The Dark Hearts of Men

The Dark Hearts of Men is the tenth episode of the second season of the television series The Punisher.
==Synopsis==
As Madani and Krista debate who's worth saving, Frank prepares to storm Russo's territory. A brutal encounter pushes Pilgrim back into old habits.
==Plot==
Dinah Madani visits Krista Dumont at her apartment to discuss her inner unrest and her situation with Frank Castle and Billy Russo. Dumont asks Madani what makes Castle different from Russo and she replies that Castle does not kill innocent people, and unlike Russo, he could not live with that. Eventually, when Madani leaves the apartment, Dumont informs Russo about Castle's only weakness.
Together with Curtis Hoyle, Castle takes position near the Valhalla, observing Russo and preparing for an attack. They discuss Russo and Castle admits that he is not too dissimilar to him, although Hoyle argues that, unlike Russo, he cares about people. However, Russo is aware of Castle and Hoyle, as well as their upcoming attack, and organizes an ambush.
Kusack orders the Aryan Brotherhood to attack and kill John Pilgrim. However, Pilgrim brutally murders every attacker, as well as Kusack himself and Danny. Emotionally broken from the attack, Pilgrim makes it back to his hotel room and numbs his pain with alcohol and drugs. After killing Bob Wick and forcing one of his prostitutes to pleasure him, Pilgrim imagines his wife and regrets that he left her.
As Hoyle was covering him from the rooftop, Castle infiltrates into the Valhalla with the sole intention to eliminate Russo. However, he is caught in the trap set by Russo, who orders his crew to brutally attack Castle. Russo orders the crew to finish the exhausted and wounded Castle. Meanwhile, other crew members were confronted by Hoyle. Hoyle proceeds to fight back, but he ends up lethally shooting Phillip, accidentally killing him, much to Hoyle's regret.
Castle manages to fight back and kills multiple crew members before proceeding to chase Russo. After the brutal firefight with Russo's crew, Castle opens blind fire on the office where Russo was hiding. However, he goes to the office and sees three women, shot to death and horrified that he killed innocent people, as Russo planned. Upon the shootings, New York City Police Department arrives at the Valhalla and takes Castle into custody, as Castle decides to not resist.
==Cast==
Main Cast:
*Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher
*Ben Barnes as Billy Russo/Jigsaw
*Amber Rose Revah as Dinah Madani
*Jason R. Moore as Curtis Hoyle
*Josh Stewart as John Pilgrim
*Floriana Lima as Krista Dumont
Guest Stars:
*Kevin Chapman as Kusack
*Derek Goh as Danny
*Allie McCulloch as Rebecca Pilgrim
*Samuel Gomez as José
*Jimi Stanton as Todd
*Brett Bartholomew as Phillip
*Ted Koch as Bob Wick
*Shevy Gutierrez as ESU Cop
*Jeffrey Brabant as Marine #1
*Christopher Akpobiyeri as Marine #2
*Manny Galan as Marine #3
*Carly Blake Sebouhian as Hooker #1
*Jes Davis as Hooker #2
*Anais Almonte as Dead Girl (uncredited)
*Angelica Kushi as Dead Girl (uncredited)
*Kyli Zion as Dead Girl (uncredited)
==Appearances==
===Locations===
*New York City, New York
**Valhalla
**Krista Dumont's Apartment
* (mentioned)
===Events===
*Schultz Conspiracy
**Attack on John Pilgrim
*Jigsaw's Crime Spree
**Ambush at the Valhalla
*Assassination of Ahmad Zubair (mentioned)
*Ambush at the Abandoned Warehouse (mentioned)
*Duel at the Central Park Carousel (mentioned)
*Massacre at Central Park (mentioned)
===Items===
*Punisher's Vest
*Minden Borboun Whiskey (flashback)
===Vehicles===
To be added
===Organizations===
*Jigsaw's Crew
*United States Department of Homeland Security
*Aryan Brotherhood
*New York City Police Department
*Borough Institute of Mental Health
*United States Marine Corps (flashback)
* (mentioned)
===Mentioned===
*Amy Bendix
*Ahmad Zubair
*Sam Stein
*Michael Pilgrim (picture)
*Lemuel Pilgrim (picture)
*KM
*Bobby
==Music==
Song title 	Artist 	Location(s)
Drunkard's Prayer 	Chris Stapleton	
*John Pilgrim drinks and does drugs, then fixes himself up. Flashback to Pilgrim taking out Kusack and his henchmen.
Hell Bent 	Tyler Bates 	
*Billy Russo rallies his crew before they mask up and head out.
(Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)	Cat Power 	
*Frank Castle stumbles past dead bodies. Curtis Hoyle cries over Phillip's body. Krista Dumont says goodbye to Madani, then tells Billy Russo she knows how to break Castle. NYPD officers corner Castle.
==Trivia==
*On Disney+, this episode is incorrectly titled "The Hearts of Men".
==References==
==External Links==
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Category:The Punisher Episodes