“Hawkeye” Recap and Review Episode 6 and Series: I Love It When a Bro’s Plan Comes Together

by Rob LoAlbo

“Wait, my 2 o’clock or your 2 o’clock? And what does 2 o’clock mean?”

All photos courtesy of Marvel Studios

Ladies and gentleman, we present to you…Kingpin.

As if on cue, Wilson Fisk, the big guy, the dancing man with the plan, struts and frets his way onto the stage (through a beaded curtain no less), and just in case you didn’t know who he was, Eleanor reminds us that it’s MR. Fisk, to you. To us, it’s warm Christmas nostalgia.

No one will be seated during the full spoiler portion of the episode 6 review.

And keep all eyes front, please.

What an absolute joy this series has been. Building in holiday spirit and MCU good will, it’s a steady-rolling comfortable afternoon commuter train whereas other shows' trains were full-steam pedal-to-the-engine metal, which ultimately doesn’t work out for anyone. Instead, each week this show patiently built its world and developed an engaging gimmick-free storyline reminding us that at the heart of good comic book movies and storytelling are characters we deeply care about even if their issue is as small as getting home in time for Christmas.

And care we do even if we end up hating some of those characters! What a duplicitous bitch Eleanor turned out to be. (Who saw that coming? Oh yes, everyone.) According to her Kingpin convo, she’s been in bed with the big guy ever since her husband was killed in 2012, which was eleven years ago! Dad owed debt, so mom made promises but apparently benefitted in the process. She admits to killing Armand and framing Jack, but it’s Kate she’s truly worried for. (Well, look who’s got limits when it’s convenient!) She wants out, and unless Scorsese and Coppola movies have lied to me, that’s never an easy extraction.

“Panic? I never panic. I completely think through all of my decisions.”

In typical calm reactionary Kate fashion, she panic-calls mom, paces erratically, and sends Clint home telling him that it’s not his problem now. 

Him: Kate you’re my partner. Your mess is my mess.

Us: I’m not crying, you’re crying.

He’s not giving up on the best thing that’s happened to him since Natasha. So it’s hospitaliano: when you’re here, you’re family. (I think I heard Vin Diesel say that once.

Yet Maya, being much more calm and collective, approaches Kingpin to tell him that she knows it was you, Fredo, but isn’t going to let Fredo know that just yet. She’s peddling the message that she’s trying to move on, but Kingpin’s not in the message buying business. If he’s turning on her, then she’s got a surprise awaiting in an alley for him. But until then, Kingpin has a growled, dramatically spaced out message to send to the city: “The people…need to be reminded…that this city belongs to me!” No one crosses Vincent D’Onofrio and gets away with it!

But like the city that never sleeps, the Bishop holiday party must go on!

So, which one of these opens my New Year’s Eve champagne bottle?

Clint and Kate have a plan to show up to it, and, well, I’m not exactly sure…but it involves lots of trick arrows. And what better way to show bonding than a trick-arrow making montage! We’ve got Stark tech! Pym tech! Explosions! Magnetism! But how will we know which is which? By using a 1980’s label maker. (“Unlimited technology from the whole universe and we cruise around in a Ford P.O.S.”) What’s most surprising is that given the last time they needed trick arrows, they had to take the time and effort to find a willing and compromised police officer and have her break Clint’s arrows out of police holding, whereas making new arrows apparently only takes an afternoon. But priorities, I guess. Or recycling. Whatever.

At the party, Clint, Kate, and their merry band of LARPers infiltrate like cosplaying discount James Bonds, ready for when a bro might strike. And JACK is ready, too! He’s strapped and ready to parry at a moment's notice. And YELENA is ready! She’s got some sweet hallway/office fights to deal out to Kate. And Kazi, Eleanor, and Kingpin are all coming to play!

“I’m stirred, she’s shaken.”

Now, I’ve been loudly praising the screwball elements of the show (and remember that screwball doesn’t necessarily have to be laugh-out-loud.) Mostly, it’s when a hero’s ordered life is upended by a heroine’s unexpected involvement (check) and thrown together in ridiculous, improbable, unlikely situations and comic misadventures (check), along with a juxtaposition between intelligent/stupid or educated/uneducated (bro?), and ultimately the duo finds peace through a reconciliation or an entrance into a family (final check). It’s paint-by-numbers here, but it’s still clever that they imposed a screwball comedy structure onto an MCU property. I bring this all up because it’s this party and final big scene in Rockefeller Center that really highlights these screwball elements. Everyone has a differing motivation and having them all show up at the same time leads to zany adventures. Perfection. The only thing missing is a clever title for the show like: Let’s Kill Kate and Clint.

Kazi starts off that fun by shooting into a crowded room and everyone jumps into action, starting with Kate and Yelena in an elevator. They fight cute and eventually make it to the ground to face off against Tracksuits coming out of every New York side street. And the real big surprise? Jack is NOT a bad guy! He’s just an expert swordsman with a big personality and an affinity for butterscotch! (In the comics, he’s sometimes portrayed as good or bad, depending on the comic run, so the showrunners have gone with the former, introducing his character The Swordsman into the MCU!) With a grand Zorro-like entrance, he dispatches bros with ease and swagger. I guess mustaches aren’t so evil after all. (Hmmm…personal grooming idea blossoming…)

I don’t always grow a mustache, but when I do, it’s swashbuckling.”

