Kastle

"The deal is just that nobody goes after her, okay? Not on my watch."

- Frank to Micro about Karen.

Kastle is the het ship between Frank Castle and Karen Page from the Daredevil fandom.

Daredevil Season Two
Karen is still working at Nelson & Murdock, when Grotto, a man who survived a massacre, comes to them and begs them to save him. Frank Castle, the Punisher himself, is after him. When Grotto is brought to the hospital by Karen and her associates, the Punisher attacks. The man dies, and Karen, distraught, begins investigating the mysterious assassin. She learns his true identity and real name, Frank Castle, once a husband and father who was hospitalized with a bullet in his head. She finds truth about him having been a marine, about him having been on the verge of death and having been tortured. She breaks into his home to find more information, where she finds a picture of his family and learns that Frank’s entire family has been murdered.

Frank is captured and awaits trial (and possible death sentence), when he is visited by Karen, Matt, and Nelson. When they meet face to face, Karen reveals to Castle what she knows about his past, earning his trust. They seem at ease with each other, their conversation makes them both laugh. After Nelson and Murdock agree to part ways, Karen continues her personal investigation on Frank. She finds another victim in his case, in addition to Frank’s family. Castle escapes the prison. When Page is attacked, Castle saves her, which she openly admits to Murdock. Karen believes that the Blacksmith is targeting her, so she needs to leave. Murdock wants to go with her, but she tells him that she is not his to protect. Later she meets with Frank in the parking lot. She is uneasy because they are lying to the police, but she trusts Castle enough to leave with him nonetheless.

Frank takes Karen to a diner, where they discuss how they might find the Blacksmith. Changing the subject, he compliments her on her choice of gun, and says he's surprised she didn't shoot him. Castle then asks her about Murdock, guessing correctly that she is in love with him. When she argues that Murdock hurts people, Castle tells her that he would give anything to have his wife hurt him again. He then tells her to get the waitress and cook, and for them to hide. Castle is attacked by men, but he easily fights them off. Karen sees Frank beating information out one of the men, and then murdering them all. She is repulsed.

When police believe that Castle is dead, Page reluctantly agrees; rather than dropping her investigation into Castle, which she was going to write an exposé on for the New York Bulletin, Page decides to write a profile to show the public that there was more to Castle than just the Punisher. She interviews Castle's marine commander, but realizes that he is the Blacksmith. Castle arrives, and murders him despite Karen’s pleas.

The Punisher
The two are reunited again, when Frank asks Karen to help him find the man stalking Frank. She invited him to her apartment, but he doesn't stay long. When he is about to leave, Karen tears up and grabs him, drawing Frank into a tight hug. They both seem to be extremely relieved and comforted by the embrace. Afterwards Karen seems embarassed as she drops her gaze and runs her fingers though her hair (one of her nervous tics).

Later they meet by the docks and Karen says she found the man Frank is looking for. She is anxious about disclosing the man's identity as she fears Frank might want to kill him. Castle promises that if Micro proves to be no threat to him, then he will not kill him. Before Frank leaves, Karen asks when they will meet again; he is surprised she wants to see him again. Karen says she cares about what happens to Castle, even if he doesn't care about himself. She tells him to be careful. Some time later, they meet by the bridge. Karen tries to convince Castle to allow either her or Madani to expose the criminals he is hunting, but Frank refuses to let that happen. Frank begs her not to put herself in grave danger as he does not want Karen to become a target like his family. He kisses her on the cheek and leaves.

When Karen arrives at the Royal Hospitality hotel, they get under a terrorist attack. When things go awry, Lewis, the terrorist, captures Karen and tries to escape, shielding himself with her. Frank persues them and tries to talk him down. Frank gives Karen a signal and she disarms the bomb and shoots Lewis in the foot. When the bomb is rewired, Lewis sets it off, and Karen and Frank get hit by the blast. When Frank comes to, he checks Karen. The forces are waiting behind the door, convienced that it was Frank who set off the bomb, and Karen lets herself be used as a human shield to get him escape to an elevator. Inside, they catch their breath. Before Frank escapes through the zip-line, he and Karen share a silent moment, pressing their foreheads against each other and saying goodbye.

Behind The Scenes
"The big difference for me is that with Frank, I can be more honest about who I am, in my past, even if I don’t show specifics."

