- "You're Frank Castle, right? Frank Castle, the dead man?"
"Makes two of us now."
"You're more right than you know. You're not the only ghost in this town, Frank." - ―Micro and Frank Castle
Two Dead Men is the second episode of the first season of the television series The Punisher.
Synopsis[]
A mysterious phone call force Frank's hand. Meanwhile, Madani goes digging for suspects and Curtis delivers a message.
Plot[]
Reminincing over his past, Frank Castle takes a ferry trip to the Statue of Liberty and remembers the time he went there with Frank Jr. and Lisa. Frank Jr. made an inappropriate comment about their father going to war to "waste some hajjis", which Castle didn't appreciate and harshly told him to never say that again. Leaving the ferry, Castle goes to a diner and suddenly gets a call from Micro, who is aware that he is alive and reminds Castle about the disc Micro left in his house. Castle tries to intercept Micro outside but he gets away, leaving a cellphone for Castle, so Micro could get in touch with him.
Waking up from another nightmare with Maria being shot, Castle watches the footage that he got from Micro, an interrogation and execution of Ahmad Zubair by a group of masked soldiers. Castle meets with Curtis Hoyle to ask him if anything slipped up about him being alive, but Hoyle assures him that he never let anyone know. Castle recalls Ray Schoonover's words about the deaths of his family being connected to what he did during the service in Kandahar. Castle tells Hoyle that he was involved in the CIA's program that involved interrogations and assassinations in Afghanistan, which was strikingly different from the war that he knew.
Dinah Madani tells Sam Stein that she received a footage of Zubair's execution from an anonymous source, which made her certain that he was killed by the Americans. However, the video was stolen from Madani while she was in Afghanistan and the Homeland Security pulled Madani out before she could investigate. Stein points out that Castle and Schoonover are dead end regardless but Madani says that she found Billy Russo, who used to serve together with both of them. Knowing that Carson Wolf would never let her speak with Russo, Madani suggests him to organize a training exercise for the field agents, contracting Anvil, a private military company owned by Russo, and Wolf takes interest.
Castle comes in contact with Karen Page and asks her for a talk, so the two come to Page's apartment. He tells her about Micro, who knows that Castle is alive, and asks for Page's help to find him. Page tries to look up anything in the New York Bulletin archives but she hits a dead end, so she asks Mitchell Ellison if he knows anything about Micro. Ellison tells her that he was once working on the story about a hacker who was leaking the government secrets but had to stop, after he was approached by SAC Wolf who told him that it would interfere with the Homeland Security operation. Page does not appreicate the fact that Ellison dropped the story that easily, so he gives Page an access to an unprinted article that he had saved.
At his secret hideout, Micro monitors the camera footage from the Lieberman Residence, while also looking for Castle around the city. Micro watches Sarah Lieberman arguing with Zach, as the latter wants to go watch a movie with the friends but his mother does not let him go. Zach is upset and says that his father would let him go but Sarah replies that it has been a year since their father is gone. While Leo tries to help her mother by calming Zach down, it barely helps, so Sarah promises to think about it. Micro is saddened that the family cannot hear him saying that he loves them, as he can only watching over them without them knowing.
The Homeland Security agents go through the hostage situation exercise at the Anvil compound, during which Stein almost shoots a "hostage" by accident but Madani prevents it. After the training, Russo approaches them, saying that Stein was acting right, as anyone else would do if the hostage was running towards them during a mission. Madani tries to strike a conversation with Russo about his service, however, they get interrupted by Wolf who wants to discuss the future contracts with Anvil. As Wolf leaves, Russo suggests that they should continue their conversation off-record and invites Madani for a drink.
Page sets up a meeting with Castle and lets him know that she managed to dig up some useful information about Micro. However, she is against helping him if it would involve someone getting killed but Castle replies that Micro was the one who came after him, and he might be connected to what happened to Castle's family. Page gives Castle an unprinted article about David Lieberman, an intelligence operative who got caught leaking covert information. She also adds that Lieberman was apparently killed while running away from the Homeland Security, as Wolf personally got the whole story shut down.
With the new information in mind, Castle stages himself being hit by Sarah's car and as she freaks out, Sarah invites Castle into her house. Micro is horrifying by seeing Castle in the house with Sarah, so he takes a gun and rushes out of his hideout, while Castle deactivates the cellphone. Castle asks Sarah about her husband David and she tells him that David passed away a year ago, which visibly takes a great toll on her. As Sarah struggles, Castle tells her that his family is also gone, as the two bond over their pain. Micro drives to the house and desperately tries to call Castle and even almost gets after him in person, but quickly takes off when he and Sarah walk outside. Castle also notices that Sarah's car is not working properly and offers to take a look at it, which she appreciates.
The following night, Castle shaves his beard and hair and changes his walk, which prevents him from being identified by Micro's recognition software. Wearing a mask, Castle ambushes Wolf and tortures him into telling him about David Lieberman but Wolf insists that Lieberman was a traitor and denies any involvement with Schoonover. Wolf then manages to free himself and get a hold of Castle's gun, before unmasking him and finding out that he is alive. Wolf mocks Castle and lets him know that his family's deaths were a simple cover up and Castle himself was the target, as they believed that Castle leaked the tape to Lieberman. Wolf then tries to kill Castle was ready and left the gun with no bullets, as he proceeds to kill Wolf by snapping his neck.
