'Hawkeye' Episode 1 : "Never Meet Your Heroes" and Episode 2: "Hide and Seek" Recap and Review
Take a dash of humility, a pinch of John Hughes and a heaping spoonful Holiday cheer, mix thoroughly and bake at 350 degrees for a delectably enjoyable slice of Marvel magic
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
Hawkeye does not deal with the forces of reality and consequences of unchecked grief, nor does it touch on race relations, nor the fragility of space time and that is A-OK. The stakes so far are so minute that it only serves to mildly exasperate the blue-collar archer but that seems to be the sweet spot for Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton. Contributing to his mild annoyance is MCU newcomer Kate Bishop played by Oscar Nominee Haylee Steinfeld. The two slip into a familiar banter with ease as if they have been annoying each other for years. The two begrudgingly pal around against the backdrop of New York City during Christmas with a nostalgic score that is sure to bring memories of more than a few John Hughes films. Hawkeye is like apple pie; simple, comforting, nostalgic and more than welcome during the Holiday season.
The premier episode takes us back to 2012 where we find a young Kate Bishop as she listens in on an argument between her father (Brian d'Arcy James) and mother (Vera Farmiga). but soon the house is rocked as the Battle of New York begins between the Avengers and the Chitauri. Kate searches for her parents in a frantic panic until a hole is blown open in the side of their building. Suddenly there are aliens barreling towards her but a well-placed arrow saves her. She looks out into the chaos and sees her hero, Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye. Her mother finds her and whisks her away to safety as she calls out for her father who, sadly, would never answer. At his funeral, young Kate makes the decision right there to be the protector of the family and asks for one thing from mother, a bow and arrow. Fast forward to present day where we find Kate sneaking to the top of her dormitory with bow in hand. She has a bet to win, she fires an arrow at the bell tower to create an underwhelming excuse for a ‘bong’. She decides she can so better, so she takes aim once more, this time hitting the bell clopper and causing true bell ring. But the ringing destabilizes the old bell and it collapses, nearly destroying the clock tower. Christmas time in New York. We join Clint Barton and kids as they begrudgingly sit through ‘Rodgers: The Musical’. Clint, who turned off his hearing aid to spare himself from the cringe, but with the passing of his best friend Natasha still haunting him. The jaunty tunes and painful memories prove to be too much and they all bail for some Chinese food instead. Kate returns to New York and visits her mother and her boyfriend Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton). Elenore chastises her for the bell tower incident just before it’s reveled that Jack has moved in much to the annoyance of Kate and they all head off to a schmooze-y upper class party. At dinner, the Bartons check in with mother Laura (Linda Cardellini). At the party, Kate meets Jack’s father Armand Duquesne (Simon Callow) and he lets slip the fact that Jack and Elenore are now engaged. This does not sit well with Kate who, after confronting her mother, steps out for a breath of fresh air. After meeting a mysterious one-eyed dog, she heads back inside to catch a suspicious conversation between Armand and her mother. Elenore downplays the situation but Kate follows Armand anyway. By posing as a waitress, she follows Armand to an underground auction of questionably legal goods. Jack then joins Armand as Kate dodges security. The auction brings out a special item, the sword of the vigilante known as Ronin. Jack and Armand engage in a bidding war for the sword that Armand eventually wins, and just as they bring out Ronin’s suit for auction a hole is blown in the wall and the Tracksuit Mafia breaks in looking for a special watch. During the confusion, Jack steals the sword and Kate puts on the Ronin costume to protect her own identity. Chaos ensues and cake fights her way out of danger. As one of the Mafia members finds the watch, revealed to be from the Avengers compound, the one-eyed dog returns and attacks the man. Kate comes in to help and chases the dog into the streets then saves it from on-coming traffic, while still in the Ronin suit. The Bartons return to their hotel just in time to see a video of Kate wearing the Ronin costume on the news. Kate takes the dog back to her apartment then immediately leaves to investigate Armand. She breaks into Armbands home only to find a bowl of monogrammed butterscotch candies and Armand dead from a blade wound. Kate leaves in a panic but before she can return to her apartment, she is confronted by the Tracksuit Mafia. she attempts to fight them off but they prove to be too much, they surround her in an SUV but she is saved by a hooded man. The man confronts Kate and reveals himself to be Hawkeye.
