Season 1 of The Punisher picks up from the point where the character’s story paused in Daredevil Season 2. After staying hidden for a while, Frank Castle joins forces with David Lieberman, also known as Micro, a former NSA analyst played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
Together, they start to uncover a covert and illegal government scheme called “Operation Cerberus.” This shady operation was run by a corrupt CIA Director of Covert Operations, William Rawlins, known in secret as Agent Orange and portrayed by Paul Schulze.
The past bleeds into every mission they take (Photo: The Punisher Season 1/ABC Signature, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, and Marvel Entertainment)Rawlins made use of CIA tools and military forces to target and eliminate individuals in Afghanistan without any official sanction from the U.S. government. The funding for this operation came from a heroin trafficking ring that smuggled drugs into the United States through the bodies of fallen American soldiers.
Frank later finds out that Rawlins didn’t just run the operation—he also gave the order that led to the killing of Frank’s wife and children.
As Frank and Micro get closer to exposing Rawlins, Frank uncovers a personal betrayal: his trusted friend and former Marine companion, Billy Russo (Ben Barnes), was involved in the operation and fully aware of the plan to eliminate Frank and his family.
As events draw to a climax, Frank is captured by Rawlins and Russo during a staged exchange intended to save Micro’s family. The two men take him back to Micro’s base to torture and kill him.
However, Russo begins to see Rawlins as unstable and dangerous—especially since Rawlins holds a grudge against Frank for blinding one of his eyes in Afghanistan. Realizing that Rawlins poses a threat to everyone, Russo secretly frees Frank from his restraints.
With his chance for revenge finally at hand, Frank violently attacks Rawlins, stabbing him several times before killing him by thrusting his thumbs into Rawlins’ eyes.
After Rawlins’ death, Russo tries to kill the critically wounded Frank, but Homeland Security agent Dinah Madani (Amber Rose Revah) steps in just in time. Madani had been digging into the suspicious death of her ally Ahmad Zubair (Shezi Zardar), who was wrongfully killed by Castle during their time in Afghanistan.
Frank had believed Zubair was a hostile threat based on orders from Rawlins and Major Ray Schoonover (Clancy Brown). Madani’s pursuit of justice leads her to the truth behind Rawlins’ operation and to both Frank and Micro.
With her intervention, Frank survives—and then focuses his sights on Russo, the last man connected to his family’s murder.
The Punisher Confronts Billy Russo at the Place Where It All Started
By this point, Billy Russo is a wanted man, fleeing from law enforcement and desperately trying to locate Frank Castle. He contacts their old comrade Curtis Hoyle (Jason Moore), hoping to get a lead. Frank intervenes with his sniper rifle, promising to let Hoyle go free if Russo agrees to meet him for a final face-off.
The location Frank chooses is deeply personal: the Central Park Carousel, where his wife and children were gunned down before the events of Daredevil Season 2. This symbolic place is where Frank lost everything and began his transformation into The Punisher.
What follows is a savage and emotional battle between two former friends. Frank unleashes his fury on Russo, dragging his face across the shattered glass of the carousel’s mirrors, horribly scarring Russo’s once-handsome face.
As Russo begs Frank to end his life, Frank refuses. Instead, he slams Russo’s face repeatedly into the broken mirror and tells him that the reflection he sees for the rest of his life will be a reminder of this moment. Eventually, Russo loses consciousness from his injuries but remains alive.
The Punisher Survives and Walks Away With a New Start
After the brutal encounter, Frank wakes up in the hospital and later has a private meeting with CIA Deputy Director Marion James (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), who supervised Rawlins, and Homeland Security’s Director of Operations, Rafael Hernandez (Tony Plana).
Both high-ranking officials offer Frank a full pardon for his involvement, choosing to sweep the entire incident with Rawlins and Russo under the carpet. At Madani’s insistence, Frank’s records, fingerprints, and DNA are all erased from official systems—giving him a fresh start and his freedom.
Heroin and betrayal buried beneath fallen uniforms (Photo: The Punisher Season 1/ABC Signature, Disney-ABC Domestic Television, and Marvel Entertainment)Hernandez also informs Frank that Russo survived their confrontation but is now in a coma. The severity of the brain injury he sustained remains uncertain, but this experience sets the stage for Russo’s transformation into the character known as Jigsaw in the next season.
With Rawlins eliminated and his covert operations dismantled, David Lieberman no longer has to live in hiding. David had faked his death after getting too close to exposing Rawlins, going underground to protect his family.
Now safe, he returns home, accompanied by Frank—though Frank chooses not to enter the house. In a moving farewell, Frank watches David reunite with his wife and children. While David gets back the life he nearly lost, Frank remains an outsider.
His own family is gone forever, and although he’s now free, he cannot reclaim what he has lost. He makes a quiet exit, knowing that staying close would only bring trouble to David’s doorstep. With that, the partnership between Micro and The Punisher comes to a quiet and permanent close.
“The Silence When the Gunfire Ends”
The final moment of Season 1 finds Frank Castle attending a support group for veterans, run by his friend Curtis Hoyle. This scene offers one of Jon Bernthal’s most heartfelt performances, as it reveals the emotional toll Frank carries beneath his hardened exterior.
As he sits in the circle with other veterans, Frank admits that the hardest part about life after combat is not the violence—but the silence that comes when the shooting stops. His confession, “I’m scared,” reflects a rare moment of openness and fear.
This closing moment captures the emotional wound Frank still carries deep within. Bernthal’s delivery reveals a side of Frank rarely shown since his family’s murder—one that’s vulnerable and afraid. Even though he has eliminated those who wronged him, the void left by their deaths still haunts him.
The government may have given him another chance at life, but Frank is now unsure of where he belongs or what purpose remains for him. His internal battle is far from finished, and his story as The Punisher continues.
