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Hawkeye Episode 1 Recap: Kate Bishop Joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Hawkeye episode 1 is out now on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar, and it is all about introducing Kate Bishop to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She’s not just a new character, but also the Marvel series’ co-lead and expected to be the future Hawkeye, with our former Avenger (Jeremy Renner) training her to be more than an expert archer. At least, that’s how the story goes in the Marvel comics that Hawkeye is inspired by. That would make Hawkeye the first MCU TV show on Disney+ to be centred so much on a new character. WandaVision was about Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was about Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and Loki was about, well, Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

The last of them possibly comes closest to Hawkeye in that regard, with Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) being co-lead — but even that took a couple episodes. Here on Hawkeye, Kate Bishop is the focus right from the start. In fact, the series even begins with her. It’s as if Marvel is telling you in big bold letters: Kate matters, Kate is the future. As such, a bulk of Hawkeye episode 1 is about setting up Kate and her circle: her family, her personality, and the enemies she makes. Speaking of, Hawkeye’s Ronin costume and sword come into play. But Hawkeye episode 1 is not a dark examination of the Ronin legacy, it’s a light-hearted affair. Fitting really, given the holiday spirit that Hawkeye is going for—the first MCU entry set during the Christmas period since Iron Man 3.

Hawkeye episode 1 — titled “Never Meet Your Heroes”, directed by Rhys Thomas, and written by Hawkeye creator Jonathan Igla — opens in 2012 at a New York penthouse where a young Kate Bishop (Clara Stack) lives with her mother Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) and her dad Derek (Brian d’Arcy James). Marvel fans with a bit of encyclopaedic knowledge know what is about to happen. We get an insight into the parents’ fraught relationship, and the effect it has on Kate who is overhearing. Dad goes up to talk to Kate, and then asks her to have lunch with her mother. Later, Mom tells Kate to get Checkers so they can have some fun. As Kate goes up, she starts hearing things outside and the whole house starts shaking. Things go haywire from there, as the Chitauri invasion of New York has begun.

Hawkeye Episode 2 Recap: Jeremy Renner Goes LARPing

Clara Stack as Kate Bishop in Hawkeye episode 1
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Amidst the chaos, a side wall of the house is blown to smithereens. As a dumbstruck Kate looks out the new hole in her home, Kate is saved from the incoming Chitauri by an arrow. Where did that arrow come from? In the distance, Kate sees Hawkeye (Renner) duking it out. He saved her even though he doesn’t know it, and what he’s doing — jumping from rooftops, swinging and firing arrows, it all looks cool — clearly leaves an unmistakable impression on her. Eleanor shows up behind Kate, and the two escape the crumbling penthouse. But Dad is nowhere to be seen.

At a funeral later in Hawkeye episode 1— it’s clear Dad is gone — Kate wonders what happens if the Chitauri come back. Eleanor tells her they won’t, because the heroes taught them a lesson. Kate says she needs to protect them, as we see the photo of Dad on a tomb. Eleanor says that’s her job, and that she’s there for whatever she needs. The reply? “I need a bow and arrow,” Kate says.

Hawkeye episode 1 cuts to present day, and a teenage Kate (Hailee Steinfeld) is a trained archer. She’s on the university archery team it seems — but right now, she’s just goofing around with her friends. They have a bet that involves using an arrow to ring a giant clocktower bell. It doesn’t go well, but then Kate improvises and it goes a little too well. The clocktower is severely damaged, and as it starts to crumble, a security officer appears behind Kate. She’s in serious trouble, you’d imagine.

Cut to New York where Hawkeye/ Clint Barton (Renner) and family are watching Rogers: The Musical, a stage play celebrating the life and achievements of the late Steve Rogers/ Captain America (Chris Evans) I presume. Right now, we are at the (musical re-enactment of the) 2012 Chitauri invasion of New York City, and how the Avengers saved the day. It seems the creator’s memory is shot because they’ve put Ant-Man in the play as well — which as any Marvel follower would know is not true.

Clint isn’t taking well to the musical though. Set aside the Ant-Man gaffe, seeing someone dress as up his Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is adding to his grief. Hawkeye is set following the events of Avengers: Endgame, where Nat paid the ultimate price so Clint could live. Not wanting to tune into the play, Clint has turned off his hearing aid — he has a hearing aid?! — that his daughter Lila (Ava Russo) asks about. Clint whisks away to the bathroom where he’s accosted by a dad who wants a selfie for his kids. He steps out of the theatre, where Lila comes to check on him. “Natasha was your best friend, everyone lost a lot but it was more for you,” she reminds him. As the other kids join him and Lila, they head to celebrate the night elsewhere.

