Fans of over-the-top comic book action took a hard hit when Netflix announced the cancelation of The Punisher after only two seasons. Thankfully, over the series’ short life, soldier-turned-vigilante Frank Castle doled out enough brutal violence to fill 100 seasons of most comic book shows, leaving quite the legacy of awesome death scenes. Here are five times on the show when the Punisher took a break from executing those responsible for his family’s death to kill someone just because they either didn’t like grapes or they liked grapes way too much.
1. The time he executed a woman in broad daylight because she picked an entire bunch of plump, fresh grapes out of her fruit salad and threw them away
It was game over for this woman eating lunch in a crowded sidewalk cafe when the Punisher witnessed her discard a whole bunch of perfectly good grapes. The Punisher approached her and, in a gravelly whisper, asked, “There something wrong with those grapes, ma’am? They look like perfectly good grapes to me.” The woman meekly responded, “I…just don’t like grapes,” and the Punisher immediately shot her in the face in plain view of dozens of witnesses.
2. The time he dangled a man from a rooftop and repeatedly asked him how much he liked grapes and the man finally admitted that he only liked raisins so he dropped him
In the opening scene of episode five, season one, the Punisher dangled a crying man by the ankles from the roof of a skyscraper. The man begged for his life, screaming, “Who are you? Let me go, I’ll do anything, please!” and the Punisher angrily responded, “Grapes. Do you or don’t you like them, and if you do like them, how much do you like them?” The man then made a fatal mistake by admitting he liked raisins but not grapes, and the Punisher let go of him and sent him to splatter on the pavement below.
3. The time he sped up and ran over a family with his van because they were all decked out in hats and shirts that said “grapes”
In the finale of season one, the Punisher was speeding in his black van to confront his old friend turned arch-nemesis, Billy Russo, when he saw a family sporting all sorts of grape-related clothing. Their hats said “grapes” their shirts said “grapes.” They were clearly obsessed with grapes. The Punisher’s facial expression remained a focused scowl as he methodically accelerated and swerved to plow over the family of four, the only movement on his stony face being his eyes glancing at his rearview mirror to ensure they were, indeed, all dead.
4. The time he had a flashback to making every member of his squad in Iraq fill out a questionnaire about grapes and then killing almost every one of them for their answers
The Punisher was plagued by nightmares and flashbacks to war crimes he took part in while fighting in Iraq. In a particularly intense flashback, we see the Punisher handing out questionnaires to his squad and making them answer questions such as, “How many grapes do you think you could eat in one sitting before getting sick of them?” and, “Have you ever considered getting a Welch’s tattoo?” Then, after spending hours tallying up their scores, the Punisher proceeded to systematically execute nearly all of these men, many of whom were like brothers to him, for being way too enthusiastic about grapes.
5. The time he infiltrated the mansion of the man with the world’s largest wine collection, dragged him out of bed, and forced him to look himself in the eyes in a mirror as he strangled him
After the series abandoned all subplots to focus solely on the Punisher’s deep hatred of anyone who didn’t like grapes or liked them way too much, the series’ finale episode was a fitting end. The Punisher infiltrated the compound of the man he considered to be the “ultimate grape lover,” a collector with the world’s largest store of wine. After bypassing the mansion’s elaborate security, he ripped the 74-year-old man from his bed, dragged him to his bathroom, and smashed his head into the mirror, screaming, “Grapes are fine, but they’re nothing to write home about, you freak!” After murdering the grape fiend, the Punisher turns around to see that the man’s son is watching in horror. The Punisher asks him, “What do you think about grapes?” and the boy replies, “They taste fine, but there’s other fruit that I think tastes better.” The Punisher nods and smiles approvingly at the boy and then pats him on the head as he leaves the house. The scene slowly fades to black as the series ends. It was a pretty awesome way to end a pretty awesome show.
