Heartwarming / The Punisher (2017)

Season 1

Episode 1 - "3: 00 am"

• Everything about Frank's subplot with Donny. Donny's clearly a lost kid looking for friends and a father figure. Frank has real trouble pushing him away, though he ultimately does so. Even so, he recognizes that Donny's a lost kid, so when he saves Donny from the other guys trying to kill him, he leaves him the cash from the screwed up robbery and tells him to leave town, then goes to kill the men who would otherwise be hunting him, making it look like a murder suicide. Frank saved a criminal, because the Punisher knows there are different kinds of criminals.

Episode 2 - "Two Dead Men"

• As Frank goes to leave Karen's apartment, she grabs him in a bear hug. He's shocked for a second, but responds and blinks back tears. This is probably the first affectionate contact he's had since the last time he saw Karen, more than 6 months ago.
• A small one, but when you look very close, one can see that Karen has a little shrine to Matt in her apartment, as she has propped the photograph of herself with Matt and Foggy at Josie's on St. Patrick's Day^note Where Matt is dressed up in a shamrock T-shirt and glasses with green lenses, and Foggy's wearing a shamrock-patterned scarf on a table next to the TV.
• Karen tries to stay distant and professional with Frank (understandable, given the last time she saw him), but she eventually breaks down and hugs him because she's glad to see someone she cares about still alive. Gets even more bittersweet when you realize this is undoubtedly the first time anyone has hugged Frank since his family died. No wonder he sticks his neck out to keep her safe later in the series.
• Even though he's pretending to be dead, David is still protective of his family to the point that he drives over to his house with a gun at ready when he thinks Frank is about to use them as leverage.
• Karen and Ellison have clearly developed a rapport. She's willing to butt heads with him like Ben did, but theirs is clearly much more a father/daughter relationship than what Ellison had with Ben.
  Ellison: Look, I still have that article buried in my office. If I get it for you, will you stop looking at me like that?

Episode 3 - "Kandahar"

• Frank is gleeful that Maria has got them tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert in the Meadowlands for when he get back from his tour, it's rare to see Frank being happy even in flashbacks.
  Frank: Man, I love my wife. I love! My wife!
  • When he and Russo are in a seemingly hopeless situation during the ambush, Frank's rallying cry to pick himself back up and keep fighting is "I'm gonna see the Boss!"

Episode 4 - "Resupply"

• David snarking that if Frank is so righteous, maybe he should go around with tights and a feathered cap, à la Robin Hood. Frank, despite his animosity with David so far, laughs.

Episode 5 - "Gunner"

• Gunner's final moments with Frank after both were badly wounded in the shootout.
• The story Frank tells about his son Frank Jr. It was previously established that while Frank loved his son just as much as his daughter he and his son weren’t as close due to his son idolizing his deeds as soldier a bit too much. The pride in which the way Frank recounts his son standing up to him at 8 years old will make your heart melt as well as shatter it.
• Frank bonded with Lieberman's daughter by talking about Life of Pi while he fixed her mom's headlight. Here, while Frank goes to talk to Gunner, we see Lieberman reading the book himself.

Episode 6 - "The Judas Goat"

• While Frank's dream sequence take a bad turn it's touching that he considers Micro and his family as part of his.
• As Dinah recognizes, Frank's still got a sense of honor in notifying the authorities to where Gunner's body is, because a Marine never leaves a fellow Marine behind.

Episode 7 - "Crosshairs"

• Frank and Micro's conversation in the van is oddly heartwarming. For once, they're not snarking or insulting each other; instead, Frank is doing his (admittedly questionable) best to relate to him and offer some advice. While the two still aren't friends, they do seem to at least tolerate each other, with Frank even laughing at several of Micro's jokes.
• Frank not reacting hostile towards a soldier blocking his path, simply telling him that he will progress and tells the soldier "you do what you gotta do". When the soldier refuses to let Frank progress, Frank shoots him...in the foot. In spite of his violence towards criminals, Frank still shows nothing but empathy towards soldiers, even ones trying to kill him.

Episode 8 - "Cold Steel"

• Frank and David's talk about how they met their wives. At this point in their lives, they're both broken, even despairing people, but it's clear they both still have that love in them someplace, and they recognize it in each other. And then the conversation immediately devolves into David playfully (and hilariously) teasing Frank about sex. And then it turns right back to heartwarming as David reassures Frank against any ill will for the latter kissing Sarah.
  • At one point, Frank is discussing how he met Maria, chuckling as he mentions that her first words to him were full of snark. As he does so, he gives possibly the first genuine smile we see from him outside of flashbacks, and he looks entirely different for a moment.
• Frank tossing a football with Zach, giving him some of the fatherly presence David can't. When David wanders onto the scene, Frank urges him to leave for his son's safety, even going so far as to say they can go to Dinah (which would block Frank from killing some of his targets in the conspiracy, but has better odds of reuniting David with his family). Looks like David was wrong to accuse Frank of having nothing but war inside him.
• David screams at Frank to go check on his family. You think Frank would take that from David if it wasn't about his family?

Episode 9 - "Front Toward Enemy"

• When Frank realizes that Lewis is going to target Karen Page, he tells Micro do everything he can to find Lewis, comparing it to protecting Sarah and his kids. When Micro points out that Sarah is family, Frank slams his hand on the table and screams "SO IS KAREN!" It shows that no matter how far past the Despair Event Horizon he is, Frank still cares about the one person who believed he wasn't a deranged monster.