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Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne in Hawkeye episode 1
Photo Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

Hawkeye episode 1 jumps back to Kate who has returned to New York from college. Eleanor asks her to come home, where Kate gets a lecture from her mother on her behaviour. The dean is going to make them replace an irreplaceable clock tower, for starters. “Young people think they are invincible, and rich people think they are invincible, and you have always been both. Take it from someone who hasn’t, you’re not (invincible). You will get hurt one day, don’t go looking for it,” Eleanor adds. Hawkeye seems willing to discuss Kate’s extreme privilege — and hopefully this won’t be a stray dialogue that’s ultimately forgotten.

After Kate apologises, Eleanor asks her to make it up to her by coming to the charity auction she’s going to. Kate then pulls out her new medal she won at a martial arts championship. Eleanor jokes they might have to get rid of some old ones to make room for another medal — and drops in that Kate got her black medal at 15. For Hawkeye episode 1, this is all (necessary) exposition to tell us that Kate is a) an expert archer and b) skilled at fighting.

Kate turns around to see a sword resting as a showpiece, and wonders what’s up with the sword. Just then, Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton) walks in, who seems to be the new beau of Eleanor here in Hawkeye episode 1. This is curious because Marvel comics fans know Jack as Swordsman and an early mentor to Hawkeye. It’s impossible to say at this point if Clint and Jack have history in the MCU, because that would be some coincidence. Anyhoo, Eleanor and Jack leave for the auction, and ask Kate to come soon.

Hawkeye episode 1 jumps back to Clint and family for a bit, who are at dinner having left Rogers: The Musical midway. Clint is trying to bond with the kids who are at very different ages. They call up mother Laura Barton (Linda Cardellini) who is not with them, so that Clint can have some alone time with the kids. They are going back home tomorrow, and Clint will get to spend a Christmas with them together for the first time in a long while. Usually, he’s busy with Avengers stuff — plus Clint’s family was gone for five years thanks to the Snap. You know, Thanos.

Now to the charity gala in Hawkeye episode 1, where Kate discovers via a conversation with Armand Duquesne (Simon Callow) — he is Jack’s father — that Eleanor and Jack are going to get married. They share a bit of an awkward conversation before Armand (III) and his grandson Armand VII (Jonathan Bergman) make their way. Kate confronts her mother who apologises that she had to find out this way — the engagement is fast, yes, but she’s feeling nice being swept up in the romance of it. Okay then.

All You Need to Know About Hawkeye on Disney+ Hotstar

Pizza Dog in Hawkeye episode 1
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Kate steps out for some air where she encounters a dog who has lost his left eye. This seems to be the introduction of Lucky the Pizza Dog, the Marvel comics character who has already been revealed in Hawkeye posters. While making her way back in, Kate listens in on a heated conversation between Armand III and her mother. Eleanor says that she built her empire from the ground up. Armand III warns her that he has powerful friends too, before he walks away. Kate tries to find out more from her mother, but she simply plays it off.

Kate follows Armand III down into a cellar where a secret auction is happening on items that owners can’t say where they even got them. It’s a black-market auction basically. Armand III is joined shortly after by Jack — and Kate listens in on them in Hawkeye episode 1. Armand says he’s reached his breaking point with Eleanor and that things are about to get very ugly. Jack tells Armand III to leave Eleanor alone. Kate’s server disguise starts to fall apart, but she finds a way to lose her tail inside what is a small cellar, so that’s funny.

She then overhears another conversation between Russians — Kate sure does listen in a lot — but she can’t tell what they are saying this time. They are definitely up to something though. As they step out and go their way, Kate goes back to observing Jack and Armand III who are competing for the next item: Ronin’s sword. Recovered from the Avengers compound apparently. The Duquesne duo drive up the pricing before Armand III takes it for about half a million. As the auctioneer (Barry Ratcliffe) prepares the next lot (it’s Ronin’s costume), the wall behind the auctioneer blows up. Kate, Jack, Armand III and the rest of guests are thrown to the ground in Hawkeye episode 1.

