Many viewers of Daredevil: Born Again are wondering whether The Punisher and Karen Page have romantic feelings for each other and if they might possibly get together. Jon Bernthal’s Frank Castle reappears in the first season of the Disney+ series after being defended by Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, and Karen Page in season two of the original Netflix run. Since then, some fans have shipped Karen Page and Frank Castle, calling their potential relationship “Kastle.” And fortunately, the Season 1 finale of Daredevil: Born Again finally gives some answers on whether their romance is still possible moving forward. (Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
What is Frank Castle and Karen Page’s romantic relationship in Daredevil: Born Again?
It is suggested that Frank Castle still harbors romantic feelings for Karen Page and that she might still have some lingering feelings for him as well in the Season 1 finale of Daredevil: Born Again.
After leaving The Punisher behind and heading to the file storage area in Red Hook Pier to find Foggy’s case for Dumb Benny, Matt admits that he heard Karen and Frank’s heartbeats when they saw each other. He could sense that Frank had a raised heartbeat while around Karen. Though she dismisses this as him just having adrenaline, she asks Matt whether she heard her heartbeats around him too. Matt only smiles, suggesting that her raised heartbeats were just adrenaline too.
This certainly sets up an interesting love triangle between the three characters that will likely be explored in Daredevil: Born Again season two as well as The Punisher special that will apparently air alongside it.
There are some other clues that The Punisher has feelings for Karen as well. First off, he answered her call to help Daredevil despite Frank’s irritation with the superhero’s aversion to killing, and he doesn’t do favors for just anyone. Second, Frank shaved and cut his hair before Karen flew to New York City, instead of looking like a disheveled hermit earlier in the season. If he didn’t have at least some hope of rekindling his relationship with her, he wouldn’t have done that.
