Hawkeye continues its slow plotline this week in order to advance the relationship between Kate Bishop and Clint Barton…
A familiar face also returns to New York to take her own revenge on Hawkeye for imagined slights against her family.
This week’s episode picks up exactly where the last left off, and immediately diffuses the tension that was hinted at. In its place, is a more lighthearted scene, with Hawkeye awkwardly meeting Kate’s mum and stepdad. This gives Jacques a chance to bond again with Kate, which to his credit seems to work. Marvel has depicted the development of family in a smart way, showing that Kate is starting to accept her mum’s husband with Hailee Steinfeld’s reactions
It then moves on to a delightful scene of Clint and Kate bonding over Christmas films. The episode also features a deeper look on the impact the death of Black Widow has had on Hawkeye, with Jeremy Renner giving an emotional performance as Hawkeye talks about it.
The show also addresses one of the earlier criticisms, by adding a sense of urgency to Hawkeye’s predicament. This episode reveals there are only three days before Christmas, meaning there isn’t long before Hawkeye will have failed his kids.
With this focus on Black Widow, the episode reintroduces Yelena Belova back into the MCU. It is only for a brief fight scene near the end, but it is bound to set up her for a bigger role in the show going forward.
Marvel was right to hold off on bringing her into the show, as Florence Pugh very quickly overshadowed the Black Widow film, and so could have done the same with Hawkeye. Hopefully the next two episodes will use her sparingly.
The other, more predictable reveal in the show is that Jacques Duquesne, the shifty acting stepdad, is evil. While his exact position in the criminal organisation is a surprise and seems to rule out the idea that Kingpin will be involved in the show, he was cast as a distrustful character right from the show’s start.
His villainous twist was done casually and without much fanfare, with Hawkeye learning through it in conversation with his wife. It seems that he is after a watch from Avengers Tower, but it isn’t explained what the significance of the watch is or why he wants it.
While the plot is starting to crank it up a gear, this episode once again focused on the relationship between Hawkeye and Kate, leaving it in a rocky place for next week to pick up from. It gave the audience two startling reveals, one that was predictable and one that ties Hawkeye more closely to the Black Widow film.
Next week will hopefully delve more deeply into both reveals, setting the stakes for both our leads as it leads to the finale of the show.
Hawkeye is available to stream on Disney+
By Kieran Burt
Feature image: Disney