It’s the Russians obviously. What do they want? They want a watch apparently, one of them all but declares to the viewers. In the scramble meanwhile, Jack escapes with the Ronin sword, while Kate grabs the Ronin costume. You know what’s about to happen. That takes us into Hawkeye‘s first action sequence, as Kate tries to be the hero dressed as Ronin. First, she saves Jack and Armand III — and then takes on the Russians wielding guns. All of it is set in the cellar so there’s a lot of using wine bottles to beat up the minions.

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Hailee Steinfeld in Ronin costume in Hawkeye episode 1
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Eventually, Kate escapes the cellar in Hawkeye episode 1 and goes above ground to discover a friend of the Russians gathering all the auction items. But that one-eyed dog from earlier arrives out of nowhere and starts pulling at his pants. Kate approaches and knocks the guy out, but the dog then runs away as Kate chases it. The dog runs into New York’s busy streets and is caught there like a deer in headlights. Kate springs into action to rescue the dog. Just then, the Russians arrive — one of them takes off his mask to reveal what he looks like to the audience. He’s called Kazi (Fra Fee) by his buddies. Hearing the police sirens in the distance, they take off.

Elsewhere in Hawkeye episode 1, the Bartons arrive at their hotel. Lila turns on the TV where they discover what happened at the charity gala: an explosion, frightened rich people, and cell phone footage that shows Ronin. Newscasters believe Ronin — the guy who terrorised organised crime — has resurfaced after years. This is triggering for Clint who was the real Ronin; Hawkeye episode 1 gives us a reminder of his time as Ronin using footage from Avengers: Endgame.

Meanwhile, Kate and the dog arrive at Kate’s apartment, where she gives him the only food she has in her fridge: pizza. This is how Lucky the Pizza Dog starts to get his name in the MCU, I imagine. Kate then leaves to investigate Armand III and why he’s buying swords on the black market. She breaks into Armand’s house only to discover that Armand is dead, and she leaves just as the maid arrives.

Barely has she left Armand’s place that she is accosted by the Russians from before. Guess they were following her. Kate is clearly outnumbered but she does her best to survive, before jumping in an unlocked car. Lucky! But that doesn’t go well for long, as one of the big guys just smashes the window with his elbow. Just as she’s about to be…

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Hawkeye Episode 2 Recap: Jeremy Renner Goes LARPing

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Hawkeye episode 2 — out now on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar — gives us pieces of what Marvel’s Christmas series is good at. Deep into the second episode, Jeremy Renner’s title character goes LARPing. That’s short for live-action role-play. It’s like a mix of cosplay and acting where you behave like a fictional character — it’s like fandom but extreme. Hawkeye/ Clint Barton (Renner) has to do this because LARPers take their craft very seriously — a bunch of them are cops and firefighters — and so if Hawkeye wants to avoid an ugly confrontation, this is the only way. The whole thing is goofy and very funny, this is where Hawkeye currently excels clearly: in putting a very-serious superhero like Hawkeye in hilarious and absurd situations that he wouldn’t want anything to do with.

Elsewhere, Hawkeye episode 2 starts to tease its villains/ anti-heroes a bit more. Towards the end, we are very briefly introduced to Maya Lopez/ Echo (Alaqua Cox). Maya is hearing challenged, as shown on Hawkeye episode 2, and in the Marvel comics, she is capable of copying anyone’s movements — just like Taskmaster/ Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko) could in Scarlett Johansson-led Marvel movie Black Widow. Hawkeye episode 2 also hints that something is going on with Eleanor’s fiancé Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton) who is much better at swordplay than he is letting on. Kate spends much of Hawkeye episode 2 accusing Jack of lies and trying to contact Clint, even though Hawkeye told her he would block and delete if she bothered him.

Hawkeye episode 2 — titled “Hide and Seek”, directed by Rhys Thomas, and written by Elisa Climent — picks up right where we left off in Hawkeye episode 1: in the alleyway with Kate (Hailee Steinfeld) and Clint (Jeremy Renner). Responding to Clint’s who-the-hell-are-you question, Kate introduces herself as Kate Bishop “You’re just a kid,” Clint notes. With the police on their way, they head to Kate’s apartment where while she changes out of the Ronin suit, they talk. Kate reveals she’s 22, and how she came into the suit (black market auction). Kate wants Clint to sign her bow, but he’s all serious and business right now.

Clint asks her if anyone can connect Kate to the suit, like if they have seen her somewhere. You know, like the “Tracksuit Mafia” (Clint’s choice of words) that tracked her to Armand III’s place. Kate is sure she can’t be connected to the suit. But they are interrupted by voices from outside — it’s the Tracksuit Mafia, they must have followed Kate to her apartment previously. And oh, her name is on the buzzer, Kate says. The Tracksuit Mafia announce themselves in Hawkeye episode 2 by throwing Molotov cocktails through the window.

