Days always seem to fly by during the later half of the year, and by the end of November, the pace just seems to double. It feels like yesterday that I just finished watching the first two episodes of Hawkeye on Disney+, but here we are at episode three. Though I was still chuckling at the LARPing scene from last week, I eagerly awaited what was in store, especially given that cliffhanger introduction of Maya Lopez. How does she play into everything? What’s her goal?
Luckily, we don’t have to wait too long to find out as the opening of “Echoes” focuses on Maya Lopez and her struggles growing up. Maya is deaf, and even as a young girl, she had to find her place in a world attuned to the hearing. But she has a great relationship with her father, and she learns to use her perceptions to her advantage, becoming an excellent fighter in the process.
Unfortunately, Maya’s father was involved in organized crime and was killed by Ronin. This sparked a vengeance in Maya, to seek revenge against the man who killed her father. So when the Tracksuit Mafia are holding Clint and Kate captive, Maya is there to find out the truth about Ronin. But when Clint tells Maya that Ronin is dead, and by the hands of Black Widow, she doesn’t believe him.
Clint manages to break free and fights against the Tracksuits, eventually finding his bow and arrow. He goes toe to toe with Maya, who holds her own against the Avenger. Hawkeye is able to free Kate, and together they escape the abandoned K.B. Toy store they were held in.
This leads to a car chase through the city, with Kate leaning out the window shooting trick arrows at the pursuing Tracksuits. The entire scene is pretty impressive, but I especially enjoyed the minute-long one-shot that kicked it off. It takes place entirely in the car, moving outside to track Kate as she positions herself on the door, all set to the soundtrack of Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “A Mad Russian’s Christmas.”
This leads to a stand off on a bridge in traffic, the highlight of which is a Pym particle-powered arrow that enlarges a regular arrow, which destroys a box truck. It’s a chef’s kiss moment as far as wild action set pieces are concerned.
The rest of the episode follows Clint and Kate as they get Clint’s hearing aid fixed. One of the more touching scenes involves Clint getting a phone call from his young son, whom he can’t hear clearly because of his damaged hearing aid. This prompts Kate to write what the boy is saying so that Clint can converse with him, showing Kate’s desire to help Clint, and Clint finally being willing to accept help.
Later, the pair are eating in a diner, and Kate tells Clint she has an answer to his branding problem. She sketches a uniform for him on a napkin, telling him to “picture this in purple.” It’s humorous because it’s Hawkeye’s original costume from the comic books.
Clint opens up to Kate, explaining to her that he doesn’t care about his brand because he’s not a role model. It’s a moment of deep self-reflection on Clint’s part. Through the first three episodes, we’ve seen his opinion of himself and how he accepts praise from others. He doesn’t feel like he deserves it given his past and the heinous things he’s done. Compound this with Clint blaming himself for Natasha’s death, and it’s clear to see why he feels that way.
Despite their troubles with Maya Lopez, Kate is still hung up on her suspicions of Jack Duquesne, her mother’s fiancé. She thinks that Jack murdered Armand and plans to get more evidence by hacking into her mother’s security files. To do that, they go back to the penthouse. Clint investigates the house, wowed by the luxury of it, while Kate works at finding the evidence she needs. But Clint is caught off guard by Jack and the Ronin sword.
As far as the series goes, “Echoes” was a fantastic episode. It was one of the funniest MCU episodes to date. I know I’ve said this multiple times already, but the chemistry between Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld is perfect. The two understand their roles wonderfully and encapsulate the characters.
On top of Renner and Steinfeld, Alaqua Cox’s performance is great. There’s a simmer malevolence there that makes her a grand presence on screen. Which is all the more impressive when you realize that this is her first major role. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her, both here and in the upcoming spin-off, Echo.
I’m also a big fan of the dichotomy between Kate and Maya. Both women were inspired by Clint Barton, just in very different ways. While Kate witnessed Clint’s heroics and chose to model herself after him in that fashion, Maya saw Clint’s path of destruction and allowed herself to follow that path. It’s interesting that one of the less famous Avengers can impact the lives of two women like that, but it makes for a great show.
And let’s talk about Maya’s path for a moment. In her flashback, we see her taking a martial arts lesson, where her father tells her that Uncle will take her home afterward. Then a tall man in a black suit lays a hand on her shoulder, but we never see his face. “Uncle” is later referenced in the show, with the intimation that he is highly involved in organized crime. Before the series began, there were rumors surrounding Vincent D’onofrio reprising his role as the Kingpin from Netflix’s Daredevil series, and I feel like this heavily points to that being true.
All in all, Hawkeye has quickly risen as my number one favorite Marvel Disney+ show. Though I’ve enjoyed all the series before it, I find myself looking forward to Wednesday more and more. Not only is the tone of the show hitting the right notes, what with the holiday spirit and all, but it’s just been a lot of fun, something that many of these shows lack.
