Alrighty, let’s dive into Hawkey Episode 2! Disney released the first 2 episodes of the series on the premier date, Wednesday, November 21, 2021, to give viewers a chance to get a bit more invested in the characters and story. You can also read our review of episode 1, to get you up to speed. So, let’s dive right into episode 2.
A Little Superhero Worship
The action picks up exactly as it ends in episode 1. Clint unmasks the new ‘Ronin’ and is more than a bit surprised to see a young woman in his former suit. Kate takes him back to her apartment in hopes of hiding out from the thugs (aka the Track Suit Mafia). Clint goes into dad mode almost immediately, as he focuses on getting the suit back, but also ensuring that Kate isn’t attached to it in any way. He mentions that a lot of people would like to get hold of Ronin and he doesn’t want that blowing back on her. Too late, of course.
The Track Suit Mafia followed Kate back to her apartment when she first brought the dog home and now they’re back with Molotov cocktails to burn her out. It’s an oddly serious, but the silly scene and we’re never too worried about Kate and Clint escaping, but the fire forces them to leave the Ronin suit behind. Clint seems pretty sure that fire won’t destroy it, and he plans to come back for it later, once he has Kate in a safe place.
That safehouse ends up being Kate’s aunt’s apartment, where Clint instructs her in the fine art of bandaging wounds so they don’t get infected or heal poorly. Again, pure dad mode. Kate is more than a bit starstruck, even asking Clint to sign her bow at one point.
A Larping we will go!
Once Clint has Kate stashed in her aunt’s apartment, he decides to head out in search of the suit, but there’s no sign of it in the remains of the fire. Turns out a firefighter snagged it and also happens to be a Live Action Role Playing aficionado (i.e. LARPer) and has already posted videos of himself on social media wearing the suit. This leads to one of the funnier scenes in any MCU series or movie, as Clint is forced to join a group of LARPers to get the suit back.
The catch? He needs to fight ‘to the death’ with the firefighter who has the suit, who promises him he’ll return it if he just lets him win. Imagine watching a superhero, pretend sword fighting with a bunch of LARPers. Yup, it’s just as silly and funny as you imagine. Clint agrees to the deal and ‘dies’ a tragic death in a fight with fake swords. He then takes the suit and heads back to Kate.
Catch and Release
Clint gets Kate to her job at her mom’s security company and says he is off to make sure she is fully disconnected from the suit, before heading home for the holidays. He gives Kate his cell number but also promises to block and deleter her if she calls or texts him and it isn’t an emergency. This comes after a funny conversation in Times Square about how Hawkeye has a branding issue. It’s pretty much spot on and very amusing.
Clint then sets up a ‘catch and release’ scenario where the Track Suit Mafia can ‘capture’ him and take him to their leader. I’m pretty sure this is a direct reference to a tactic Natasha used in a past movie but haven’t had a chance to go back and check. Either way, he allows himself to be captured, so he can clear things up about the Ronin suit for Kate.
But, Kate is a burgeoning hero, and when she can’t get hold of Clint to tell him her suspicions that Jack actually killed his uncle, she uses her security company software to track Clint’s phone. This leads to Kate stumbling around on the roof of the building where they are holding Clint and then falling through a skylight to land right in front of him and the Track Suit boys. Whoops. Kate and Clit are now both tied up and awaiting the arrival of the boss.
The Boss
We get a short scene where the Track Suit Mafia boss is introduced. But, she doesn’t speak, and appears to be deaf. Who is she? Spoiler alert, but she’s a character named Echo. From the comics, Echo is capable of replicating almost any physical movement that she observes. Sounds a bit like Taskmaster from the Black Widow, so we’ll see how they differentiate it in the series.
What’s the Verdict after 2 Episodes?
So far, so good with this series. As each of the MCU Disney Plus series to date, it has its own slightly different style and overall feel. This one seems like we shouldn’t take it too seriously. It’s a bit like a holiday movie, where we kind of know things are going to turn out OK in the end. But, it’s been entertaining, funny, and has done a nice job of introducing a new character in Kate Bishop. On to episode 3!
