Hawkeye Ep. 5

Ronin

(Spoiler Warning!!!)

Last week’s episode was a nice Christmas-spirited one! Even during the holiday, there is no time to settle in and celebrate. Kate and Clint continued their goal taking down the Tracksuits, Maya, and Jack. Are they going to be able to fix all their problems in these last two episodes? It ain’t looking too good. One aspect I love about this series is Natasha. She is dead, but her character has been used as, if she was, a character in the show. You feel her throughout the show, and it is done so well. Speaking of Nat, her sister, Yelena, decided to show up. We’ve known from the end-credit scene in Black Widow that she’ll be coming for Clint. My excitement for this series has gone up, but with everything going on in the story, will it come to a satisfying ending? Let’s jump into the penultimate episode of Hawkeye!

We shifted from Kate and Clint to Yelena. The year is 2018, so she has been doing what she set out to do at the end of Black Widow; helping other Widows. The one they were after didn’t need their help, but it gave us one of the most appealing ways of showing The Snap/Blip! The first person point of view means the two events happened within seconds. It makes it even sadder because five years have gone by in a flash. They aren’t done pulling our strings yet, though. Yelena mentioned she had to find Nat to tell her she was okay. By this time, she had already sacrificed herself for the Soul Stone. Ouch. Back in New York, Kate arrived at her mother’s penthouse heartbroken. Imagine teaming up with your idol just for them to tell you to stay out of their way, even after you expressed you know the consequences of being a hero. Of course, it isn’t as bad as I put it because Clint is doing it to protect Kate. While Eleanor helped her clean her wounds, Kate contemplated her life path. She looked at her first bow unsure, of who she was supposed to be, but she will find out. She told her mother about Jack’s criminal activities. Kate hopes she does something about it. Eleanor’s facial expressions said it all. It doesn’t look like she is surprised or worried. At another wound clean-up, Maya informed Kazi about the fight. She realized her hunt for Ronin was more than she imagined. Kazi knew it would get like this from the beginning. He will help kill Ronin, but that is it.

Kate went back to her burned apartment to get her stuff, but she was greeted by an unexpected person. Yelena was waiting for her so she could talk to her about Clint. She knew who she was since Kate’s face wasn’t covered in the fight, and a Black Widow can easily find personal information about someone. It was an enjoyable scene between Kate and Yelena. The future is looking bright, right? In more seriousness, Yelena didn’t understand why Kate looked up to Clint. After the bloody trail Ronin left, it would be hard for anyone to see him the same way. I figured Kate would be very upset about Clint being Ronin. He saved the world in her eyes, though. Yelena told her that Nat saved the world. I agree more with her on that. But we know Clint didn’t kill Nat. Personally, I believe Kate and Yelena are blinded. Anything Yelena stated can be said for Nat as well. As much as Clint is a hero, he did some wild stuff that can't be forgiven so easily. How will this all play out? As for Clint, he went to Grills’ apartment and slept there. Man needs a break. Grills told them about the new suits. We all know they’ll wear in the final fight. Kate arrived at her mother’s penthouse just in time to see Jack get arrested. The way they were all placed felt like it was a setup. Eleanor didn’t look like she cared at all either. She is too good at this stuff. Clint visited the Battle of New York Memorial to have a one on one talk with Natasha. I love that these Disney+ series give us the chance to see moments like this. They love torturing us. It’s brilliant, though. Clint is about to do something he isn’t going to be proud of doing. I want some Ronin action now!

Kate sat on her bed looking at her awards and stayed locked on her first bow. The hero she wants to be is who she is meant to be. She doesn’t need to be protected if she is willing to fight for others at this point. Go be a hero, Kate! She tried contacting Clint but got nowhere. She isn’t going to give up, though. Hawkeye sent a message to Maya to meet her where she met Ronin. Oh, it is getting juicy now. Clint called Laura to let her know what was about to happen. All this has to end before the big guy gets involved. He has her full support. I wonder if they’ll explore more with Laura and the watch, or if all that was smaller than we thought. Maya waited for Clint with her men on the lookout, but Ronin took them out one by one. She couldn’t hear anything either. It was intense for her. It reminded me so much of Daredevil and Batman. Very stealthy. Ronin walked up to her, and they began to fight. It was mad. I thought the fight choreography was so great. Ronin unmasked himself when Maya was on the ground. He warned Maya if she meddles with him or his family, he would kill her. Brutal. He also told her that he was tipped by an informant that worked for her boss. The boss wanted Maya’s dad killed. It is starting to play out like a storyline in the comics. Maya almost got Clint, but Kate saved him. Everyone left the scene. Maya met up with Kazi, and I think we all know who the informant was. After all these years, he didn’t even come up with a good lie. How devastated will Maya be when she learns her childhood friend got her father murdered?

On the ride back to Grills’ place, Kate told Clint about the Widow on the rooftop. After saying it was Nat’s sister, he said Yelena. It confirmed that Natasha told Clint about her past. I would guess she told him before the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. On the other side of town, Yelena was following Eleanor. She had to text Kate about the person who hired her; her mother. So, the end credit scene of Black Widow happened around the first part of the series. Kate was shocked by the news, but we weren’t. Yelena also sent her a photo of her mother with an unknown person. She showed Clint the messages and asked who he was. Clint knew who the man was because he was the guy he was worried about getting involved with; Kingpin, also known as Wilson Fisk. Perfect ending! The little tease was enough, especially with the actor playing him! I cannot wait for the series finale of Hawkeye!

Final Thoughts

One of my favorite things about this episode was Yelena. Florence Pugh has a way of making her character so likable. I’m not supposed to encourage her to kill Clint, but she can do whatever she wants. The scene between Kate Bishop and her was so awesome. It was funny but emotional too. The balance between comedy and drama is what Marvel is really good at. I have a feeling that the conversation between Yelena and Clint about Natasha will be short, though. I have this worry because of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Remember Bucky’s quick confession to Yori about his son? It was so awful. Hopefully, I am proven wrong because Nat has been a central character of this series. I am happy to see Kate realize she is meant to be a hero. She has all the qualities of a hero. One of the first things she has to do is take down her mother, though. That’s tough. It was wonderful to see more Ronin action. Even if it was one scene, the fight between Maya and him was pretty badass. The way things are going, I feel like Maya will switch over to the good side. I remember reading that Kingpin killed Echo’s father in a comic storyline then adopted her. She worked for him until she eventually fell in love with Daredevil, but then helped him take down Fisk. Isn’t almost everyone excited to see Vincent D'Onofrio back as Kingpin? It is very important because he played Wilson Fisk in the Netflix series, Daredevil! He is the first character since Marvel regained the Netflix characters to make it to the MCU. How exciting, right?! He played the character so well, so I am ready to see him again on screen. I don’t have any expectations for the next episode. I just hope to be amazed, haha. The Hawkeye finale is tomorrow!

Hello there! I’m happy you took the time out of your day to read my post. Remember if you have any questions or want to have a discussion, leave a comment! My next newsletter will be about the Hawkeye finale this week. Happy days and take care!