About this episode
- Episode 4 (of six), “Partners, right? "
- Written by Erin Cancino and Heather Quinn
- Directed by Bert & Bertie
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Spoilers for the first 4 episodes of Hawkeye follow. You have been warned.
Serialized TV as a general rule must walk a tightrope between 2 forces frequently in confrontation. While each episode should ideally advance the storyline of the arc, it should also march as a separate unit, with its beginning, middle, and end.
Interestingly, Hawkeye Episode 4 aka “Partners Am I Right? - truly fails on both fronts. Still, it's still a fantastic follow-up to a TV show that might be the MCU's best yet, assuming it can make a better landing than its predecessors.
On most TV shows, an action episode like this would be seen as a filler and talking episode saving showrunners their singular effects budget for later in the race. Most TV shows, however, do not have as attractive a central couple as Kate Bishop and Clint Barton, and the editorial staff have earned the right to position their friendship (not as Barton would call it this way) on high up in the air. of the narration. First of all, “Partners, am I in the truth? It is an episode about the family, whether it is the one we are born with or the one we build for ourselves.
(*two*)
(Credit Image: © Marvel Studios)While the cliffhanger of the preceding episode sparked a duel between grim stepfather-to-be Jack Duquesne and Barton, the cautious resolution provided is much better: In this unlikely superheroic turn of meeting the parents, Eleanor Bishop is confused "Why is there an Avenger in my dining room? ”is the perfect synthesis of a fantastically strange moment.
Hawkeye has already proven that he can seamlessly shift between drama, comedy, and honest character beats, and the scenes in Bishop Townhouse are no different. Kate and Clint's very, very different views on their work arrangement (he thinks they're equal partners, still sees her as a little overwrought) are played for laughs, but Eleanor's protective instincts come to the fore, more serious. in the talk. In fact, "Let me clarify, this is not a superhero" is how most parents would react when their daughter brings home an Avenger.
Jack remains a mystery. On the one hand, he's the skilled swordsman who made his way to Ronin's retractable sword in Episode 1 and is now revealed to run a business that throws money for the tracksuit mob. At the same time, his character is that of a clown, his shattered aphorisms and hilariously sweet gestures suggest that he may not be the rogue mastermind Clint and Kate think he is.
Be that as it may, the appreciation between Jack and Eleanor feels real, and their dance moves, while not necessarily what Kate wants to see, open her eyes to the relevance of the family this Christmas.
With only 3 days to go until the big day and Clint still stuck in the Big Apple, the ad hoc celebration at Kate's house might not be the celebration she was planning with her kids, but it's the idea that matters. Tacky sweaters, pulled cocktails, and coin-tossing tricks (sure they'll come in handy later...) turn out to be an enjoyable prologue to darker times, when Clint finally lets his guard down.
One of Hawkeye's greatest strengths remains his ability to uncover new layers to a character chronically neglected by the Avengers movies. Here we see the misfortune of a man who devoted his life to being a weapon to others, hoping to be "shot by the right people at the right targets," and later lost his family in the Blip, before he was killed. watch your best friend sacrifice himself. himself to save the cosmos.
Admitting that he was the man in the enigmatic Ronin costume is clearly a huge step forward, but it could be said that the most essential moment is when he tells Kate that his best shot was the one he did not take: that is, the one he would have taken. killed Natasha Romanoff already before leaving. . It's a shame that Hawkeye and Black Widow's friendship, the one that seemingly defines the 2 characters, was never properly explored on screen.
When the action comes, it's worth the wait: an incredible rooftop melee involving Clint, Kate, Maya 'Echo' Lopez, and a mysterious new assailant who isn't quite the rare guest we've been expecting.
While we'll be waiting a bit longer for Kingpin/Wilson Fisk to make her (widely rumored) debut in the series, the arrival of Natasha's "sister" Yelena Belova is a very welcome event. Her overly professional movements are a reminder of how much Kate has to learn and make Clint understand that it's time to listen to Eleanor's advice and send her protégé home.
However, who Yelena works for, whether it be for herself or for another darker benefactor, is one of the greatest mysteries of an episode that offers more questions than answers.
What is the relevance of the Rolex watch that suddenly became an indispensable McGuffin? Is Jack really part of the tracksuit mob? Or is Eleanor the real crime teacher psyche? The "urgent" phone call she makes after Clint leaves the house suggests that she knows more than he's letting on...
