‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4 Review: Exploring the Tragedies That Made Clint Barton…
Following an action-packed third episode, Marvel’s newest series takes a turn in the latest installment, providing what is perhaps the most emotionally resonant episode to date. This is our Hawkeye episode 4 Review.
Clint Barton, up to this point, has been atoning for the sins of a past life in the story that has unfolded in Hawkeye.
Source: Marvel Studios
Protecting Kate Bishop from the enemies she unknowingly gained by donning the Ronin outfit, the entire crux of the series has been his desire to make good on his second chance and to protect others from his own choices.
In an episode that shows the bonding between teacher and protege, Barton and Bishop have seemingly found common ground in this effort to undo the deadly efforts of the Tracksuit Mafia.
Source: Marvel Studios
But as Barton says in one of the last lines in the episode: things get very real, very quickly.
With the return of another Marvel character in the episode, Clint is faced with the reality that what happened to Natasha could very well happen to Bishop, terrifying Barton to his core and raising the stakes of the series.
Source: Marvel Studios
The most memorable aspect of Hawkeye‘s fourth episode is its journey that delves deeper into the tragedies of Clint’s past, reinforcing the reasons why he has fought so hard to protect Kate from his mistakes, and from her own mistakes that await her idolized life of a hero.
In this episode, questions were answered: we know more about Jack Duquesne than before the series began, with Kate now forced to reconcile her mother’s happiness with her burden to do what is right.
Photo: Disney+
But even more, questions arose too, with the reintroduction of the coveted watch that could give locations to someone who does not want to be found.
Jeremy Renner shines in this episode, beautifully portraying the deep scars within Clint Barton that drive his quest for protection of Kate, and impact his ability to look at himself in the light that Kate Bishop looks at him.
Source: Marvel Studios
In the words of Barton himself, his job is all about, “managing loss,” and finding ways to move forward amidst the pain that comes with putting the people you love in constant danger, and sometimes, losing the people you love most.
Although Echo gets lost in the shuffle of a slower-paced, emotional installment, her threat to Clint and Kate can be felt the second she arrives, with Hawkeye building her quest for revenge with every passing appearance, which will only build to an explosive final confrontation between the two.
Source: Marvel Studios
The series continues to build on one of Marvel’s most interesting characters, crafting Barton on the same tragedies that defined his Avengers: Endgame appearance, and making him one of the most human characters in the series.
With a fantastic return of a beloved Marvel character, and the seeming fall out of the Bishop and Barton duo, Hawkeye episode 4 continues its humanization and deconstruction of Clint Barton, while simultaneously raising the stakes of the MCU’s most grounded series.
Photo: Marvel Studios
