Kicking off with a murder from Lewis Wilson, Punisher episode 10 gives us mixed around timelines and conflicting accounts of a bombing involving Lewis' attempting bombing of Senator Ori.
The episode starts us with Lewis killing veteran Isaac Lange, who had been attending Curtis' meetings, and enters his home. Noticing a pair of pet birds, Wilson moves their cage in an attempt to let them go free out the window, but they refuse to move. This moment works in a subtle but effective way to symbolize Lewis' beliefs, as he sees the country as being run by completely corrupt officials who are keeping the citizens caged. To Lewis, the citizens and the birds just don't understand what he is trying to do for them, despite his belief he is on a mission to serve them. To the people and the birds, however, Lewis is just someone who barged in, caused destruction, and is trying to uproot them from the life they know and are comfortable with. We soon move to the building where Karen Page was set to interview Senator Ori on the issue of gun control, finding an overturned room and Russo talking to Detective Brett Mahoney. Hours earlier, Russo was preparing for Karen's interview with Ori, inviting her in and conversing about the ironic situation of a gun-carrying reporter talking to a senator advocating gun control while he is protected by Anvil, a military security company. One detail that Russo fails to share is that Frank calls him soon after, saying that Lewis is coming and he wants Russo to protect Ori and leave Lewis to him. Mahoney also speaks with Ori, who claims that Lewis, after blowing a hole in the room, entered and killed the Anvil guards, before Frank entered behind him as backup. In this version of the story, Ori heroically picks up a gun and shoots back, then flees the scene to get help, narrowly avoiding shots from Frank. When Mahoney shares the story with Karen, she is disgusted, explaining that Ori cowered in fear the minute Lewis entered, and asserted that Frank intervened, saving their lives. In Karen's description, Ori hid behind a couch as Lewis killed the guards and found him, and she left her hiding spot to convince him not to hurt Ori. As Lewis prepared to shoot them, Frank barreled into the room and dove in Lewis' way, taking his shots with a bulletproof vest. Ori then ran away, in Karen's opinion shoving her into Lewis, who then held her captive to keep Frank at bay, and escaped both Frank and guards by showing a bomb he was strapped with an entering an elevator. Once in the elevator, the guards turned their attention to Frank, who ran to a stairwell, shielding himself with a guard's corpse. Back in the present, Mahoney talks with Madani, and the two go over Sam Stein's death before Mahoney asks why Madani was present during the bombing. We see that prior to the bombing, Madani, confronted by Rafael Hernandez, gives the full details on her botched sting operation and the bug she discovered in her office. Relenting, Hernandez gives Madani the case files for each of Russo's men from the sting, and she notes they were all affiliated with Anvil. Back to the bombing incident, Madani is downstairs as Lewis arrives in the building dressed as an Anvil guard, and waits for Russo. Russo comes down, and though he wants to head back up soon to protect Ori, Madani questions him about the men and if he thinks he could figure out who escaped and killed Stein. Now on the defense, Russo brushes the men off as former employees who took their own path, and though feigning being offended, he agrees to ask around if anyone might know who it was. As their conversation gets more heated, the bomb goes off upstairs, and Russo rushes back up as Madani heads for the stairwell, where she encounters Frank. Though Madani demands that Frank hand himself over or be shot, he says she won't do anything and moves close, only for Russo to enter an upstairs door and graze his head with a shot. Frank seems to stunned at what Russo has done, but Madani, now in a standoff with Russo, comes to the realization he killed Stein. Before anyone can move, police swarm the stairwell, forcing the three to lower all weapons and stand still. Madani and Russo are led away, but Frank grabs a fire hose and leaps down the stairwell, landing on a floor after the hose jerks to a stop, injuring his shoulder. Now covered in multiple injuries, Frank enters a downstairs area, where Lewis is struggling to stay calm and Karen is trying to talk him down. In a moment of calm openness, Lewis explains that a mantra he was just repeating, which says if you're surrounded with no chance, you should kill yourself, was drilled into his head overseas. As Frank enters, Lewis again takes hold of Karen, forcing Frank to quickly determine a way to safely get them apart as the episode comes to a peak. The choice to have the story told from the future was interesting, as it is the first to be done this way, rather than having a straightforward, linear progression. It is reminiscent of the Japanese film "Rashomon," in which multiple people tell their version of what happened when a samurai and his wife were attacked by a bandit. Each person't account is drastically different from the others, with the bandit claiming the he bested the samurai honorably and the wife, despite saying she'd leave with him, ran away. The woman says she was a poor bystander and the bandit raped her, then she went unconscious essentially from shame, waking to find him dead. The samurai, speaking through a medium, says the bandit raped his wife, who asked to go with him if he would kill her husband, then ran away when the bandit asked the samurai if he should kill her, so he freed the samurai, who killed himself. A woodcutter explaining the story says he was there, and that in reality both men were cowards when fighting, and the wife was chastising them both, until the bandit got lucky in killing the samurai, and the wife fled. Though a listening commoner realizes the woodcutter stole a dagger from the crime scene and therefore he is also a liar, his story is often believed as the truth. Director Akira Kurosawa, however, has said the point of the film is to explore multiple possibilities, rather than giving a definitive truth. In the end, the woodcutter's story could, at most, likely only be considered the least biased, while stilling not giving us the right details. Later stories to use the "Rashomon Effect" often reveal the actual occurrence of an event at the end, and it is possible that is what happened here. Karen is the last one to share what happened, as she was involved with the Frank/Lewis standoff. Due to what we know about Ori, and more obviously, Frank, his story cannot be believed because he is protecting his pride and we know Frank dislikes Lewis. Karen obviously knows Frank the best, and we know from her work as a journalist that she is a strong