Full of Christmas Cheer, ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4 Refines Both Heroes and Villains

By Janie Walenda

Part of Hawkeye’s appeal has always been Clint and Kate’s human-ness. Despite being highly skilled heros, they are prone to get injured after fights and live in regular apartments. The duality of “Hawkeye,” at least so far, has been displaying this normalcy while still elevating the character, proving why Hawkeye deserves to be an Avenger. While this week’s episode, “Partners, Am I Right,” is a little slower than previous episodes, it has a purpose. It solidifies both Clint and Kate’s motivations and sets up a domino or events that will surely lead to a dramatic finale.

This episode gives us a greater glimpse into how Clint sees himself. In conversation with Kate, who insists that he’s a hero who helps people, he insists that he’s been trained as a weapon only useful for hurting people. We’ve never gotten a full backstory for MCU Clint, and I doubt we’ll have room in this series, but it’s truly moving to see how heavily his actions weigh on him. I’m really hoping that Kate will eventually tell him why he’s her hero and that he realizes the impact that he’s had.

Clint and Kate continue to prove themselves one of the MCU’s best duos.

We also get to find out more about Clint and Natasha’s first meeting and how he describes it as the best shot he never took. Even though he was sent to kill her, he could tell that she wanted out and recruited her instead. Natasha has a huge impact on this episode in particular through callbacks and through the reveal that Yelena’s arrived to hunt Clint down.

While the “Black Widow ” end credit scene made it fairly clear that Yelena would be in “Hawkeye,” I was surprised when she showed up so early. I’m glad she did though, as it gives the reveal a little time to breathe, and will hopefully keep the finale from feeling rushed. The callback to the Vormir scene in “Endgame” during the rooftop fight was a complete gut-punch, and really solidifies the stakes as well as Clint’s reasoning for sending Kate back. Kate’s character development really solidified this episode, as we see her growing out of her immaturity. I’m glad that she figured out that Clint was Ronin. While it would have been some easy drama, it shows Kate’s intelligence and makes her belief in Clint all the more heartwarming. It also paves the way for Kate’s arc to be more about her family. I loved the scene with Eleanor and Jack, with Kate warming up to Jack. While it’s still unclear which one is responsible for Armand’s murder (possibly both?) no matter what, Kate is going to be betrayed. I loved Kate’s realization about how important Clint’s family is to him and how she tried to cheer him up. Maybe I’m just sentimental, but I almost cried when Kate brought the Christmas movie marathon to Clint. The compassion that both Clint and Kate have makes this show a joy to watch. Gritty stories have their place, but seeing characters be kind will never get old.

Kate’s impromptu Christmas party was a heartwarming highlight.

This was another really solid episode for “Hawkeye.” The show has impressed me so far with the number of characters and plotlines it’s introduced while still remaining a simple, well-told story. None of the Marvel shows have had perfect finales, but I’m hoping that Hawkeye will be the first.

Hawkeye is now available to watch on Disney+

Janie Walenda is a freshman Global Business major and an A&E writer for Cedars.  She enjoys watching musicals and movies as well as rereading the same books ten times over.