As regards responses in good faith? The unexpected return of these friendly neighborhood larps at least explains where Clint and Kate will get their new Hawkeye costumes. Since Tony Stark is no longer around to hand out very fancy nanotech suits, these are essential things to estimate.
Our veredicto
In a short 6-part season, an episode that does so little to advance the plot can seem like a luxury. Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld are so phenomenal that Clint and Kate nonetheless like “Partners, right? It continues to be another very enjoyable outing for the MCU's fantastic reimagining of Hawkeye.
On the other hand, it seems that there is still a lot of narration for the last 2 chapters, especially if Yelena and Kingpin will be an integral part of the story, and if Clint goes home for Christmas.
WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki have all failed in their final acts; I hope Hawkeye can elude a cognate fate.
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Wonderful facts
- It's clearly a mistake on Jack's part when calling Clint Archer, but there is a character with that name in Marvel Comics. Archer was an enigmatic mutant from Parallel Earth - one thousand one hundred and ninety-one (Bishop's time traveling home) who first appeared in the X-Factor comics in the XNUMXs. In addition to this, DC's Malcolm Merlyn (played by John Barrowman on the Arrowverse TV shows) goes by the name Dark Archer.
- So Jack is the CEO of Sloan Ltd, the company that employs Kazi and also laundered money for tracksuits. Could the company be linked to Walker Sloan, a scientist who appeared in the XNUMX game Spider-Man: Edge of Time, where he worked for the Alchemax company? Alchemax has appeared in multiple projects outside the MCU, most notably in the resplendent animated film Into the Spider-Verse. There, Kingpin employs the company as a front man for its Dimension Splicing Super-Collider project. Although Hawkeye exists in a different sequel to Into the Spider-Verse, gossip of Wilson Fisk / Kingpin's appearance in the series suggests there may be a connection.
- Jack's hero is Huey Lewis, lead singer of Huey Lewis and the News, the outfit behind the Back to the Future theme song "The Power of Love."
- In the poster for Creature from the Dark Galaxy on the floor of veteran actor (and Kate's aunt) Moira Brandon, his co-star is Luke Ballard. Luke Ballard is also the name of a digital artist who has worked on multiple Marvel projects, so we assume this is no accident. In the episode, we also get a good look at a poster for another Brandon project, A Chance of Love.
- The DVD selection Kate brings for her Christmas movie marathon includes The Santa Clause, Die Hard, Elf and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
- The festive must-have It's a Wonderful Life appears on TV after Kate masters Clint's cute turn around the room.
- Clint can be seen drinking from a "Thanos Was Right" mug; given his experiences as Ronin throughout the Blip, he's an especially odd choice.
- The one-eyed pizza dog is played by Jolt. As the photographs on set show, his 2 eyes are in perfect working order, so the visual effects team used CG to digitally suppress the one on the left, as manager Rhys Thomas told LaComparacion before the launch of the program. .
- Although Clint scoffs when Kate lies boomerang arrows, unlikely weapons have made multiple appearances in Marvel comics. In the XNUMXs, Hawkeye used them against Iron Man, while Matt Fraction and David Aja's two-thousand-ten run (a huge repercussion on the TV show) also brought them back.
- The radio station with holiday hits is 106,7, Light FM. An actual Lite FM bills itself as the "N. York Christmas Music Station" even though its frequency is XNUMX. An intentional change for rights reasons or just a typo in the script?
- Kate Bishop's Лайка t-shirt is a direct version of a design worn by the character in the comics. Лайка translates to Laika, the name of the first canine in space.
- As has been widely reported, Florence Pugh is reprising her role as Black Widow as Natasha Romanoff's "sister" Yelena Belova.
- Clint Barton is clearly in Yelena's sights. This seems to be related to the end credits of Black Widow, where Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine (played by Julia Louis Dreyfus in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow) offers Yelena the chance to "shoot the man responsible for the death from your sister ".
- In the official MCU continuity, Hawkeye takes place roughly 8 years after the events of Black Widow. We still don't know what Yelena has been up to in the meantime, so there's a strong possibility that she spent 5 of those years disappearing through the Blip. Whether or not we get answers on Hawkeye, it looks like the mystery will eventually be solved, as Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has confirmed: "You'll find out."
New episodes of Hawkeye air on Disney Plus every Wednesday.