advocate for the full truth. One small detail that suggests the truth of her account is how Frank handles situations with Lewis, repeatedly shushing him. We have seen Frank do this in previous episodes, in attempts to calm another person, in particular when Lewis has meltdowns. However, Karen could easily be attempting to make Frank seem more classically heroic than he might have been, in an attempt to make him look good. Really, this isn't a typical "Rashomon" moment, as we only get two differing accounts, since Russo and Madani talk about separate things. However, we do know that each person's story could be slightly untrue, and they don't always reveal the full truth to Mahoney. In Russo's account, he, of course, fails to mention Frank's call, and Madani just says Russo interrupted her capture of a suspect, rather than what she is after Frank for. This, along with the realization Karen even admits to helping Frank escape, does make her story be what we go from. With Madani realizing the truth about Russo, she finds herself in a bad position, because there isn't much she can do. At the moment, Madani has no proof Russo has done anything, as Stein was the only witness to Russo's involvement and she can only say the men used to work for him. This is not evidence enough to prove that Russo was involved, and he has enough power that her attempts to do anything could easily cause problems. Now that Frank and Lewis have come head to head, and Madani has figured out Russo was deceiving her, things are bound to get more complicated in coming episodes.
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With 17 having sacrificed himself in episode 127 to protect the others, the weakened Goku and Vegeta and unconscious Frieza are all that stand in Jiren's way.
At the end of the previous episode, 17 faced a massive energy blast from Jiren after discovering and poking at the Pride Trooper's past and desire. Jiren, having been raised to fight after his people were slaughtered, only to be defeated again, sees no point in teammates or bonds; only power. 17, after mocking Jiren's beliefs, stood in his way as he fired at everyone, with Frieza unconscious and the Saiyans weakened on the ground. Protecting them all with shields, 17 self-destructed, giving Goku and Vegeta time to slightly recover as well as destroying Jiren's blast. At the start of this episode, Vegeta stands as the only person in Jiren's path, only to find he can't even transform because of his damaged state. Despite this, Vegeta refuses to give up, repeatedly swinging powerless punches at Jiren, only to be consistently swatted away. Vegeta, knowing he can't win but refusing to give up, continues charging in, his attacks getting weaker as he takes a punch that bruises his face and causes it to swell. After finally having enough, Jiren delivers a final hit that knocks Vegeta out, and Vegeta, with no other option, lets out some tears due to his inability to protect those he cared about and gives Goku his remaining energy. With Vegeta appearing in the seats just seconds later, Krillin gives him a Senzu bean as everyone commends him for his hard work. Goku, meanwhile, uses the energy given to him to power up to Blue, and begins the fight against Jiren anew. Even with this newfound strength, however, he still finds Jiren outclassing him, and he seems set for a loss as he reverts to his normal form again. In such a devastating moment, however, Goku surprises everyone by reaching Ultra Instinct for the third time. The episode hits its high point as Goku goes after Jiren in his freshly powered state, seemingly more in control of his new form than before. Though the episode shows Vegeta as a great warrior, it is still sad to see him go, especially since he may have lost his chance to revive Universe 6. With little power, it was impressive to see how Vegeta kept pushing despite obviously having no chance, at one point even hanging off some rubble by the tips of his feet. It is in this moment he thinks of everything he has to lose, and rushes in for the last time, stating as he falls that it doesn't matter if he loses if Universe 7 survives. This is a rare moment of seeing beyond Vegeta's pride, seen before when Frieza killed him, sacrificed himself against Buu, admitted Goku's superior strength, and acted like a fool to appease Beerus. With this reappearance of Ultra Instinct, Goku seems more in control, phasing straight through Jiren at one point. Immediately after, he inflicts massive damage to Jiren with a single punch, different from the first two times he used the form. The first time, Goku was only able to be on par with Jiren, and the second time, Kefla mocked his attacks as weak. Whis stated it was because while his body was moving by itself, Goku was still having to think about his attacks, causing a momentary hesitation and weakening them. With this development, it seems that Goku has better control over Ultra Instinct, which would make him a dangerous foe for Jiren. Despite now being so powerful, however, and with DBS' weird time rules in place extending things, it could still be possible for time to run out. At this time, Jiren is actually at a disadvantage, though he might not realize it, because he and Goku are not the only ones left. When 17 sacrificed himself, Frieza was still in the tournament, albeit unconscious, and has not been seen in the seats. While it would be easy to assume he was destroyed in the blast, it would be more likely that he survived and is hanging on by a thread, biding his time. If the time were to run out under these conditions, Universe 11 would be erased, despite Jiren's power. This would be massive momentary blow to Jiren's pride and beliefs despite how he would soon be erased, as he believes power is the only important thing. Even if things don't end like this, Frieza's continued survival still adds an intriguing element to the mix, as we have yet to see him fully betray the group. It seems necessary at this point for him to actually do something, as in this tournament Frieza is acting as, for Game of Thrones fans, the group's Petyr Baelish. Now that Goku has the upper hand over Jiren, it could be that Jiren will become as injured as Goku, giving Frieza the perfect opportunity to step in. WIth only them standing in his way, Frieza would then be able to claim the super dragon balls for himself, and become the most powerful being. The episode comes to a climax in preparing for Goku and Jiren's next fight, and with only two minutes remaining in the tournament, we are bound to see something great. The tournament is coming to a close, and Goku's third go at Ultra Instinct will for sure give us a visual treat, though for now we can only guess what that will be. "Captain America: Civil War" introduced us to the MCU's version of Wakanda's very own rich, genius superhero: T'Challa the Black Panther.
