KastleNetwork

let's start from the beginning, shall we?

Episode 1 of Daredevil season 2 aka the better show of daredevil that there is

to be fair, there isnt much "kastle" to discuss. it's frank's introduction, so naturally we're supposed to see him through the lenses of big bad crazy guy who just shot up a hospital so i'll just say what i found amusing about this scene.

first of all its the fact that at some point we see frank through karen's perspective and i like how he's in the dim light, it's obviously not to reveal his face completely yet, but i also like to think its that way to show that his figure is still a mystery for karen as well. what i also like about the scene is the fact that karen reacts immediately to the danger and escapes successfully (later of course we will find out that it was never frank's intention to kill her)

Now onto Episode 2.

This is where the magic start to happen. First thing that got me is when while Karen is trying to collect data to put Grotto in witness protection program he tells her

which she then promptly replies with "i'm terrified" but the truth is, she doesnt look the part. now, shock can come in many different ways, but i do believe her interest in what happened and why it happened, sorta took over the fear. indeed when moments later, agent mahoney hints at having a lead about who the mysterious killing machine man is, karen is immediately in game.

I do find also interesting the way agent Mahoney describes him:

The comparison why DD's ways of turning things around is immediately poignant. This guy might be a vigilante, but his methods? Completely different from the hero of the city. It draws an immediate rift between the two and how common people see them even though then Mahoney adds how the view on how he operates is split, even between the cops.

From a later scene, we learn that Frank's targets are not random. They're very thought out and precise. He actively seeks the people that he want to kill and doesnt stop until they're dead.

Karen learns there that the identity of the killer is still an open investigation and that they're using a code name for his case, which of course, is none other than the Punisher.

And that's when Karen's investigation actually starts. She tells Foggy that she could have been one of the people who died and despite Foggy reassuring her, she sorta of things some kind of sick karma is getting in her way, like a punishment indeed (and we know exactly why she feels that way. she has dipped directly in being blamed for somebody's death, her brother at that. and she killed Wesley the immediate chance she took. I think it's important to note that just like Frank doesnt hesitate killing criminals, she didnt hesitate killing Wesley).

Karen then goes to Matt's house for comfort and tells him how she doesnt really like being used for target pratice which is some foreshadowing in a way, to her being used as a bait much later on.

The two proceed to talk about the punisher situation and how they need to move in order to protect Grotto from him. Matt asks Karen "do you think he's crazy?" to which she replies no, but she also thinks that enabling Daredevil's actions is what brought on the surface other men like him. Of course Matt's irked by the comparison. He's not like the guy, he wouldnt kill a soul even if he tried. But of course, Karen doesnt know that, cause at this point in the story, she doesnt even know DD and Matt are the same person (there's also an interesting underground message about gun control i feel like but it's not the topic of this text).

Then Karen says:

And Matt of course going along his own morals asks Karen if she thinks that the Punisher could be a good person. She has no (a bit reluctantly imo) and remarks that it could be anyone to which Matt isnt visibly pleased, at all. It's a slow but steady beginning to a rift between the two that's gonna be much bigger later.

Reyes without Karen and Foggy knowing, tries to use Grotto as bait for Frank to show up but he's got them all figured out, gets stopped by Daredevil from killing Grotto.

Episode 3

Little overview of the episode: Grotto is upset the police used him as a bait (without anyone kwowing) and doesnt want to collaborate with Karen and Foggy anymore so Karen is still trying to figure out a way to get out this messy situation. Meanwhile, Frank keeps Daredevil tied up on a roof as we learn a little bit more about his motives and why he operates the way he does. We learn that of course, his views are in starch contrast to Matt's.

Karen doesn't want Nelson & Murdock to lose the case and asks Reyes's right hand for the Punisher files, without specifying what she needs them for. She's however, very determined to get those files and she succeeds. Frank manages to kill Grotto despite DD's pleads to stop.

It's night and we're back in Karen's office. She's examining the files, which contain a bunch of very gruesome deaths. The last thing she gets out of the envelope, is an x-ray of his skull (which is an iconic scene if you ask me) and she notices there's a small hole on the left side of his skull.

Episode 4

The scene where Matt says "You never said you had a brother" "You never asked" sort of struck to me at the time of first watching it, cause it felt to me like it was natural for her to open up to Frank about anedoctes from her childhood for example (which we will see later on).

During Grotto's funeral, Karen says she never liked the idea of him dying alone, which made me think about the scene where she talks about loneliness with Frank in TP s1. Karen is a compassionate human and that compassion shines through even when the person they're talking about isnt a good person at all.

