DISCLAIMER: This recap of the Hawkeye episode “Hide and Seek” has spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome, Avengers! Hawkeye returns with its second episode, “Hide and Seek.” Admittedly, I enjoyed this outing more than the season premiere, as it began to establish the rapport between Clint and Kate. Sure, the “curmudgeon takes the eager newbie under his wing” approach is overdone and a bit tropey, but I think it works in this case.
Still, I hope we see more of the comic book version of Clint. By that, I mean his recklessness, disdain for authority and “loudmouth” personality. Perhaps we’ll see that emerge as he mentors Kate.
The most notable delight of “Hide and Seek” comes at the end when Alaqua Cox debuts as Maya Lopez! I’m curious to find out why she’s tied to the Tracksuit Mafia.
Ready to delve into “Hide and Seek”? Let’s get to it.
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We open right where we left off in “Never Meet Your Heroes,” with Clint (Jeremy Renner) meeting Kate (Hailee Steinfeld) for the first time. Kate, still shocked that she met her hero, leads Clint back to her apartment.
Lucky the Pizza Dog waits impatiently for Kate at home, and Clint learns a bit about who Kate is and what she got into that night: saving a dog, light B and E, battling masked robbers — those sorts of things. Clint reveals Ronin made a lot of enemies, including the Tracksuit Mafia. Kate wonders whether the explosion at the gala connects with Armand’s murder.
Speaking of, we see Ivan (Aleks Paunovic), Tomas (Piotr Adamczyk) and the Tracksuit Mafia outside of Kate’s loft, lobbing Molotov cocktails through her window. Clint and Kate fire back at them, but, unfortunately, Kate’s home catches fire, and the pair escape with Lucky in tow.
(L-R): Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) in Marvel Studios’ HAWKEYE, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Next, Kate, Clint and Lucky break into Kate’s aunt’s apartment for shelter. Clint returns to Kate’s blazing loft to retrieve the Ronin suit, and he dons a firefighter uniform and surreptitiously slips inside. Unfortunately, the Ronin suit appears to have vanished; however, after spotting a sticker on a firetruck for “NYC LARPers,” he has a sneaking suspicion where the suit’s located.
Later, Clint returns empty-handed. He heals Kate’s injuries and urges her to stay put, but we all know she won’t heed his words. Kate leaves her aunt’s place for the evening, and Clint searches the NYC LARPing group, wherein he finds Grills (Clayton English), the man now sporting the Ronin suit.
The following morning, Clint puts his children — Lila, Cooper and Nathaniel — in a car bound for the airport. He promises Lila he’ll be home for Christmas and asks her to look after her brothers. I still get teary-eyed when I remember Nathaniel is named after Natasha, which explains Clint’s special bond with his youngest son. Don’t mind me — just cutting onions here.
Then, Clint escorts Kate to Bishop Security, the company her mom owns and where she works. Clint addresses why he must stand on the outside of her, and we see a montage of Clint’s various battles while with the Avengers. I’m glad the show acknowledges why Clint wears hearing aids and that he’s going deaf.
Next, Kate chats with Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) and Jack (Tony Dalton). Jack mentions the awkwardness between them, but it’s all good! He bought a parenting book for stepdads! Eleanor invites Kate for dinner with Jack; however, Kate only agrees to attend if she chooses the conversation topics.
Later, Clint finds the NYC LARPing group in Central Park, and he attempts to flag down Grills. Someone informs him that he must wait until the LARPing ends at midnight, or he must participate. Thus, Clint dons fake armor and brandishes a phony sword, “fighting” is way through hordes of LARPers.
Finally, after defeating the other LARPers, he approaches Grills. Grills instantly recognizes Clint as Hawkeye.
Kate receives a phone call from the NYPD asking her to head to the station for questioning. Not only is she under suspicion because of the bombing, but now she’s linked to Armand’s murder. Well, Ronin is, anyway.
(L-R): Hawkeye/Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in Marvel Studios’ HAWKEYE, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Mary Cybulski. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
We see a showdown between Clint and Grills, and the latter “kills” Clint in exchange for giving up the Ronin suit. After the fight, Grills hands over Clint’s prize, and they part ways after formally introducing themselves.
Meanwhile, Clint calls Laura (Linda Cardellini) while the family makes gingerbread houses. He gives her the scoop regarding the Ronin suit while concealing the said suit in a locker. I like that Clint discloses everything to his wife and how involved she is with his superhero stuff. She tells him he has five days to get home for Christmas and fulfill his promise to Lila.
Next, Kate, Eleanor and Jack have dinner. Jack learns all about Kate’s fencing pedigree, and the pair dons their respective fencing outfits and duel it out, much to Eleanor’s dismay.
Kate proves she’s skilled on the fencing battlefield, but Jack holds back until the end. Kate illustrates Jack’s unwillingness to give it his best shot as evidence he’s withholding information.
He’s hiding something!
Eleanor refuses to listen and demands Kate apologize to Jack. But how are Armand’s threats to Eleanor not connected to his death by sword, presumably Ronin’s sword that Jack stole? Before Kate departs, Jack offers her butterscotch candy bearing the same initials as his dead uncle.
Meanwhile, Ivan, Tomas and the Tracksuit Mafia meet with Clint and promptly capture him. Kate tries to call Clint in a taxi, but someone else answers his phone, and she tracks his location.
Then, Clint arrives in what appears to be an abandoned warehouse, and the Mafia start interrogating him. He claims he’s not who they’re looking for, trying to protect his Ronin identity. Clint asks to speak to their boss, who he assumes is Kazi (Fra Fee).
Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in Marvel Studios’ HAWKEYE, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Ivan asserts that Kate Bishop is “the guy,” and, on cue, Kate falls through the roof to rescue Clint. Unfortunately, now they’re both bound and in harm’s way.
Ivan ventures out of sight to find the one in charge, and we see it’s none other than Maya Lopez, a.k.a. Echo (Cox). Ivan informs her they’ve got Clint and Kate, and she shoos him away.
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Talk about a cliffhanger! Hawkeye‘s picking up steam, and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. Here’s hoping the momentum continues for the remaining four episodes.
Since Echo boasts a connection with Daredevil, do you think we’ll see hints at the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen? What does Maya want with Kate and Clint? Did Jack murder Armand? Stick around for next week’s episode to find out!
New episodes of Hawkeye are available to stream every Wednesday on Disney Plus.
Marvel Announces Hawkeye Spinoff ECHO Starring Alaqua Cox
Melody.McCune@geekgirlauthority.com
What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
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