In "Civil War," Black Panther was introduced as a kind of ambassador before his father T'Chaka was killed in an explosion caused by Baron Zemo. Taking neither side in the Avengers' argument on registration, T'Challa's aim was simply to capture Bucky, the Winter Soldier, who had been framed for the bombing. This film ended with T'Challa, having learned the truth, offering shelter to Captain America and Bucky, stating that if the US want to hunt them down, they can try. This film opens in the past when T'Chaka was Black Panther, and confronted his brother N'Jobu for helping smugglers steal vibranium, the world's strongest metal. Incredibly rare, vibranium is the material used for Captain America's shield, and unbeknown to the rest of the world, Wakanda has a massive source of it. Though N'Jobu denies the treason, N'Chaka's spy reveals evidence of the brother's treachery, and the scene fades as the brothers reach tense silence. Picking up sometime after T'Chaka's death T'Challa is freeing prisoners and retrieving his former lover Nakia from a mission so he can invite her to his coronation. In one of the most simple-yet-effective moments of the film, T'Challa's reunion with Nakia results in him freezing up, one thing he had just mentioned he never does, and simply saying "...hey..." when he sees her. This one, short line goes a long way in humanizing T'Challa and showing that while he has been groomed for royalty his whole life, he is just like any other character. The two rejoin T'Challa's head guard, Okoye, and travel back to the technologically advanced Wakanda. To the outside world, Wakanda is a third-world country, due to not knowing about their vibranium, which is also used to keep the country cloaked. From the inside, the country consists of large cities powered with vibranium, while still following their own classic African culture. T'Challa reunites with his mother, Ramonda, and sister, Shuri, interacting with them in another humanizing scene as they poke fun at him for "freezing." The multiple tribes of Wakanda meet for T'Challa's crowning ceremony, during which they can challenge for the crown and mantle of Black Panther. M'Baku of the Jabari steps forth, and T'Challa defeats him in combat, convincing him to yield, so he won't have to die. Shuri shows T'Challa the advances she has made to the Black Panther suit, explaining it will absorb and redirect kinetic energy. Elsewhere, Erik Killmonger steals a vibranium artifact for Ulysses Klaue, seen in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" where his hand was sliced off. As T'Challa prepares to fight Klaue, his friend W'Kabi urges him to kill or capture Klaue, as he holds a grudge against the black market dealer. T'Challa, Okoye, and Nakia move to intercept Klaue, who plans to sell the vibranium to another character introduced in "Civil War:" Agent Everett K. Ross. After a stunning chase scene in which T'Challa makes use of his kinetic reversal, the group succeeds in capturing Klaue. While interrogating him, however, Killmonger arrives and frees Klaue, and T'Challa notices Killmonger's ring, which matches the one he got from T'Chaka. After returning to Wakanda, T'Challa tells a disappointed and angered W'Kabi about Klaue's escape, earning his ire. T'Challa then confronts Zuri, a close character, about Killmonger, and learns of T'Chaka's confrontation with N'Jobu, where Zuri was the undercover spy. Zuri explains that T'Chaka had to kill N'Jobu to save Zuri, and the two kept the event secret, choosing to tell everyone N'Jobu had disappeared. Killmonger was outside at the time, and entered the room to find only his father's corpse, naturally blaming the Wakandans, whom his father had taught him about. Murdering Klaue, Killmonger arrives in Wakanda to reveal himself and his heritage, and challenges T'Challa for the throne and Black Panther mantle. Due to being royalty, Killmonger's challenge goes through, and he successfully defeats T'Challa, tossing him over a waterfall after killing Zuri. With Wakanda splitting further into those T'Challa's supporters and Killmongers, issues of isolation or tradition come to a head. Wakanda dissolves into civil war as tribes begin fighting one another and T'Challa's loved ones try to find a way to stop Killmonger. For many, Black Panther has become one of Marvel's greatest and most important films, in part due to its cultural significance. This is one of the first times where a movie consists almost entirely of black cast members, and is directed by Ryan Coogler, a black man. "Black Panther" doesn't freeze in making statements about oppression and colonialism, with Wakandans even referring to white people as "colonizers." Though extremist in his views, it's hard not to sympathize with Killmonger and understand his point of view. Having been raised in rough US streets rather than Wakanda, Killmonger was somewhat detached from his culture, yet got to see oppression firsthand. To Killmonger, the Wakandans' decision to remain hidden is an insult to black people around the world, who still face racism and oppression. This view was focused, of course, because of his father's death, and he made it his life's goal to become Wakanda's king and use its resources to wage war. When gaining the power of Black Panther, individuals go into a kind of meditative world, with T'Challa seeing the past Black Panthers and speaking with his father. During Killmonger's meditation, he returns to the building