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Hawkeye Review (Episode 5): Star Rating:
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Vera Farmiga, Tony Dalton, Fra Fee, Alaqua Cox, Florence Pugh and ensemble.
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Creator: Jonathan Igla.
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Director: Bert & Bertie.
Streaming On: Disney+
Language: English (with subtitles)
Runtime: around 50 minutes each episode.
Clint Barton who decided to be with his family this Christmas holiday is stopped when suddenly news flashes that Ronin is back. Kate Bishop is introduced and now Hawkeye is put to the task of clearing her name and ending the myth of Ronin once for all. While Yelena Belova returned in Episode 4, 5 explores her mission and finally reveals who hired her making us aware about the biggest villain in Hawkeye’s life.
Finally, after the unsatisfied situation, episode 4 left me in, if 5 did not live up to the buzz, I would have definitely stopped watching the show. Happy to report, that is not happening because episode 5 is the best Hawkeye episode so far.
One thing is clear and that is Hawkeye is living in the guilt of not saving Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson). Her soul is present over the entire show and there has been no single episode without her mention. Now that her sister Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) has entered the show, it goes without saying Natasha’s death is about to become a part of the central conflict.
Before we discuss the more technical things, the first aspect of episode 5 that needs to be acknowledged is the emotional quotient. We are almost towards the end of the season and there are right now 4 pivotal people pitched against each other having different goals (Clint, Kate, Echo (Maya), Yelena). While Clint wants to clear Kate’s name, he is also trying to not let his late friend Natasha down by becoming the bloodthirsty assassin again. There is a moment in the show where he stands in front of an Avengers mural and talks to his Nattie. He takes off his hearing aid and talks to her in silence. There is respect and love and longing in that very moment.
For Kate, being with Clint is not just a childhood fantasy but something that has kept her alive and running. When he parts ways, she realises losing her self-given purpose. Maya is out to revenge her dad’s murder but that does not mean she is bad. Yelena suffered the blip and disappeared for 5 years, for her they were just 5 seconds. In those 5 seconds she lost her sister who she treasured.
So you see, every character has a traumatic past to deal with. You don’t know who is exactly wrong or right. At this point they all are grey (except Kate). The writing respects their emotions and gives each character enough room to channel them and do something (you will see what). The episode in the 42 minutes reveals whom the Black Widow is hired to kill, who has hired her and if that’s not enough, we now have Kingpin aka Vincent D’Onofrio making his entry to the show. Things just got darker.
There is no way Florence Pugh could let anyone take the spotlight when she is on the screen. Just like Black Widow, she makes sure she makes Yelena so attractive in an intimidating way that you don’t take your eyes off her. One scene specifically where she and Kate Bishop aka Hailee Steinfeld sit across a table and talk, it is the future of the MCU together and the scene is so interesting and hilarious.
Jeremy Renner’s charm is back and so are his deep eyes that have the baggage. He is now slowly re-igniting the fire in him and seems like Kingpin’s entry is all set to add fuel to it. Echo played by Alaqua Cox gets some layers to her character and they are beautiful.
There is Echo, Kate, Yelena and Clint in the same episode but still the action doesn’t reach the mark it should have. Three of them even share one frame, but still don’t surpass episode 3’s chase sequence. We expect better, showrunners!
Thank God! The show’s back on track. You will definitely want the next Wednesday to come soon after watching Episode 5 of Hawkeye. Go it right now.
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