While Hawkeye’s first two episodes solidly reintroduced the titular Marvel archer in a more humanistic way as he deals with his Ronin past being resurrected in the present and attempts to be home just in time for Christmas, Hawkeye Episode 3, ‘Echoes’ is a massive improvement in nearly every facet.
There’s absolutely no time wasted in formally introducing the small surprise shown at the end of the last episode, Maya Lopez a.k.a. Echo (Alaqua Cox). At first, it seemed like the episode was opening on more of Kate’s (Hailee Steinfeld, Dickinson) backstory as a child, so it’s a very nice surprise to see that it’s actually introducing Maya’s upbringing since she’s going to become a prevalent player in the MCU going forward – both in Hawkeye and in her own MCU series slated for the near future. While it’s not a lengthy or greatly detailed origin story, the opening gives us a strong glimpse into Maya’s experience growing up deaf.
With films like Sound of Metal and Coda creating more realistic depictions of the deaf experience, the MCU adds a complementary story of their own by delving into Maya dealing with her deafness at a young age. It certainly has some heart-tugging imagery with Maya being isolated in her classroom, not being able to hear anything, but she’s never depicted as incapable or weak because of it. Although she isn’t necessarily given attention or support within the classroom, Maya still shows she’s able to be exceptional through her strong ability to read lips and determine visual cues. These traits not only come directly from the comics but embody the sense of support she receives from her father (Zahn McClarnon, Westworld), who is unfortunately cut down by Jeremy Renner’s Clint as Ronin when he targeted the Tracksuit Mafia.
Maya doesn’t necessarily have super-human abilities like other MCU characters. She’s more like Daredevil where she’s been able to find unique strengths in her perceived weaknesses. Cox’s performance and presence add its own sense of authenticity and strength to Maya’s experience, as she is also deaf and is an amputee, which is why this version of Echo has a leg prosthetic. On paper, it’s a pretty standard debut that doesn’t really delve much into this feud between her and Ronin and doesn’t say much about where she stands in the MCU at the moment, aside from a mention of her uncle, which only strengthens the possibility that the rumors of Vincent D’Onofrio returning as Kingpin are true. However, the compassionate and empowering story moments surrounding deafness and being hearing-impaired for both Maya and Clint overcome some of the shortcomings.
The moment of Maya telling Clint that he should abandon his hearing aid is a moment that truly defines her and emphasizes the importance of learning sign language and finding alternatives that don’t involve technological crutches. The relationship between Maya and her second-in-command Kazi (Fra Fee, Les Miserables) carries great mutual respect and care that comes through in their signing, and Kazi is the only one in the Tracksuit Mafia who knows sign-language.
There’s nothing more touching though than the moment of Kate helping Clint communicate with his son Nathaniel (Cade Woodward, Avengers: Endgame) over the phone. It’s the kind of endearing and real moment we’ve been waiting for between these two and is another great way this series shows Hawkeye as human. It’s been very touching to see this series showcase Hawkeye as a human hero through him dealing with hearing loss, being desperate to be home for Christmas, and even keeping his cuts and bruises after battles, but this moment between him and Kate hits you right in the gut and will have you on the verge of tears.
As the characters slightly improve, so does the action as we get a very fun warehouse fight sequence that leads into an even crazier car chase. Full credits go to directing duo Bert & Bertie as they bring some stellar direction. Whether he has his bow in hand or is going bowless, Hawkeye is a blast to watch. His fighting is epic as hell, and the power of Hawkeye’s shot leaves you a little stunned as they take down the Tracksuit mafia with force. That one-shot spinning shot from the back of the car at the start of Clint and Kate’s escape was unexpected and awesome, and, like Kate, it’s incredibly exciting to see some “trick arrows” in action.
Their debut doesn’t disappoint as watching the Tracksuit Mafia have to deal with arrows that let out expanding purple goo and multiple grapple ropes that feel very Spider-Man inspired, along with a special “Pym” arrow that makes another arrow gigantic, is an early Christmas present for all Marvel fans. The only disappointment with these action scenes, specifically the car chase, is that they continue to show the low budget this series was given in shoddy ways. The green screen shots for some of the car chase stuff look atrocious at times and some of the effects for the trick arrows look like they’re straight out of those live-action Inspector Gadget movies.
The only other thing that doesn’t necessarily improve in this episode is the overall story direction as we’re still kind of left hanging as to where things are headed, which is not exactly great considering we’re halfway through. The moments of Kate talking about Hawkeye’s superhero look is nice since it could allude to us seeing a new Hawkeye costume by the end and if Clint keeps trying to pin stuff on Natasha like he did by saying that she killed Ronin, he’s going to find himself in a deeper hole when Yelena (Florence Pugh, Black Widow) eventually comes around.
However, this series is a little too low key with its mystery and doesn’t have the most enticing elements to keep viewers hooked. In this episode specifically, most of the characters from the initial episodes are absent and there just isn’t a lot to go on. It’s understandable that it’s the Christmas season and all, but it’s tough to hope and wish that the gifts this series could offer are around the corner. Still, perhaps the end stinger with Jack (Tony Dalton, Sense8) means that answers are not that far away.
Despite still having some hang-ups in its shoddy visuals and weak main mystery narrative, Hawkeye Episode 3 manages to make its third episode impactful through its more humanistic qualities that stem from Maya’s debut and improvements in Kate and Clint’s relationship. This episode creates powerful moments for the deaf community, as well as more ambitious action moments.
Hawkeye Episode 3 is now streaming on Disney Plus.
