SPOILER Hawkeye (2021)

I'm definitely enjoying the show, but they better make the final few episodes at least an hour and a half if they want to fit in our two rumored guests. (Longer thoughts and feelings to come when I have free time either tonight or tomorrow evening.)

 

Until yesterday the Supreme Leader and I haven't had planned watching the show, but yesterday we're like, yeah why not, it fits into our Christmas movie marathon. And it looks more appealing compared to the other shows like Wanda vision or Loki.

 

I'm loving the show so far and I think this show is the strongest and funniest one so far. Loki so far is my fav and I really didn't gel with The Falcon and Winter Solider. I found it kind of lackluster TBH.

Lets just hope that voice really is Kingpin in the flashback. Also Tony Dalton is great in this film (loved him in Better Call Saul).

Spoiler: Black Widow Post Credit Scene

I find it interesting that IMDB has Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova) listed in the final 3 episodes.

 

Alright, so Hawkeye!

In its first three episodes, Hawkeye achieves what no other show could really achieve - great pacing and tonal consistency. WandaVision lacked those things by design and Covid cuts; FATWS was 2-3 types of shows smashed in together, and Loki was too short for the story it needed to tell. But Hawkeye is the length it needs to be, the tone it wants to be, and is paced the way it needs to be. It may be the smoothest of the bunch. I won't say it's my favorite or the best just yet, because every show has brought something unique to the table, but it's certainly the easiest to recommend and watch, and I really hope they give this show another season.

Other notes:
When I previewed the first episode to make sure my parents would like it, I audibly laughed at the musical, knowing at least my mom and sister would love that part. They VERY much did.

Hailee was perfectly cast as Kate Bishop. She's youthful, charming, witty, and endearing. (HER DIMPLES ARE SO CUTE.) She doesn't feel as young as Spider-Man - which is good because she isn't - but she also doesn't feel as goofy as Shang-Chi and Katy do at times. I think it's where she jokes rather than what she says, but maybe I'm wrong.

Clint and Kate's dynamic is a very solid one. It's very reminiscent of Tony and Peter's dynamic at first (the older, more experienced mentor trying to help out someone who looks up to them and views them almost as the father they lost, but really just wants to move on), but Tony was more invested in Peter even from the jump, despite being a FAR more critical mentor (so far). The Clint/Kate dynamic is far more father/daughter from the start, though, because we know Clint has a family and we're shown in short succession: Kate being close to her father, losing him, being saved by Hawkeye, and being very uncomfortable with her mother's new fiancé. Clint and Kate also have that "Strange Minds Think Alike" thing going on, something that Peter and Tony never really had.

Clint and Kate's dynamic is also solid because we've seen hints of it before, not just in the Tony/Peter dynamic, but with Clint and Wanda. Heck, several people have pointed out or even made parody videos about how weird it was for Clint to NOT check up on Wanda during the events of WandaVision. (I'd like to think that she was staying with them for a bit before she went MIA, and Clint was the one who notified authorities that she was missing, not the FBI stumbling on the case.)

I'm very curious if Kate will join the Young Avengers if they are made (so far, we've seen all of the original cast but Iron Lad and Hulkling in the MCU) or if she'll just join the Avengers and be the New Kid like Spider-Man. I also wonder if Spider-Man will stick with the Avengers. I can imagine it being pretty funny if Kate and Spider-Man both try to be the new leaders, and then Shang-Chi tries to veto it due to their age, and then Doctor Strange vetoes it due to their mistakes, and then Sam just takes over. And then later on, Katy would ask for archery tips from Kate. And then even later in the movie, when Kate feels overwhelmed, Katy would give her some advice. (This advice could also come from Wanda, echoing the advice Clint gave Wanda in AoU, but I think it should be more of "we're normal people in this supernatural world, but we're here for a reason" sort of advice rather than "once you step out this door, you're an Avenger" or something like that.)

 

Episode 4 is probably my favorite episode so far.