And then we're back talking about the x-ray. Here Karen has an intuition. Frank was obviously shot by someone and maybe he's not the worst that's out there. Maybe Reyes is covering something worse. Since the beginning Karen has pretty much never believed for Frank to be the worst thing that has happened to NY and encourages Matt and Foggy to find him instead.

"Punisher's a lunatic" "But you care anyway?" and much of her response to me felt like reporter!karen was speaking. She's curious, she is certain there's more to him to uncover and adds on to say that humans are complicated species (which could be a self reflect).

And she's absolutely right! Then Matt calls her compassionate (something we agree on), compares her to a saint and Karen remarks once again "I'm no saint" which might still allude at what happened with her brother and Wesley. That guilt never stops following her around, just like the thought of having responsability in his family's death never stops haunting Frank.

Karen goes on her little side quest and finds George Buck to know more about the x-ray. She learns that no one came to visit him at the hospital only the "suits" as the man calls them. And this is how Karen discovers his home address (brilliant work gotta say).

She enters in Frank's home and starts digging around for proofs. We see her in Lisa's room and that's the moment she realizes that this guy, this huge menace NY is facing had a family and was a father, as well as learning he was a marine.

I think it's also interesting to point out that Frank's not emotionless. Aside from suffering PTSD from his family being killed, he had a dog he was affectionate to and it's what causes him to give up and confess to Finn where's the money so the dog wont get hurt. It's a small thing but it's worth noting that he's not at all detatched from caring about something.

After help him escape from Finn, there's another important conversation between Frank and DD where Frank says how he was never scared while he was fighting in the marine, it was the return home that was, the fear of dying on the plane and the first time she reunited with his family after coming back. You can see it simply from his eyes how much love he had for them, especially in the way he talks about his daughter. We're in front of a deeply traumatized man, whose losses shaped what he is today, just like Karen's losses. Their biggest difference I think is, that Frank doesn't feel any guilt for what he does: he believes whoever he killed deserved it while Karen is still actively trying to find out if there's some kind of punishment reserved for her for what she did.

Frank does, however, feel guilt for not reading Lisa her favorite book cause he was tired, which ended up being the last night he could have ever had the chance to do that.

Karen learns through the news at Josie's that Frank was found by the police (but we know it was actually DD) and gets upset that Frank's being described as a "cold-blooded psychopath" because she knows Reyes is gonna use that to her advantage, to the point that even Matt jokes about her disappointment. She also says that's in moment like those that she remembers how precious life can be. And i think thats something else she has in common with with Frank. Despite everything they've been through they both want to live. Sure, Frank might struggle here and there to find a reason to, but ultimately he has a job to finish that he most definitely does not want to die for. The more accurate question would be if he's found something to live for. but we'll get to that someday.

Episode 5

Almost exactly where we left off, Karen's still upset the press is painting Frank as a "deranged lunatic". She now knows there's more to the story, its not an intuition anymore, she has actual proof and so does Matt, even if he can't tell.

While talking to Matt and Foggy, Karen ends up slipping up about Frank having a family so she's forced to confess she broke into his house, which isnt obviously met with enthusiasm from the two lawyers.

Foggy especially isnt too keen on digging the situation deeper than it already is, but you can tell from her face, Karen's not gonna stop there.

She indeed goes to the Bulletin to talk to Mr Ellison about the inaccuracies about Frank's articles. Karen points out he's a war hero and that he had a family, that died arount the same time in was in the hospital after being shot in the head. She manages to convince Mr Ellison to roam through the Bulletin's archive to find more material in exchange of the Bulletin having the exclusive of what she finds.

And she does.

Episode 6

We begin with Karen correcting public defender Roth about the inaccurate things about the time Frank shot up the hospital. Karen also learns through him that Frank is awake at the hospital and that there's a possibility he could get the death penalty which none of the trio is thrilled about.

And it's actually Matt who suggests to deal with Frank's case to get him a plea deal, which for Karen only means one thing: saving Frank's life. Even since the beginning and without knowing him deep down, that's always been one of her priorities. She even dismisses Foggy's remarks about Frank trying to shoot her.

After convincing Foggy, the 3 go to the hospital. I found funny that Matt and Karen walk in there holding hands and let go as soon as they enter the room, almost symbolizing a rift between them is about to form.

After Matt introduces himself and essentially explains they're there to help him we finally get their first eye contact!

She's so eager to talk to him she crosses the red tape and shows him the picture of his family she found in his house. And finally we get to their first real interaction. You can tell Frank is absolutely surprised by Karen's approach and Matt actually has to hold her back while Frank keeps asking over and over why she was in his house.

