Hawkeye: Season 1 Finale

   
Created by: Jonathan Igla

Executive producers: Jonathan Igla, Rhys Thomas, Brad Winderbaum, and others

Starring: Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop), Tony Dalton (Jack Duquesne), Vera Farmiga (Eleanor Bishop), Alaqua Cox (Maya Lopez)

In this very satisfying finale, villains are taken down, the right people are arrested, and new alliances are forged. 

The episode 5 cliffhanger leading up to this finale definitely had me going and very curious how things would play out. Kate sees footage of her mother having a calm discussion with Kingpin, a mob boss. Suddenly Kate realizes the culprit behind the entire season's events is her--not her fiancé, Tony, as Kate had suspected. 

As is common with Marvel series, this season didn't take it slow. The show is basically one 6-hour movie that wastes no time establishing villains and investing in them, giving the audience, showing us why we care about Maya and why we don't seem to care about Tony. It also brought in Yelena--Black Widow's sister--in a twist that I definitely didn't expect. (But perhaps should've, given Black Widow's mid-credit scene.) 

One of the most fascinating scenes to me was shortly after Yelena entered. She and Kate have a long moment over some mac n cheese and discuss the titular character. Yelena has been given a hit request on him and feels no qualms about it, seeing as Clint murdered her sister. Kate, however, has quite a few qualms: Clint is her hero and the symbol of heroism in her life. The ladies respect each other and each of their beliefs are unwavering, so the discussion about "is Clint the bad guy?" was truly fascinating. It all came down to information that neither of them truly knew: Did Clint mean to kill Natasha? Of course, the viewer knows he didn't (not just didn't mean to, but didn't kill her), but I didn't succeed in yelling this at Yelena. 

This scene also did a great job at making us love some Kate/Yelena dynamics. Their chemistry in conversations and all their fight sequences is hilarious and way charming. I'm so glad we got more of it in the finale, as Kate actively tries to impede Yelena from achieving her hit. 

Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld as Yelena and Kate

Like in this elevator scene, when Kate literally jabs half the elevator buttons to slow Yelena down. 

Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop

Eleanor didn't do much for me until this finale. She just seemed kinda... there. In the way. But then again, we learned that this was the whole point of her character: trying to stop Kate from diving into more heroics and, further, from discovering what she's really a part of. It's only when Kate proves to her mother that she knows her illegal shenanigans that Eleanor's character becomes more interesting. She's finally taking Kate seriously. Realizing her daughter is an equal. This comes to a head when Kingpin goes after Eleanor and Kate intervenes, taking the mobster on single-handedly and incapacitating him with some of Hawkeye's fancy tech. The police roll in and put Eleanor in handcuffs. Eleanor looks to Kate with big eyes and goes, "Is this what heroes do? Arrest their mothers on Christmas?" I gave Eleanor a firm "Yes," but Kate responded with a more painful "I'm sorry" as her mom is taken away. 

Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) fighting on the Rink at Rockefeller Center

Finally, I have to give a bit of credit to that final showdown. Clint and Kate are back-to-back, fighting as partners (Clint actually used the word, to Kate's utter joy) in the middle of the ice rink as faceless mobster henchmen swarm in from all sides. Behind them is the giant Christmas tree that has fallen down. They fire several trick arrows that produce masking smoke, and the fight begins. It's a nice and long scene in which both partners are given plenty of chances to show off fancy arrows, bow skills, and combo moves. It's well worth it and I loved every second.