Brutal dog scene in new Punisher special has fans turning it off after five minutes

Jon Bernthal is back as The Punisher, appearing in the Daredevil sequel show Born Again, the upcoming Spider-Man movie, and now his brand new special on Disney+ The Punisher: One Last Kill.

Bernthal’s Punisher is one of the most iconic part of Netflix’s Marvel TV series and has developed a dedicated fanbase to the character.

Many of these fans however are being turned off One Last Kill within the first five minutes of the TV special because of a brutal scene involving a dog.

Anyone who has seen John Wick knows that the quickest way to absolutely hate an action movie villain is for them to do something to a dog, and that is something the team behind the Punisher special appear well aware of.

In the opening of the ‘Marvel Special Presentation’, a 45-minute standalone episode of TV focused on the Punisher, we find both Frank Castle and New York neighbourhood Little Sicily in a pretty awful state.

The neighbourhood is shown to have become lawless, something that is shown when a veteran sits down outside a restaurant with his cute dog.

A group of hooligans walk up to the man and punch him, taking his dog off him and throwing it in front of a truck.

Fans have been understandably traumatised by it but some went as far as to say that they actually turned the special off, feeling it went too far.

One tweeted referencing the scene, saying: “5 minutes into the Punisher one shot and had to turn it off, F*CK that.”

Another posted: “hey so I don’t think that dog scene was necessary in the punisher my night is ruined.”

A review on Reddit was overall positive but similar found the scene tough to watch, saying: “Just finished it and thought it was decent. Definitely had some brutal kills, and starting with that dog scene was rough (ruff?). Overall just glad to see Disney embrace this level of violence for Punisher, and Bernthal keeps proving that he’s perfect for this role.”

A fan on X did not agree however, citing the dog scene as an issue with the special. They said: “Punisher: One Last Kill might be the worst thing the MCU has ever put out. Sound mixing is off. Unnecessary dog murder. Frank Castle is either crying or screaming the entire time. Waste of time. Worst portrayal of the character yet. Oh yeah he wears the skull for 5 seconds. 1/10.”

Whilst the brutal scene has split fans, the director of the special has explained that the team was themselves split until the very last moment.

The Punisher: One Last Kill director Reinaldo Martin Green explained the dog scene.

"We questioned that through the very, very end through the test screenings," Green said. "It was vital to this particular piece."

Full Director Debrief & review now:https://t.co/011rlDk8VF pic.twitter.com/SF9icjg3c9

— Brandon Davis (@BrandonDavisBD) May 13, 2026

Reinaldo Martin Green, speaking to Brandon Davis, said it was breaking a ‘cardinal rule’ and that he spoke to Jon Bernthal to confirm he was sure they should do it.

He continued: “If it were not motivated by character there was no reason for that to be in this special at all, we question that until the very end with the test screenings and we felt that it was vital to the piece.

“We stand by the decision, this is from animal lovers ourselves but in terms of where Frank’s character ends up we found it important.”

The overwhelming reaction appears to agree, with the special sitting at 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.2 on IMDb.