where his father died, and speaks to him, reverting to childhood at one point and breaking down. Though I might not support his mission, it's hard to imaging what Killmonger had to go through growing up without his father in a rough, uncaring world. T'Challa and Killmonger's opposing views and lives are represented by the score, with scenes that focus on Killmonger taking on a rap or hip hop vibe in sound. While some could claim this is some kind of condemnation of rap, tome it seemed an example of what it represents. Rap began as a way for black people in horrible conditions to tell their stories, confronting worldly injustice and escaping the rough places they were forced into. This is exactly what happened with Killmonger, as he was left to grow alone having to fight for survival. While he deceived the Wakandans by not mentioning his role in helping Klaue steal vibranium, Killmonger clearly means and believes the things he says. He brings up the murder and oppression of black people in the world, and at some moments mentions the slave paths that took black people from Africa to America. T'Challa grows in many ways during the film, both because of his new responsibilities and the things he learns. The first time he meets T'Chaka's spirit, he mentions not feeling ready to be without his father, receiving encouragement from the former king. When not in private, however, T'Challa stands as an imposing figure, intimidating when he needs to be and not backing down from anything. His discovery of Killmonger and his father's lies send him into confusion, as he has already been struggling with whether to reveal Wakanda to the world or keep up the lie, only to see what lengths his father went to just to keep Wakanda hidden. Along with the film's firsts in terms of race, it also effectively brings in multiple powerful women characters. From the beginning, we get Okoye, his lead guard, and Nakia, a spy, with both being experts in their respective fields. Okoye is, at times, more intimidating than even T'Challa, taking her traditions and duties incredibly seriously. During one of my personal favorite scenes, Ross makes a jab at T'Challa and lightly smacks his chest, prompting Okoye to step in and stare him down. In Wakandan, she tells T'Challa that she will pin Ross to a table if he touches the king again, and Ross asks if she speaks English, to which she responds by giving him a wry smile and saying "When she wants to." Both moments got audible reactions from the audience at my viewing, including from me, and other moments with Okoye would as well, as she showed her prowess. Nakia proves herself a capable combatant as well, though she is better at infiltration, and T'Challa's sister Shuri has an important role. Shuri is not just the one who showed him his suit's improvements; she is the one who improved it, as she is the lead technologist in Wakanda. "Black Panther" breaks all kinds of social barriers and stereotypes as it gives us a a fantastic film led by black people and a great number of women. Rather than a bland villain like some films have given us, like "Iron Man 2" or the many important characters relegated to small time, we are given a complex and sympathetic foe for T'Challa. Whatever is set for Wakanda in the future, for the moment it has given us a grand experience that fans will love to see. With Jiren the only remaining foe for Universe 7 after Vegeta successfully defeated Toppo, things heat up as the tournament winds down.
Last week's episode ended with Vegeta going all out to defeat Toppo, using his "Final Explosion" that, when used before, resulted in his death as he turned into a statue and crumbled to dust. This time, however, he has survived the blast, though he reverted to his base form and the upper parts of his clothes were destroyed. Krillin says it is a sign of how much stronger Vegeta has become, and it is likely because of how much control Super Saiyan Blue gives him over his energy. Vegeta, cocky possibly from defeating Toppo, rushes into battle with Jiren, forcing Goku and 17 to join him. Jiren forces them all back, preventing them from landing any blows on him, eventually slamming Vegeta into a rock. He comes in for a follow-up attack, but 17 knocks Vegeta away and takes the brunt of Jiren's power. Though he probably appreciates the help, Vegeta responds in typical prideful fashion, saying he didn't need 17, and rushes back in. Jiren says Vegeta's punches were only strong enough to take down Toppo and knocks him away, then blows away Goku's Kamehameha with an uppercut. While distracted with the Saiyans, Jiren fails to see 17 form a massive blast of energy behind him, which is released at point-blank range. To everyone's surprise, the move successfully wounds Jiren, though 17's proximity damages him slightly as well. In a trend DBS has been using since Goku was taken out with a laser blast, the group states the damage is the result of Jiren dropping his guard. While much of the fight is interesting, this moment got a facepalm from at least me, as the group finds it absolutely amazing that someone got hurt because he wasn't prepared for an attack. Despite Jiren being so powerful, this statement is so unnecessarily obvious that the characters come off as stupid for being so shocked. The trio plans to have Goku and Vegeta distract Jiren so 17 can get in with another attack that Jiren can't guard, but Jiren, naturally, is prepared. With their attacks blocked, the