'Marvel's The Punisher' - "Gunner" Episode 5 Recap

After being pulled from the violent wreckage of her own car by Frank Castle in the previous episode, Agent Dinah Madani immediately gets back to work in episode 5, "Gunner". For a woman so brutally battered the night before, Madani has a very busy day ahead of her. First, she brings in Karen Page for an interview about Frank. Then she and her partner, Stein, decide to conduct their Operation Cerberus investigation in secret. To cap off her day, she has sex with Billy to extract any information he might have on his old military buddy. Homeland Security agents live quite the life!

The main focus of the episode involves Frank and Micro's search for Gunner, one of the men in Frank's Operation Cerberus unit. Gunner just so happens to be the soldier that filmed the Ahmad Zubair video that started all of this drama. Before Micro helps Frank locate Gunner, he insists that Frank pay a visit to Sarah in order to resolve the insurance problems of their car accident. This plot line is quickly approaching a Frank/Micro argument that ends with Frank exclaiming, "Do what I say or I'm going to fuck your wife!"


It's pretty tragic seeing Micro watch in secret as Frank becomes the provider for his family. The Liebermans are becoming so smitten with Frank that they even invite him over for a home cooked dinner. Typically, love triangles come off as derivative narrative dead ends. The Punisher seems to be crafting a love triangle that's actually wholly unique and compelling and tragic.

With the Lieberman family troubles solved for now, Micro gets to work on locating Gunner. The soldier is living in a cabin super off-the-grid, but he's no match for Micro's surveillance skills. After pinpointing the location, Frank heads off to talk to his old squad mate in the hopes that Gunner has intel on anyone involved with Cerberus. The reunion is short lived, as a team of armed forces break up the proceedings, guns blazing. This team is being led remotely by Agent Orange, whose real name is Rawlins and has just been appointed Deputy Director of the C.I.A. Frank and Gunner are severely outnumbered and would have no way of escaping if it wasn't for Micro's guidance via drone. Micro keeps the men two steps ahead of their pursuers as they run through the woods in search of an escape. Both men suffer grievous gun shot wounds, but Micro is able to extract Frank and patch him up. It's unclear what happens to Gunner. What is clear is that Rawlins now knows that the presumed dead Frank Castle is in fact very much alive.

Let us know your thoughts on Marvel's The Punisher episode 5, "Gunner", in the comments below!