skullsandwhiteroses

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If you weren't watching Daredevil and the Punisher when they were coming out it may not be obvious to you-

But the Karen and Frank chemistry was an accident. They caught lightning in a bottle between two characters who never even interact in the comics, but the actors just go crazy in a room with each other.

And they assumed that the Punisher's audience skewed heavily male, that they'd refuse to watch anything not already established in the comics, and that they'd scorn any new plot where The Punisher feels love for anyone, so the writers/producers never fully went there. Even though they clearly know that Frank is made all the more interesting, all the more tragic, when he's not just wallowing in grief for a lost family- he's actively denying the potential of healing and love with a new person. He's consistently being offered a redemptive escape from the violent path he's chosen and he consistently denies it, even though it's clear as day how badly he wants it. That's a more interesting choice! It makes him more pathetic and self-denying, it shows him thinking that he doesn't deserve healing, it shows his conflicted awareness of his own morality, it makes him worse, it makes it clear that this character is tragic instead of aspirational.

So they gave as many hints as they could. The near kiss in the elevator, Karen's heartbeat, the dress Maria wears in his last vision of her (as he lets go of her hand) matching the fabric of the blouse Karen wore the first time he ever saw her, Karen insisting he try to love someone else instead of another war, Micro saying "that's my family that's my wife" and Frank responding "so is Karen." They made it as obvious as they could without actually saying it because they didn't want to piss off the fan base who wants Frank to be a static, stoic, one dimensional vengeance machine.

But now they're back after SEVEN YEARS and they're not fucking around. The first time they're on screen together it is Textually Acknowledged and Stated Out Loud that Frank Castle's heart does the fucking samba when he looks at Karen Page. Matt, the Human Polygraph Test, tells Karen that Frank loves her and that he knows how she feels about him too. (Not to even mention the way he looks at her and acts around her, because Jesus Christ, I have never seen anyone more obviously lovesick.)

This is wild. That's more than the writers really wanting to make it obvious but always hedging. That's more than the actors loading as much weight into each glance as possible because they're gunning for it so hard. It's not just hints, it's text. It's canon.

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It's about the yearning... and also the cold blooded murder he has and will commit on her (semi-disapproving) behalf.

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I cannot let that happen to you. Please.

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The Punisher The Abyss | 2.11

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still giggling abt how while frank was looking at the love of his life, distracted, matt took the chance to call shotgun

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Jon Bernthal can't play Frank Castle without Deborah Ann Woll.

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-You know, back at his place, I heard your heartbeats. -God, that is really not fair. You heard his too? -Oh, yeah.

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delicious

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Daredevil: Born Again Straight to Hell | 1.09

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Please.

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frank castle’s heart canonically races when he sees karen page. that is something that i am now CANONICALLY aware of and i’m just going to have to go on with my day with that information rattling in my skull like it’s nothing.

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Frank: not my circus not my monkeys

Frank: fuck that is my circus and MY monkeys

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Kastle Doodles 🥰🥰🥰

(I’ve been in this fandom a total of six days. I medically need more content of these two STAT)

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You heard his too?

Oh, yeah.

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Frank Castle & Karen Page Daredevil | The Punisher | Daredevil: Born Again

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#down horrendous

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN — 1.09 Straight to Hell THE PUNISHER — 1.02 Two Dead Men

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"kastle shippers who think Frank could get a happy ending don't understand the character"

Sigh. I remember after DD s2 when it was "kastle shippers who think there's anything between Frank and Karen don't understand the character at all. His heart died with his family. He can never have romantic feelings for another woman after Maria"...

And yet, here we are 3 shows and 9 years later and Frank Castle canonically has romantic feelings for Karen Page. LOL

What's so difficult to understand about the fact that mcu/netflix Frank is a different iteration of the character and so doesn't necessarily have to have the same fate as his comicbook version?

No one's expecting Frank and Karen to ride off into the sunset or relocate to the countryside to live on a farm. But if you don't see how Karen was framed as a possible potential "after" for Frank, then maybe you weren't paying attention.

Frank is older, weaker, using pills for his pain and for the first time in Frank Castle history, he's fallen hard for someone after Maria (please don't mention him & Elektra in the comics, it was hot but not the same or close). Everything about him having romantic feelings for someone post tragedy is new. It's never happened before with any other version of Frank, comics or screen. There's no benchmark to hold it to. So quite literally, anything could happen. It just depends on what the show runner decides to do. The character has to be retired at some point and they're not killing him off. He can't remain static forever, that works for comicbooks, not for tv. There's also only so many times they can have him reject Karen and choose war over her. Been there, done that. Next.

Does all this mean they'll definitely end up together? No. But it means that it's a very real possibility for the first time ever for a version of Frank (if the writers are bold enough to take on something so complex and challenging as opposed to going the safer simpler route, and if they'll be given the time to do so; a kastle endgame would require more seasons). And kastle fans aren't wrong or misunderstanding Frank's character by wanting or hoping he and Karen do end up together somehow in the frigging mcu.