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For the detective she is written to be, Karen makes quite a few rookie mistakes – meaning that she goes with the Punisher, even though everybody knows by now that he always has a hidden plan of his own. But that makes the conversation between the two at the restaurant even more interesting. Besides giving us a glimpse into who Frank Castle is, it also shows the lengths he goes in order to get his revenge – manipulating and using as bait even the most innocent of all characters (so to speak).

And this is also when Karen realizes how brutal the Punisher is.

Switching back, Stick is portrayed as if he is the secret mastermind behind all the hell in Hell’s Kitchen – he might work with the Hand (after all, he tried to kill Elektra), while at the same time he might be the Blacksmith (the way he sharpens his sword). And this is once again something that feels out of place – such a big reveal, even if a fake one, should have been hinted at throughout the entire season (even his reasoning for killing Elektra is off, from this point of view).

Ultimately, the Hand manages to take back the kidnapped teens, who seem to be possessed, the Punisher demonstrates that he deserves his name and then he apparently dies, Elektra and Matt are again at odds, and Karen finds herself yet again in a dangerous situation, revealing once again her fragility (and need for help).

As always when the Punisher is on the screen and the camera just listens to him, his conversation with Karen was the best thing of the episode.