three decide to attack all at once, but Jiren's massive aura destroys their blasts. Frieza re-enters the fray and powers up to his golden form, determined to ignore the rules and kill Jiren, but he is effortlessly dispatched. Again on his feet, 17 says he won't stop fighting and believes Universe 7 can win, prompting the Universe 11 God of Destruction Belmod to ask about his intended wish. 17 explains his desire to go on a cruise with his family, and after Belmod mocks him, he asks what Jiren's wish is, believing he simply wants more strength. Jiren says he does have a wish, and Belmod recounts how Jiren was orphaned when an evildoer killed his family, and he was taken in by a martial artist. The two built up a group of comrades, but when they again encountered the evildoer, many of them, including Jiren's master, were killed. Abandoned by those who remained, Jiren came to believe in only strength and devoted himself to his power, eventually creating the Pride Troopers. The discovery is honestly somewhat disappointing, and declarations of Jiren's obsession with strength seem odd. While he did previously state he was striving to achieve what was beyond strength, Jiren seemed to have a more enlightened meaning behind this. Not reacting to Goku's statements of "wanting to get stronger, 'too'" gave the impression he was searching some state of understanding, rather than just power. Here, however, the characters talk about Jiren simply being obsessed with strength, which actually makes him a bit less interesting in some ways. Surprised, 17 says Jiren seems to have humanity about him, yet his obsession with strength has caused him to become delusional that he could fix the past. As 17 struck a nerve, Jiren attacks with an enormous blast, which 17 counters with multiple shields. The episode comes to a point as Jiren and 17 enter their power struggle, with Frieza unconscious and the Saiyans too injured to move. It was good to finally see more of what Jiren is capable of, despite it being strange that, when he was introduced, it took him no effort to knock away just Goku, and now he is, in a way, struggling, regardless of the numbers. On another note, it is certainly interesting that 17 has been able to put up as much of a fight and keep going this far when usually the Saiyans get all the attention. While it's true Goku and Vegeta are the main stars, 17 has faced many of the more powerful opponents during this tournament without breaking a sweat. 17's lack of many DBZ fights didn't do much to show his strength, despite going toe-to-toe with a powered up Piccolo, especially since Cell absorbed him. During the Android saga, much of 17's time was spent having reckless fun, while 18 fought the Z-Fighters to show how much stronger the two were. The one time we really saw 17 fight was against Piccolo, who had just fused with his counterpart, Kami, to become the full Namekian warrior Kami was before expunging all the evil from his body, which had then become the Demon King Piccolo. Having achieved a more powerful state, Piccolo momentarily became the most powerful Z-Fighter, and was more than enough to take on 17. During their fight, however, Cell intervened, and to reach his second form in his quest to become the perfect being, absorbed the weakened 17. After this, 17 dropped off the radar while 18 married Krillin, so we never got to see what he did during events like the Buu Saga. Since coming back, however, he has proven to be powerful as well as cunning, making the most of his abilities and the tournament. His abilities were enough that, even before Gohan and 18 dropped out of the fight, it became increasingly likely that he would be one of the final fighters. The encounter between 17 and Jiren is interesting to look at, as learning more about Jiren has shown a contrasting dynamic between the two. During the tournament, a theme for 17 has been his returned humanity despite being an android and his past destructive nature. Jiren, meanwhile, surprises 17 with his "humane" side, which, opposing 17's return to the show, he tries to eliminate with his strength. 17's tactics in this episode have potentially revealed a flaw of Jiren's, different from the blatantly obvious "realization" that he could be hurt when caught off guard. When 17 was talking about wishes, he took a jab at Jiren by saying he is foolish for thinking he can just make things the way they were, and that he used his comrades. While it does seem that Jiren doesn't truly have an emotional attachment to his teammates, 17's accusations anger him. This suggests that, like stories have done before, Jiren is a character who could be taunted into making mistakes and ultimately losing. Vegeta would be the perfect candidate to take advantage of this flaw, as despite the irony of him poking fun at someone's pride, he is excellent at goading people. Goku is certainly able to talk trash when he knows he can win or it will irritate him, but as Krillin said when Goku did this on Namek against the Ginyu Force, it's not his style. As has been the case with much of the tournament, and infamously, the Goku vs. Frieza Namek battle, timing continues to work oddly in the show. This episode leaves the tournament with only three minutes remaining, giving Universe 7 little time to deal with Jiren and his titanic power. After the shocking death of Sam Stein in the previous episode, Punisher episode 9 hikes things up with Lewis' explosive entrance.
