Hawkeye episode 2 recap: the MCU meets John Hughes
Huge Hawkeye episode 2 spoilers ahead
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- Episode 2 (of 6), ‘Hide and Seek’- Written by Elisa Climent- Directed by Rhys Thomas★★★
Spoilers for the first two episodes ofHawkeyefollow. You’ve been warned.
One of the reasons for the success and longevity of theMarvelCinematic Universe is its ability to shapeshift between genres. Over the last decade and a bit, the franchise has dabbled in space opera, political thrillers, comedy and more.
But Hawkeye episode 2 takes the MCU somewhere it’s never been before – for a decent chunk of its running time it could pass for a John Hughes holiday movie. Quinjets, Trains and Automobiles, anyone?
As Clint Barton tries to tie up loose ends in New Yorkandmake it home in time to see his kids for Christmas, the first act puts the focus on his odd couple relationship with Kate Bishop. Double acts have been a core component of Marvel’s previous Disney Plus shows – from Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, to Loki and Sylvie in Loki – and the Hawkeye take on the formula has similar potential. The show even throws a cute dog, aka Lucky the Pizza Dog, into the mix for good measure.
From the moment they meet, Clint’s scene-it-all-before cynicism meshes perfectly with Kate’s unstoppable enthusiasm
“Some people have actually called me the world’s greatest archer,” Kate tells the world’s actual greatest archer.
“Yeah, are you one of those people?” comes the wonderfully barbed reply.
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She’s found her idol, someone she believes can teach her to be the hero she longs to be, while he’s run into a rookie too inexperienced to be anything but a hindrance. She’s so caught up in the excitement of the moment that she’s asking her favorite Avenger to autograph her bow, while he’s asking if there’s any way the Ronin suit could lead a bad guy to the Bishop residence.
It turns out the answer is yes, as the so-called Tracksuit Mafia – a fun but sartorially inelegant addition to Marvel’s rogue’s gallery – arrive uninvited on Kate’s doorstep with an express delivery of Molotov cocktails. Kate and Clint are soon on the run, hiding out in Kate’s aunt’s apartment, as his efforts to keep his new companion safe fall on deaf ears – she justhasto go to work.
While Hawkeye hasn’t always been well served by the MCU – he spent most of the first Avengers movie possessed by Loki, for starters – this show is threatening to provide him with the sort of character overhaul that Thor: Ragnarok gave the god of thunder. Armed with extra screen time, his world-weariness is becoming an asset, and away from limelight-hogging wise crackers like Tony Stark, he’s really coming into his own – he gets to be the human face of the Avengers in a way we’ve never really got to see before.
And throughout the scenes he shares with Kate, you can see the advantages of hiring a director with a comedy background. Banter and snark have always been integral to the MCU mix, but Saturday Night Live veteran Rhys Thomas makes sure the humor never feels forced. Whether it’s Clint is questioning Kate’s abilities, or she’s pointing out the flaws in his minimal marketing plan for the Hawkeye brand, you feel you could spend hours in their company. Indeed, the chemistry works so well that it’s a shame when the story pulls them apart, the episode going off the boil almost as soon as they separate to follow their own paths.
Clint’s mission to recover his Ronin suit from a LARPing (Live Action Role-Play) meet-up isn’t nearly as funny as it should be – Hawkeye half-heartedly dressing up as a knight for a half-hearted duel with the new owner of the outfit is one of those ideas that probably looked better on paper than on screen.
DidHawkeye episode 1hit the bullseye?
Kate, meanwhile, reluctantly goes for dinner with her mom and her new fiancé, Jack – a man who has a questionable penchant for DIY psychology, and may or may not be connected with the death of his uncle, Armand Duquesne. The family scenes lack the flow of the Kate/Hawkeye moments, with Tony Dalton playing Jack so broadly you suspect he can’t be anything but a bad guy – he even has a moustache to twirl next time he brandishes his sword.
So it’s good news for the series – if not for Clint – when the final scene contrives to get the lead duo back in the same room. While it’s debatable whether a college student would be able to track an Avenger’s phone – if his phone number is classified, surely his GPS is inaccessible too? – Kate’s clumsy entrance-via-skylight is a wonderfully inept way to scupper Hawkeye’s carefully crafted plan to get to the heart of the Tracksuit Mafia. With five days to go until Christmas, it looks like getting home in time to carve that turkey isn’t going to be as easy as it first seemed…
Our verdict
After a fun season opener, this follow-up struggles to deliver on its potential. As a comedy it works fine, with Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld instantly hitting a groove as he latest double-act to emerge from the reliable MCU conveyor-belt.
As soon as they’re apart, however, the story starts to flag. The plot is also in serious need of a villain slightly scarier than the played-for-laughs Tracksuit Mafia to really shake things up. Maybe the big reveal of Echo – soon to be seen in a Disney Plus TV show of her own – will be the catalyst that restores the show’s momentum.
Marvel-ous facts
New episodes of Hawkeye stream on Disney Plus every Wednesday.
Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard’s happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he’ll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard’s name was Winter.
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