Netflix

Fans weren’t the only ones who noticed the developing relationship between Frank Castle and Karen Page on Season 2 of Daredevil.

In fact, THE PUNISHER showrunner Steve Lightfoot was taken by the chemistry between the characters as well, and personally requested Deborah Ann Woll, who plays Karen, reprise her role opposite Jon Bernthal’s titular character, for his spinoff series.

“They’re just both amazing actors,” Lightfoot told Tracking Board ahead of the show’s premiere. “The guys on Daredvil wrote some great scenes for them, and they were just so good. I just thought they were great together and they were shooting Defenders at the time and I just said, ‘Can we get [Deborah]? We should find a place for Karen in there.’ I think it’s because in many ways, they’re two equals. She’s one of the few people on the show that Frank respects and therefore cares what she thinks. And that bond has gotten strong enough that she’s not afraid to tell him what she thinks. They share darkness but also a lot of humanity. I was always fascinated by the stuff in Daredevil where we found she’d killed and I kind of love that they still haven’t told us what that’s all about. So it’s her understanding of where he comes from in a way that not many people do, that gave the relationship a depth. And it also gives her the ability to be the person who looks at him and says, ‘What you’re doing isn’t right.’ In some ways, she’s the one who questions his actions the most. And really, you just love watching those two actors work together.”

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the relationship will turn romantic or be defined in any particular way anytime soon.

“I think the moment you define chemistry like that, you immediately put a sell-by date on it, it then becomes a narrative,” Lightfoot said. “I sort of love that lots of people see it there and the potential for it, but in some ways I feel like the minute we put a label on a relationship, it loses some of its magic. And Karen is obviously on the other shows and doing stuff over there, so… Who knows? Who knows what will happen down the line?”

Of course, Karen’s not the only person Frank will have to face this time around. Now that he’s the star of his own show, Frank gets his own set of friends and foes and sidekicks and just generally other human beings in his orbit. Not necessarily a position that’s comfortable for Frank Castle.

“There’s a version of the show where he never speaks to anyone, ever,” Lightfoot joked. “In the end, revenge for its own sake becomes very reductive and cold. Something we had to do on the show was give him something to fight for in the present rather than it all being about the past. [Bringing in new characters] also forces him to engage. The thing about a guy like Frank, who’s full of rage and grief, he doesn’t want to feel. Some of the best stuff in the show and the fun of the show, is when he’s forced to feel. Deep down, everyone needs that human contact, somewhere, even if they’re denying it. So a lot of the characters force him to care and give a damn about people.”

All 13 episodes of The Punisher drops on Netflix on Friday, November 17.

Linda Ge | TV Editor