Hawkeye Episode 1 Recap: Kate Bishop Joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton in Hawkeye episode 2
Photo Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

With the place soon on fire, Clint and Kate get out of there with the dog but they are forced to leave the Ronin suit behind. At a convenience store later in Hawkeye episode 2, as Clint buys medical supplies, Kate keeps joking about his Avengers connection. So when Clint says he needs to “stash” her in a place, Kate wonders if they can go to the Avengers Tower. Clint notes that Tony (Stark/ Iron Man) sold it a few years back.

Kate takes them to her aunt’s place instead, who is away to Florida for the winter. Clint leaves her there and asks her to tend to her wounds, before heading back to Kate’s apartment to recover the Ronin suit. He disguises himself as a FDNY — that’s the New York City Fire Department — employee to get in, but he can’t see the suit anywhere. Clint is just about to leave disappointed, when he sees a NY LARPers badge on the window of the firetruck. That means one of the firefighters is into LARP: live-action role-playing. It’s like cosplay but with more action.

Clint then heads back to Kate’s aunt’s apartment in Hawkeye episode 2 where he proceeds to give her wound-treatment lessons. This isn’t something you see often in any Marvel property — funny considering how often they get involved in dangerous situations. Then they go to bed, but not before Clint looks up NY LARPers online. Fortunately for him, the firefighter is already showing off his new Ronin suit in an Instagram story.

In the morning, Clint goes to the hotel to bid adieu to his family who are going back home, without him. His daughter Lila Barton (Ava Russo) knows something is up, given the cut on his forehead. Clint says he will be fine, but Lila makes him promise that he will be back home for Christmas. Hawkeye episode 2 then takes Clint back to Kate’s aunt’s apartment. There, Kate discovers Armand III’s death on the news, and it’s being reported that someone of Ronin’s description was spotted in the vicinity. Having made the news twice in 24 hours, Clint wants Kate to remain in the apartment, but she’s not obeying. Her mother is going to ask her after her, so she might as well go see her, she says.

As they head out together in Hawkeye episode 2, Clint asks Kate to stay on his left side so he can hear her properly. That’s the ear with the hearing aid. Kate wonders what happened, and Hawkeye episode 2 replies with a quick montage of all the time Clint has been in accidents through his Avenger years. A lot of loud blasts and smashing through glass panes. Clint says it’s a long story.

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Along the way, they pass Times Square which starts a conversation in Hawkeye episode 2. After Kate mistakes a woman dressed as an archer for Hawkeye — it’s Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, Clint notes, which feels like a running joke in the writers’ room: “Isn’t Kate basically Katniss?” — she tells Hawkeye that he lacks branding. Clint says he is not trying to sell anything. “That’s your problem,” Kate adds. “You’re too low-key. People want sincerity.” Clint responds: “Again, I’m not trying to sell anything.” But Kate won’t let go: “But you are, you’re selling inspiration.” She’s really speaking for herself at this point, as we saw in Hawkeye episode 1, but Clint isn’t in the mood to get into it.

Having arrived at Kate’s mother’s security firm office, Clint says this is more or less goodbye if everything goes right. Well, truth be told, this is (Hawkeye) episode 2 of 6, so we know that’s not happening. But he does exchange numbers with Kate, for emergencies only. You haven’t taught me anything, Kate protests, to which Clint says that he taught her how to treat wounds.

At the office, Kate is greeted by her mother Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) and fiancé Jack (Tony Dalton). Kate behaves a little hostile with Jack, who breaks down why she’s acting out in very psychological fashion. “She feels displaced by me and is testing our new dynamic. She both desires my approval yet wants to set firm boundaries,” Jack says in Hawkeye episode 2, before adding that he bought a book about being a stepdad. “Money well spent,” Kate says sarcastically. Eleanor tries to calm the situation by inviting Kate to dinner (Jack is cooking). Kate says she will be there on one condition: she comes up with the conversation topics.

Elsewhere in in Hawkeye episode 2, Clint is out to get the Ronin suit back from the LARP guy he saw earlier. But the LARPers mean business — with the community LARP-ing right now, Clint has to play by their rules or has to wait till midnight to get the suit (that’s when the show gets over). You know what that means, Clint is going to join the LARPers. It’s quietly hilarious in how Clint won’t give his name, his email or any details for the registration. He then scoffs at the “armaments” he gets — he’s an Avenger, he doesn’t need them.

