REVIEW: ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4 – “Partners, Am I Right?”

Hawkeye has been quite the sleeper agent, as many fans went in with dulled expectations of a fun, holiday action series with low stakes, but were pleasantly surprised to find out the show has much bigger ambitions in mind. With a mystery character teased last week, thought to be believed a rather “large” villain being introduced into the MCU, it has fans of all backgrounds chomping at the bit for more episodes, so let’s get into Hawkeye episode 4 “Partners, Am I Right?”.

The series is directed by Rhys Thomas, Bert, and Bertie, as Marvel takes the time to dive into one of the founding Avengers. Starring Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop,  Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne, and Alaqua Cox as Maya “Echo” Lopez.

In the previous episode, “Echoes” Clint and Kate escaped from the clutches of the tracksuit mafia, not before having a run in with one of their top Lieutenants, Echo. The episode teased the return of a possible Netflix Marvel villain in a brilliantly conceived flashback that details the origin story for Maya. We also got an epic car chase scene in which Kate got to play with Hawkeyes literal bag of trick shot arrows. A fantastic episode.

Episode 4 of Hawkeye titled “Partners, Am I Right?” starts to put Clint’s feet to the fire as his past as the Ronin catches up with him through one way or another. Clint, with the help of his wife Laura (Linda Cardellini), uncovers more players implicated with the tracksuit mafia, meanwhile as the holiday blues set in, Kate attempts to cheer up Hawkeye. This episode is a veritable rollercoaster packed with so many excellent talking points.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I am not quite sure how the directors and writers pack so much content into these episodes. From the family meeting between Kate, Clint, Jack, and Eleanor Bishop, to the heart warming, Christmas montage between Kate, and Clint, right to the action at the end of the episode and of course sprinkle in some emotional callbacks to prior films just for emphasis. Fans seem to be really taking to the street level aspect of the show, mixed with the character dynamics that are being built up, and today’s episode just cranks it up a few notches.

The show has a lot of things going for it, but what really stands out to me is the connection between Kate and dichotomy of feelings Clint has as he recognizes that forming. As he gets closer to Kate, Clint is forever reminded that this job, being an Avenger, and an agent of SHIELD comes with a cost, as the parallels of him losing Natasha are heavily layered throughout the episode, even with very strong literal and figurative callbacks to the events of Avengers Endgame. Hawkeye is also reluctant, but finally comes clean to Kate that he’s not the hero she thinks he is, that he doesn’t deserve her kindness or adoration, as they share a very genuine heart to heart.

Never fear though, the episode isn’t all emotions, and feelings, as the two archers share some very light hearted moments while bonding over Christmas movies, and ugly sweaters. It’s a brilliant sequence, as the two share some of their best moments as archers, and Clint teaches Kate some new tricks.

One big obstacle remains however, will all of these plot points be addressed by the time to show wraps up? There is A LOT being introduced and at this point we’re already two thirds of the way through the series. I would hazard a guess we’re either in store for a second season, or perhaps these loose ends will be getting picked up and carried though into other spin off series such Echo, or even one of the movies.

Hawkeye Episode 4 “Partners, Am I Right?” packs a big punch of emotion while delivering some much needed holiday laughter and cheer. As Clint and Kate get closer, Clint is reminded of his painful past. The episode heats up to a climatic, and explosive fight scene and introduces a brand new obstacle for Clint to consider that only further complicates matters. This series has packed so much plot into four episodes, but we’ve only got two episodes left to address it all!

Hawkeye Episode 4 “Partners, Am I Right?” is available now exclusively on Disney+.