Tag: Yelena Belova

Hawkeye Episode 5 expanded upon the last episode’s theme of rich character development and in-series world-building, but it fell short of providing a strong platform into the finale. While the penultimate episode certainly took its time to gather a lot of pieces of the big-picture puzzle, the final episode of the short series is left to try and resolve virtually every plotline already in existence as well as provide all of the Kingpin content it has teased. 

What Ronin set out to achieve it did beautifully. There were several standout conversations and one-on-one moments that invoked emotion arguably better than the series has done previously. Florence Pugh’s witty Yelena was easily one of the biggest highlights and received much of the episode’s focus. While her “girl’s night” with Kate highlighted the chemistry between the two characters, the look at Yelena’s own blip was an intense opening to Ronin that set the tone for a grief-filled episode. Eleanor and Kate had a moving moment where Vera Farmiga puts in quite a compelling performance as a concerned mother which is impeccably timed with the late but unsurprising reveal that she likely is on the wrong side of the criminal line.

Clint also has moments dripping with desperation and loss. Learning that the Black Widow was Natasha’s sister Yelena sent him into another spiral of guilt over Natasha’s sacrifice. There’s a simple but moving moment where he talks to an Avengers commemoration plaque as if it were her in silence. But mourning quickly turns to action as Clint wastes little time in going on the offensive to defend his family. Through another Linda Cardellini phone call, Clint explains that he has to end it or else the “big guy” might get involved. Laura Barton is again strangely supportive, lending a lot of credit to the theory that she is an ex-agent of some kind herself. This episode marks Clint moving away from much of his self-deprecating attitude and into a much more confidently self-aware place.

The result is Clint revealing to Maya that not only is he Ronin, but that Maya’s “Uncle” is who wanted her father dead. This weaves itself into strong moments between Kazi and Maya, where his comforting protective instinct towards her starts to look twisted after it’s implied that he had a part in Maya’s father’s death. Still, the two have strong chemistry, and it’s a bit of a shame the series didn’t show more of it. The Clint-Maya confrontation represented the only action of the episode, leaving Episode 3 as the leader of the series in that respect, by far. 

While Hawkeye can pull off quieter, investigative storylines, it has been teasing more over the course of its run. Episode 5 was in a prime position to kick off an intense action-packed ending to the series, but it curiously kept the slower pace of the last episode throughout. The much-awaited “reveal” was a bit of a letdown. While the name “Kingpin” has finally been dropped, it came via a less-than-dramatic line from Clint that the man in a very low-quality cellphone photo with Kate’s mom was “the guy [he’s] been worried about: Kingpin.”  Yes, it was Vincent D’Onofrio, but it may have well been Bradley Cooper’s Rocket or Alec Mapa’s Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man—the photo would’ve looked about the same. While there’s every reason to believe D’Onofrio will be a star in the finale, his reveal was not particularly exhilarating. 

Ronin set up virtually all of the series’ plotlines on a silver platter to be resolved or concluded. The tracksuit mafia’s vendetta against Clint/Ronin, Yelena’s quest to kill Clint, Jack’s criminal ties, Eleanor’s criminal ties, Kingpin’s overarching role in all of it, Clint and Kate’s relationship, Grills’ safety, and Clint getting home for Christmas. The problem is that the finale is forced to take on all of it in, presumably, the same general run time that the rest of the episodes have been allotted. While Hawkeye has been very successful in developing strong, compelling characters, delivering interesting and emotional arcs for them, it has yet to truly prove its ability to handle its own overarching storyline. Hopefully, the finale manages to streamline its moving pieces while capitalizing on the character work the series has worked hard to execute.

Hawkeye Episode 4, Partners, Am I Right?, slowed down from last week’s episode to focus more on psychological themes and more investigative-type activity, in contrast to the action-heavy previous episode. While the episode’s slower and more character-based work is well-executed, the episode advanced the plot very little. With so many elements and unknowns still on the table, it begs the question of whether or to what extent the final two episodes of the series can succeed. 

Episode 4 is generally dedicated to themes of family and loss, particularly the loss of Natasha Romanoff. Clint has his ongoing dilemma of trying to be there for his family at Christmas. This episode is pulling back on that further by delving into his psyche surrounding his time as Ronin after he lost his family in the Blip. There’s more recognition now about how his 5-year reversion into a hell-bent weapon affects who he is and his relationship to his family, even though Ronin is “dead” at this point.