After taking out Kazi, Clint leaps first and asks questions later, ending up stuck in the famed Rockefeller tree. And it wouldn’t be screwball if Kate didn’t have a wacky idea to get him out, so down comes the tree and out pops Clint. With more bros than you can shake a candy cane at, the faceless hordes come out to battle (a common trope in DC and MCU movies in the final act, but that they are all tracksuited makes it okay and hilarious). With a quiver of trick arrows and spunky enthusiasm, Kate battles her way out in true comic fashion, and way more suavely than she did in that auction basement!

Each interaction escalates with a new foe, with new motivations (Kazi vs. Maya, Clint vs. Yelena, Kate vs. Kingpin, Maya vs. Kingpin, Kate vs. Eleanor), where each has not only external stakes but internal ones as well, which makes for great storytelling and conflict. Yes, it takes a lot of character work and buildup to earn your action, but unlike Falcon/Winter Soldier, Hawkeye took its time to get there action-wise, so we cared a lot more about all involved. Remember when we all watched Cap and Tony slug it out in Civil War? We cared because the MCU spent time building these characters over several films and helping us to care deeply about them. So, it wasn’t a cool fight.  It was like watching your two best friends battle it out– you just wanted them to get along. Remember, it’s not the fight choreography, the special effects, or the great costumes: it’s the emotional stakes. Kazi and Maya fight for about five seconds, but it’s immensely powerful because it’s tragic.

Wait a minute…you’re not Santa.

But one fight that should be discussed: Kingpin, who is truly terrifying even if you’ve never seen Netflix’s Daredevil. Whether it’s his sheer size, the way he shrugs off an arrow wound or bounces back after a car crash or gunshot (oh come on…you don’t really think he’s dead, do you? That’s adorable…), he’s a severe force to be reckoned with despite having no real powers. I can’t wait to see him pop back up either in Echo or some sort of Daredevil show (Spoilers for Spider-Man: NWH - Can you actually believe that he and Matt Murdock will have more scenes together? Geek minds, explode!) Keeping D’Onofrio and Cox is just brilliant, as they both perfectly embody those characters beyond our wildest imaginations. 

Clint finally found a brand for himself and it only took four larpers, hundreds of tracksuits, and a fallen Rockefeller tree.

Overall, the end fight is hugely exciting with never ending thrills despite some suspension of disbelief (I mean, this is NYC at one of the most touristy places there: why aren’t the cops immediately showing up to the slightest hint of violence? Aren’t they usually stationed there anyway?!?) But what differentiates this show from the others is its consistent payoffs. Items are set up in earlier episodes with payoffs made here (and without setups for future MCU projects!!!). A conversation about a girlfriend and their Imagine Dragons tickets? Paid off in a tracksuit callback. Coin flip trick practice in episode 4? The key to defeating Kingpin. Tragic Kazi’s last words, “I can’t walk in both worlds”? A teary callback to Maya’s dad’s words in episode 2!!! (Okay heart, start back up please.) Every setup has a payoff which makes for an immensely satisfying series. (Even the ability to split an arrow was shown!) I loved WandaVision and its aesthetic, but it buckled under its own weight at the end and the payoffs were dangling (Quicksilver…need I say more?). Loki was fantastic, but the finale with Kang was more about the multiverse and Sylvie than about Loki’s personal journey and temptation with power (which was kina what the show was really about). Hawkeye may not have aimed high, but it hit every bullseye. 

And if our target was Christmas heartstring warmth, we got that too with Kate, Clint, and Lucky making it home in time for Christmas, the biggest stake of them all. With that being the umbrella goal of our hero, those stakes might make this show a perennial favorite for years to come. My hope: that more discover this tightly wrapped gift box now that it’s finished its run. 

“We have a deal in our marriage: she doesn’t ask me about Nick Fury’s whereabouts, and I promise to only call her ‘19’ in the bedroom.”

So what lies for the future of these characters? Well, let’s speculate. Clint says that he still talks to Hank, so most likely we’ll see Cassie Pym join up with Yelena and Kate as either Stature or Stinger. As we suspected, Laura Barton is former Shield Agent 19 Mockingbird, which might just be a reveal or could be a hint as to future involvement. Kate will next take up the Hawkeye mantle training under Clint. And since we’re on the topic of bringing back some Netflix standouts, Jessica Jones was a big part of Kate’s life in the comics, so why not?

For a show that we all easily first dismissed and counted out after the first couple of episodes, it really took us for an incredible ride and was the best of all the MCU tv shows, a great sign for the future of Disney+ television. I’m truly sad to see it go as I had such a wonderful season with these characters. Yes, each episode may not have initially worked on its own, but now that we step back and see it in its entirety, we glimpse the genius of its construction. As for my future? I’ll be watching this in front of the fireplace and tree next Christmas.

Next Week: Can Pizza Dog have his own series? Everyone else is getting one…

Star City Rating - Episode and Series: 4½ out of 5

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“Hawkeye” Episode 5 Recap and Review: Russian Home Cooking with Yelena