Episode 10 - "Virtue of the Vicious"

• Short and almost non-verbal as it was, the elevator scene was so dripping with tension and unspoken affection that Kastle shippers the world over went nuts. Frank may not be over his family's death and Karen is still mourning Matt, but there's no denying the deep feelings they have for each other. Capped with a Headbutt of Love, of course.
• Some of Frank's interactions with Lewis are oddly touching - it's clear Frank has empathy for a PTSD-stricken Soldier on some level, even though the kid's gone off the deep end. Frank talks Lewis through his eventual suicide once he's run out of options, letting him go out on his own terms without hurting anymore innocent people, and the two of them recite Kipling's "The Young British Soldier" together.

Episode 11 - "Danger Close"

• Micro and Leo's reunion. The poor girl has no idea what is going on, why her mother and brother were kidnapped, or why her dead father is suddenly standing right in front of her. But after a moment, Leo just runs into his arms and begins crying, finally feeling safe for the first time all day. Micro begins crying as well, promising that he'll explain everything eventually.
• Frank telling Madani that he trusts her, if Micro trusts her too. Probably the nicest thing he will ever say about his partner.

Episode 12 - "Home"

• Despite a rough start with Sarah crying and hitting him, Micro pulls Sarah into a hug, which Leo and Zach eventually join. After more than a year, David Lieberman finally reunited with his family.
• Micro decided to tell Dinah about Frank's location in order to save him. When he arrived, Micro immediately went by his side and tried to help him. His plead for Dinah to help him as well as his anguish that Frank is dying, makes it clear that he regards Frank as his friend.
  Micro: (Cries) My friend is dying.
• After killing Rawlins, Frank looks at a puddle of blood to see Maria's reflection...who still smiles even after Frank made his choice. It's like she's outright saying: "go do your job, Frank, but we'll keep the gates open for you whenever you come back".

Episode 13 - "Memento Mori"

• After Frank has finally achieved his revenge against all he set out to since the beginning of the season, it wouldn't be out of reason that the relevant authorities would bang him up in jail/set him up for execution. Instead, they choose to Throw the Dog a Bone:
  Rafi: You're officially still at large but we wiped your prints and DNA from the criminal justice system and replaced them with those of a dead man. We've done what we can to give you your life back. Pete Castiglione is a free man.
  Marion: You were betrayed. Some kind of justice was done, and we hope that's enough for you.
  Frank: I tell ya, I'm surprised you didn't just kill me. You must have thought about it, right?
  Rafi: This is what Dinah wanted for you.
  Dinah: The men I wanted have all been punished. And maybe knowing where the bodies are buried is a good thing.
  Marion: Enjoy your freedom, Mr. Castle. Though I do wonder what freedom means to a man like you.
• After everything that was said and done, Micro invited Frank to join his family for Thanksgiving dinner. Frank declined, but it was clear that he wanted to join them. Frank Castle said he had two families: the Marines, and his wife and children. It is clear that the Lieberman family has become the third.
• After everything Frank's gone through, at the end he finally chooses to attend Curtis' veteran support group and open up to them. It's the first indication we've had that maybe, just maybe, Frank might one day be able to achieve some kind of peace.
• What finally inspires Sarah to welcome David back into the family and drag him into the bathroom for a quick fuck? Seeing him playing Go Fish with the kids, happy and safe.

Season 2

Episode 1 - "Roadhouse Blues"

• At the beginning of the episode, we see Frank relaxing at a bar. He's smiling, laughing, and generally far happier than we've EVER seen him before. Certainly a welcome reprieve after all he's been through.
• The relationship that Frank develops with Beth. It’s clear that they both are attracted and develop feelings for each other with Frank telling her his real name and some of the truth behind his past and even considering settling down with her. It sadly and tragically doesn’t last long.
  • The next morning, Frank grabs a piece of normalcy by having pancakes with Beth and her son. He clearly loves every second of it. Even when Ben asks him about his son and he dissembles about the fact that his son is dead.
• Frank coming to Rachel’s rescue. Frank may be an Anti-Hero but he’s still heroic in his own ways.

Episode 9 - "Flustercluck"

• In weird way, what happens after Amy uses the move Frank taught her to disarm and shoot a bounty hunter. He's bleeding and screaming on the floor, and Amy's on the verge of a full breakdown moaning "I killed him, I killed him." Frank gently tells her that no, she only shot him, turns and puts another bullet in the guy, and says "See that? I killed him." Frank can easily live with just one more dead crook on his conscience, but he knows Amy can't.

Episode 11 - "The Abyss"

• Initially, Frank is suicidal and is totally willing to allow the corrupt Kitchen Irish cop to kill him. When he starts strangling Amy however, he becomes enraged and threatens to kill him.
• When Frank is in the hospital, he asks Karen if Matt knows she's there. When she more or less answers no, he says that Matt is a good person while he is not and that she should stick with Matt instead of him. It's heartwarming to see that after everything they've been through Frank still respects Matt and is happy to have him take care of Karen instead of himself.
  Frank: Can I ask you something? That Matt Murdock, does he know you're here?
  Karen: stays silent
  Frank: Yeah, that's what I thought.
  Karen: What does that have to do with this?
  Frank: Come on Karen, he's good. Don't throw that away for me. You gotta walk away now, Karen.

Episode - 13 - "The Whirlwind"

• Frank convinces Amy to get in the car and drive away from his fight with Pilgrim, gives her a kiss on the forehead before she runs off. And at the bus station at the end, when he sends her away to live an honest life, chasing her dream of finding hidden treasure...

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