Ryan Shoots First: Hawkeye (S1 Eps1 & 2)
It’s the holiday season and it’s time to step away from the turkey and settle down by the TV to let Marvel kick off the holiday season. This Thanksgiving weekend they have given us not one but my two episodes of the new series Hawkeye so let’s check ’em out…
Hawkeye takes place a few years after the events of Endgame and catches up with the titular character himself attempting to have a good old fashioned New York Christmas with his family. As you may have guessed this does not go to plan and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) finds himself deep in his former messes and even some brand new ones due to his reluctant protégé Kate Bishop played by Hailee Steinfeld. The first episode titled Never Meet Your Heroes sets the stage for our two main heroes as their paths crossed in a serendipitous nature revolving around Clint’s former identity from Endgame Ronin. Bishop, who after experiencing an Avengers battle early in her life, became drawn to Hawkeye and dedicated her adolescence to learning archery and other forms of combat. Of course this has also gotten her into a lot of trouble. Steinfeld brings her wit and charm to the roll and is convincing as the plucky rich kid who just wants to break out of the plan for her life and forge her own path.
Hawkeye gives me some subtle Die Hard vibes not just in the Christmas setting but Clint is very much just and honest man trying to enjoy the season with his family and just ends up being the wrong guy at the wrong time. This is where the show flexes it’s hilarity in the moments where Hawkeye is able to play straight man to the super hero crazed world he is trying to live in. All while being the forgotten Avenger. A joke the show itself leans into more than a few times. From the Rogers Musical to Clint having a less than exciting encounter that leads him to remark “I fought Thanos”. It this humor the show finds it’s voice amongst the other heavy MCU series. So far each one has been somewhat heavy with Wanda Vision focused on how one handles grief, Falcon and the Winter Soldier touching on everything from race relations to the military industrial complex. Then Loki taught us all about self love while ripping the multiverse apart. Hawkeye let’s us take a breathe and just enjoy a fun story in the MCU world we have come to love. Placing it at the holiday season I think adds to it as well as the innocence and light hearted tone fits perfectly with the seasonal setting. I’m glad I am checking it out in the context of the timeframe of the show.
All in all I would say it was a interesting solid start for the series and I look forward to enjoy the protégé Die Hard story as it progresses. If you only care about generation defining plot points and pivot points in the MCU, Hawkeye is likely to let you down but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time. There is a place on the small screen for stories like this and I am excited to see more.
Observations (Spoilers):
- If parents are fighting there is always a kid listening
- 2012 in NY is never a good sign
- I never get enough of seeing the battle of NYC from different perspectives
- The Rogers Musical stuff was fantastic
- Yea there would totally be people saying Thanos was right…
- Nothing puts you in the Christmas spirit like New York City at Christmas.
- Kate is giving off some 3 Ninjas vibes in that get up
- The same guy playing a news anchor across multiple MCU films is a nice touch
- Someone fangirling over Hawkeye is a fun twist
- This series has a little Die Hard to it. Wrong guy at the wrong time.
- Entertainment has not been nice to the Larping community
- “And I fought Thanos” HAHA
- “Guys I can see through the bag” Hawkeyes got jokes.