As Clint walks in — there is (fake) duelling going on everywhere — he easily brushes past everyone before confronting the guy (Clayton English) who stole the suit. Clint then offers him two choices: you can pretend die and I take the suit, or I can punch you for real and take the suit. The guy tries to reason with him in Hawkeye episode 2: “Just let me kill you and you can have the suit.” Clint sighs, mutters “I fought Thanos” under his breath, and offers himself up as a lamb. But the guy isn’t happy, he wants a trial by combat that looks genuine. Also wait a second, when did Hawkeye actually fight Thanos? He sat out all of Avengers: Infinity War for family. So really the only bit that counts is towards the end of Avengers: Endgame? Where it was like thousands vs thousands, so sure.

All You Need to Know About Hawkye on Disney+ Hotstar

Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton in Hawkeye episode 2
Photo Credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

Hawkeye episode 2 takes us back to Kate for a bit, who is already messaging Clint random stuff even though he said emergencies only. She then gets a call from a Detective Caudle (Ivan Mbakop) at the NYPD. He wants to know where she was last night when there was a fire at her apartment. She hems and haws, and then says she’s at work to get out of it, but he asks her to come down to the station tomorrow morning after work.

It’s back to the LARPers in Hawkeye episode 2 where Hawkeye’s trial by combat has become a whole thing with everyone watching. Clint sells it as best as he can and lets the guy take him out. Later, they have a conversation as Grills (English) introduces himself, returns the suit, and tells him that he just had the best day of his life. Clint says he can’t say the same, but he admits he had fun.

As Clint stashes the suit in a lockbox in Hawkeye episode 2, he calls his wife Laura (Linda Cardellini). Clint tells her that he won’t make his flight (scheduled for today), because he needs to figure out how high this goes up the Tracksuit Mafia chain. You have five days to make your promise to Lila, she notes.

Hawkeye episode 2 jumps to the Bishop family dinner, where Kate and Jack talk about the latter’s love for swords. “I dabble,” he says. Kate then asks a very niche question and Jack is surprised to see that she knows so much. Kate then notes she was a two-time state champion and invites him to fence. Eleanor tries to intervene, but Jack is piqued. They change into their fencing gear and move the lobby table to create some space. But Jack seems to be holding back, as Kate easily wins over and over. Kate wants to know why he is letting her win but he won’t let down his guard. Kate says he’s hiding something, and Jack playfully admits to Eleanor that he was downplaying his skill. As Jack walks away, Kate says to her mother that she’s proved that Jack is lying.

This moment in Hawkeye episode 2 feels like build-up towards a Jack revelation down the road, but for now, Eleanor is upset at how Kate is treating Jack. Kate pushes her agenda further, noting that it’s very suspicious that on the same night Armand III threatened Eleanor (in Hawkeye episode 1), he wound up dead by sword. How many people die by sword in New York each year, Kate rhetorically wonders. Eleanor says it’s curious but that the police will look into it. She asks her to stop snooping. Kate hasn’t given up, even as Jack walks in, but Eleanor wants Kate to focus on herself. “You are going to graduate soon and then you will come work at Bishop Security full time,” Eleanor adds, and Kate doesn’t seem very happy about it given how she addresses it.

From Hawkeye to Dhamaka, What to Watch in November

Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne in Hawkeye episode 2
Photo Credit: Disney/Marvel Studios

Eleanor then asks Kate to apologise to Jack but she twists that too. Jack smiles and offers her a butterscotch, monogrammed with “Armand III” just like the one Kate saw in Armand’s home in Hawkeye episode 1. It’s almost like he wants her to know he was involved in Armand’s death? This is also like the Marvel series is quietly screaming that Jack has a bigger (villainous) role to play in the series.

Hawkeye episode 2 switches over to Hawkeye who has deliberately gotten himself caught to go up the Tracksuit Mafia chain. Meanwhile, Kate — who left home — calls up Hawkeye. He doesn’t pick up the first time. And the second time, someone else picks up which tells her he might be in trouble. Except he isn’t really. Still, wanting to be involved, Kate tracks Clint’s phone using Bishop Security software.

Clint has arrived at the Tracksuit Mafia warehouse meanwhile. This Hawkeye episode 2 scene is laden with humour. They try to…

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