Spoiler: EPISODE 5 MAJOR SPOILERS

All of the bonding scenes were nice, and it was fun to see Kate befriend the larpers and work on the Hawkeye branding by starting up a network. Clint and Kate's Ugly Christmas Movie Party Planning was a delight, and it really goes to show how much she values Clint as an Avenger, mentor/father-figure, and ultimately a friend (eventually).
Kate's way of sneaking into the apartment was pretty funny, but she should probably learn Clint's way at some point.
The four-way fight was fun, even if Yelena did more or less come out of nowhere. However, I do like how Clint recognized she was a Black Widow by the end and realized the severity of the situation. His Batman Sealth "Hi" to the Russian guy was also very fun, and somewhat heartwarming, in a weird, twisted way.
I think it's fairly obvious that the watch belongs to Clint's wife - or at least I'm not alone in that theory - and that one of the two got it for the other at a special time. (Probably Clint for her so he'd know where she was at any time and could find her if she was in danger.) The more heartbreaking version of this theory is that Clint's wife used to be Mockingbird in the MCU before she retired. You know, the same Mockingbird character that was introduced into Agents of SHIELD through Bobbie Morse? However, since Bobbie never went by Mockingbird, and since superhero/codenames aren't as tied to their heroes, Clint's wife could have been Mockingbird before passing the title to Bobbie. Still, I highly doubt AoS will ever be mentioned in the MCU. Sigh...

I may change my ending theory a little. At first, I thought that Clint was going to invite Kate to spend Christmas day with his family. I still think that's a very high possibility. This episode also has me thinking that he may invite his family up to New York, if only to sort of get a redux of all of the things he missed out on, and to reinforce that Hawkeye now has a community. Tactically and thematically, I don't think that would be a good idea, but I do think it's a possibility.

 

That's a really poignant take on the show so far revolving Clint! I definitely agree.

Ironheart as a Variant of that certain character would be a very interesting twist, and one I could actually see the MCU doing! Great idea @cawatrooper!! But for Iron Lad I meant the character proper and not a Variant. THAT BEING SAID, you do spark an idea - what if part of Ant-Man 3 is about introducing Iron Lad and having Scott deal with his teenage daughter dating? Oh, and the whole "I don't like who I'll become" thing too.

Edit: Hulkling in She-Hulk would be an ideal scenario. I sort of wish someday we can get Skaar and his brother too.

 

Spoiler

To be fair, the post credit scene of Black Widow showed that she was going to be apart of the Hawkeye show. We just didn't know how soon her appearance was going to be.

 

It definitely was for most of the show's audience. But it's relatively harmless in the big picture.

Interesting! I think that villain should be saved more for next season though. (Assuming there is a next season.) This season's focus seems to be more on Clint and what it means to be Hawkeye. There's the whole theme of identity going on, asking which part of Clint's past will take over - the Ronin as externalized by the Tracksuit Mafia Bros and Echo, or the Avenger Hawkeye as externalized by Kate. The next season could focus on what it means to be the world's best (archer) and all that jazz.

 

Hawkeye Episode 5 was a win for the MCU and a win for fans in so many different ways. Well, two to three different ways, but they were all SO GOOD!
Revising my ending theory for the second time, but the core stays the same:

Spoiler: Hawkeye Episode 5 Spoilers

I think Clint will bring Yelena AND Kate back to his house for Christmas. Kate can't celebrate Christmas with her family anymore after this episode, and I think Yelena needs time to be with the people who Natasha was closest to so she can mourn.
I also think that the show may end with Yelena and Kate doing some Christmas stuff post-Christas (and commenting on this fact), only to get the call and head out to a situation together as a sort of "the adventure continues!" ending, if that's not a post-credit scene. Assuming the post-credit scene isn't a set-up for Echo taking on her Uncle.

 

Honestly that'd be a perfect ending imo, and I'd love to see more of those two together so any hint in that direction would be fun.

Spoiler

It's likely Echo will appear in at least one of the post credit scenes, considering her spin off show has been confirmed, though I don't know what stage it's at

 

I watched the Ronin episode 3 times. Character interactions were great and the ending, wow. Talk about a cliffhanger. Now, I'm really looking forward to Echo's series. The big boss should feature prominently in her series. I really enjoy how they have integrated the movies into this series looking forward to finale.

 

Definitely. If this episode wasn't a set-up for Echo going after the big boss, I don't know what is. Admittedly, after this episode, I was wondering how a relationship between Echo and a certain other enemy of the big boss would work, and how difficult it may be for the two to raise a child. But what an interesting child they'd raise...