The Hawkeye finale was perfect.
This might sound like an audacious, hyperbolic statement. However, when you think of this hour-long episode within the context of Marvel’s year in television, it was perfect.
Throughout 2021, we’ve dealt with a post-Endgame world in the Marvel television world. This world is burdened by the effects of the blip, multiverses, and the death of beloved members of earth’s mightiest heroes. Wandavision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and What If? are steeped in trauma, loss and sadness. Each finale, while satisfying in its own way, still had this air of feeling unresolved and all those deeply emotional wounds our heroes bore were never truly healed.
While Wanda came to grips with Vision’s death, we were left with the fact she held a whole town captive and tortured them, and she is now searching the multiverse for her supposed children. While Sam Wilson triumphantly became the new Captain America, there’s still the issue of the treatment of refugees and we’re left to wonder if the world will accept Sam in the role. Loki ended with multiple tragedies and a cliffhanger that had you frustrated beyond belief. What If? was an uneven series to begin, and its conclusion was fine, if not a bit ham-fisted at times.
Check out Socially Distanced #88 featuring Al Mannarino, Bill Bodkin, Murjani Rawls, and Tyler McCarthy and their thoughts on the season final of Hawkeye!
This is not to say these endings were in any way, shape or form bad. Okay, yours truly wasn’t the biggest fan of the Wanda finale and the What If…? finale was just okay, but these were not bad episodes of television at all. All of the series delivered in terms of acting, storytelling, action, spectacle, and emotional impact.
Yet, we as a fandom, as a television-viewing audience, and frankly as a people needed a happy ending coming out of the MCU’s television universe — especially since the world is going through another variant running rampant through our lives and ruining the happiest time of year for so many.
This is why the Hawkeye finale was perfect. As stated in our review of the premiere, this series is undoubtedly rooted in a Christmas movie/series/special archetype. By rule —whether it’s Elf or Die Hard — any piece of entertainment that has Christmas at the center of it must deliver a happy ending. Of course, the best Christmas movies/specials/series work when that happy ending feels undeniably earned. And for Hawkeye, the happy ending was unequivocally earned.
The road to the happy ending was of course filled with heartbreak, loss, and plenty of people getting shot with arrows. The action sequences, particularly The Rockefeller Center shootout, were excellent and this scene should earn its spot as an iconic moment within the new phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Yet, as awesome as the action set pieces were, the heavy-lifting that both Hailee Steinfeld and Florence Pugh put in this episode is what made it so powerful and memorable. These two have this ungodly natural chemistry and they were able to make their fight scene both comedic and totally badass. Yet, it was the big emotional moment when they both had to come to terms with the reality of their maternal figures’ life choices that left the biggest impression. Of course, Jeremy Renner’s Clint was there for both of their realizations, but he also played into his own role within their lives, which allowed him to let the weight of Nat’s death finally come off his shoulders.
This is why everything felt so earned and so wonderful in the end. Clint was able to go home and be with his family without the weight of guilt and the world on his shoulders. Kate, despite losing her mom, found a purpose in life as well as a new place to be with the Bartons and of course, Lucky the Pizza Dog. Hell, we even got a nice little send-off for Jack Dusquene (Tony Dalton, Better Call Saul) and the LARP-ers.
While the Hawkeye finale didn’t leave us with more about the multiverse, a new overarching intergalactic villain, or a game-changing character, that doesn’t mean the finale was an insulated episode. The finale gave us just enough to want more from not only a potential second season but multiple series in the future MCU and left us with the potential of new characters debuting. Is Kingpin actually dead? What could we be seeing in the new Echo series? Will either of these characters lead us further into the Defenders Universe rom Netflix with Daredevil, Punisher, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage (because does anyone want more Iron Fist? Well, maybe if it was better)? What’s to become of Yelena now that she realizes Clint didn’t cause Nat’s death? Is she going to continue working for Val? Is she going to become rivals or partners with Kate Bishop? Does this series lead us to the Young Avengers, Dark Avengers, West Coast Avengers, Pet Avengers, or just a brand new Avengers altogether?
This is why the Hawkeye finale was perfect: it was emotional, impactful, dramatic, and narratively satisfying for the series itself, but it also left us with so many questions and possibilities for the future of the MCU. Concurrently, it was able to give us a true, happy, and meaningful conclusion that felt earned and, most importantly, necessary for this time of year—not just for the holiday season, but for this time in history.
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