Again, let me remind you that Hawkeye is a newly-dropped series, and spoilers abound in my breakdown. Critical Notes, as always, follow.
LEFTOVER NINE
We begin with last episode’s cliffhanger. Clint grabs Kate in the Ronin suit and unmasks her.
ONE
They introduce themselves and leave the alley. Run credit logo.
TWO
Walking down the street now, Kate peppers him with questions. Are you assessing threats? She’s clearly star-struck. Promoting herself a little, she calls herself the world’s greatest archer.
They’ve arrived at her large apartment over the pizza shop. When they enter, the dog greets them. It’s not her dog, she corrects Clint, and she inherited the place. Throughout, he is surprised and impressed by nothing.
THREE
(There is no Three.)
FOUR
He tells her to take that vest off. While she changes upstairs, Clint notices that her loft has an archery target and punching bag, and a case for her archery trophies.
He asks, Where’d you get the suit? Black market auction, she answers. Returning downstairs, she asks him to sign her bow. He barely notices. He’s focused on the Tracksuit mafia and what they know. Did they see your face? I kept the mask on like a pro. And you told nobody? I just dropped off the dog . . . to an apartment with my name on the buzzer.
They dodge a molotov cocktail thrown through the window. They’re outnumbered, so they grab the dog and use the fire escape. Clint will come back for the suit, which is now surrounded by flames.
Gathering first aid supplies, they end up at Kate’s aunt’s apartment. (She’s out of town.) Clean your wounds, Clint says. I’m going back for the suit and then to my kids. Stay here.
Kate’s apartment is cordoned off with police tape. In a hoodie, Clint sneaks under and takes a firefighter’s jacket and helmet from the truck. He tours the smoking apartment, but the suit isn’t there. When he returns the gear, he sees a sticker on the fire truck window: NYC LARPERS.
Back at Kate’s safe house, Clint checks her wound. She’s bandaged it wrong, and he fixes it. She wants to know if he has a lead for the suit. As he googles the LARPER page, he puts her off. He texts his kids, and the dog comes up for a snuggle.
At the hotel the next morning, the kids are packed and headed to the airport. Clint has a charming dad moment as he loads them into the limo. His love, his longing to be with them, is obvious. They’re good kids.
Back with Kate again as she watches the news. Showing footage of her in the mask, they report that the Ronin has returned and probably killed Armand. Kate finally gets it: They think I’m the Ronin? While Clint tries (and fails) to convince her to stay put, an ad for the “Rogers” musical runs on the TV. (That’s freakin hilarious. It was knowingly horrible, and I love that they continue to drop jokes about it in the background.)
As Clint walks Kate to work, he takes the street-side position. She credits him for protecting her, and he shows her the hearing aid. He’s just walking so she’s on his good side. We get a flashback of the explosion that killed his hearing. She tries to argue that he has a branding problem. He’s too lowkey for promotion. Of course, he can hardly care about such things. Here she is at the office, and it’s the last time he’ll see her. She’s not ready to be done. What about trick arrows? He has her put her phone number in his phone, and she lets it ring through, catching his number.
SWITCH
This is for emergency only, he says. Goodbye. Merry Christmas.
I’ll call you later, she says.
FIVE
Our team is now separate, and we get two perspectives. First Kate, at her mother’s security firm with Jack. She doesn’t like him, he looks mildly suspicious, and the mother tries to bridge the middle.
Clint is in the park for the LARPER event. He sees the man in his Ronin costume, role-playing and fighting with rubber swords. A woman in medieval garb stops him, though. You want in? You sign up.
(This is a really fun sequence, at least for a gamer geek like me. A lot of in-jokes, while Clint is uncomfortable. He walks among them with his beer-keg chest plate, dodging fake hits like a pro.)
When he approaches the costume-wearer, the man recognizes him. He negotiates to “kill” Hawkeye, and then he’ll give him the suit willingly. They fight in front of everyone (with one of the attendees doing the “schwing” fake sword sound effects). After, the man (Grills is his name) thanks him for the best day of his life. He’s nice, the event is charming, and Clint is almost a good sport.
In the middle of this Kate is called by a detective who wants to ask her about her burnt apartment. She’ll see him tomorrow.
Now that Clint has the suit, he takes it to a public gym and stores it in a locker. During this, he calls home and talks to his wife. The kids are making gingerbread houses. He has to stay longer, he says. You have five days until Christmas, she says. His next move will be catch and release. “Time to get myself caught.” (Throughout, the married couple is a strong, supportive team. Great family. We understand completely why he wants to get home.)
The rest of the Five is spent with Kate at dinner. She and Jack spar with words, and then with swords. Mom watches while they hold a fencing duel in the foyer. Continuing to score touches, Kate gets more and more furious, accusing Jack of throwing the match. “Stop letting me win!” When he takes off his helmet to talk to Mom, Kate lunges for his head. A quick parry, and Jack shows that he is indeed knowledgeable about swordplay. He’s still very even-tempered, though, never strained or angry. He sells himself as a man who’s trying to learn to be a good stepfather.
Kate can’t stand him, though, and believes he probably killed Armand. It’s not something she’s ready to say to his face, but she clearly suspects him.
SIX
With a look, Jack offers Kate one of Armand’s butterscotch candies.
SEVEN
Clint allows himself to be caught by the Tracksuit Gang. Kate, in a cab, calls his number. When he doesn’t answer, she uses Bishop Security location services to track his phone.
EIGHT
Clint is tied to an office chair in a warehouse. The leader, a bit of a dope, lectures him while Clint asks to talk to the boss. A man in the shadows is who Clint glances toward. We’re looking for Kate Bishop, the leader says. She’s the guy in the costume. Out of patience, Clint breaks his bonds and prepares to find the boss. Noises above his head become Kate crashing through the skylight. With guns trained on her, the leader says, “I found her.”
Cut to the two of them tied to bouncy animals, those coin-op child rides.
NINE
A mysterious woman, lit by red, stands in a room full of stereo speakers. Gang man says, “We have them both.” She shoos him away and looks into the camera. Roll credits.
CRITICAL NOTES
Clint, when captured, asks to talk to the boss. He looks questioningly at a man in silhouette. Well, now we know that he’s not the boss, it’s that Red Woman. Clint doesn’t know, which is interesting. In all his dealings with the Tracksuit Gang, he never came upon her, apparently.
What does that Six, the butterscotch insert, mean? I have no idea, but it’s such a strong visual, such a pause in the action, that it must be the Six. Sadly, no mirroring Three exists. If Kate had emptied the Ronin suit pockets and found a butterscotch, maybe tossing it down with repulsion and giving us a flash of yellow, we would’ve had a match. As it stands now, the opening runs with no sense of rhythm, no beat pulse.
Kate’s belief that she’s the world’s greatest archer, something she brags about at the Two, leads her to try to rescue the actual world’s greatest archer. She falls through the ceiling and makes a hash of it at the climax. Decent Two/Eight.
Tone-wise, this episode is much more consistent. Kate’s young, with a gung-ho attitude. It’s irritating to watch, but luckily most of the episode is spent with Clint’s world-weariness. His intention is crystal clear: he wants to get home to his family for Christmas. Renner nails it, staying completely consistent and focused. Cleaning up this Ronin mess, Clint’s job, is a duty that thwarts his intention. Good writing.
One more Grinchy complaint. The costume designer continues to put Steinfeld in combat boots. It’s very unfortunate. They give her a clompity walk that looks the opposite of a poised, athletic gait. I already don’t believe she does her own fighting, and she looks completely ungainly in this footwear. Stylistically, it’s sharp. Artistically, it defeats the narrative.