Is it just me or did the Hawkeye series premier sneek up on anyone else? Maybe it’s just because this was the 2021 MCU series I was least excited about. I mean, it’s about Hawkeye, right?
So, I was almost surprised when the first two episodes premiered on Wednesday, November 24. While I’m digesting Thanksgiving dinner, I thought I would write up my initials episode reviews. So, here we go with episode 1!
What, Where, and When?
Episode 1 actually kicks off with a flashback scene. We meet a young girl named Kate Bishop and her parents. Kate is listening in on a fight betwen the parents, but it’s not long before we find out exactly where and when this flashback is taking place.
We’re in New York and the battle from the first Avengers movie is just getting underway. The Bishop family home (an expensive condo in Manhattan just down the street from Stark Tower) comes under fire and one of the aliens actually spots her standing in the gaping hole in one wall.
Hawkeye takes out the alien with an arrow and Kate is enthralled as she watches him take on various aliens from a nearby rooftop. Kate and her mother escape the building, but her father apparently dies (although we never see it, so let’s leave that as an open-ended question).
After the attack and her father’s funeral, Kate decides that she needs to prepare to keep her mom safe if the aliens return. Her first plan - to get a bow and arrow. We then get some opening credits that lets us Kate stayed true to her plan, becoming a competitive archer (the best archer in the world, according to some people), a martial arts champion, fencer and gymnast.
Fast forward to 12 years forward to the ‘present day’ MCU, which basically is a few days before Christmas in some time period following Avengers: Endgame. I think it’s safe to assume this comes after the events of WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but perhaps not after Loki (although that one is hard to tell, since Loki largely takes place outside the timeline).
A retired Clint Barton (aka Hawkeye) has taken his kids to NY for a quick trip to the Big Apple before returning home for Christmas. Among their tourist activities is seeing a musical version of the Avengers Battle of New York. Have to say its a bit cringeworthy and for Clint, it brings back strong memories of Natasha.
But, we get to see Clint interact with his kids (now with a hearing aid due to physical trauma from his years with the Avengers). Seriously, shouldn’t a few of the Avengers and other heroes have some serious long-term medical issues at this point?
Meanwhile, we also see a now young-adult (22 year old college student) Kate Bishop pulling a college prank in trying to ring an old tower bell by hitting it with an arrow. It works, but somehow she also brings down most of the bell tower in the process. Oops.
Kate returns home for the holiday break to get a bit of a rebuke from her mom (although a lot less than I would have received from my parents if I destroyed a clock tower on campus!). She also meets her mom’s new boyfriend… actually fiance. Surprise! Kate takes an immediate disliking to Jack Duquesne (as does the audience). He’s trying a bit too hard to be a future stepdad and what’s with his weird interest in swords?
Kate attends a charity event with her mom and future stepdad (she actually learns abou tthe engagement from an offhand remark by Jack’s luncle), but she’s suspicious the whole time and when Jack’s uncle has an argument with her mom (possibly threatening her) she follows him down to a secret auction (crazy rich people bidding on odd artifacts like a fossilized dinosaur skull and some superhero related items).
Jack’s uncle outbids him for Ronin’s cool retractable sword (you may remember it from Avengers: Endgame, when we met Ronin/Hawkeye as he was delivering his version of justice to various crime syndicates. Ronin’s suit is also up for sale. But, a group of thieves blow a hole in the wall and are on the hunt for an actuation item - a watch from the Avengers compound.
Kate, who was blending into the crowd, decides she needs to do something, so she grabs the Ronin suit, and starts taking on the thieves. The thugs recognize Ronin and assume this is the ‘real’ Ronin come back to hunt them again. The thieves escape, but they definitely have a score to settle with Ronin. Amidst the chaos, we aslo see Jack steel the Ronin sword for himself.
Kate’s appearance as Ronin doesn’t go unnoticed by the media either, as she ends up on the news, seen saving a dog from beig hit by a car. Clint happens to be watching TV in the hotel room when the video plays and doesn’t seem too happy about it. Meanwhile, Kate is trying to figure out what is going on with Jack’s uncle, but when she breaks into his apartment, she finds him dead on the floor, apparently killed with a sword. As she heads back to her apartment, she is attacked by the thieves, a bunch of dudes in track suits. She holds her own for a bit, but it’s clear she is in over her head, when who shows up to save her but Clint.
The epidose ends with their first face to face meeting and a question of ‘who the hell are you?’ when Clint unmasks the new Ronin.
So, what’s next?
You can read my review of episode two shortly, but based on the first episode, and what we know from the comics, the series is going to give us the intro the the ‘new’ Hawkeye, which will be Kate Bishop. Beyond that, we still have only guesses.
Watch it or Not?
Let’s face it, Hawkeye is the least interesting Avenger - at least up until now. We’ve met his family, and he’s a nice enough guy for sure, but come on - he’s an archer, hanging out with some folks who are massively more powerful than he is.
So, a series about Hawkeye may not be quite as intriguing as any of the others that have come out. Still, the first episode is fun. It clearly wants to build on our understanding of Clint as a person, while introducing us to Kate Bishop. Kate (played by Hailee Steinfeld) is a fun character. Smart, driven, maybe a bit naive/starstruck, but also a person of action. She’s likeable pretty quickly.
So, watch it or not? Based on episode 1, you should watch it. Let’s see where this show goes.
