'Hawkeye' Episode 3: "Echoes" Recap and Review
Decorating the latest episode is a variety of adorable team building, an exciting chase scene, some illuminating backstory, and a beautiful bouquet of trick arrows
WARNING: Contains Spoilers
It seems Marvel series on Disney+ have developed a formula for their ‘crossing the threshold’ episodes; a backstory in the cold open, followed by your obligatory action sequence, then plot development, all the way until the bookend cliffhanger. It happens around episodes 2, 3, or 4, depending on the series, and is meant start the next act of the series by solidifying either the stakes or the threat; the Hex, John Walker, Sylvie etc. For Hawkeye, we are introduced to Echo and the looming threat of “Uncle.” The formula, although stale, does not detract from the episode. Largely because our newest member of the Marvel universe, Echo, played by Alaqua Cox, is decently interesting as a character, but also because of Trick Arrows.
Episode Three begins with young Echo back in the year 2007. We see her excel in school despite her father (Zahn McClarnon) not being able to send her to a specialty school for the deaf, as well as in martial arts while having a prosthetic leg. Here, we get a glimpse and hear a laugh from the mysterious “Uncle.” Fast forward to where Echo witnesses the shadowy Ronin kill her father in an apparent raid on their repair shop. Now, back where we left Clint (Jeremy Renner) and Kate (Hailee Steinfeld), tied to kiddie rides with the Tracksuit Mafia. After letting them sit for a bit, Echo finally comes down to interrogate them. They make extraordinarily little progress in clearing up the mistake in identity before Clint mounts an escape leading to Kate and Clint being chased through New York by Echo and the Tracksuit Mafia. By utilizing a variety of trick arrows, they manage to escape and after a quick subway ride, they return to the apartment. During the escape, Echo breaks Clint’s hearing aid so when his son Nathanial calls, Kate must interpret. Clint learns that he is missing another Christmas moment with the family and sees how much being away from them is weighing on his heart. Back at the warehouse, the Tracksuit Mafia is clearing out when Kazi of the tracksuits (Fra Free) tries to talk Echo out of continuing to pursue Ronin and that he hopes “Uncle” does not find out, but Echo tunes him out, figuratively. After getting his hearing aid fixed, Clint and Kate grab lunch and have a heart-to-heart about why Clint does what he does. After some discussion, Kate convinces Clint to investigate her mother’s apartment for more information on Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton). After some investigation, a sound draws Clint to another room where in a blink of an eye, Jack holds Ronin’s sword to Clint’s throat.
Starting with the obvious, “Uncle” is Kingpin, and Kingpin is being played by Vincent D’Onofrio. Aside from the comic connections, there was a clear Easter egg in the name of “Fat Man Auto Repair” which is where Ronin killed Echo’s father. Most telling, though, was the laugh we hear coming from “Uncle” in Echo’s flashback. After a decade’s worth of hearing D’Onofrio in cinema, there is no mistaking that chuckle for anyone else but him. The prospect of seeing D’Onofrio’s Kingpin in the MCU is exhilarating; one, because his interpretation of the character is absolutely enthralling to see in action, and two because this opens the door for a plethora of character reprisals from Marvel’s varied cinematic history. A highlight of this episode is the chase sequence that begins with the escape in the warehouse. Echo and Hawkeye go one-on-one here and it becomes painfully obvious that Clint is still the Normal-est Avenger. Clint barely holds his own against her and just manages to escape the chaos. This leads to a chase scene that begins with a great one-shot and accented with a fun use and reveal of Clint’s arsenal of trick arrows. We see a putty arrow, gas arrow, weird cable tie arrow, acid arrows, a Pym particle arrow, and an extremely dangerous USB arrow. The scene serves to solidify Kate’s skills as an archer while displaying the fun aspects of the Hawkeye character that we had yet to see. Not much was seen of our mysterious Jack Duquesne, but the more the series progresses, the more he seems like the Red Herring. The series seems to be beating you down with a sinister vibe to Jack that feels so obvious that it may be a misdirect. That brings up Elenore Bishop. Vera Farmiga’s presence in the the episode was noticeably absent, but her history as string-puller for Madame Masque looms like a dark cloud over the series. One plot point that is staying alive in the series is the Watch that was the intended objective of the assault on the underground auction. Episode One made it very clear that the Watch was what the Tracksuit Mafia was after and that it was from the Avengers Compound. In this episode, Clint ponders aloud as to what the true objective of the raid on the auction was, bringing the watch to mind again. What could be going on is that the Kingpin now owns the recently sold Avengers Tower and needs a watch, which I presume was owned by Tony Stark, to access some game changing tech or secret inside the tower. Only time will tell, but the clues are there for the audience to discover.
Once again, the key ingredient in this series is heart. Slowly, the relationship between Clint and Kate is progressing. Clint is beginning to acknowledge that Kate is more than just a kid in the wrong place at the right time and Kate is beginning to understand the complex emotions that Clint is dealing with by helping her. Clint is being wrecked with guilt from Kate being blamed for his time as Ronin, as well as being away from his kids, yet has an overwhelming sense of responsibility to both. This was exemplified by the conversation between Nathanial and Clint, and by extension, Kate. He is a man who desperately wants one thing in life which we all can relate to: he wants to be home for the holidays.