Hawkeye Episode 1+2 Recap

The last Disney+ Marvel show to debut for 2021 premiered this week when Hawkeye hit Disney+ just before Thanksgiving. The action-packed new series brings Jeremy Renner back as Clint Barton and introduces the newest hero to the MCU, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. Spoiler Warning ahead.

We kick off with the first episode, titled “Never Meet Your Heroes,” opening in 2012 right before the Battle of New York in Avengers. A young Kate Bishop is caught eavesdropping on her parents’ conversation. It later ends with her home being destroyed thanks to the arrival of the Chitauri. Ironically, the young Bishop is saved by Hawkeye who she comes to admire after her father is killed. From that moment, she decides to become her mother’s protector.

An interesting animated opening shows Kate as she grows up and becomes a martial arts master, a fencing pro, and an archery champ. Later on, Kate makes a bet with her friends to show off her skills and ends up destroying a bell tower. Her mom cuts off her credit cards and tells her to get her act together.

Meanwhile, Clint and his three children, Cooper, Lila, and Nate are enjoying NYC during the holiday season, taking in a Broadway Show called “Rogers: The Musical.” It’s a parody all about the Avengers that probably should appear in real life. Barton, upon seeing an actor portraying Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanoff, is taken aback. We also learn that he has gone deaf and now wears hearing aids. With the show being too much for him to bear, Barton leaves and is asked for an autograph.

His kids follow him outside also not enjoying the show and Clint promises to make this a good Christmas, asking each one what they would like to do. Kate, on the other hand, is stuck at a charity event with her mother and mother’s fiance when she is approached by Armand the III (Simon Callow), who at first mistakes her for a waiter. He is the one who spills the beans that her mother and his nephew, Jack, are going to be married. Kate confronts them both, not liking the idea.

Later on, she overhears Armand threatening her mother and wonders what is going on. Following Armand through the hotel, she comes across an underground Black Market auction selling Avengers memorabilia such as the Ronin Suit and Sword. We haven’t seen either since Avengers Endgame during a scene where Hawkeye was going all vigilante. Kate sees Armand and her mother’s new fiance participating in this auction where Armand buys the sword.

The auction is interrupted by thieves who storm in providing a distraction for Kate to steal the Ronin Suit. Jack, meanwhile, pockets the sword while Armand is knocked out. Seeing that people are in real trouble, Kate decides to put on the Ronin suit and stop the intruders, an action that leads her into a whole mess of trouble. Unknown to her, this gang seems to know about Ronin and has a beef with him. As Kate makes her escape, she saves a Golden Retriever (Lucky the Pizza Dog) from being hit by a car. She takes the dog back to her place and heads back out.

Clint and his family happen to see the news and what they are speculating is the return of “The Ronin” having been caught on camera saving the dog. Kate is confronted by the gang and in an attempt to save herself locks herself in a parked car. A mysterious figure appears and saves her but then confronts her. Turns out it’s Clint trying to find out just who is under the mask. As he unmasks Bishop she exclaims, “You’re Hawkeye,” as he asks her, “Who the hell are you?”

This leads into the second episode, “Hide and Seek,” which sees Clint and Kate make their escape from the gang to her apartment. Clint explains that the suit is bad news and that the bad guys are known as “The Track Suit Mafia.” He tells Kate to take the suit off. He then questions whether anyone knows that she was wearing the suit or connected to it. She answers an obvious no. Seconds later, the Track Suit Mafia arrive calling her name. They begin bombarding her apartment with Molotov cocktails, setting the place ablaze. Barton suggests they leave and come back for the suit.

The two end up bunking down in the apartment of Kate’s Aunt. Barton sends his kids back home, promising that he will be back by Christmas Day. Kate heads to work at her mother’s security company “Bishop Security.” Meanwhile, Barton realizes the Ronin suit was stolen by a local NYPD fireman who happens to be using it for a LARP event. To get the suit back, Barton is forced to participate, which is quite hilarious to watch.

The fireman, named Grills, hands over the suit after Barton agrees to lose to him in a “fight to the finish.” Kate is still trying to convince her mother that Jack is not to be trusted and that he was involved in the death of Armand. This backfires on her when she faces him in a fencing duel.

She tries to contact Barton on his cell but turns out he’s been captured by the Track Suit Mafia. Kate uses her mom’s security company to pinpoint Barton’s location and tracks him down, but also ends up captured alongside him. The episode ends with the leader, Maya Lopez (aka Echo), being informed that both Hawkeye and Kate Bishop have been captured.

Overall both episodes seem to be struggling with a pacing issue. While some scenes are jam-packed full of action, others leave you bored.  With only six episodes, it doesn’t have long to turn this around. Hopefully, next week’s episode is better.

You can catch Hawkeye now on Disney+