The Punisher Connectivity with the other shows

[dmcreif]

One thing that's kinda funny about The Punisher is the fact that the first post-Defenders show is the least connected of all the Netflix shows. Then again, he isn't a Defender per se. It sometimes feels strange that the events of The Defenders weren't even mentioned. Especially considering Frank was in the same city and even interacts with Karen, who was in that show. It feels strange that Matt has a very lurking presence in the background even though he isn't so much as mentioned once. I believe Jon Bernthal said at a recent panel that one of Frank's interactions with Karen actually may have had them actually talk about Matt's "death", but it was cut for a number of possible reasons. One possibility is that since Daredevil is Karen's home show, her reaction to Matt's "death" is something that needs to be saved for season 3 of Daredevil, not for The Punisher. Maybe Lightfoot and Bernthal wanted to do that bit, but ultimately the conversation about Matt was probably cut because it would risk having huge impacts on how Karen is portrayed in Daredevil season 3.

It sometimes makes you wonder, how would events in The Punisher have differed if Matt had survived Midland Circle (since there's no way he'd sit idly by when Lewis threatened Karen)? Or what would the other Defenders have contributed if they caught wind of what Frank was up to?

 

[eon001]

I think as the tv and MCU progress there's going to be less and less of an emphasis on connectivity.

I feel they become creatively handcuffed when they have to tie things all together. Punisher worked great without the references to the "big green guy" or "incident".

And even Black Panther stood on it's own feet. You don't need to watch Civil War or AoU to understand who Ross, T'chala or Klaw is.

 

[dmcreif]

As of Jessica Jones season 2, I'm talking in the context of, what would differ in The Punisher and Jessica Jones season 2 if Matt hadn't "died" in Midland Circle? I think The Punisher would be changed by the fact that Matt would be getting involved when Karen was threatened by Lewis, while with Jessica Jones, I imagine Jessica would've been reaching out to Matt to get herself out of jail when she was arrested, would've hired Matt to resolve the legal dispute with Oscar, and also had Matt represent Alisa when she was in custody.