- Deborah Ann Woll about how Karen feels about Frank. "I think a lot of the connection with Frank was that if he's a monster, then so am I.. because I did the same thing. Now, I did it once, maybe twice. I think that connection was that I, on a deeper level, can understand his pain and the instinct. I maybe wouldn't follow through in the same way Frank does, but he can't fully be a monster to me."

- Deborah Ann Woll about Karen's connection to Frank.

"I think part of what makes Karen and Frank so special, is they’ve allowed each other deeper. So that every time we see them with other characters, you go, ‘Oh, but they’re not showing their whole self,’ and that’s why it’s such a breath of fresh air when they come together, because there’s much more of a revelation."

- Deborah Ann Woll.

"I think if anything, it’s easier for Karen to sympathize with Frank than it is with Matt in some ways, because Karen in a lot of ways is more like Frank… I think the relationship growth for Karen and Matt will be ‘How can they really open up and show their true self to each other?’ And in a way, I think she’s already there with Frank. I mean, Karen’s a vigilante more akin to Frank in many ways than to Matt, who has his religiousness and his righteousness that is sort of pulling him in many directions. I think in some ways, Karen can’t be really honest about who she is with Matt in a way that she can be with Frank."

- Deborah about Karen, Frank and Matt.

"Deborah Ann Woll of “Daredevil” returns as Karen Page, there to remind you that “The Punisher” is connected to the rest of Netflix’s Marvel universe, even though the show is so good that it doesn’t need to lean on that. She provides the role of caring friend and possible romantic interest — if Frank can ever allow himself to love again."

- David Betancourt.

"And, of course, we have Daredevil star Deborah Ann Woll reprising her role of New York Bulletin reporter Karen Page for a handful of episodes. Karen factors into the best episode of the season -- a time-shifting narrative taking place solely inside a single location -- and she also gives Frank a chance to be emotional without rage taking over, which is actually needed from time to time."

- Nick Venable on Karen and Frank.

"And for Frank and Karen, even though it ends with them going their separate ways and having made their choices, he did say that he loves Karen, and she was able to say that back. It felt great to do that."

- Deborah Ann Woll confirming Kastle. "Yeah, I mean, I think that Frank has a soft spot in Karen's heart. And certainly with the dark history that Karen has there's very few people she can share her true, authentic self with. And certainly Matt with his Catholicism and not wanting to kill anybody and things like that- would have trouble understanding some of the... decisions that Karen has made. And I think Frank is someone who could understand, who she could potentially fully open up to. So yeah, I think she's always excited to come back into Frank's arena."

- Deborah about Karen, Matt and Frank. "I think Frank can tell. When Karen shot Wesley in Season 1 of Daredevil, there was a mention of some stuff that happened before she got to New York, and we don’t really know exactly what her deep dark past is. I like to say that Karen wears a disguise as much as Daredevil and Punisher do. The pretty blonde smiling girl is just a way of saying, 'Hey, don't look too deep, because you might not like what you find,' and I think Frank is capable of seeing past that. Karen certainly looks at him and says, 'Well, he takes justice into his own hands. I did that at least once, so I can’t just call him a monster.' She's a little more open to understanding him instead of writing him off."

- Deborah about Frank and Karen.

Fanon
Kastle is one of the most popular ships in the Daredevil and Punisher universe. It is the most popular ship for Karen and the second most popular for Frank. Kastle is a fan favorite ship in the Fandom and is popularly shipped alongside ClaireDevil, another fan favorite ship in the Daredevil universe. It's rival ships are Fratt and KareDevil.

Kastle has a big Fandom on Tumblr, Twitter and AO3. Many fans have been saddened by the surprise cancellation of the show, and believe that Karen and Frank could have had future together as a couple, had the show been renewed.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

TWITTER

Spotify

Kastle Playlist on Spotify

Trivia

 * Frank Castle and Karen Page don't interact in the original Marvel comics.
 * Deborah Ann Woll and Jon Bernthal are both Kastle shippers; and have expressed their support for Karen and Frank's romantic relationship on numerous occasions.
 * Deborah used the #Kastle tag on Twitter. She also retweeted Kastle fan art and called it beautiful.
 * Jon quote retweeted a post with him and Deborah during an interview from a Kastle fan account with the caption, "Miss. You. Prosecutor."
 * Deborah asked her audience on Instagram of what they think happens to Karen and Frank in their fan fiction.
 * Deborah said during an interview that while they are hyping up Season 3 of Daredevil, she wants everyone to not forget that she did a whole season with Frank Castle and she wants to keep that alive.