Hawkeye: Episode 6

6. So This Is Christmas?

Eleanor ends her business relationship with Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) as her daughter gets closer to finding out the truth. Kate is furious but Clint suggests siding with her mother, him knowing what the Kingpin can do. They attend yet another flashy Christmas party where they are attacked by the Tracksuit Mafia under Fisk’s command. Yelena Belova also crashes the party to settle the score with Hawkeye. Soon, a series of confrontations ensue: Kate Bishop vs. Kingpin; Maya Lopez and her second in command Kazi (Fra Fee); Clint Barton and Yelena Belova. Maya accidentally kills Kazi after tying to persuade him to run away with her. Clint takes a beating from Yelena before the truth about Natasha’s death is revealed. Kate gets the better of Fisk after a difficult duel. Fisk manages to escape the authorities but is ambushed by Maya in an alley and is shot several times. Eleanor goes to jail for Armand’s murder while Kate spends Christmas with Clint and his family, thinking out loud as to what her superhero moniker should be.

I’m not that satisfied with how the Kingpin’s subplot has been handled in this show. To be clear, I am not a fan of Netflix’s Daredevil, but given the buildup to this moment as well as you-know-who’s appearance in you-know-what in the same week, you’d like to think that those characters are finally crossing over to the MCU by popular demand. I know Maya is getting her own Disney+ show as Echo, so maybe we will be seeing more Wilson Fisk there via flashbacks. Still, it feels a bit reductive. Or perhaps this is just the MCU’s way of acknowledging the actor without necessarily adopting him to the universe itself? Like, okay here is D'Onofrio as Kingpin, we won’t tell you if he’s the same one you saw on Netflix but whatever, here he is. It’s like that whole X-Men's Quicksilver in Wandavision fiasco all over again. As for the rest, the conclusion of the Clint-Yelena beef is kind of predictable but at least Barton gets to retire in peace. Not all OG Avengers have to die now, do they? What would have been surprising is if she actually killed the guy. Thank you, next.

“The people need to be reminded that this city belongs to me.” –Wilson Fisk

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