Oh dear Lord, where do I start? I guess I'll start by wishing they had made the best portrayal of the Punisher into a better movie, which was Punisher War Zone. Ray Stevenson nailed the character perfectly! Of course, everything else about the movie was subpar, but you have to give credit where credit is due.

The first thing they screwed up on was continuing the origin story, which was senseless. Frank's origin story was perfectly set up in Daredevil, he didn't need anymore origin than that. On top of that, it turned into some sort of spy drama that was totally off key with the character. So he's basically Jason Bourne with PTSD or something.

The second thing they screwed up on is the fact the Punisher kills bad guys. That's pretty much all he does and he doesn't do it for some clandestine reason or even for revenge, he does it because he hates bad guys! What I was expecting was just that, Punisher killing bad guys. What I got was a long, boring, drawn out story with a "meh" climax that brings the character right back to square one: in need of a reason to kill bad guys which was supposed to have been established in Daredevil.

The third thing they screwed up on is forgetting to add likable characters. I liked Curtis and I liked Micro's wife and kids. Other than that, I could care less who lived or died.

And the fourth thing they screwed up on, not the last thing but the last thing I'll mention: They forgot that the Punisher is a comic book character! This guy exists in a world where Bruce Banner gains several hundred pounds of shear muscle in a matter of seconds, where Iron Man can take a hit with a ballistic missile, hit the ground at over 100+ miles per hour and live, where Black widow can jump from Captain America's shield and grab onto a speeding flying craft and not have her arms ripped out of her socket, etc... The Punisher has no place in true reality so why the hell are we trying to make this show as realistic as possible? In the comics, the Punisher has stood toe to toe with the likes of Wolverine! He's bested Daredevil, Spider-man, and Wolverine all at the same time! He's a master on-the-fly strategist who, by shear brilliance, ferocity, and ruthlessness, gets the upper hand on practically every opponent. He takes out entire battalions of mercenaries as if taking a casual Sunday stroll and then nukes their headquarters for good measure!

Now, I'm not saying that a TV show should emulate those kinds of beyond belief feats of comic book fantasy to that extent, but one would hope that the show would at least realize that Frank Castle, AKA The Punisher, was a comic book character, and the charm of a comic book character is that they're larger than life. They are not bound by the same rules and laws of physics that we mere mortals are and their sole purpose of existence is to be the star of fantastic stories that are beyond the scope of this reality. These stories are a form of escapism, a break from the real world and by trying to make the series ultra realistic, they completely negate the entire purpose of these characters.

Suffice it to say, the show was a major disappointment and I'll not be watching the 2nd season, or any season, until these writers realize what a comic book story, how a comic book hero, is supposed to be.