Hawkeye‘s First 2 Episodes Hit the Bullseye of Character Development

When I found tear in my eyes five minutes into the first episode of Hawkeye , I took that as a good sign . Marvel Studios ’ up-to-the-minute show is finallyon Disney+ , with the first two episodes now streaming . It explore how Clint Barton ( Jeremy Renner ) is processing life in apost Avengers : Endgameworld while also showing how his heroism has bear upon a young , wealthy New York girl named Kate Bishop ( Hailee Steinfeld ) .

The first two episode gave us aneasy , breezy , canvasfor thosetwo radically unlike personalitiesand viewpoints to evolve . And while the taradiddle , at least at the start , is n’t extremist compelling , the voltage to see how those two fictional character are going to change each other very much is . Those aforementioned , and slightly unenviable , tears come in the show ’s first shot . We quickly realize that Kate Bishop was in New York City when Loki and the Chitauri round in 2012 , as see in the original Avengers film , and that it shattered her life completely . She lost her don ( Brian d’Arcy James ) and could have lose her own aliveness had it not been from a individual pointer shot by an Avenger cite Hawkeye . The style the episode used a very recognizable second from the finale of that picture , and gave it a whole unexampled substance by putting Kate on the diametrical closing of it , really run into me in the heart . You instantly understand why she ’s going to pick up a fore and arrow and have such worship for Hawkeye . He literally saved her life . Plus , I found it strike to see that the outcome of the MCU , even as far back as Phase 1 , are still having repercussions in newfangled and unexpected path .

You also had to appreciate how the initiative credits helped forward the story by showingKate going through all kinds of preparation , like fencing , warlike arts , and of course archery . So when we meet her in the present - day , now played by Steinfeld , we already have an approximation who she is : a girl who has draw a bead on to be a superhero her whole living , even if she ’s presently using those skills for college - age pranks which result in the destruction of a invaluable clock tower .

The poster for Hawkeye.

The poster for Hawkeye.Image: Marvel Studios

gratefully for Kate , her mom Eleanor ( Vera Farmiga ) is very copious . So when Kate goes home for Christmas , Mom is mad , but can handle it . She also explain that Kate ’s wealthiness and young give her a confidence that probably is n’t a upright thing . Eleanor enjoin that Kate might conceive she ’s unbeatable , but she ’s not . It ’s a moment that instantly alerts the audience to Kate ’s harebrained privilege , and really differentiates her from most of the other heroes in the MCU . She might be on the Hawkeye show , but she ’s more Tony Stark than Clint Barton .

Speaking of Clint , he ’s also in New York for Christmas , taking in a Broadway show with this three , now much sr. it seems , kid . They ’re go out Rogers the Musical , which is really queer and uproarious to us , the audience , but not so much to Clint . The sight of Natasha Romanoff , even in melodic theatre grade , still actuate trauma in him . Even in the bathroom at the show , Clint continue to deal with the weight of his life . From a devotee asking for a selfie at the urinal to graffiti suppose “ Thanos was good , ” you’re able to tell that he ’s not even unaired to healed from everything . Even the good thing , like a eatery comping his dinner party as a give thanks you , do n’t sit right with him . Moments like these early in Hawkeye work to show us Clint in a whole fresh vulnerable , way .

Kate , on the other mitt , has her own problems . At a first-rate swank political party where she ’s dressed in a courting or else of the dress her mummy require her to wear , she finds out that her mammy is engaged to a Isle of Man named Jack Duquesne ( Better Call Saul ’s Tony Dalton ) who has a propensity for brand — a nod to his funny book lineament ’s identity as Jacques Duquesne , the Swordsman , which we ’ll get to afterward . He ’s also got a contentious human relationship with his uncle Armond ( Simon Callow ) , who himself has some queer , as contentious feelings about Eleanor . All of it is very weird , so Kate decide to enquire and comes upon a shameful market place auction in the wine-colored cellar where you may grease one’s palms stuff like a Triceratops skull … or the retractable sword of Ronin , aka Hawkeye ’s revengeful character during the Blip . Apparently Ronin / Hawkeye ’s steel was recover out of the detritus pull up stakes during the Avengers ’ final engagement with Thanos , and now both Armond and Jack want it . Armond win with a dictation just under a one-half million clam but before he can hoard , a crowd crashes the auction looking for a watch . In the chaos , Jack steal the blade and slips away , while Kate get Ronin ’s rig , puts it on , and kicks a bunch of ass .

Graphic: Jim Cooke

Save the clock tower!Image: Marvel Studios

regrettably , Hawkeye ’s Ronin role has great deal and deal of enemies all across the populace , especially in New York . So once Ronin is spotted by some of the New York Hades , it ’s assailable time of year . Kate , who is inside the case , does n’t know this though . She just thought it was a cool costume . She uses it to sneak into Armond ’s place to hopefully obtain out more about his transaction with Jack and her mom . However , Kate finds more than just some of Armond ’s oddly monogrammed butterscotch . She rule Armond ’s numb body , jab by a sword . Very quick Kate realizes being Ronin is probably not a good affair . Thankfully , as more and more bad guy rope fare out of the woodworking to see her , she ’s write by , you guessed it , Clint Barton . Her hoagie . And that cliffhanger of our two leads finally meeting cash in one’s chips decently into the 2d installment .

