Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in Marvel Studios' HAWKEYE. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in Marvel Studios' HAWKEYE. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Hawkeye Full Season Review

Another month has passed and with it, we saw the finale of Disney+’s newest Marvel addition, Hawkeye. While the fact the season only had six episodes was really a bummer, the team absolutely put their heart and soul into this project. I am going to do a spoiler-filled full season review so sit back and enjoy the spoilers!

This Looks Bad

The season really started off with a slightly rocky first episode in my opinion. I’m glad they decided to release both episode one and two in the first week. Had they only put out the first episode I might have been a little bummed out. The first episode was solid, and I’m probably being picky, but it didn’t quite have the humor that I was looking for. Thankfully that was rectified immediately in the second episode when Clint and Kate officially met. Another gripe I had with the first episode was the fact they killed off Kate’s father who, in the comics, was a huge plot point. What I would come to find out later is that they really just flipped the script a bit. After everything, I am really happy with the direction they took!

The second episode really leaned into the humor, bringing in Grills and the LARPers, plus giving Kate and Clint their banter. I was really happy with the second episode and was absolutely hooked from there. They kept the wit up the entire season and made their relationship so freaking relatable, I loved it so much. I know a lot of people aren’t fans of Hawkeye in The Avengers, but I really hope they decided to check this show out and see how he’s really meant to be. He’s gruff, introverted, and doesn’t really like to talk much but still has a soft spot that shines through. They really captured that perfectly in this whole season. His relationship with Kate is my favorite thing. They have great chemistry together and it is definitely akin to that begrudged older brother not wanting to take his sister anywhere with him. So great!

Hawkeye

Image courtesy of IMDB/Marvel

The Big Guy

OK. Let’s talk about Wilson Fisk! I had no idea they were actually planning to bring him in as the main big bad, even though he is in the comics. Since they killed Kate’s father and Madame Masque seemed to be nowhere in sight I was a bit curious where they were going to go. Holy crap! So, I’m a huge fan of the Netflix Daredevil series and when Clint hinted to “the big guy” I had everything crossed hoping that it was going to be Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin.

THEY DID IT! I’m so happy. He’s sinister and evil and makes you feel like you’re the most important person in the world until you betray him, as we saw with Echo. Of course, he’s not dead and anyone who thinks that doesn’t know Kingpin. This definitely harkens back to Echo shooting him in the comics and leaving him blind. Maybe they’ll go that direction next.

The fact they also plan to bring Charlie Cox in as Daredevil is genuinely exciting to me. I want to go back and rewatch Daredevil now. Echo is a big player in the Daredevil world, so I am interested to see how they plan on tieing all of that together in this MCU. Whatever happens, I’m all in! Echo is a total badass. Alaqua Cox does an incredible job portraying her and making her story feel so tragic. I think bringing her in with Ronin was a great idea. I wonder if they plan on having her take up the mantle in the future. Even though Clint and Kate burned the suit it could still happen. The future possibilities are so exciting!

Marvel

I just have to say, Marvel is so good at weaving that web. It’s like everything they do is so clearly laid out but until you see it happening you don’t even notice. Making Clint Ronin in Infinity War was leading us straight to this and the tie-ins with Daredevil and everything. It’s just masterful. I was worried about having that Marvel fatigue again. I watched Wanda Vision and loved it, but was so burnt out by the end of that I couldn’t get into Falcon and Winter Solider. Of course, I adored Loki but it was definitely a lot different than the typical “superhero” show. It didn’t really stick to the Marvel universe and I think that’s why I enjoyed that and Wanda Vision so much, they were their own contained stories that did fall into the big picture but weren’t so heavily tied into it.

Hawkeye was definitely tied more into the whole universe and had some pretty big impactful events that will definitely change the MCU. We haven’t been given an official announcement for season two just yet, but it would be strange if they didn’t do another season in my opinion.

Image courtesy of IMDB/Marvel

Hawkeye. Hawkeye.

I can’t do a review without mentioning my favorite parts, so here we go. Yelena and Kate’s relationship is my favorite. I want to see more of them fighting together and see them actually exploring New York. They were so freaking funny together and the chemistry is just amazing. Both Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld rock their roles and I genuinely think they had a blast filming together. I think I speak for everyone when I say give us more of them!

I also loved how Yelena and Clint handled each other in their final scene together. It was heartbreaking for her to realize that Natasha sacrificed herself and I think the grief they shared together was a really incredible and sad moment. I felt their connection and their heartbreak. It was definitely what Clint needed after all of the years that passed without Natasha and I think Yelena is getting closer to dealing with her grief as well.

Another favorite part of mine was the final episode. Like, all of it. From the LARPers doing their thing in the battle, to the owl in the Christmas tree, to the labeling of the arrows, and the final fight scene with Jack Duquesne showing off his skills and getting inducted into the LARPers. The Tracksuit Mafia comedy and them bro-ing all over, it was just the perfect final episode. They did a really great job of capturing the feeling of the final fight in the Matt Fraction David Aja run on Hawkeye (took me long enough to mention it right?) and bringing everyone together in a great present with a bow on top (pun intended). Don’t they look amazing in their Hawkeye outfits? I think so! It was definitely the best final episode of a show that I have ever watched.

Overall

I really loved this show. There’s a lot that I’m missing in this review, but it’s getting lengthy so I don’t want to write too much more. This review is more of a love letter to the series than it is an actual review. I am so genuinely impressed with how Marvel handled everything. Echo, Yelena, Kingpin, Grills, Eleanor, all of the characters were given so much life in such a small amount of time that I felt connected to all of them. They really had enough space to let the characters breathe and show their true sides. Clint and Kate are the perfect team and really do an incredible job.

One last favorite part, the entire Christmas scene in Episode 4. Boomerang arrows and the coin trick made my heart so happy! Of course, Lucky was amazing too, I want more of him in the next season! We love our Pizza Dog! Oh, yeah, how about that mid-credit scene?

Now, if you’ve read all of this and haven’t finished the series yet, GO WATCH IT. Especially considering I just spoiled the entire series. Regardless of that, watch it, love it, and see the incredible story play out in front of you. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to research archery lessons and take up boxing in order to be more like Kate Bishop.

Did you love Hawkeye as much as I did? Let us know in the comments below!

For more Marvel content follow us on TwitterLike us on Facebooksubscribe to our newsletter.

Shopping cart
Shop
Wishlist
0 items Cart
My account