Those lingering stares really hit

And that interaction is important cause it's what pushes Frank to actually accept Matt and Foggy as his defendants. Karen Page is the spark that makes it happen.

Another very funny thing

While Matt goes with Elektra, Karen and Foggy stay at the hospital to look for his charges and things that could help them with the case, which means we're finally at one their most iconic scenes. I swear it hit like crack the first time i saw it.

Foggy is talking to Frank but he's not even listening. His eyes are completely fixated on Karen from the moment she entered the room.

"I'm guilty, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to her. " chills you guys, history was made.

Frank then asks to talk to her alone, which Foggy doesnt approve of, but Karen doesnt seem to mind. At all.

Frank goes straight to the point. He wants to know what Karen knows about his family. Karen reads him the police report that was made the day his family was killed and Frank says it's all bullshit, but unfortunately it's what Reyes is working with.

Then Karen asks Frank what she remembers about that day, so that she can help him figure things out. It's through this dialogue that Frank reveals to Karen his own guilt about not being able to help his family; "My job was to keep them safe and I didnt."

Karen feels a bit uneasy and offers to come back [when he feels better i suppose] to which Frank pleads her to stay. And she does.

Frank tells Karen that she was never in danger that night at the hospital when he was targeting Grotto. He never intended to kill her and he wanted her to know what (he also takes pride in the fact that he's a skilled shooter i guess?). He only kills people who deserve it. Plus, Karen didnt actually know about the awful things Grotto had done.

Impatient, Karen asks why Frank asked her to stay and he replies that he's afraid his memories will go away. The conversation then shifts to the time Karen broke into his house. He asks her some precise questions, like the position of the plates and if the piano is still there, reminiscing about how Frank jr would hide cookies in the bench which allows Karen herself to tap into a childhood memory of hers as well, which helps him smile a little bit. "I guess we need to get away sometimes". They certainly both tend to run away from their problems in a way or another.

Then they talk about the kids' bedrooms and all the toys that belonged to his kids, Karen is almost on the verge of tears. Once again, her compassion shows. And I think what's also so beautiful about this scene is how heartwarmed Karen gets hearing him express his human side. He's not talking as a killing machine right now. He's talking as a dad and as a human being and Karen sees that. She always did.

She then hands him the family picture she snuck from his house and Frank thanks her for helping him remember (joyful memories might i add, Karen is a positive stance in the mess that his head is in that moment) which also prompts him to let her ask him any question she wants.

Foggy comes back and tells them the death penalty is off the table, however he would have to face 1 life sentence and parole in 25 years, without the possibilty of protective custody in jail, which would leave him in grave danger among all the other criminals (not that Frank seems to care).

Foggy tells Frank all he has to do when Reyes comes in is plead guilty and he will never have to deal with them again. Karen and Frank glance a look at each other and he confirms he will.

He doesn't.

Foggy is flabbergasted but Karen? Not so much. "Maybe he just wants the truth." Defending him till the end!

So now a trial is going to happen.

Episode 7

Foggy suggest to go for the insanity route which Karen is immediately against. She's not very convinced Frank's insane, probably not at all and she's also backed by Matt in that.

"If Castle's goes into general public, he's as good as dead."

They talk about convincing him to bring PTSD to the table and it's funny to me that Karen already know she has a shot at doing so cause he wants to talk to her alone, already had him wrapped around her finger.

Matt doesnt like the fact that Karen has to do all of this alone but she's resolute. Plus Frank doesn't scare her. She's the one who saw the good in him from the start.

And...we get to another of my favorite scenes in this season.

Karen goes to prison to talk to Frank. She explains how they're thinking to bring up a character witness to his trial and narrate everything he's been through, to show the court what kind of person he is. He's not happy about the PTSD suggestion. He considers it an insult for those who actually suffer from it, and remarks how it wasnt the battlefield that made his life go to shit. It was the after.

Karen is fed up with his bullshit (probably the only person on the planet who can deal with it) and warns him that if he doesn't cooperate with them his family will never see justice and he will rot in jail.

#gagged him so bad

he's so pleased seeing her attitude i swear to god

He doesnt budge on the PTSD but says the name of his ex colonel as the witness.

the boy is flirtinggggg

"I went over those one hundred times" "Sure, but you haven't done it with me."

I dont need to add commentary these speaks for themselves. I do wanna add that this is the scene where to me Karen gave him something new to look forward to. A purpose.

Karen goes then back to Foggy to summarize what Frank said and tells him to try to immedesimate himself in Frank to truly understand how he feels about the loss of his family.

"Your family isnt coming back and you watch them die in front of you." She's the one who always understood his pain better than anyone else.

