Hawkeye: Episode 2

2. Hide and Seek

Barton’s Christmas plans are derailed as he is forced to babysit Bishop, who finally meets her favorite Avenger but not in the best of circumstances. Finding the dead body of a socialite related to her soon-to-be stepfather while donning the Ronin suit, she finds herself being trailed by one gang after another, the most persistent of which is the Tracksuit Mafia who burns her apartment down. Barton drops her off at her mother’s security firm for safety where she tries and fails to implicate Jack for random accusations off the top of her head. Meanwhile, Clint tries to retrieve his Ronin suit from the apartment fire but fails to do so, instead finding it stolen by a firefighter joining a live action role play. Eventually recovering the costume, he sends his children off to their mom as he deals with the ramifications of his vigilante past once and for all, with unsolicited help from Bishop who soon joins him in custody of the Tracksuit Mafia who are revealed to be working for Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), a deaf copycat who goes by the name Echo.

I am loving the Christmas vibes of the show. More than that, though, it’s the return to street-level heroes that I am enjoying the most so far. You know, not every narrative in the MCU has to be a universal-level threat. We also need storylines like Hawkeye’s to ground the universe back to more familiar territory. The plot thickens with the introduction of Echo in this episode. Isn’t she related to the Kingpin? If that backstory of hers is to be retained, then wouldn’t that be like a backdoor entry of sorts for the cast of Netflix’s Daredevil? As to how Feige and friends will accomplish that, if ever they are planning to do so, is none of my business. Let’s see how creative they can get. Isn’t Yelena Belova also appearing in this series? I’m guessing hers would be more like an extended cameo perhaps. There isn’t much runtime to squeeze in all these characters in this show, you know. I’m just glad that despite not getting his own film, at least Hawkeye is getting the send-off he deserves. This is defo better than nothing.

“In less than 24 hours you've been on the news twice. Impressive.” –Clint Barton

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