Episode two picks up powerful there , with Clint desperate to get his Ronin turnout back and put that whole part of his life behind him . Before he can get it though , the Track Suit Mafia encounter Kate , conceive she ’s the Ronin of the past , and set about to kill her . She and Clint escape but result the cause behind , which is the point where Clint realize that “ a little girl in a ninja costume slip my Christmas . ” He ’s now going to have to get the courtship back , and ensure all the criminal are n’t after this female child . He ’s also going to have to get the sword too , but that has n’t come up in the tarradiddle yet ( but it has to , correct ? ) .

One of the large problems with Hawkeye is that the motivation for essentially what ’s going to be the forcefulness of the whole show is n’t now obvious . It take away me a few minutes to forecast out why Clint feels like he has to put his youngster on a plane and spend this sentence with Kate . Really , it ’s not until the end of episode two that you realize just how braggart a deal it is for Clint ’s Ronin stuff to be out in the humans again and how it ’s belong to thrust him to take with demons he has been avoiding . That there ’s this young young lady in the midsection of it only complicates things further . That she idolizes him and desire to watch add another stratum — and that he has promised his home he ’ll do all this in less than a week to be home for Christmas is just the icing on the cake . It also does n’t help that , after going back to Kate ’s now burned - down apartment , the Ronin outfit is gone . Clint clear it was taken by a first responder who is also a bouncy action role instrumentalist , which moderate him to go to a LARPing event in Central Park . The scene was , frankly , a little over the top and ridiculous , but seeing an Avenger walk in slow motion through all these knights and ninjas and enchantress was just too mirthful . He also come through a champion in Grills ( Clayton English ) , who took the Ronin outfit and gives it back under the circumstance he be allow to “ bolt down ” an Avenger .

Save the clock tower!

Save the clock tower!Image: Marvel Studios

There was also a really telling instant in the episode when Clint and Kate ( who for a large part of this instalment isdressed like David S. Pumpkins ) are walk through Times Square . A few multitude dressed as Avengers are there , but there ’s no Hawkeye , so Kate attempts to explicate to Clint why he ’s not as pop as some of his fellow Avengers . She say the fact he ’s so orphic can only take him so far , and the fact he does n’t display his emotion hurts his brand . Clint says he does n’t want to have a brand but Kate explains that part of the job of being an Avenger is to revolutionise , and Clint ’s lack of open sincerity is simply not as inspirational as the others . It ’ll be interesting to see how this conversation about Hawkeye ’s mystique fits into everything that ’ll happen in the next few episodes . Our guess is , by the death , Hawkeye is gon na be wear that nub on his sleeve like Kate suggest .

As Clint is LARPing , Kate is getting to do it her before long - to - be stepdad , Jack . She ’s long ago adjudicate she does n’t trust him and proves he ’s hiding something when the two decide to do some fencing , as you do in the eye of a plushy Manhattan penthouse . Kate is so dependable at fencing , though , that she knows Jack is letting her profits and contain back . It ’s a fact he finally include to , which make sense ; as we mentioned earlier , in the comics , Jack Duquesne is a performing artist - turned - crook call the Swordsman . Duquesne even school a young Clint Barton , though we do n’t know if that ’ll be part of his background knowledge in Hawkeye , or whether the Swordsman will be part of his future on the show , just yet . In fact , we do n’t get laid much about his motive at all , just that he ’s being suspect about them .

We also observe out Jack has one of Armond ’s butterscotch treats — and that , coupled with his swordsmanship , lead Kate to believe he had something to do with Armond ’s slaying … a slaying , she get a line , the self-assurance think the Ronin was involved with . Kate leaves and want to severalize Clint about her findings only to discover that he ’s been captured . However , he ’s actually allow himself to be capture by the Track Suit Mafia to hopefully smooth affair out about Ronin . He ’s making advancement until wannabe Avenger Kate drops in on him to save him . Now they ’re both captured and the instalment ends with the instauration of the leader of the Track Suit Mafia , Maya Lopez , played by Alaqua Cox . In the comics , Maya Lopez is the part Echo , who has connections not just to Ronin but Kingpin and others . She also has a new Marvel Disney+ show of her own coming out . So that ’s exciting !

Will you sign my bow?

Will you sign my bow?Image: Marvel Studios

At goal of these first two episodes of Hawkeye , a few things brook out . It was great to see how Kate and Clint acquaint dissimilar standpoint on super valorousness . Clint has gone through a spate of pain because of it and even the good rewards do n’t seem worth it to him . Kate conversely just sees that glitz and glamour of it and wants a while for herself , consideration be dam up . It ’s also interesting and overdue , even just a movie or two removed , that Clint is actually suffer the result for his meter as the murderous Ronin . That whole chapter of his life is something Endgame barely touched upon , and it ’s very welcome to get some insight into his psychological hurt . Plus , the way Clint ’s wife Laura ( Linda Cardellini ) is so comfortable by this point with his effort , and even helps him out , is a nice collocation with the zany material going on as well . As for the story about Jack and some murder and stuff ? Eh . I could take it or leave it at this tip . But if we get to see the extremes of Kate ’s blanket - eyed inflammation and Clint ’s cynical professionalism start to come together in both part ? Well , that could make for some really exciting hooey .

novel episodes of Hawkeye launching Wednesdays on Disney+ .

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