'Hawkeye' season finale: Leaves us wanting more for some characters
What's the story
Just before Christmas, Marvel Cinematic Universe gave us holiday cheer with the season finale of Hawkeye. While it had some great action, melodrama, and comedy, there was just too much going on. And, this muddle led to certain characters not getting well-enough treatment (unless more is stored for later). Here's our review. Needless to say, if you haven't watched it yet, beware of spoilers.
Plot
Kingpin finally gets featured at length here
The last episode ended with the mind-boggling reveal that Kate Bishop's (Hailee Steinfeld) mother, Eleanor, was working with Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio). Although Eleanor had helped him conduct his dirty business, she draws the line when danger starts coming up to her daughter, naturally angering the supervillain. Thus, Bishop partners with Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) to save her mother from Kingpin.
Difficulty
Too many characters or story arcs create problems for makers
Of course, problems are not one-fold here as the six-episode show has introduced/featured various characters in the MCU. For instance, we have Maya or Echo, who now knows it was Kingpin who wanted her father dead, or Eleanor's fiance Jack Duquesne, whose shady swordsmanship begs for answers. We can't forget Florence Pugh's Yelena seeking to murder Barton. The finale struggles to balance them all.
Spin-off
Will we see Maya become Echo in possible spin-off?
For example, Kingpin's role doesn't do justice to the build-up he was given. Also, to have a well-planned intro for Maya and then leave her to reach a resolution without any inner conflict is half-baked. Although Marvel might explore this further if a Hawkeye spin-off on her is actually getting made like the reports suggest. That would clear up what happened to Kingpin, too.
Verdict
Yelena and Bishop's chemistry/banter energy goes up the charts!
In no way though is the episode bad. Barton and Yelena talking about Natasha, Bishop telling how Barton made her believe anyone could be a superhero, among other scenes, are touching. The clear winner is Bishop and Yelena's exchange (we want more of them!). Also, look out for the subtle Barton family reveal! Verdict: Episode-6 scores 3.5/5. The entire series is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.