Episode 2 begins directly where the first left off, Clint escorts Kate to her apartment for safety. Back at her place, Clint realizes that Kate may be in more danger than he thought, and suddenly they are attacked by the Tracksuit Mafia with Molotov cocktails, setting her apartment ablaze. They escape with the dog but have to leave the suit. After a quick supply run, they head to the apartment of Kate’s aunt, who happens to be out of town. After ensuring her safety, Clint returns to the fire and breaks in posed as a firefighter, he fails to find the suit but a sticker leads him to the mysterious world of Live Action Role-Play or LARP for short. Clint returns to the apartment to clean wounds and re-assess the situation. After a brief social media search, Clint finds the Larper with his suit then calls it a night. Clint spends the mourning sending his kids to the airport then escorts Kate to her mom’s security firm for her safety. At the firm, she finds Elenore and Jack. Tension between Jack and Kate rise, and she agrees to a dinner mainly to confirm her suspicions about Jack. Clint’s lead takes him to Central Park where he is forced to join the Larp. After a duel to the pretend death with the noble Grills (Clayton English), Clint re-obtains the suit. Meanwhile, Kate dodges questions from the police about her apartment fire. After checking in on the family and stashing the suit, Clint decides his next move is to be kidnapped by the Tracksuit Mafia. During dinner, Kate and Jack’s contention boils over into a fencing match. Armand is clearly holding back which only furthers her suspicions of him. Kate begins the see the ridiculousness of her accusations until her offers her a monogrammed butterscotch from Armand’s home. Kate makes up an excuse and runs off. Clint allows himself to be captured and Kate tracks him as they take Clint to an old warehouse for interrogation. Clint’s patience wains and tensions rise, then Kate falls through the roof. With them both now, the Mafia notify their boss, a mysterious def woman.
Hawkeye wraps itself around the MCU like lights around the Christmas tree. Beginning immediately with the revisiting of the The Battle of New York from The Avengers. The MacGuffin starts as the Ronin costume, this is of course Hawkeye’s dark alter ego from Avengers: Infinity War, and really the incitement of the story is purely coincidental. Kate follows her suspicious future step-grandpa to a secret black-market auction that so happens to be selling the Ronin costume and gets robbed by the Tracksuit Mafia at just the right time. She wears the suit to hide herself from Jack and accidently gets filmed saving a dog in the costume. Kate stumbles her way into this story but it feels endearing. She is riding the wave of ridiculousness just like Clint has been doing throughout the MCU. This is why their dynamic works; Kate is a young Clint and Clint is a tired old and jaded version of Kate. Emphasis on old, the years of being the Normal-est Avenger has taken its toll on him. He is losing his hearing, forcing him to wear a hearing aid which has been a part of his character in several comics. He seems to be apathetic in a lot of ways, his reaction to seeing “Thanos Was Right” written on a urinal doesn’t even phase him. This version of Clint doesn’t care about the little things because he has his family back and that is all that matters. Nothing in these two episodes phases him; the hilariously inept Tracksuit Mafia, the NYC LARP community, not even a Molotov Cocktail. The source of any frustration for Hawkeye revolves around the event keeping him from his kids. He knows that he has a responsibility to Kate for bringing the reputation of the Ronin down on her but has his responsibility as a father as well. This is what makes this version of Clint enjoyable along with Jeremy Renner’s lovable performance. Clint’s patience is always at wicks end with just about anything but has enough heart and humility to just power through it, like the blue-collar Avenger he is. Kate has her hands full with her future step-dad. In the comics, Jack Duquesne is the Swordsman and a mentor of Clint’s from the Circus. This version certainly has a sinister vibe to him, an affinity for swords and exceptional skill with one in his hand. It’s hard to believe the fencing match between Jack and Kate won’t be the only time they cross swords in the series. Even Kates mother Elenore seems suspicious. Played by the ever incredible Vera Farmiga. Elenore seems to play down a lot of the more concerning events of the story, like her argument with Armand and his murder with a sword. As for the Tracksuit Mafia, they are hilarious. Led by actors Fra Fee, Aleks Paunovic, and Piotr Adamczyk, they are a pie in the face away from being the Three Stooges. They aren’t menacing, or threatening, and are actually somewhat polite. The final reveal in the second episode points to why, they are being led by Echo. Played by Alaqua Cox, Echo is a def character who has exceptional skill in visual replication. Even though she was Wilson Fisk’s adoptive daughter, she is often on the hero side of the line, even taking up the alias of Ronin for herself at one point. The introduction of Echo serves as a bridge for Marvel to both Kingpin and Daredevil amid heavy speculation of their reprisals in the MCU by Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox respectively.
So far, Hawkeye is a series befitting of the Hawkeye character. Low stakes, not taken too seriously, and packed with heart. Kate seems to channel massive Kevin McAlister energy which seems to be by design given the multiple references the Home Alone series. The nostalgia kick brings a warm and comforting feeling to the series that simply makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. I don’t expect any reality changing events out of this series. In fact, any MCU shattering event would feel gratuitous and out of place, that’s not who Hawkeye is. This is another strong start for a Disney+ series and while a small sense of apprehension lingers from the endings of the Disney+ series to come before it, Hawkeye’s stakes are so low that it almost feels inconsequential. Without the pressure to deliver a reality changing Hex, or a Kang the Conqueror, or crown a new Captain America, one only needs to sit back with a warm cup of Coco, snuggle up in your fleece Avengers Blanket and enjoy around the warmth of a crackling fire.