Hawkeye finished up today and we got what I would consider Marvel's most consistent show yet. This is the only show where I have liked every episode. And, personally, I was shocked. I didn't have sky high expectations for Hawkeye. I expected a fun show that didn't really do a ton for me, somewhat like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. But I loved Hawkeye. It was so fun. Hawkeye has always been somewhat sidelined in the Avengers movies, and I loved seeing him get the spotlight. The addition of Kate Bishop was awesome. Echo was a cool villain. This was a character-based show, and I think that that was the right way to go. With that said, here's my ranking of the Hawkeye episodes.
6. Episode 2: Hide and Seek
I still liked this episode. I think it was a good little continuation of the first episode. I loved the chemistry between Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld. They are so much fun together. However, even though these shows act like 6-part movies, each episode should still have its own individual plot. And I don't think the plot of this episode was very good. Hawkeye has to go to a larper thing to retrieve the Ronin suit, and I don't think that it was a great story. Kate feels like she doesn't do much during this episode besides aggressively accuse Jack of being mean, and I don't really like that either. I still think it's a fun episode. Just not a very good one overall.
Still, this is Savory. Age range is 7+.
Fun Factor: 7.5/10
Acting: 7/10
Story: 5.5/10
Characters: 7.5/10
Quality: 6.5/10
5. Episode 1: Never Meet Your Heroes
Episode one of Hawkeye didn't blow me away, and it wasn't meant to. It introduced Kate Bishop and Clint's current state in a very nice way. It had some very fun segments, such as Rogers the Musical, but also had its fair share of heavy moments as Clint is still dealing with the events of Endgame. I thought it was missing the fun, sarcastic relationship between Clint and Kate, but it still has all of Hailee's charm and Jeremy's grumpiness. The action wasn't fantastic and the episode wasn't either, but I thought that it worked well as an introduction to this show and this story.
I'll go Savory. Age range is 7+.
Fun Factor: 7.5/10
Acting: 8/10
Story: 6.5/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Quality: 7/10
4. Episode 6: So This Is Christmas?
I think this finale delivered on a few things and fell flat on a few things. First positive: Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin is as menacing and intimidating as ever. I wasn't sure if his extremely violent and dark character would translate into what is possibly the lightest Marvel show yet, but they were able to keep his scariness while also blending him into the true MCU fully. I really hope he isn't dead, because that would be incredibly disappointing. We will probably see in Echo. I think that this is a good completion of Kate and Clint's journey. However, I think that it doesn't really do a good job of resolving the main conflict and tying everything together. Jack being a red herring and Eleanor being the real murderer feels lazy, and they never really explain why Eleanor killed Armand besides being under Kingpin's orders. The story of Hawkeye wasn't ever really its strong point, and I think that's very true of this episode. It's character-based, and it follows through on that front. So, while it isn't the best finale, it's satisfying enough.
I'll go Savory. Age range is 8+.
Fun Factor: 8/10
Acting: 8.5/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Story: 6/10
Quality: 7.5/10
3. Episode 5: Ronin
After Yelena Belova shows up in the end of episode four, she came back to look for Hawkeye and bring all of her charm and fun that was in Black Widow to Kate Bishop's apartment. This episode had Clint in a darker place than before as he abandons Kate and tracks down Echo by himself. The stealth scene with Clint in the Ronin suit was reminiscent of Batman's intro in Batman Begins. It was great. It sets up a redemptive arc for Echo as she learns that her uncle may not be the best guy. But let's be real. The reason this episode is so high on the list is because of that Kingpin reveal. It ties the Marvel Netflix shows, specifically Daredevil, into the main MCU, and that will be super, super cool.
I'm going Sweet here. Age range is 9+.
Fun Factor: 8.5/10
Acting: 8.5/10
Characters: 8.5/10
Story: 7.5/10
Quality: 8/10
2. Episode 4: Partners, Am I Right?
After episode three tossed the show into the stratosphere, episode four took a second to slow down and develop Kate and Clint, as well as showing us the growing friendship between the two of them. While that didn't work for Loki at all, it works great for Hawkeye. It also brought a level of emotion to Hawkeye that wasn't there before, with Clint reminiscing about Natasha. That pays off in the end of the episode as Kate and Clint go to investigate Echo, only to be interrupted by both Echo and Yelena Belvoa. This episode had great character moments and development, as well as a fantastic climax that set the stage for the final act of Hawkeye.
I'm going Sweet here. Age range is 9+.
Fun Factor: 9/10
Acting: 9/10
Characters: 9.5/10
Story: 8/10
Quality: 9/10
1. Episode 3: Echoes
Episodes three and four were incredible, so they are basically tied, but I had to choose one. Echoes had everything: the great continuation of Clint and Kate's relationship, some fun action, a cool villain, and great teases for the future. This was really where we saw Kingpin for the first time, and it only went up from there. We understand Echo's motivations and vendetta against Hawkeye. We also get more of the fun, snappy banter between our two leads. The scene where the Tracksuits are chasing Clint and Kate and they keep firing trick arrows at them is just tons of fun. This was where Hawkeye kicked into high gear. I absolutely loved this episode.
I will go Sweet. Age range is 8+.
Fun Factor: 9/10 Acting: 9/10
Characters: 9.5/10
Story: 8.5/10
Quality: 8.5/10
In total, I would give this show a Sweet.
It was so fun and so light-hearted, and after the disappointments that What If...?, Shang-Chi, and Eternals were, I was happy that we got two great hits to finish off the year in Hawkeye and No Way Home.
"Hawkeye"
Created by Jonathan Igla
Rated TV-14 for superhero violence and action, language, thematic elements, disturbing themes
First episode premiere date on November 24, 2021
Episode runtime: 45 minutes
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop / Hawkeye
Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop
Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne / Swordsman
Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez / Echo
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow
Fra Free as Kazi Kazimierczak
Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton
Ava Russo as Lila Barton
Ben Sakamoto as Cooper Barton
Cade Woodward as Nathaniel Barton
Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin
Simon Callow as Armand Duquesne III
Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez
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