrest or shoot him. Frank knows that he still has to end it.

Dinah is interviewed by James and Hernandez; she claims that Frank overpowered her and escaped while being taken into custody. James and Hernandez believe she is lying, but Dinah counters that throwing around accusations can be damaging, especially given what she knows about Rawlins. They all agree that the truth coming out is not the best option for the agency.

Micro heads to the safehouse where his family is being protected by Homeland Security. He apologizes for deceiving them again, and disappearing to help Frank.

Curtis Hoyle wakes up to find Billy at his bedside. The two talk, Billy wanting to know where Frank is, even going as far as to threaten shooting Curtis' good leg. Curtis admits to lying about Frank's survival to him from the beginning and makes them both coffee. As Curtis holds out the coffee mug, Billy realizes that something is wrong and hits the ground just before sniper rounds fired by Frank come through the window. Billy shoots Curtis in the shoulder and hides from Frank. Curtis' cell rings. Frank wants to talk to Billy and proposes a deal. If Billy leaves Curtis alive, Frank with meet him at a battleground of his choosing so that they can end this. Billy chooses the carousel where Frank's family died.

A flashback shows happier times; Frank and his family at the carousel with Billy. At the safehouse, Micro plays cards with the kids and then ends up have sex with Sarah. It appears that his relationship with his family is back on track. At the carousel, two teenage operators are closing up for the night when Billy walks in armed. Dinah learns of Frank heading to the carousel and heads out.

At the carousel, Frank finds that the teenagers are tied to horses, gagged and bleeding out. Frank and Billy engage in a gunfight that leads on to the carousel. Frank is shot in the leg, while Billy takes a round through the cheek. Threatening the hostages, Billy forces Frank to throw his gun down. Dinah arrives to arrest Billy and is shot in the head.

Frank and Billy engage in hand to hand combat, ending with Frank using a sliver of mirror glass to stab him. Billy wants Frank to kill him, but Frank has other ideas. Using the broken glass of the mirror, Frank smashes Billy's face into the glass repeatedly, destroying his face. With Billy subdued and badly wounded, Frank finds dinah still alive and puts pressure on her wound as the police arrive.

Dinah recovers in hospital, and three days later Frank is brought to her bedside. Marion James and Rafael Hernandez give him a clean slate – Frank Castle is officially dead, and "Pete Castiglione" is a free and innocent man. Billy survived several rounds of surgery, but the doctors are unsure if he will suffer brain damage or memory loss. Either way, his face is heavily bandaged.

Frank drives Micro home, but refuses the offer to join his family for dinner. Instead, he joins Curtis' veteran's group meeting properly and begins to open up about how he feels.

Cast
Main Cast:
 * Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher
 * Ebon Moss-Bachrach as David Lieberman/Micro
 * Ben Barnes as Billy Russo
 * Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani
 * Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle
 * Jaime Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman

Guest Stars:
 * Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Marion James
 * Shohreh Aghdashloo as Farah Madani
 * Tony Plana as Rafael Hernandez
 * Houshang Touzie as Dr. Hamid Madani
 * Ripley Sobo as Leo Lieberman
 * Kobi Frumer as Zach Lieberman
 * Kelli Barrett as Maria Castle
 * Aidan Pierce Brennan as Frank Castle, Jr.
 * Nicolette Pierini as Lisa Castle
 * Josh Caras as Carl
 * Sabrina Reitman as Hayley
 * Yadira Correa as Cop
 * Stan Lee as Captain Irving Forbush (uncredited)

Locations

 * New York City, New York
 * Madani Residence
 * Anvil Headquarters
 * Micro's Hideout
 * Avengers Tower
 * Curtis Hoyle's Apartment
 * Homeland Security Headquarters
 * Central Park
 * Lieberman Residence
 * Curtis Hoyle's Meeting Group
 * Afghanistan (mentioned)

Events

 * Ambush on Billy Russo
 * Duel at the Central Park Carousel
 * Massacre at Central Park (flashback)
 * Assassination of Ahmad Zubair (mentioned)

Items
To be added

Vehicles

 * Frank Castle's Van

Organizations

 * United States Department of Homeland Security
 * Anvil
 * CIA
 * New York City Police Department
 * United States Marines (mentioned)

Mentioned

 * Lewis Wilson
 * William Rawlins (corpse)
 * Ahmad Zubair
 * Mr. Pritchard

Trivia

 * The final scene of the episode features Frank at Curtis's veterans group, finally talking. Steve Lightfoot, the showrunner of the series, noted of the scene to EW  when asked "what went into the choice to cap the season with him delivering a monologue about his fear of having a war to fight?"
 * The final fight between the Punisher and Billy Russo his a nod to the comics, with the Punisher smashing Billy's face into a glass, disfiguring him permanently, with Russo later becoming the Jigsaw. In the comic book, the scene was depicted in the "Year one" comics of the Punisher. The showrunner confirmed that season one was also intended to be an origin story for the Jigsaw.
 * This is the first episode from a Netflix TV series to feature the Avengers Tower in the New York City skyline.