Episode 8 ended disastrously for Madani's forces, taking heavy damage despite killing all but Billy Russo during their sting operation. Most horrific for Madani, however, came when Russo killed Sam with no witnesses, leaving Sam unable to tell Madani of their true enemy. Madani has retreated home in shock, and refuses to return to work or make statements despite mounting pressure due to her falsified paperwork. Outside, Frank and Micro watch Madani and her mother with a sniper rifle, trying to decide how best to handle her. Before they come to any conclusion, however, a building is damaged by Lewis' pressure cooker bomb from episode 7. Later, after watching a news report with a cell phone video of the explosion from within the building, Frank, disgusted at Lewis' "cowardly" use of bombs, stalls the plan to contact Madani. Lewis sends a message directly to Karen Page to get his mission plan public, as he believes she will see him as similar to Frank, but she calls him a coward and terrorist. Over with the police, Madani is in hot water with Rafael Hernandez, who wants to know why she did what she did, but she gives him nothing when he says he can't help if it is about Kandahar. On a radio station, Karen again denounces him, even after he calls in directly and threatens her. Frank, who was listening, becomes enraged that Karen is being targeted, and realizes it is Lewis because of the young man's use of the phrase "sic semper tyrannis." Knowing he heard it back in Curtis' group, Frank demands that Micro track down Lewis, saying Karen is family to him. Curtis, having also recognized Lewis, heads to O'Connor's house and discovers his dead body and Lewis' bomb supplies. Lewis walks in and the two talk, but he eventually attacks and is able to knock Curtis out by yanking off Curtis' prosthetic and beating him with it. Frank has, meanwhile, checked Lewis' house, and calls Karen to tell her to stay out of the situation, when Micro tells him of Lewis' whereabouts and Curtis being there. Over at Madani's, a failed attempt at sex with Russo to feel better has led to a conversation about blaming oneself. Russo states that he has experienced plenty of deaths, which, if thought of negatively, could lead him to a mindset of blaming himself for not preventing them. In reality, the enemy is the true one to blame, or maybe even the victim, slipping in a jab that Sam somehow got stabbed when he had a gun. Russo is also hired to protect a gun control advocate, whom Lewis had previously specified as an opponent. Frank, arriving at O'Connor's, finds Curtis hooked up to multiple claymore mines, and Lewis, watching from outside, calls Curtis' phone to talk to Frank. The two argue viewpoints and Frank bounces between berating Lewis and calmly trying to convince him to say how to disarm the bombs. Curtis, trying to get Frank to leave, explains that despite what he typically says, he often feels hopeless and sometimes thinks it would have been better to just die rather, than lose his leg. As the episode comes to a climax, Frank must find a way to disarm the bomb before police arrive, Lewis having called them to witness the explosion. At the same time, Madani, has decided to speak at Sam's funeral and tell the truth no matter the cost, and Micro, when telling Frank of Lewis and Curtis' location, seemed about to make contact with Madani. This episode finally brings to light the building opposing methods of handling seemingly the same problem, as well as hypocrisy and opposing ideology. One of the biggest examples of this comes with gun control advocate Senator Ori, as he quickly becomes a target for Lewis. In particular, Ori hiring Russo for protection is an interesting development, as Russo would be known for using guns. Russo himself says it's funny that, for all his beliefs, Ori is more than willing to shell out money to hire security with opposing views to his. Ori clearly knows this, and reminds Russo that, because of the storm that could be caused if an attacker were killed with a gun, he wants protection in other forms. The unstable Lewis is an interesting look at a more twisted version of Frank's path, as Frank points out that, despite Lewis saying they are the same, he was willing to beat Curtis, a US marine, and strap him with bombs. Similalry, as Karen says on the radio, Lewis' claim that he is going after corrupt people is weakened due to his first victims being regular working-class people. Though this is a clear examination of how not everyone agrees with Frank's methods and could see him as a terrorist, the differences are all to clear. With Frank, the main issue with what he does could by that while he often kills people for corruption, people don't always know of the corruption, and therefore see him as just someone killing members of the government or military. Frank has his moral code, however, and makes sure to save people and try to prevent casualties, like when he clipped the young soldier at Rawlins' compound rather than taking a kill shot. Lewis, meanwhile, has become convinced that American rights are being trampled on by anyone who opposes him, not noticing some of his own hypocrisy. Lewis says that he needs to show people like Karen they can't just say whatever they want, a clear disregard for free speech despite his adamant advocacy for gun rights. In his own mission to take down corruption, Lewis is obviously becoming little more than a terrorist as Karen said, willing to hurt or kill whoever opposes him. A smaller important development comes from the talk between Madani and Russo, when Russo insults Sam and mentions how he died. Given that, as Madani said, Russo shouldn't have been there, it would be odd to someone like Madani that Russo would know Sam was killed with a knife, or even that he had his gun. This is just further evidence that, despite how he and Rawlins control so much, Russo isn't always too bright, unintentionally dropping clues for Madani that he is lying. With Frank now dealing with both Lewis and police, Madani likely about to spill everything she knows, and Micro intending to meet her, everything is beginning to get tangled together. As everyone continues in their own goals, it is clear there are big confrontations coming in future episodes. With Toppo now a god of destruction, Universe 7 has its hands full trying to survive as only minutes remain in the tournament of power.
