'The Punisher: One Last Kill' Confirms The MCU's First Big Love Triangle
As messy as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is capable of getting, with wonky timelines and questionable decisions, we rarely have romantic arcs that dive into complicated love triangles. More often than not, even if someone does have some sort of a fling outside of their comic-canon romance, it rarely means anything, nor is it drawn out to the point where the audience has to question how it will pan out. But while some fans have been in the trenches rooting for Karen Page and Frank Castle to get together since The Punisher (2017), we're in a bigger hole now with the events of The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026).
The sophomore season of Daredevil: Born Again (2025) is mostly solid from start to finish, but pairing Matt Murdock and Karen in an exclusive romantic relationship is the season's downfall. With everything happening with Frank on the outskirts, the already complex web is even more intricate. Now streaming on Disney+, you can catch up with Frank before we see him in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) later this summer.
'The Punisher: One Last Kill' Confirms Karen Is the Only Light in Frank's Life
Almost all superheroes, antiheroes, and villains of the MCU carry burdens and heartaches that few people know about. It's part of what makes their character journey so enriching outside of the bloody and battering combats that touch on the genre's action. The character layers we get to peel back are the reason so many of us are so invested and continue to be.
This is especially true for Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle—a character whose demons are louder than most and a man whose trauma is unthinkable. Darkness hasn't left Frank's life since the moment his wife and daughter were killed in front of him. It's been an ever-present ache that's propelled him not only toward vengeance, but also to a place of hatred that's impossible to come back from. Yet, every time Karen Page has crossed his path, the way he's softened beside her has been undeniable. The way he's clung to protecting her is the reason so many people have wanted them to get together—a second chance for both of them in more ways than one.
A large reason why they work so well as a pairing is that Karen isn't some damsel in distress, and she's always been able to hold her own around everyone beside her. Now, more than ever, she not only fights alongside Matt in Daredevil: Born Again, but she also wants to utilize darker techniques that he isn't in agreement with.
The differences in how she and Matt operate are enormous on-screen, and it's exactly why their romance is the one part of Season 2 that feels like the weakest spot. The development isn't there behind their close friendships, and while I'm someone who'll always champion that friends-to-lovers is the best trope, there are rare cases where it's a mistake.
When we have concrete proof that Karen is the vision who comes to Frank in his darkest hours, it makes it even harder to root for her and Matt. In every instance where we've seen Frank and Karen, the magnetism between them is undeniable. The way they both understand each other on a fundamental level is no small feat. The psychological state that Frank is in when he hallucinates Karen is evidence that, for him, she's the only thing left in this world worth fighting for. His feelings aren't just made up by fans, but now, it's real.
The Matt, Karen, And Frank Love Triangle Is Silly - But Understandable
At the end of Daredevil: Born Again, Matt's in prison and not responding to Karen. The disconnect that was there between them as they got together off-screen is even more evident now, but what's more glaring is that Frank's emotions aren't veiled in the shadows either. Again, Marvel doesn't touch on love triangles. Pepper Potts and Tony Stark were always endgame. Marvel might not shy away from character deaths—Tony, Vision, Steve (to a degree), Jane Foster—but it typically doesn't stir the pot with love triangles, not since The X-Men.
But so much of what's being set up with this love triangle almost feels like old-school television. The will-they/won't they days of early shipping. Plus, we all know Matt and Elektra are far more compelling as a pair, so it's going to be interesting to see what comes of all this if she also returns. Frank Castle likely isn't a character who'll ever get a happy ending, given Marvel's patterns, but if he does, a relationship with Karen Page makes the most sense.
