“Maybe this article is a bit taboo; after all, I’m a huge Frank Castle fan. During the entirety of Daredevil season two, I supported every kill The Punisher had. I rooted for him to take down every person involved in the murder of his family in the spin-off show, The Punisher. In the comics, Billy Russo and Frank Castle are enemies right off the bat and it would be easier if they went that route to just want Castle to put down the villain now known as Jigsaw. But, then they had to cast Ben Barnes and give him an entirely different background, so let’s explore, were his motives villainous or selfish?
Much different than the comics, Billy Russo met Frank in the military, where the two served eight years together. The two became so close that they regarded each other as the other’s best friend and from flashbacks, we even see Billy joining Frank and his family on a fun outing. Even Frank’s children refer to Russo as “Uncle Bill”. This is a huge difference than Russo’s comic book origins of being a hitman who viciously beat both his wife and son before being horribly disfigured.
As we find out throughout the season, Russo is not entirely innocent in this show. While he may not have pulled the trigger on Frank’s family’s murder, he knew about it. Not only did he know about it, he didn’t say anything and instead allowed the massacre to happen, knowing full well the family he had spent years with would be ripped to shreds by a hail of bullets. Why though? Why did Russo feel so inclined to not step in and help save Frank, as he had fought side by side with him for years?
Billy’s Upbringing
Let’s explore Billy’s upbringing briefly. From conversations with Dinah Madani and an unsettling scene in episode eight, we see that Russo had a rough upbringing. Abandoned by his drug-addicted mother at an early age, Russo spent his childhood in group homes, where he was abused by older men due to his good looks. It’s easy to see why Russo is so proud of how far he has come, from being successful in the Marines and now owning a lucrative business. While to the outside it seems like he’s a charismatic, smooth man, we see that there is definitely a dark side. Not only does he now keep his mother in some sort of psychiatric ward, but he was fully willing to sell Frank out early on to Agent Orange. Not to mention, he killed Sam Stein and had the audacity to bathe Madani after it.
Charitable
We see early on in the season that Billy maintains a friendship with fellow Marine Curtis Hoyle. Hoyle, who runs a group for veterans with PTSD; is able to keep the lights on due to Russo’s monetary contributions. It is clear that Billy holds Curtis in high regards, even letting Curtis live at the end of the season, when it could have been very easy for him to kill him. Billy, earlier in the season; takes Curtis’s advice to not hire Lewis, due to him displaying warning signs of someone about to snap. For someone holding a very heavy weight on his shoulders, he is very good at seeming like a very normal person who cares about others, as usual sociopaths do.
Billy Did Nothing Wrong…In His Mind
Towards the end of the season, Frank asks Billy the question we’ve all been wondering ourselves. From watching the show, we see that Billy cares about Frank and cared about his family. I don’t believe any of that was fake. He truly dislikes Agent Orange and even lets Frank kill him, finding satisfaction in watching William Rawlins dying.
There genuinely seems to be something inside him that is uncomfortable with the whole situation, but in a scene between Frank and Billy, Frank asks Billy why? Why did he not stop Agent Orange? Why did he not say anything and why is he continuing working for Rawlins? It’s clear that despite Billy caring about the family, he’ll never care about anyone else, but himself. While not saying anything allowed the Castle family to be viciously killed, it also kept him out of trouble. With everything we found out in the first season, Billy could have been brought down if he had helped Frank. After everything Billy had accomplished in life, he wasn’t going to let that happen. Despite the consequences.
“I made a decision very early on, while we were shooting the first episode, that Billy had an admiration for Frank and a love for Frank, and that maybe he was the only person on the planet Billy genuinely cares about. He just doesn’t care about him as much as he cares about himself.” Ben Barnes interview with EW.
All in all, I think that Billy Russo’s actions were selfish, but I don’t believe they were villainous. I believe that Billy would have much rathered continue living with Frank, Maria, and the kids being the only family he ever had. He could have continued being the cool uncle, who would enjoy a long and lasting friendship with Frank. In the end, though; Billy selfishly made the decision to not tell his best friend about the attack awaiting to happen because it threatened to destroy everything Billy had ever worked for.
“He’s essentially this street kid who grew up in foster care and grew up feeling very unloved, abandoned and abused by his parents, and he doesn’t understand how love works. So the only thing he ends up loving is himself, and self-preservation becomes the only thing in his entire world.”
Clearly, Frank found this out and carved up Billy’s face for it. In season two of The Punisher, we know that he will be making his debut as the comic-book villain Jigsaw. As far as how big of his role will be, we don’t know. We also don’t know when The Punisher season two will be dropping, but we’re assuming early 2019 since it was announced that Daredevil season two was premiering late 2018. Stay tuned for more!