The knob on the proverbial stove of Marvel’s “The Punisher” on Netflix steadily rotates clockwise in Season 2, and the flame spreads throughout every frame like Frank Castle’s (Jon Bernthal) blind rage, growing to a crackling roar at times. But the simmer is a frustratingly slow burn— Steve Lightfoot‘s sophomoric television iteration of “The Punisher” takes several central plotline detours, which, for some viewers, maybe too unhurried.

Yet for every incongruous scene, or story arc that drag in the writers’ attempts at world building and character exploration, there are at least, exciting twists, explosive bursts of action, brutal violence, and wonderfully bedraggled fight scenes to make up for them, shot with a calculated riotousness by this season’s talented group of directors, that echo Castle’s pugnacious, reckless, street brawling fighting style.

Not everyone watches “The Punisher” to see Frank Castle’s twisted brand of justice carried out through fists, guns, and creative violence. Viewers cared about Castle in Season 1 because the show deftly explored the anti-hero’s broken psyche and resilient battle for redemption and peace of mind. Carnage will always come, but the human element is key. Where “The Punisher” Season 2 falters though is through jarring tonal contrasts and awkward adaptions of the villain Jigsaw (Billy Russo, aka Ben Barnes, whom they strenuously, but fail to, humanize) and a lame, half-hearted interpretation of The Mennonite (Josh Stewart).

Read the rest of the review at The Playlist.