Foggy gives Karen hope they can get a mistrial.

And finally we get to the trial.

Their mission is to prove that the autopsy report of Frank's family are faked. After the first part of the trial, Karen goes to Matt's apartment. The two share a conversation about the case. Matt asks if she's ever thought about going to law school. Karen doesnt seem to enthusiastic about it, says that often times the truth gets lost.

While they talking, Karen mentions that ever since dealing with Frank's case, she's being asking herself if there's a difference between saving lives and preventing lives from needed to be saved. Matt doesn't agree with her, stating that while deserving of a fair trial, Frank killed people. Karen rebutts saying that he killed bad people. She doesnt think he has the right to kill, but she understand the need to seek vengeance after what happened to his family.

"Vengeance is not justice, what he's doing is completely wrong." "Right or wrong you can't deny that it works."

Karen's moral compass kinda goes crazy here. On one hand, she doesnt condone the killing, on the other she does see it as effective. It does nothing but show the different povs of Karen and Matt, and how he's not pleased with her views.

The trial continues. The doctor admits the autopsy report were altered.

Episode 8

It's time for the character witness to speak for Frank. The colonel speaks highly of him and describes him as a "man who would gladly give his life to keep others safe." (Indeed Frank saved the colonel himself from certain death).

They then talk about the condition Frank is suffering due to the injury on his skull, which Frank is skeptical about but Karen urges him to keep listening.

After it concludes, a kid from the public jury yells out that Frank killed his father. Later Karen and Frank are talking in jail. He admits he did kill the kid's dad to which Karen replies that she can't judge him. And then again we know why she doesnt. Karen has a dark side in her, just like him.

We begin noticing that Frank has a little bit of care for Karen. "That was tough in there for you, right? It was hard?"

Karen admits that it was and then asks him that he needs to do something for her, and take a stand at the trial. Which Frank isn't too happy about. Karen urges him to think that they can at least reduce the charges, even if they can't win the case.

"That might not be important to you, but it is important to me."

I think this is such a crucial scene. Karen is sure he's not a monster while Frank self doubts himself.

"What if i find these man that did that to my family, what if nothing changes? What if this is just me now?"

"Then don't you deserve to know that too?"

Since the beginning, Karen has always made him question anything about himself, not to tear him down, quite the contrary actually. She questions what he does cause she believes in him and ultimately wants him to find some peace with himself, the same peace she might be looking in herself too.

After convincing (or seemingly so) Frank to take the stand, Karen tells Foggy the news and he insists Matt should do the questioning instead of him. Karen is not pleased with the suggestion since Matt hasn't spent much time with Frank and doesnt know him well (like she does). Eventually they go for it.

She's so worried for her murderous pookie

I'm not going too much into what's said during the questioning cause it's not very kastle-centric but I do like how deeply concerned Karen in during all of it.

What's relevant is that Frank blows all of his chances away by saying out loud that he's not crazy and that he'd kill the people he killed all over again if he had the chance to.

"I know who I am and I do not need your help."

Karen is in absolute shock but is firm in saying the Frank that was on trial was definitely not the Frank she talked to. The Frank who also worried about how she was feeling inside.

Episode 9

Karen finds some new information and pictures about John Doe. We can see she has the desire to continue investigating the case, even though Foggy tells her to let it go. To him, it's over. They did everything they could.

They end up talking about Matt and what's going on with him and Karen says "I cannot be lied to anymore. All I want is the truth about something." which is relevant for later.

Back at the Bulletin, Karen reports to Mr Ellison the latest news about John Doe and asks him to keep going with the researches instead of her. Mr Ellison asks "Do you want to move on?" to which she doesn't give a yes or no answer, just reiterates that the trial's over and Frank tanked his own (interesting that he calls him by last name here).

In the end it's the man that convinces her to keep going (and I dont think she really wanted to quit for good anyway). The trial might be over, but the case isn't.

The idea is to find Doctor Tepper's address and talk to him in private about the autopsies which they end up doing.

They end up discovering that John Doe was actually an undercover cop.

From this point on, Karen works for the Bulletin. I wanna bring up the fact that she reads the article about his brother's death cause Mr Ellison tells her that neither him nor being cared. We can see her a more emotional representation of the guilt she's been bottling up for years.

It's an interesting contrast between her and Frank. He feels guilty for something he didn't do but could have avoided and she feels guilty for something she didn't do, but feels responsabilty for. They're sort of the sides of the same coin.

At the of this episode, Frank escapes from prison.

Episode 10

Police along Karen and the others have found out that Frank has escaped, which means the security is higher than ever.

