- "Look, you got half a life left to live, my friend. If you don't, you might as well be dead."
"I am dead, Curtis. You didn't hear?"
"Bullshit. You got a name, a passport. As I recall, Frank Castle's dead. Pete Castiglione, he's got a life." - ―Curtis Hoyle and Frank Castle
3 AM is the first episode of the first season of the television series The Punisher.
Synopsis[]
Former Marine Frank Castle takes the law into his own hands while struggling to come to terms with his traumatic past.
Plot[]
Determined to avenge his family that was killed in a shootout, Punisher hunts down the members of the Dogs of Hell, Mexican Cartel, and Kitchen Irish, killing each and every one. Eventually, he finds the last survivor of Kitchen Irish, Mickey O'Hare, trying to flee the United States, and finishes him off. With his family avenged, the Punisher burns down his Skull Vest, abandoning the life of a vigilante.
Castle returns to New York City and works as a construction worker under the name of "Pete Castiglione", as he is officially considered dead. He works his anger out by smashing concrete walls with a sledgehammer, while being haunted by the nightmares involving his family. A group of other workers, led by Lance, constantly harass him, while Donny Chavez tries to befriend him but is kept at arm's length. He visits Curtis Hoyle who runs the New York Veteran Support Group, helping the veterans like Lewis Wilson with their post-war issues. Hoyle encourages Castle to let the Punisher go and start living his own life, now that he had accomplished his mission.
Dinah Madani arrives at the Homeland Security New York office, being abruptly pulled out from her mission in Afghanistan. She immediately resumes her investigation of the murder of Ahmad Zubair, a police officer who was investigating a drug trade linked to the U.S., but Sam Stein notes that the higher-ups will not appreciate that. Madani gets approached by Carson Wolf who berates her and demands to cease the investigation, saying that it might cost Madani her career. Regardless, Madani requests Stein to bring her the files on Castle and Ray Schoonover, who might be connected to Zubair's murder, although Stein points out that both of them are dead.
Chavez tries to befriend Lance and his crew, offering them to go to bar together, but ends up having to pay the whole bill. Lance talks to Paulie about his debt to Gnucci Crime Family, so Lance offers him to rob the poker game the Gnucchi is hosting. Scut get injured during the job, so Lance and Paulie coerce Chavez into joining them in his place. Castle overhears everything, but decides not to involve himself. Meanwhile, Madani has a conversation with her mother.
Lance, Paulie, Leo, and Chavez rob the Gnucchi's poker game at Linello's, however, Chavez accidentally drops his wallet and reveals his ID for all to see. The four of them immediately flee the scene, and Lance decides to have Chavez murdered, so the Gnucchi would find them through him. They try to drown him in cement at the construction site, however Castle was there too, being too stressed by his nightmares. Castle kills all three robbers and rescues Chavez, leaving him with the bag of money they stole and a message to leave the town immediately. Castle then kills Tony Gnucci and all of his men, before they could go after Chavez, unaware that he is being watched by someone who knows him.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher / Frank Castle / Frank Castle
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as David Lieberman/Micro
- Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani
- Daniel Webber as Lewis Wilson
- Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle
- Michael Nathanson as Sam Stein
Guest Stars:
- Shohreh Aghdashloo as Farah Madani
- C. Thomas Howell as SAC Carson Wolf
- Delaney Williams as O'Connor
- Jordan Mahome as Isaac Lange
- Kelli Barrett as Maria Castle
- Aidan Pierce Brennan as Frank Castle, Jr.
- Nicolette Pierini as Lisa Castle
- Jon David Casey as Mickey O'Hare
- Christopher R Ellis as Moose
- Lucca De Oliveira as Donny Chavez
- Chris Critelli as Lance
- Tyler Elliot Burke as Paulie
- Jason Hite as Leo
- Ben Rezendes as Scut
- Kacie Sheik as Rhonda
- James J. Lorenzo as Tony Gnucci
- Raul Torres as Cartel Sicario
- Jason Nuzzo as Older Airport Suit
- Evan Johnson as Young Airport Suit
- Michael-Scott Druckenmiller as FDNY / Paramedic (uncredited)
- Jonah Falcon as Recruit (uncredited)
- Roger Brenner as FDNY / EMT (uncredited)
- Christine Duke as Prostitute (uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- Alabama
- Juárez, Mexico
- El Paso, Texas
- New York City, New York
- North Carolina (mentioned)
- Dublin, Ireland (mentioned)
- Iraq (mentioned)
- Kandahar, Afghanistan (mentioned)
Events[]
- Frank Castle's War
- Robbery at Linello's
- Rescue of Donny Chavez
- Massacre at Linello's
- Assassination of Ahmad Zubair (mentioned)
- Massacre at Central Park (mentioned)
Items[]
- Punisher's Arsenal
- Punisher's Vest
- Moby Dick
- The Crack-Up
- One Batch, Two Batch (indirectly mentioned)
Concepts[]
Vehicles[]
Organizations[]
- United States Department of Homeland Security
- New York Veteran Support Group
- Gnucci Crime Family
- Dogs of Hell
- Mexican Cartel
- Kitchen Irish
- Almeida Concrete Pumping and Equipment
- New York City Police Department
- Fire Department of New York City
- New York Bulletin
- United States Marine Corps (mentioned)
- 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines (mentioned)
- United States Army (mentioned)
- Afghan National Police (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- Ahmad Zubair (picture)
- Ray Schoonover
- Hamid Madani
- Cool Hand Luke
Music[]
| Song title | Artist | Location(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Give In | Los Dos | Cartel Sicario heads into a building as a party rages on both inside and outside. Punisher watches from a sniper hole in El Paso. |
| The Punisher Main Title | Tyler Bates | Opening credits. |
| Keep It Running | Tyler Bates | Frank Castle tries to read his book but finds himself unable to concentrate. Lance, Paulie, Leo and Donny Chavez rob the Gnucci Crime Family. |
| Hell Broke Luce (Remastered) | Tom Waits | Frank Castle takes on Lance, Paulie and Leo. Castle shoots Paulie as he tries to drive away. Castle tortures Lance into telling him about the robbery. |
| Made an Enemy | Tyler Bates | Frank Castle walks away after taking out the Gnucci Crime Family members at Linello's. |
| The Punisher End Title | Tyler Bates | Micro watches footage of Frank Castle, overjoyed at this return. End credits. |
Trivia[]
- The episode's title "3 AM" is a reference to the time when Frank Castle violently awakes from his slumber every night. "3 AM" is usually known as the witching hour, or devil's hour, where demons and all manner of bad things come out to play.
- Micro's last words at the end of the episode, Welcome back, Frank, are a reference to the Punisher comic book story arc Welcome Back, Frank, which also included the Gnucci Crime Family.
- Castle is reading The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a compilation of articles that the iconic author wrote between 1931 and 1937. The title essay relates to the haplessness of life and the author's own crack or loss of hope.