At the end of the previous episode, Toppo crushed Frieza and tossed him aside, only for 17 to save the evil emperor by hitting him with a rock. 17 finds that he is definitely no match for the empowered Toppo, but devises a plan after seeing a rock formation crumble after Toppo destroyed a section of it. This moment makes good use of the typically obvious zoom on a character's face when they notice something, as opposed to when Jaco saw Frost's needles or Gohan deduced Frieza's ruse against Frost. Deciding to use the environment to his advantage, 17 hides behind another section of rock and lets Toppo carve a path like previously. Once the smoke has cleared, 17 destroys the remaining formation, causing it to collapse on Toppo. Toppo easily escapes this and slams 17 with a barrage of ki blasts until he falls, but Frieza comes to the rescue and paralyzes Toppo. Deciding to finally eliminate Frieza and 17, Toppo is interrupted when stray blasts from the battle with Jiren hit him, and one of Jiren's shots hits Frieza and 17. As the two battles merge, Toppo and Jiren come to a silent agreement and Toppo pulls Vegeta into a separate fight. Vegeta chastises Toppo for his recent endeavors, noting how quickly he switched from being all about justice to destruction. Toppo states that justice no longer matters because the ultimate goal is survival, and says he tossed away pointless things to achieve his greater power. In what appears to be a reference to Vegeta's fight against Goku in the Majin Buu arc, Toppo slams Vegeta wide-armed into a rock formation. Toppo mocks Vegeta for his Saiyan pride, dismissing the race and saying Vegeta should toss such things away as he did, but Vegeta, thinking of his family and the promise he made to Cabba, becomes enraged. Again powering up to full, Vegeta rushes Toppo, managing to land repeated blows as well as punching straight through a blast of destruction energy. Vegeta again taunts Toppo, asking what the use was in throwing away things that formerly meant so much to him if he's not more powerful. Universe 11's god of destruction and supreme kai, shocked at the turn, tell Toppo to just destroy all of Vegeta's attacks and just be sure not to kill him. In a final clash, Toppo forms a massive amount of destruction energy and Vegeta says he will create more power than Toppo can destroy. With a flashback to Majin Buu, Piccolo realizes Vegeta is preparing his "Final Explosion," though longtime fans likely knew what was going on as soon as the power began gathering. The previous time Vegeta used this attack, it destroyed him in the end, turning his body to stone which then fell and shattered, and was quickly blown away. The episode comes to a climax as Vegeta risks everything to take down the wayward Pride Trooper and save Universes 7 and 6. While it wasn't quite as awe-inspiring as when he fought Goku Black, or Goku's recent endeavors using Ultra Instinct, Vegeta's battle against Toppo was a great one to see. Given Toppo and Vegeta's past fight as well as occasional comments about the similarities and differences between the two, a final bout between them has been awaited. In particular, now that Toppo has sacrificed everything he stood for to gain his destruction powers, there is an interesting dynamic from Vegeta's own refusal to give up his pride. As he famously proclaimed when Babidi was shocked he couldn't control his mind, "There's one thing a Saiyan always keeps: his pride!" This episode, while obviously reminiscent in multiple ways of the Buu saga, is less obviously a continuation of Vegeta's over-arcing character progression, being the greatest of all the DBZ characters. When he originally landed on Earth, Vegeta was a ruthless soldier willing to kill his own partner for being injured, but as I've mentioned in past posts, he has become one of the Z-Fighters' most righteous warriors. Until now in Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta was constantly getting the short of the stick, only occasionally getting to fight main antagonists, and even when he does, he gets shot down often effortlessly. Here, however, he goes toe-to-toe with Toppo, who, as fans have seen recently, become strong enough to make Frieza nothing more than an insect. With so few characters standing and only four minutes remaining in the Tournament of Power, a battle with Jiren is yet to come as everyone fights for survival. After the Punisher's attempt to assassinate William Rawlins failed in the previous episode, Frank and Micro regroup for a new plan to proceed.
The episode opens with Russo visiting his elderly mother in a nursing home, where she is bedridden and doesn't speak. Russo resents his mother due to her past drug addiction resulting in her abandoning him to abusive foster care, and terrorizes her with his visits. Despite this, Russo says he pays them extra to be sure they even brush her teeth, and gives her a shot before leaving. Back with Frank, Micro has been running a facial recognition program on an image of Rawlins from Frank's scope, and is able to identify him. Frank becomes enraged about Rawlins profiting from the "battle wound" he got when Frank beat him for the disastrous mission overseas, and Micro worries that the CIA will know he is on their site. Frank assures Micro the CIA aren't going to come after them, noting they have no mention of his prior assaults at the compounds or the shot at Rawlins. Micro's worries soon increase, however, as the cameras in his house suddenly go out, prompting him to demand Frank check on his family. Rather than go immediately to the house, we head to Russo making light jabs at Madani after another hook-up for her inability to let him get close. As the two talk about their scars, Madani comments about Russo's multitude of scarred areas except his face, a nod to his comic counterpart. Though the two joke about their scars initially, Russo opens up to Madani about his life in foster care and how he was abused by one of the caregivers. Over at the Lieberman house, Frank arrives with flowers just as Sarah takes the garbage out, and she invites him in. Pouring wine for them both, Sarah explains she turned off the Internet to punish Zach, yet still let him go out for the day. Madani, meanwhile, has the bug in her office exposed and stages a conversation with Sam about intervening in an ammo buy Frank will be making. Frank, still at the Lieberman house, reactivates the Internet, allowing Micro to see as Sarah, drunk and feeling comfort with Frank, kisses him. Frank defuses the situation and heads back to the hideout, where Micro has the kiss frozen on his computer and is passed out drunk. Madani's fake plan gets to Rawlins and Russo, who refuses to use more of his Anvil personnel because of the losses sustained going after Gunner, instead later hiring mercenaries. Madani and Sam tell other officers about the ammo buy and file paperwork for the situation, but don't inform