Reyes asks to see Karen, Matt and Foggy as they discover that Fisk might have had an hand in Frank's escape since they were located in the same cell block.

The DA admits that she made a mistake the day Frank's family was murdered, to which Karen swiftly adds that it was a massacre, not a mistake. She's still protective of Frank's tragedy, despite all. She also tells she knows it was a sting, not a mistake.

Karen & co learn about the Blacksmith and how he operated. Reyes greenlit the operation to catch him nwas a failure and Frank's family got in the middle of it. Then Reyes tells them that she's scared for her daughter safety, afraid that Frank could kill her to get his revenge. Karen reassured Reyes that Frank would never target her family, he has his own internal code and she knows it well.

Now i think I need to draw a comparison because it's essential to a later scene that actually ended up being one of my favorites of the entire season.

Matt hears the sound of a cocking gun tells everyone to get down and shields Karen with his body (Foggy ends up being shot and Reyes dies on sight).

I think you might already understand what I need the parallel for. We'll come back to that later.

Everyone is now successfully convinced that Frank's responsible for the shooting and even Karen and Foggy are advised to leave NY.

Karen goes back to the Bulletin, determined to find out the truth. She wants to know if Frank's actually did the shooting. She doesn't wanna trust her gut, she wants facts. She knows that if he's the one who did it he's not gonna stop and i'll round up until everyone who crossed his path dies. Which brings her to Tepper once again.

When Karen and Mr Ellison get to Tepper's house, they already find him dead. He's said to have multiple bullets in his body and lots of blood spilled. Karen immediately points out that's not Frank's style of killing.

Mr Ellison advises her to get her personal feelings aside and that whatever good she saw in Frank was never there. She asks if he thinks she projected that onto him and he comments "Why you'd wanna see good in the man who pulls the trigger is beyone me"

It's not beyond her though. Cause she was in his position once. She had to pull the trigger as well. For self defence, yes, but she has been in those shoes nonetheless. And if he can see the good in him, maybe she can see the good in her, too.

Mr Ellison then asks her to get the list of every person who could be a target for Frank and Karen tells him that she has all the files at her apartment and that she's going to get them. Ellison warns her not to go alone and asks two cops to accompany her.

"Frank's not gonna hurt me." It truly gets me everytime how much she trusted him.

We finally get to one of my favorite scenes.

Karen takes her gun out of her drawer and slowly gets close to the door pointing the gun at it. And there he stands, Frank Castle.

"It wasn't me" is what he tells her. He needs her to know he was not responsible of any of the recent killings. But Karen isn't so keen on listening to him until he puts his hands on his head, which he complies. He never judges Karen for what she does, he knows that her reaction is completely justified.

It's probably the first time ever that Karen's the one in control. Frank is never showing himself weak or compliant when it comes to his enemies. He's a skilled killer and soldier. But to Karen, he does. He's listening to what she's saying, he's not objecting. He'll do what it takes to get her to listen.

Then the shooting happens and I cant explain how buzzy this scene is to me, the fact that it directly paralles the one of matt doing the same in the same episodes which is another love interest, and also the fact that he's protecting her with his whole body....i don't know it's just too good. And obviously it also helps Karen realize that Frank's telling the truth.

Episode 11

Karen is releasing a statement to officer Mahoney about the shooting at her apartment. She tells him that she didn't see who it could have been cause she hid until the shooting was over. Of course Mahoney still believes Frank is responsible for everything, which is something Karen can't deny to him yet.

She also accepts to be protected by the police. Outside the police station she meets up with Matt and reveals to him that Frank didn't do anything and that in reality, he was the one who saved her from the shooting and whoever killed the other people knew that Frank would have been appointed responsible for it.

Matt's upset she lied to the cops about it and Karen remarks that is her problem, not his. In a sense, Frank has always been her problem too. She was the one who followed the case from the start, who wanted to find the truth about him more than anything else.

She believes he can find the real killer faster than the cops. Frank' suspects it could be the Blacksmith and Matt wonders why he would target her too which leads to her admitting that she's been working with the Bulletin since the trial started.

Matt says that all of this is dangerous, but so is working at Nelson and Murdock's and she's right. Karen is in danger with Frank as much as she is with Matt (especially after DDBA s2, but that's for another time).

After the exchange Karen leaves, concluding that she's not his to protect (another banger from Karen Page gotta say).

I think the rift between them as never being bigger than it is at this very moment.

After the cops leave her alone and Karen pretends to go to sleep, she slips outside to meet up with Frank in her car (that he stole, which she's upset about. She was done with his shit at that point too).

A song is on and Frank jokes that they should sing along to the song, Karen isn't the mood for jokes, they shouldnt anyway.