Madani and Russo drink at a bar and talk about their experiences in Afghanistan, as Madani reveals that she read Russo's file. Russo realizes that Madani explictly approached him for he sake of helping with her invesitgation and she asks Russo about Castle, questioning if he was involved in the illegal activity, like the heroin trade. Russo dismisses any of her accusations, claiming that Castle was an honest man who was let down by the system in a big way. Madani then leaves, as she receives a call from Stein, who informs her Wolf's body was discovered in his house. While Homeland Security conducts an investigation, Stein tells Madani that with Wolf dead, she takes the position of a senior agent.
Castle sits in a diner again and receives a call from Lieberman, who is now contacting him from his hideout for the sake of safety. Micro asks why did Castle go to his house, to which Castle tells him that he was wrong by getting his family into his mess by acting recklessly in front of the wrong people. Setting a meeting in person, Castle gives Micro instructions to drive through the specific locations, while Hoyle observes him. The trip ends at the Mount Zion Cemetery where Lieberman was "buried" and Hoyle approaches Micro, saying that Castle called off the meeting, and adds that if Micro continues to pursue Castle, he will come after Sarah. However, it was all a ruse, as Castle uses the distraction to hide in the trunk of Micro's car and get into his hideout and as he appears in front of him, Castle knocks Micro out.
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
- Paul Schulze as William Rawlins
- Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle
- Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein
- Jaime Ray Newman as Sarah Lieberman
- Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page
Guest Stars:
- C. Thomas Howell as SAC Carson Wolf
- Geoffrey Cantor as Mitchell Ellison
- Ripley Sobo as Leo Lieberman
- Kobi Frumer as Zach Lieberman
- Kelli Barrett as Maria Castle
- Nicolette Pierini as Lisa Castle
- Aidan Pierce Brennan as Frank Castle, Jr.
- Shezi Sardar as Ahmad Zubair
- Jeb Kreager as Gunner Henderson
- Darlene Violette as Waitress
- Bill Walters as Flophouse Background (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- Statue of Liberty
- Graniteville Diner
- Frank Castle's Apartment
- St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church
- Homeland Security Headquarters
- Karen Page's Apartment
- New York Bulletin Building
- Micro's Hideout
- Lieberman Residence
- Anvil Training Facility
- Carson Wolf's Residence
- Pete's Diner and Grill
- Mount Zion Cemetery
- Bronx–Whitestone Bridge
- Pulaski Bridge
- Castle Residence (dream)
- Central Park (mentioned)
- Kandahar, Afghanistan (footage)
- Iraq (mentioned)
- Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (mentioned)
- Bagram, Afghanistan (mentioned)
- Basra, Afghanistan (mentioned)
Events[]
- Rawlins Conspiracy
- Attack on Carson Wolf
- Chase of Micro
- Massacre at Central Park (mentioned)
- Attack on David Lieberman (mentioned)
- Operation Cerberus (mentioned)
- Assassination of Ahmad Zubair (footage)
- Massacre at Linello's (newspaper)
- Frank Castle's War (mentioned)
- Assassination of Ray Schoonover (mentioned)
- Duel of Harlem (newspaper)
- Battle of New York (newspaper)
- September 11 attacks (mentioned)
Items[]
Vehicles[]
Creatures[]
- Doves
- Leviathans (newspaper)
- Rabbits (mentioned)
Organizations[]
- United States Department of Homeland Security
- Anvil
- New York Veteran Support Group
- New York Bulletin
- Cerberus Squad (footage)
- Gnucci Crime Family (newspaper)
- CIA (mentioned)
- NSA (mentioned)
- United States Army (mentioned)
- United States Marine Corps (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Ray Schoonover
- Hulk (newspaper)
- Abomination (newspaper)
- Farah Madani
- Hamid Madani
- Louisa Castle
- Baruch Benjamin
- Deep Throat
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Ain't That a Kick in the Head? | Dean Martin | Carson Wolf grabs a drink and snack from his refrigerator, then is attacked by Frank Castle. |
| Misdirection | Tyler Bates | Carson Wolf discovers that Frank Castle's gun is empty, then Frank snaps his neck. |
| The Runaround | Tyler Bates | Frank Castle sets up a meeting with Micro, then sends him to a variety of different locations for him with time limits. The trail of locations ends at Mount Zion Cemetery. |
Trivia[]
- The title of the episode is a reference to a variation of an Old English nonsense poem called "Two Dead Boys" that was quoted by Frank Castle at the beginning of the episode.
References[]
External Links[]
| Season One | 3 AM • Two Dead Men • Kandahar • Resupply • Gunner • The Judas Goat • Crosshairs • Cold Steel • Front Toward Enemy • Virtue of the Vicious • Danger Close • Home • Memento Mori |
| Season Two | Roadhouse Blues • Fight or Flight • Trouble the Water • Scar Tissue • One-Eyed Jacks • Nakazat • One Bad Day • My Brother's Keeper • Flustercluck • The Dark Hearts of Men • The Abyss • Collision Course • The Whirlwind |