It’s fun that his wife Laura can be so involved in what he is doing—it’s certainly a fresh change of pace than the usual keep-spouse-in-the-dark story. Still, we learn this episode that Maya is keeping tabs on Clint’s wife and kids, so Clint’s family situation seems like it could go beyond simply trying to return for Christmas. This should be a major issue for Clint, even though the episode ends before he can really react to it. He’s still dealing with the grief and consequences of losing his family once, so one can only expect that this news would be met with a wave of emotion, and likely, a reversion back into some violent and vengeful places out of fear.

Natasha Romanoff’s death is given more attention in this episode, too. There are brief references to her and her death every episode, but Clint finally gives a more formal statement on how he’s dealing with the loss by opening up to Kate about the “best shot he ever took” being the one he didn’t take when he was sent to assassinate the Black Widow. Through a brief and quiet moment with Clint, we get insight into his ongoing messy and dark psyche—he’s plagued by memories of the loss of his family and Nat, and it looks like it haunts him all too frequently. The focus on Nat definitely led up to Yelena’s brief cameo, but it further teases that a darker, more Ronin-like Hawkeye could be on the near horizon. Jeremy Renner is only getting better with these moments, and Clint’s subtle under-the-surface suffering is compelling

Perhaps the only person who can save him, if that happens, is Kate. On one hand, this is also Hailee Steinfeld’s and the character’s best episode in terms of charisma and performance. While the episode ends with Clint telling Kate that they’re done, common sense suggests that their partnership will return. Their relationship is built up extremely well throughout the episode, which is clearly in part to make the ending more dramatic. The two share their best banter and back-and-forths of the series between their interrogation by Jacques and Eleanor and Kate bringing Christmas cheer to Clint.

But while the two’s partnership/friendship/relationship looked stronger than ever, it was not free from the ails of the themes of the episode. Eleanor Bishop is the first to bring up Natasha’s death to Clint, pleading with him to leave Kate out of their investigation and not let her get hurt. Clint acknowledges that he plans to keep her safe, but he seems relatively unphased at this point. Kate’s confidence in and of itself likely makes it easier for the elder Hawkeye to feel comfortable with her involvement. It isn’t until Kate is thrown off of the roof of a building, narrowly surviving, that Clint reacts all at once. Between the parallel to Natasha’s falling death and his promise to keep someone’s child safe, his panic and emotion burst out, leading to his proclamation that his and Kate’s time together is over.

Another interesting part of their dynamic this episode is that Kate discovers that Clint was Ronin. It seemed like this would be a much bigger moment than it was—Kate was certainly a bit shocked and upset at the idea, but by the next scene she had moved on. Knowing her hero was the notorious vigilante assassin probably should have affected her more, but perhaps her infatuation with Hawkeye blurs her perception of the situation. That, or, it simply wasn’t explored enough.

Episode 4 was definitely slower than the previous episode, but it left all of its high-intensity moments for the end. The final, but relatively brief fight featured Clint, Kate, Maya, and Yelena Belova. Yelena arrived, as promised, and her hand-to-hand combat style made everyone else look incompetent and added a lot of strength to the scene itself. She says nothing, and we only see her face revealed right before she escapes. There’s also a nod to Clint’s introduction to Natasha when Kate refuses to take a shot at Yelena. Is a more personal friendship between the two being foreshadowed?

While Yelena’s appearance is undoubtedly exciting, it’s hard not to notice that the final two episodes of Hawkeye will have quite a few elements it needs to resolve or address. A quick list includes Yelena, Maya, Kazi’s likely attempt to persuade Maya to stop going after Ronin, the Rolex from the Avengers compound, the rumored BIG reveal next episode, the LARPers and the Hawkeyes’ new suits, Jacques’ role as a money launderer for the Tracksuit Mafia, the Tracksuit Mafia itself, Clint still getting home in time for Christmas, the Hawkeye mantle being passed down, clearing Kate’s name as Ronin, Clint’s family potentially being in direct danger, Clint’s psychological turmoil, and Lucky the Pizza Dog eating more pizza. 

Overall, Episode 4 does well with its slower pace in terms of addressing overarching themes, including family and grief stemming from loss. It was important for Clint in this series to have moments where he lives within his own trauma, and some of that is definitely highlighted. The relationship between Clint and Kate gets more depth as well, between the growing friendship and partnership combined with Clint’s fear and guilt pushing her away at the end. Yelena’s introduction is exciting and promising, but the burden that the next two episodes carry seems at risk of being too much to handle effectively.