Karen confesses she's having second thoughts about the whole ordeal. She's not a lawyer and lying to the cops makes her an accessory. Frank tells her to walk away and Karen says that she doesnt wanna give Blacksmith a chance to get her a second time. Frank reassures her: he's never gonna get it. And he means it but we're not to the point of Karen becoming his priority to protect, yet.

Karen and Frank stop at a diner but she is a bit skeptical about it. They start talking about the Blacksmith and what Reyes could have possibly had on him.

They get coffee together (oh Frank you're gonna cherish this moment in the future trust me) and Karen says how he didn't seem surprised that she owned a gun. Frank replies saying that the only that surprised him is the fact that she didn't pull the plug, then tells her how a 380 gun has some thought put into it.

"Maybe this isn't your first rodeo." "Maybe it isn't."

I love that he's always impressed with her.

Frank asks her why she didn't take the shot and she replies that she believes him. She doesn't like what he does, she thinks he belongs in jail, but she appreciates he's honest and that he never lies to her. Which takes me back to Karen telling Foggy that all she would like for once is the truth about something. I think it's clear that one of the quality Karen appreciates about Frank is his honesty.

Then Frank (out of nowhere?) asks her if Matt lies to her (cause...why do you care Frank?) and if she loves him. Again Frank...why do you care? What has this to do with your case?

Karen tells him that Matt's the kind of man who hurts people but not in the same way he does. He damages them. Frank doesn't agree with her statement. He believes that people who can truly hurt are the ones who get close enough to do it. He will never be able to feel "hurt" from his wife again while Karen has Matt still in her life.

"You have everything. So hold onto it, use two hands and never let go."

....And then he tells her to go find a safe place and hide cause the diner's about to get really bloody. Karen realizes Frank used her as bait. So essentially, he also lied to her. Or masked the truth at the very least.

The diner turns into a bloodbath real soon. After it's over, Frank tells Karen to get protective custody and to get away from the place. And from him. It's Karen's first hand experience at Frank's brutalness, but since the very start Frank knows one thing: he doesn't want her near those sort of things. He doesn't want her to deal with his world. He doesn't think he methods should have a place in her world. Whether at this point in the story is to protect her or just cause he wants to operate alone, i'll leave it up to you.

Next, Frank is on the dock. He's covering a ship with fuel and that will be much more important later. He's trying to ambush the Blacksmith but finds out sooner that the man he has caught is not the real one.

Daredevil intervenes to stop him, then Blacksmith's men come armed on the port. They open fire at him and the ship blows up fast.

Karen arrives there with the police, while Daredevil is hiding behind a tank.

Seeing all the dead bodies in front of her, a teary up Karen whispers "Frank, why?"

And Matt hears her fluttering heartbeat (not the last time he'll get to hear how much her heart races when it comes to Frank eheh).

Episode 12

At this point in the story, Frank is presumed to be dead.

While police are retrieving the dead bodies on the dock, one catches Karen's attention (as usual, it will matter later).

Karen lies to Mahoney about being kidnapped by Frank. He comments he's lucky she escaped. He also assures her Frank's dead.

Instead of going home like the officer advised her,Karen goes to back to the Bulletin.

Karen tells Mr Ellison there's no story to write about anymore because everyone, including Frank, is dead.

Mr Ellison then ask the question I'm sure also the audience was asking themselves at that point.

She angrily replies that he's not a psycho murderer. To her, he kinda never was. And it's especially fascinating how she says it so firmly even after she actually witnessed the aftermath of one of his severe killing sprees. She uses present tense when talking about him, and immediately corrects to the past. It hasn't quite registered in her mind that he's dead. Probably never will.

"No one ever mentioned the fact that he was a father and a husband grieving, looking for answers and you more than anyone should understand why that matters to me."

It's yet another confirmation on the connection Karen feels to him. She can understand what Frank went through cause she herself went through it. It would have been nice if they got to talk about each other's grieving a little more.

Mr Ellison ultimately makes her realize that the story isn't over and that she can write a profile on him. But in order to do that, she needs more sources and she needs to talk to people who knew him outside the trial.

So she goes to the Colonel house to talk to him once again. Her goal is to write an article that represent Frank outside the Punisher persona and to her, the colonel is the only person that she know of that said something nice about him.

The colonel reminisces some times with Frank and a side of Frank Karen never got to see, which she finds quite amusing.

"Unnerving how he could look into a person's soul." "I think I know what you mean."

During that small talk at the diner, Frank knew had to read Karen. He just had an understanding, even if he knew barely of her life outside the court.

