Jeremy Renner And Hailee Steinfeld’s ‘Hawkeye’ Is A Beautiful Festive Tale 

Hawkeye utilizes his background and suffering as a strength, even if it took Barton a decade to receive his own tale.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

Hawkeye finally gets his time in Hawkeye after a decade in the MCU, yet the series, like Black Widow, seems long overdue while simultaneously serving as a farewell to a character we are only now getting to know on a deeper level.

That isn’t to suggest Hawkeye doesn’t make the most of the time we have with Barton. Within the first few minutes of the first episode, the program establishes how Hawkeye may be someone’s favorite Avenger, how important he is to the team, and the influence that being a hero can have on other people’s lives. Simply told, Hawkeye does more for the character in a single episode than ten years in the MCU have.

In the first episode, Barton and his children visit New York City to celebrate the Christmas and see Rogers: The Musical. However, when Barton is faced by foes from his time as a Ronin, he sends his family back home and attempts to straighten out his history so that he can be home for Christmas.

Hawkeye also introduces Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), a 22-year-old who has admired Hawkeye since he saved her life unwittingly at the Battle of New York. Bishop has developed into a brilliant archer in her own right, which has gotten her into a lot of trouble, and it’s her discovery and wearing of the Ronin uniform that resurrects Barton’s past. As Barton tries to figure out who is chasing the newly resurrected Ronin, the two team up.

Hawkeye succeeds in making Renner’s Barton intriguing in a level we’ve never seen before, partly through resurrecting the familial dynamic from Age of Ultron. More of that light-hearted, funnier Barton can be found in the second episode, especially in his scenes with Steinfeld. But, unlike the other Avengers, Hawkeye demonstrates how much the weight of a decade of combat has damaged Barton. Barton suffers with the memories of losing Natasha during the performance of Rogers: The Musical, and he now has a hearing aid after years of explosions and action.

Bishop informs Barton in the second episode that he is “selling inspiration,” and while she doesn’t state it, she is plainly her inspiration for the path her life has followed. If Hawkeye represents the handover of the baton from Barton to Bishop, Steinfeld’s character is a welcome addition to the MCU right away. We see not just how excellent her archery abilities are in her first scene, but we also get a sense of comedy and enjoyment from the character.

Bishop, on the other hand, is a fascinating character from the start, although her tale is perhaps the poorest component of the series thus far, at least in these first two episodes. Bishop’s novel, situated in a world of riches and including black-market auctions, living room fencing bouts, and a murder investigation, sounds more entertaining on paper than it works in practice. Of course, the first two episodes are only setting the stage for the greater plot, as we meet Bishop’s mother Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) and her evil fiancé, Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton), but Bishop’s single story is starting to drag the series down.

Hawkeye utilizes his background and suffering as a strength, despite the fact that it took Barton a decade to receive his own tale. Hawkeye wouldn’t function without witnessing this character’s anguish and past, and when combined with Bishop’s attitude and the Christmas environment, Hawkeye manages to convey a tale of Barton’s physical and emotional traumas while preserving a holiday sense of joy and goodwill. Hawkeye may be the last of the founding Avengers to get his own narrative, but the wait is well worth it.