Line #31 Recap/ThePunisher2017S01E05Gunner


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gunner.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: ''"I'm coming for you."'']]
3	Frank and Micro go looking for answers from a reluctant witness. Madani and Sam learn of a looming investigation. Rawlins sees a ghost.
4	----
5	!!Tropes
6	* AbsenceOfEvidence: Madani's means of identifying the Operation Cerberus soldiers is by men who would have unusual gaps in their service records that can't be accounted for since the operation was entirely off the books.
7	* AnnoyingArrows: Averted. Frank nearly bleeds out from an arrow to the shoulder (though the firefight afterward also contributes).
8	* AskAStupidQuestion: When Micro's son asks what Frank is doing while he is fixing their minivan, he snarks "Baking a cake."
9	* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Karen argues that Frank should expose the people who wronged him instead of killing them and making martyrs out of them, while Frank says that this still [[VillainsWithGoodPublicity wouldn't bring the perpetrators to justice since they can still get away with their crimes]] and would put everybody he still cares about (like Karen herself) in the crossfire. Karen's approach would be more effective with someone like Wilson Fisk, not Agent Orange.
10	* BrokenPedestal: Gunner had one in the past when a young brother-in-arms died and he found out Schoonover, Agent Orange and the Colonel in charge of mortuary services had his corpse desecrated by stuffing drugs into him.
11	* ChekhovsGun: At the beginning of the episode, Micro is putting together the drone he'll use to provide Frank with air support during the gunfight in the forest.
12	* ChekhovsGunman: The one who released the video was Gunner, the soldier who expressed his concern to Frank when they were retrieving bullets out of corpses.
13	* ContinuityNod:
14	** When speaking to Karen, Dinah cannot help but comment on Karen's habit of getting involved in stuff, like [[Recap/Daredevil2015S1E1IntoTheRing her being framed for murder]] and her involvement in taking down Wilson Fisk, as well as her past involvement with Frank.
15	** Frank's friendly fire arrow from Gunner lodges in his right shoulder. Incidentally, [[Recap/Daredevil2015S2E8GuiltyAsSin Matt got a through-and-through arrow to this same point]] when he was attacked by a Hand ninja in his apartment.
16	* CrazySurvivalist: Gunner, who lives off the grid, has set up booby traps in the woods around his cabin and shoots trespassers with his bow.
17	* DontCreateAMartyr: Karen's main objection to what Frank does is that it will only make heroes out of the guys he kills while further digging himself in. On top of this, Matt's "death" is still fresh on her mind, and she can't bear to see Frank go down the same destructive path that killed Matt.
18	* DriverFacesPassenger: Frank even eats while driving.
19	* DueToTheDead: Gunner found out what was going on (drugs being smuggled back inside the bodies of [=KIA=]s) when he sought to return a knife he had gotten from a young soldier who died in battle.
20	* DyingAlone: Tragically, Frank tries to get help for Gunner and himself, leaving the AlmostDeadGuy behind and then passing out. He gets barely rescued himself by Micro, with Gunner not being picked up.
21	* FanDisservice: The burn scar tissue on Dinah's otherwise attractive body are not a pretty sight. Russo also remarks this when they're having sex.
22	* FriendlyFire: Frank is wounded by Gunner, who mistook him for an intruder.
23	* GroinAttack: One of the operatives dispatched to take out Gunner and Frank runs straight into a booby trap which impales him in several places of his body...including the crotch. And he is still ''alive'' after that.
24	* HeadbuttingHeroes: Micro and Frank do ''not'' get along well.
25	* HeKnowsTooMuch: Rawlins sends a team to eliminate Gunner to keep the truth about Cerberus and his involvement in it under wraps.
26	* HomeFieldAdvantage: Gunner's been living in these woods for a few years now. He's had plenty of time to get to know the land and lay a few traps. Thus even though he and Castle are really out-numbered ''and'' seriously wounded, they still manage to successfully kill all of the attackers.
27	* InstantDeathBullet: {{Averted}} with Gunner, who is still alive hours after being shot.
28	* InterrogationMontage: Between Madani and Stein.
29	* ItsPersonal: Madani takes the destruction of her car, a gift from her parents, quite seriously.
30	* LikeFatherLikeSon: Frank remarks that Micro's son is just as much of a dick as he is. Micro, listening in on the comment, snarks that he knows someone just like that.
31	* MarriedToTheJob: Despite not having fully healed, against all advice, Madani returns to work early after her injury in the last episode.
32	* ModestyBedsheet: Averted with the bandage around Madani's midsection which she doesn't want to waste time removing before sex.
33	* MookHorrorShow: The last operative to be killed by Frank and Gunner screams in terror while trying to find the duo. Frank ambushes him from behind, sticks a knife in his throat, and after making a death threat to Rawlins through the man's helmet camera, Frank finishes him off.
34	* NonActionBigBad: Rawlins remotely observes the whole mission to eliminate Gunner by watching his mercenaries' live helmet cam feeds.
35	* OhCrap: Rawlins mutters "Shit..." upon seeing the face of a NotQuiteDead Frank Castle through the helmet cam of the operative who walks into the booby trap.
36	* OnlyAFleshWound: Averted. Unlike in "Kandahar", Frank being hit near the shoulder with an arrowhead is not a flesh wound. Gunner also ends up bleeding to death.
37	* SexForSolace: Madani vents her excruciating few days by having sex with Russo. She tells him to just ignore the bandage when they're undressing.
38	* SexStartsStoryStops: Madani and Russo's sex scene has next to no build-up.
39	* ShoutOut:
40	** Madani's boss complains about her going Creator/SteveMcQueen on the man who stole the guns, presumably a reference to the car chase scene from ''Film/{{Bullitt}}''.
41	** Leo tells Frank the story of ''Literature/LifeOfPi'', then lends him the book. David is seen reading it later.
42	** When inviting Frank to dinner, Sarah admits that she is no Creator/RachaelRay.
43	* TheStraightAndArrowPath: Played with. Only using a bow against a squad armed with fully automatic weapons doesn't always work out. Despite this disadvantage, Gunner kills three of the operatives, two of them AFTER he's been shot by them.
44	* TokenGoodTeammate: Gunner was the only man in Operation Cerberus who had reservations about what they were doing all the time.
45	* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Rawlins, since we saw the flashback, has become a well-respected CIA superior and Marion is considering him to be her Deputy Director.
46	* VillainousBreakdown: "Delta", the last of the commandos to go down, is reduced to a screaming wreck as he realizes he's the last one standing. As such, he doesn't see Frank emerge from a pile of leaves behind him, enabling Frank to get the drop on him.
47	* WallOfWeapons: Frank is shown assembling one using the weapons they stole in the last episode.
48	* WhoNamesTheirKidDude:
49	** Stein remarks what an odd name ''Gunner'' is.[[note]]It's actually a Swedish name[[/note]]
50	** Micro notes the irony that Cerberus means "spotted", so the [[FluffyTheTerrible hound that guards the Underworld is named Spot]].
51	* WouldHitAGirl: There's at least one woman among the team of commandos Rawlins sends to attack Frank and Gunner in the forest. She is the fourth operative to be killed after Frank [[BoomHeadshot snipes her in the head]].

Context Recap / ThePunisher2017S01E05Gunner