anyone of their true intentions. Back at the hideout, Frank gets the two talking about how they met their wives to show Micro he has no intention of going after Sarah. Micro, still drunk, starts walking away once appeased, but comes back upon realizing Madani could be the key to their plans. He says Frank could be the witness Madani needs to put Rawlins away, but Frank refuses and has to knock Micro out with a punch to stop him from calling her. We go back to Frank, banging pots to roughly wake Micro, giving him food and frustrated that Micro still believes they should contact Madani. Sarah calls Frank and says she needs help with Zach, so he heads over and she shows him a knife she found in Zach's bag, saying she is afraid of what he'll do. Frank has a "talk" with Zach, saying how similar he is to young Frank, and scares both Zach and Micro by holding the knife to his neck. Zach, speaking for the first time in the interaction, admits he is scared and alone, and wanted others to feel the way he does. The episode comes to a close as Frank handles the situation a new way and Madani and Russo's groups collide. In this episode, we finally get payoff for the relationship built between Frank and Sarah, which sees obvious but well-handled issues between both Frank and Sarah and Frank and Micro. It was good to see Frank stick to his feelings and beliefs, not letting the show get wrapped up in a love triangle. The Zach situation finally culminates in a pleasing scene, which I had been waiting for, wondering what tough love tactics Frank would employ to get through to the kid. The fact Rawlins and Russo easily fell for Madani's ruse and aren't able to counter Frank and Micro's plans show they're not in control as much as they initially seemed. The pressure has continued to mount on the two as Frank gets closer, of course, but also as Madani gets closer to uncovering them. Madani, meanwhile, is making some risky plays now that she knows someone has bugged her office and likely other areas of the division. The faked conversation with Sam was definitely a good play on her part, but her decision to not tell anyone else, while likely necessary because she doesn't know who is trustworthy, could lead to trouble in the future. To enact their plan, the two had to falsify documents, and this paired with their refusal to let others in on the idea, could get her in trouble if there are problems. With Frank finding a new kind of relationship with the Lieberman family, including Micro, and Russo and Rawlins' plans crumbling around them, future episodes will likely give us some violent meetings. Recovering from his wounds, Frank Castle is ready to get back into the action for episode 7: Crosshairs as he tries to identify Agent Orange.
At the end of the previous episode, viewers saw Castle's so-called friend Billy Russo getting in a car with William Rawlins (Agent Orange) after Castle failed to show for an overseas move. This episode begins with Lewis washing his hands after murdering O'Connor, and going home where is father confronts him, worrying for his and others' safety and making him take medication. Lewis, still confused and broken over everything happening to him, breaks down in the basement where he almost shoots himself. Frank and Micro plan to interrogate Morty Bennett, who Frank is certain knows Agent Orange's identity, and Frank wonders what he will do if faced with the need to kill a soldier. Billy Russo, having been revealed as an enemy, meets with Madani and tells her Frank never answered his message, and he soon heads out to meet with Rawlins and discuss the issue of Bennett. Madani, taking note of Russo joking that it's not like anyone's listening to her conversations, realizes Gunner died after she identified him, and comes to the conclusion her office is bugged. Back with Frank and Micro, a plan has come together to get in with Micro working surveillance as Bennett has a "date" with a dominatrix. With Micro's help, Frank navigates his way in and crashes through Bennett's door, and the dominatrix radios Russo, who is waiting nearby. Micro warns Frank of the incoming back-up, and Frank tells Bennett that if he screams, he'll die, before dropping a smoke grenade to give Micro time to clone Bennett's phone. The soldiers enter, equipped with laser sights, and Frank silently takes them out from within the smoke, until only the masked Russo is left. Once the cloning is finished, Frank, wounded from trading gunshots with Russo, leaps out a window and escapes via a tunnel, where he is forced to incapacitate a soldier with a shoulder shot. The excited tension is replaced with another kind as we head to Lewis and his father talking while watching a Muhammad Ali boxing match, and Lewis comes to think he needs to take matters into his own hands. Certain he needs to do something, Lewis goes to a hardware store and purchases the materials to make a bomb out of a pressure cooker. Bennett, meanwhile, rages at Rawlins and Russo for using him as bait, and claims Frank got nothing from him, so they decide he should retire and have Russo set up a new life for him. Frank and micro, with the coordinates of Bennett's phone, head to their location to find Rawlins, as Micro wonders what it will be like when he can go back to his family. Frank reassures Micro, but says it will be hard to go back to their lives and says he shouldn't mention the numerous cameras set up in the house. As Frank and Micro zero in on Rawlins' compound, Madani and Sam search her office for the bug and Russo takes Bennett to a hotel to begin his new life. This episode gives us a good look at how well Frank and Micro can work off each other, as well as how effective Frank is at stealth. The smoke scene showed from the beginning how much more menacing Frank is than a typical soldier, as he isn't at all fazed when told of the approaching forces. Once the soldiers have arrived, Frank shows off expert skill in taking down the soldiers without making sound, making him seem that much terrifying. We potentially have Frank and Micro out-thinking Rawlins and Russo for the time being, as nothing was suspected after determining Bennett had said nothing. Russo might be getting a little too prideful, as he is the reason Madani started to suspect her office had been bugged. Considering Madani seems naturally suspicious of things and lets few people get close, it's entirely possible she'll connect him with what's going on. In this case, Russo would have more to worry about, as he would have both the police and the Punisher coming after him. With Madani previously unsure of what to hink about Frank, and now the possibility of uncovering Russo's deception, maybe we'll see a meeting and possible team effort between Madani and Frank. Whatever happens, the climax of this episode set up multiple confrontations to come in the future, especially for Frank. |
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