Karen tells the colonel Frank was involved in the blowing up of the ship. As she starts to get emotional aagin about Frank's death, she turns her back to the colonel, and her eyes are drawn to a picture of him, Frank and an injured guy in a hospital bed. Karen recognizes him as the dead body she saw that morning at the dock. The colonel starts talking about him and Karen decides it's time for her to get the fuck out of that house. He's aware Frank killed him.

The colonel points a gun at Karen (first big mistake) and offers to walk her out. They get inside her car and the colonel urges her to start driving. As she turn on the car, music starts playing from the recorder. And not a random song.

"The real Castle, like you care about him."

Second mistake: doubting how much Karen Page cares about Frank Castle!

The colonel asks Karen to pull over and she ends up crushing into another car, which leaves him severely injured (and her too).

The colonel isn't inside the car anymore, and she follow his blood traces in the woods to find him.

She immediately realizes it's Frank's doing.

Karen reaches Frank the moment he pulls out the gun to kill the colonel. She asks him to stop, that he doesn't have to kill him. If he does, he'll never get the answers he's looking for.

She begs him to tell her what happened in Kandahar, to tell her the truth, for Maria, for Lisa, for Frank jr. She will help him figure things out, she's not gonna leave him alone. "You do this and you become the monster they say you are."

As Frank drags the colonel in a cabin, Karen yells at him that if he kills him, he's dead to her. Franks looks at her probably in the coldest way he has so far and tells her "I'm already dead." Well, both technically and metaphorically he is. He's dead to New York, but a part of him also died with his family.

While getting away from the cabin, Karen hears the shot that kills the colonel. She doesn't feel her legs anymore as she start crying. Frank didn't listen to her, he blew his chance at finding out what happened with his family and at getting her help in all of it. Frank self sabotaged himself, and it won't be the first time he will do so, especially when it comes to Karen specifically.

Episode 13

Karen's back at the Bulletin, trying to work on her article but nothing seems to come to her mind. Meanwhile, Frank goes back to his house for the first time after the tragedy holding a newspaper that talks about his death.

Karen is then taken hostage by the Hand. Daredevil manages to let her and the other hostages escape.

Frank shows up (in costume finally) and helps Matt with a bunch of ninjas from a distance.

Karen is the only one (along Matt) who notices Frank's up there (i wonder if her heart was beating fast again? Matt can you confirm idk) and this is the last time we see him before The Punisher season 1 </3. But it's so nice that Karen is the character who gets be apart of that last time. It's also funny to picture cause everyone is such in distress for the situation they obviously don't take the time to look up at the room and see Frank. But Karen does. Also it looks nice visually it looks like he's watching over her you know?

After the worst is over, Karen is hanging out with Foggy at Josie's. The theme of loneliness circles back to her once again, and it's like it never truly leaves her side.

Karen is still struggling to write the article for the Bulletin. Mr Ellison suggests drinking some scotch, so it could help her not care too much. Karen replies that that's exactly her problem: she does infact, care too much.

Karen needs just to write the truth, her own truth at that. which is what she does. Her article turns out to be a beautiful piece about how in our own ways, we're all heroes. She even draws the comparison from how DD and Frank operate.

Also Frank blows up his own house, probably the last relic left of his humanity.

And that concludes Frank and Karen's story in Daredevil OG. I do wanna point out a mention in season 3 episode 1 (I think it comes chronologically after the Punisher season 1 but I don't think it makes that much of a difference mentioning it here).

Karen goes to Matt's place to talk to him after sometime Matt revealed to her that he's Daredevil. She says "How can I be this mad at someone who saved my life?" and I find this quote interesting, since it can also apply to Frank in a way.

She asks Matt why didn't he tell her. "Did you think I would judge you? I didn't judge Frank why would I judge you?" "Maybe you should judge Frank. Castle's a killer. I'm not." "You don't always know what motivates people to do what they do." "But i know when they lie to me, their heartbeats tell me."

I like how she's always quick to defend him when she feels like his character is being badly judged. She gives off "I can point out my man's flaws but no one else can" energy. And I do also think the favor is returned. Frank rarely judges Karen's actions.

I guess this concludes the Kastle moments in Daredevil officially. The next analysis will be about the Netflix Punisher show and then a deep dive into the MCU stuff (which is not a lot but it's what still keeps Kastle alive so good for me).

What Frank is sure of right now is this – neither of them got shot, and they are safely in one of the old warehouses he lurks in as needed, and the adrenaline isn’t wearing off as fast as it should, and-

Karen twirls and gets her mouth on his before he can finish that thought. She’s soft as a kitten and if he opened his eyes he knows he’d see hers sparkling, like she has to find the fun bits where she can, like-

“Don’t tell me outrunning cheap mercs is a turn-on for you," he murmurs when they break.

