Let’s Talk about Hawkeye Episode 1-4

I’m not spoiling anything to tell you that the title of the latest Hawkeye episode is Partners, Am I Right?

We already know that one of the essential aspects of this series centers on the development of Kate Bishop as a viable replacement Hawkeye.

To reach that point, Bishop must earn the respect of her tutor, Clint Barton. Thus far, that hasn’t gone well. So, this week’s story accelerates the process.

Let’s talk about Hawkeye episode 1-4, the one with the surprise cameo.

His Name is The Swordsman

In the comics, the character of Jacques Duquesne possesses a secret identity as The Swordsman.

While Hawkeye could possibly skip that angle, it seems unlikely. Sure, the show has renamed the character Jack Duquesne, but come on! We’re splitting hairs!

I say all this before I remind you that last week’s episode ended with Jack holding Ronin’s sword to Ronin’s Hawkeye’s throat.

This episode obviously picks up immediately afterward, and it’s a swerve as we expected.

Seconds after Jack threatens Clint Barton, Kate’s mother, Eleanor, enters the room and delivers the line of the series thus far.

“What the Hell is going on? And why is there an Avenger in my dining room?”

Soon afterward, the four people, all of whom are presumably either superheroes or villains in this tale, share an awkward conversation over tea.

Kate repeatedly lies to her mother while trying to sound cool to her hero. Clint…doesn’t buy much of what she’s selling.

For that matter, neither does Eleanor. It doesn’t help when mom receives a notification that somebody hacked into her security system.

Eleanor doesn’t need two guesses to know that it’s her daughter, Kate.

For his part, Clint eyes the Ronin sword the same way I eye lemon poundcake. He wants it.

Before that can happen, Eleanor escorts the Avenger to the family mansion’s elevator. So yeah, they’re rich.

Anyway, Clint confirms that he is working on a case with Kate, which seems…wildly implausible.

For her part, Eleanor fears for her daughter’s safety and asks him to leave her out of it.

Interestingly, Clint refuses, but he does promise to keep her safe. He also pockets the Ronin sword.

Immediately afterward, he texts his wife with a request to run intel on Jack’s company.

The Holidays Can Be Lonely When You’re Alone

The next part of this episode deals with the elephant in the living room. Clint remains separated from his family, the one he lost for five years after The Snap.

Kate enjoys a surprisingly good time with her mother and future stepfather (?), as she realizes Eleanor and Jack are in love.

Soon afterward, the young woman remembers that Clint is only in town because of her…and he’s all alone.

So, she grabs her pizza and her Pizza Dog and heads to visit him. Apropos of nothing, Pizza Dog fit right in at his granny’s mansion.

Anyway, Kate brings several classic holiday movies in the form of DVDs. So this seems like a good time to mention that this story occurs in 2024.

A DVD then seems about as useful as a typewriter…but I digress. The point of this feel-good interaction is to show the bond developing between mentor and protégé.

Clint had resigned himself to sitting around and wearing daiquiri mixes on his body to help treat his wounds. Yes, I’m serious.

Kate’s arrival with holiday entertainment and pizza proves just what the doctor (daiquiri?) ordered.

Kate even wears a kicky little Santa hat, similar to something that happens in the comic version of the story.

The two engage in an extended discussion about the value of boomerang arrows (ten thousand percent chance this comes up again).

Also, Clint mentions that he’s out of trick arrows. So they need to take back his quiver from the LARP crew.

I should mention that Clint teaches Kate how to turn on a television by throwing a coin hard enough.

If I’m guessing, that’s probably how Kazi gets knocked out in the final episode.

Rooftop Clash

After pizza, daiquiris, laughs, and It’s a Small Wonderful Life, the two formulate a plan.

Kate meets the LARP crew and asks for the arrows back. Obviously, she must engage in some ridiculousness first. Most of it happens offscreen, though.

Meanwhile, Clint threatens poor Kazi, who had already reached the same conclusion about Echo previously.

They both think she needs to stay out of this because the vendetta isn’t healthy.

The scene ends humorously when Kazi asks for his gun back. Clint, who had stolen it to avoid a gunfight, throws it for distance. Mean = funny.

Kate brings some of the LARPers back to her aunt’s place, where Grills gets to see his pal, Clint, once again.

A third person carries the arrows in a backpack that her wife gave her. She mentions that it says Bombshell on it.

Kate promises that they’ll return the bag. The sheer randomness of this conversation all but guarantees it’ll come up later.

Clint and Kate’s plan leads them to break into a home to retrieve a Rolex. It’s the item that Jack’s boss wanted, and Clint’s wife, Laura, knows it’s significant, too.

My wife’s guess is that Kingpin wants this watch because it belongs to Daredevil. I’m guessing that if Kingpin wants it, Kingpin owns it.

Anyway, the home invasion takes a turn when two people appear. The one NOT in the mask is Maya Lopez. Yeah, it’s her home. Oops.

Although it’s debatable how much Maya wanted to hurt her, Kate holds her own in the fight.

Simultaneously, Clint fights someone in a mask whom he believes is Maya Lopez. It’s not.

Ultimately, all four people wind up on the roof, fighting among themselves. The masked person definitely isn’t with Maya Lopez.

The Big Surprise

I presume you’ve already watched the episode since you’re reading a recap and discussion of it.

Just in case, you should stop now if you haven’t watched the episode and want to be surprised.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

After a while, Clint grows annoyed that he cannot get the upper hand on the masked individual he now realizes isn’t Echo.

Frustrated, Clint pulls off the mask just as the other person uses some red shock device to stun him.

I’m expecting this person to be Eleanor, but I’m dead wrong. The big reveal here is…Yelena Belova.

Yes, the new Black Widow has just tried to take out the old Hawkeye and also unintentionally picked a fight with Echo and the new Hawkeye.

To her credit, Kate manages to put an arrow in Maya’s shoulder. At this point, the Echo is like, “Screw this! I’m outta here!” She exits the roof.

Kate also points an arrow at Yelena, who gives her the unmistakable “You’ll regret it!” nod of disapproval.

Unwilling to hurt the stranger, Kate puts down her weapon, allowing Yelena to do some sweet dive off the cliff.

Meanwhile, Clint has finally recovered. His mind is racing, and he’s all emotion in the moment.

Earlier in the fight, Black Widow had knocked Kate off the roof, albeit in a way where she hung helplessly in mid-air. She was never in real danger.

To Clint Barton, the sequence mimicked Natasha Romanoff’s death, though. On top of that, her “sister” has arrived and attacked him.

Always the protective dad type, Clint is totally freaked out. He realizes he cannot protect Kate and tells her that their partnership has ended.

Spoiler: It hasn’t. I guess we’ll learn how/why next week.

This was a thoroughly entertaining episode. I hate that we’ve only got two left.

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