Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) has become a standout in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 in ways the MCU has rarely seen. Woll's character from Marvel Comics was first introduced in Netflix's Daredevil and The Punisher TV shows, and has since returned, alongside many of her castmates, in Marvel Studios' revival, Daredevil: Born Again. After only a few small appearances in Season 1, Karen Page has had a significantly larger role in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, and this expansion has given her character a direction rarely explored in female MCU characters.
Karen was first introduced in Daredevil as the office manager for Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson's law firm, and from there became an investigative reporter and, now, a resistance leader and Daredevil's right hand in the Disney+ show. Karen is known for being kind and compassionate, but with a reckless, sometimes ruthless streak that has come to the fore in Daredevil: Born Again's latest episodes.
The second season of the MCU show has seen Matt and Karen forced into hiding by Mayor Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Task Force, where they've been trying to mount an uprising against Kingpin and save the city. The months of plotting, living out of sight, and risking their lives for little gain have taken their toll on Karen, and she and Matt have been seen arguing over the "right" way to handle Fisk, with Karen leaning more and more towards ruthless measures.
Episode 6 of Season 2 saw Karen increasingly push Matt to cross a line, as she embraced an "ends justify the means" outlook. Karen refuses to take Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) to a hospital for his wounds, suggesting he deserves what he got for his actions (and for killing their friend Foggy), and then encourages Matt to consider killing Kingpin in order to put an end to his tyranny:
Karen: "You told me that you were gonna kill Fisk, and I told you not to... What if I was wrong?"
Matt: "Karen, please stop it. Can't you see that is what separates us from him?"
Karen: "Are we really still that separate?"
Matt: "Yes, we are! We are separate. It is not up to us to take life."
Karen: "I know, I know! All right, I pay every day for what I did to Wesley. I still have nightmares! But the difference is I don't regret it. It was him or me. And what if that's what it's like with you and Fisk? Him or you? What if this doesn't end until one of you goes down?"
Matt: "I can't think about it that way."
Karen: "Well, you're gonna have to. He has proven that he will not hesitate!"
Matt: "This isn't you. It's not you."
Karen's gradual descent into desperate, ruthless measures to win the war against Fisk has driven a wedge between her and Matt and steadily pushed her ethics into a grayer area.
Later in the same episode, Karen is prepared to shoot Bullseye, until Daredevil intervenes. He begs Karen to let him carry the burden for her, but she is adamant that Matt is choosing the wrong side as he keeps letting Fisk live while those on their side die:
Matt: "What happened to you?"
Karen: "You know, Christofi never made it to witness protection. My source never started broadcasting, which, knowing Fisk, probably means that they're both dead. You wanna know what happened to me? I grew up."
In Episode 7 of Season 2, Karen has been apprehended by the AVTF and thrown into prison. While inside, she faces off with Fisk, who tries to intimidate her and make her question her cause, though Karen remains strong, even withstanding a physical assault from Fisk.
Karen shows her strength again later in a psych evaluation with Heather Glenn, Matt's ex and Fisk's therapist. Heather and Karen engage in a power play as each tries to outdo the other, but Heather manages to rattle Karen when she suggests she is "being used as a puppet" by the men in her life:
Heather: "Did you feel powerful when you murdered James Wesley? After a lifetime of, I don't know, being used as a puppet by all these men. Daddy, brother, Frank Castle."
Karen: "F*ck you!"
Heather: "Funny. That's where the nerve is."
Karen's arc throughout Daredevil: Born Again has proven that she is more than just Daredevil's love interest or sidekick, and while Daredevil is still the star of the show, Karen has become a worthy supporting character with her own agency. Woll brings complexity to her performance of Karen, which is bolstered by the show's writing and the room it gives her to explore a complicated arc and a side of female characters that often goes unaddressed in MCU projects.
Karen's character offers a flawed, human aspect that serves as a counterpoint to Daredevil's heroic outlook. The two are a strong match, but their different points of view give their relationship depth and complexity. Karen offers a relatable perspective on the struggles and labors that go into mounting a resistance movement, and her dark past traumas inform her view, which is becoming more ethically gray than Matt's. Her difficulties with remaining moral in an increasingly immoral world are a rare arc for female characters to endure, particularly in the Marvel Studios universe.
Karen Page Inspires A New Standard For Female Characters in the MCU
The MCU has had its share of female heroes over the years, with the likes of Black Widow, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, and Scarlet Witch all headlining projects of different sizes. While Karen Page isn't the lead of her own show and isn't a superpowered being, her character shows off a side of the human condition that other female heroes don't often get to explore.
Women in the MCU headline fewer projects, so anytime they're put in the spotlight, they're often depicted as strong and heroic figures, with fewer flaws, to try to align with the standard set by their male counterparts. Characters like Black Widow, Shuri/Black Panther, and Captain Marvel are all inspiring figures thanks to their strength, virtues, and intelligence, but they're rarely given room to make mistakes, or when they do, to have those mistakes explored with complexity.
One of the few female heroes to have been given such depth is Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones, who was set up as flawed and messy from the outset in her Netflix series and given three seasons' worth of exploration into her complicated character. Daredevil: Born Again has since brought Ritter back as Jessica and is already promising to explore her character in interesting new ways as she balances superheroics and motherhood.
With both Karen Page and Jessica Jones, Daredevil: Born Again promises a level of female character exploration that most other MCU projects haven't offered. Female characters who are allowed to be flawed and messy or to go through experiences like motherhood (possibly even single motherhood), or struggling with a change in virtues, are meaty topics that few women have been given in the MCU, but Daredevil: Born Again is inspiring new levels of depth for Marvel Studios to take with its female characters.