“Not one I’ve considered I might have,” almost a laugh, god she’d be such a good wife for someone – not him, he don't deserve her that way, but someone – and feather-light in his arms and why do they keep doing things in stairwells and-

“Good.”

“You saved me again.”

"Don't know that you needed my help.”

“Of course I did. Not that I think I have a choice, but-”

They’re not having this conversation. He picked a hell of a time to discover he runs overprotective – first time he’s stuck around a situation consistently enough to learn that about himself, and he knows that’s nothing to be proud of but that doesn't make it any less true – and he’s aware that she’s more than capable of handing her own consequences, she does just fine whenever he ghosts her, and-

“Not sure if I have anything else to offer you," he says instead, because he’s determined to dig his own grave one way or another.

It’s not like he thinks he owes her. She doesn't play that, and he’s trying not to. But he wants her in his life, in whatever way she wants to stick around and he doesn't manage to destroy, and he’s not sure what he even is if he ever takes a moment to breathe, probably nothing worth being, and he’s not sure-

She stayed, he reminds himself. She’s stayed through a spectacular amount of bullshit and he’s never gotten the slightest hint of actual resentment. The why-are-you-like-this eyerolls, yes, he’s quite familiar with those, but nothing like-

He doesn't deserve her. He will never deserve her. She doesn't seem to care. What the fuck does he do with that?

She takes another kiss before he can get too stuck in his head, playful, not going anywhere with it just wanting to make out. If she wanted more, she would've tried something by now, he doesn't try with subtle signals and she’s accepted that and god she’s perfect and-

“Stay with me,” she breathes. “Whatever…”

It’s easier to keep kissing her. At some point in the next few minutes, they’ll have to break and assess each other, he knows he’s got some bruises she’ll want to look at and she’s probably in comparable condition and she worries and he’s getting there and-

“Do I get to know?”

He’s never defensive with her. Rest of the world, yes, good luck getting anything in the vicinity of a straight answer. But she brings out something different, she’s pretty sure, something raw, something-

“Not that interesting.”

“You went silent for a week.”

“Didn’t think you cared.”

What the actual fuck.

Self-destructive is one thing, a shared language they’ll never bother to discuss outright. But oblivious…

“You have no idea what you do to me,” she says in as even a tone as she can manage, resisting the urge to bury her hands in her pockets or maybe around his neck. “Even now, you have no fucking idea.”

“That bad?”

She sighs. He’s so lucky she likes him. He… knows that, she thinks, but-

“Ignoring the fact that if you die I presumably get to spend the next three years in a catfight with some VA drone… I do actually care about you, Frank, despite your dramatic efforts to make me regret that and despite the fact that you never listen when I say-”

“You shouldn't."

“You don't get to make that decision for me."

That’s enough to get him across the space, enough to get his arms wrapped around her and yeah he may not have accepted how she feels but she doesn't ever need to question whether it’s reciprocated. She buries her face in the curve of his neck and there’s something steady about him on these rare occasions he acts like a person, something she could build a life in if he’d stand still long enough to let her, and-

“You shouldn't," he repeats, softer.

She wants to pick a fight, but instead she turns her head and takes a kiss, expects him to pull back and is pleasantly surprised when he doesn't. He’s not just here for that, she knows, but she’s out of better ideas for getting him to stick around and things do cross her mind and-

“I fucked up again. Is that what you want to hear?”

“I want you to do better. I want you to believe me.”

“Not that easy.”

“I know.”

End of the day, she’s just masochistic enough not to care as much as she should. If he’s capable of doing right by her, that’s somewhere in the unknown future not anytime soon, and she’s fine with waiting too long, better than any other options she has, she gets to be functionally single and put someone else’s name on her taxes next to hers – and she should probably tell him she did that, the last thing they need is to get audited – and she doesn't know how she feels and she doesn't-

She feels too close to crying, and she takes a few deep breaths and she cannot do this. Not like this. Not when she has to be the strong one, again, because this is her life, this is her fucking life and she can’t-

His hands drift a little higher on her back, holding her just a little bit closer. “Didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Well aware.”

Talking won't fix them. She’s not sure anything can.

But he’s hers in the way that matters, whether this resolves or not, and that’s enough to keep her curled up in an embrace she needs way more than she’ll admit. He’s hers, and she’s sure he’s feeling the same fragility, and this isn’t who they are and this is everything they are and-

“I should stay,” he murmurs, opposite of so many past moments.

“You should.”

She doesn't trust this like she should.