There were a number of big reveals in Hawkeye Episode, ‘Ronin,’ but most of them tied into the too-often-forgotten reminder of just who Hawkeye is. He’s “that guy from the Avengers with a bow & arrow?” Sure. But could just anyone with a bow and arrow be in the Avengers? He’s one of “the two master assassins” that Tony Stark described to Loki. He’s Agent Barton to Nick Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. He’s the man who, without the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. resources, decimated the criminal world during “The Blip” as Ronin. And, to help Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld, Dickinson), he’s a man who probably won’t be home on time for Christmas dinner.
Kate, however, gets to share a meal with the surviving Black Widow and the assassin hired to kill Jeremy Renner’s Clint, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh, Black Widow). The scene is easy to dismiss as “girl talk:” the signature Marvel banter done with a Skippy-thick Russian accent. In actuality, it radiates a “Don Draper done by Terrance Mann” type energy with the way the more seasoned Yelena imposes herself into Kate’s life. The balance of power shifts ever so slightly, though, when Kate gives Yelena a little food for thought and a little something to look into (although that does end up biting her in the bowstrings.)
A shell corporation formed by Kate’s shady wannabe stepdad, Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton, Sense8), is brought to light and brought to Kate’s mom, Eleanor (Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel). She may be dismissive of Kate’s concerns most of the time, but she seems genuinely concerned. A call to the police that Jack is unsettlingly calm about removes him from their home.
Clint shares his situation with wife, Laura (Linda Cardellini, who plays the resigned but genuine support of a military/police spouse sublimely), and makes a solemn plea to Natasha’s spirit at a plaque commemorating their battle against The Chitauri. It’s not going to be easy, physically or emotionally, when he schedules a face-off with Echo (Alaqua Cox). He’s got to not only reveal himself as Ronin but let her know just who led him to her gangster father, too. Clint gets the upper hand to show Echo that he can finish her and tell her why he won’t. She’s too dangerous to keep still for long, though, and Clint and Kate have to leave her to process this new information.
The Tracksuit Mafia is disrupted, Kate’s shady wannabe stepdad is in cuffs, and Kate and Clint get to enjoy a light-hearted evening with Grills (Clayton English, House of Payne), the FDNY LARPer, and Lucky, the one-eyed pizza dog. It’s a celebration cut short. Kate gets information from Yelena that reveals who hired her for the hit on Hawkeye and the presence of a classic Marvel villain that will make millions of Netflix subscribers squee but make Clint Barton sweat.
