Hawkeye episode 2 recap: the MCU meets John Hughes

Date:
Wed, 24 Nov 2021 17:34:47 +0000

Description:
Cute dogs, tracksuits and a pivotal new player in Hawkeye episode 2.

FULL STORY ======================================================================About this episode

- Episode 2 (of 6), 'Hide and Seek'

- Written by Elisa Climent

- Directed by Rhys Thomas



Spoilers for the first two episodes of Hawkeye follow. You've been warned.

One of the reasons for the success and longevity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its ability to shapeshift between genres. Over the last decade
and a bit, the franchise has dabbled in space opera, political thrillers, comedy and more.

But Hawkeye episode 2 takes the MCU somewhere its never been before for a decent chunk of its running time it could pass for a John Hughes holiday movie. Quinjets, Trains and Automobiles, anyone?

As Clint Barton tries to tie up loose ends in New York and make it home in time to see his kids for Christmas, the first act puts the focus on his odd couple relationship with Kate Bishop. Double acts have been a core component of Marvels previous Disney Plus shows from Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, to Loki and Sylvie in Loki and the
Hawkeye take on the formula has similar potential. The show even throws a
cute dog, aka Lucky the Pizza Dog, into the mix for good measure.

From the moment they meet, Clints scene-it-all-before cynicism meshes perfectly with Kates unstoppable enthusiasm

Some people have actually called me the worlds greatest archer, Kate tells
the worlds actual greatest archer.

Yeah, are you one of those people? comes the wonderfully barbed reply.

Shes found her idol, someone she believes can teach her to be the hero she longs to be, while hes run into a rookie too inexperienced to be anything but a hindrance. Shes so caught up in the excitement of the moment that shes asking her favorite Avenger to autograph her bow, while hes asking if theres any way the Ronin suit could lead a bad guy to the Bishop residence. What
time is Hawkeye released on Disney Plus? How to watch the Marvel movies in order

It turns out the answer is yes, as the so-called Tracksuit Mafia a fun but sartorially inelegant addition to Marvels rogues gallery arrive uninvited on Kates doorstep with an express delivery of Molotov cocktails. Kate and Clint are soon on the run, hiding out in Kates aunts apartment, as his efforts to keep his new companion safe fall on deaf ears she just has to go to work.

While Hawkeye hasnt always been well served by the MCU he spent most of the first Avengers movie possessed by Loki, for starters this show is
threatening to provide him with the sort of character overhaul that Thor: Ragnarok gave the god of thunder. Armed with extra screen time, his world-weariness is becoming an asset, and away from limelight-hogging wise crackers like Tony Stark, hes really coming into his own he gets to be the human face of the Avengers in a way weve never really got to see before.

And throughout the scenes he shares with Kate, you can see the advantages of hiring a director with a comedy background. Banter and snark have always been integral to the MCU mix, but Saturday Night Live veteran Rhys Thomas makes sure the humor never feels forced. Whether its Clint is questioning Kates abilities, or shes pointing out the flaws in his minimal marketing plan for the Hawkeye brand, you feel you could spend hours in their company. Indeed, the chemistry works so well that its a shame when the story pulls them apart, the episode going off the boil almost as soon as they separate to follow
their own paths. (Image credit: Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. Marvel Studios
2021)

Clints mission to recover his Ronin suit from a LARPing (Live Action Role-Play) meet-up isnt nearly as funny as it should be Hawkeye half-heartedly dressing up as a knight for a half-hearted duel with the new owner of the outfit is one of those ideas that probably looked better on
paper than on screen. HAWKEYE RECAPS (Image credit: Photo by Mary Cybulski. Marvel Studios 2021)

Did Hawkeye episode 1 hit the bullseye?

Kate, meanwhile, reluctantly goes for dinner with her mom and her new fianc, Jack a man who has a questionable penchant for DIY psychology, and may or
may not be connected with the death of his uncle, Armand Duquesne. The family scenes lack the flow of the Kate/Hawkeye moments, with Tony Dalton playing Jack so broadly you suspect he cant be anything but a bad guy he even has a moustache to twirl next time he brandishes his sword.

So its good news for the series if not for Clint when the final scene contrives to get the lead duo back in the same room. While its debatable whether a college student would be able to track an Avengers phone if his phone number is classified, surely his GPS is inaccessible too? Kates clumsy entrance-via-skylight is a wonderfully inept way to scupper Hawkeyes
carefully crafted plan to get to the heart of the Tracksuit Mafia. With five days to go until Christmas, it looks like getting home in time to carve that turkey isnt going to be as easy as it first seemed Our verdict

After a fun season opener, this follow-up struggles to deliver on its potential. As a comedy it works fine, with Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld instantly hitting a groove as he latest double-act to emerge from the
reliable MCU conveyor-belt.

As soon as theyre apart, however, the story starts to flag. The plot is also in serious need of a villain slightly scarier than the played-for-laughs Tracksuit Mafia to really shake things up. Maybe the big reveal of Echo soon to be seen in a Disney Plus TV show of her own will be the catalyst that restores the shows momentum. Marvel-ous facts This episode confirms that Eleanor Bishop made her money as the boss of Bishop Security. The safehouse Kate and Clint use belongs to Kates aunt, Moira Brandon. In the comics shes a retired actress, who ends up becoming an honorary Avenger after saving Hawkeyes life. In the TV show she's simply spending the winter in Florida. Lucky the Pizza Dog and the Tracksuit Mafia (also known as the Tracksuit Draculas) debuted in Matt Fraction and David Ajas 2012 run on the Hawkeye comic. Matt Fraction is also a consulting producer on Hawkeye. The newsreader talking about the Ronin's possible return to New York is real-life NY1 host Pat Kiernan. As well as appearing in the first episode of Hawkeye, hes showed up in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Doctor Strange, Iron Man 3, the 2016 Ghostbusters movie, and many more movies and TV shows. Pat Kiernan also appeared in Netflix's Daredevil TV show, which only adds further credibility to the rumors that we may see Matt Murdock or Wilson Fisk cross over into the MCU. While Kate is watching TV in the safehouse, an ad comes on for Rogers: The Musical. Product placement alert! Thats a very long, lingering shot of
the Disney Store on Times Square. Coincidence? We think not. The cosplaying superheroes who upstage Hawkeye include Captain America, Thor, Ant-Man, Hulk, Iron Man and Katniss Everdeen. Presumably the costume store had run out of Black Widow outfits... After Eternals proved that DCs Superman is a thing in the MCU, this moment confirms that The Hunger Games exists too. Notable credits on Welsh director Rhys Thomass resum include Saturday Night Live and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. The catch and release move Clint plans to infiltrate the Tracksuit Mafia he allows himself to get caught, before turning the tables on his captors is a nod to a Black Widow move at the
start of The Avengers. The Tracksuit Mafia boss revealed at the end of the episode is a bigger deal than she may initially appear. Thats Maya Lopez, aka Echo, a superhero who made her first comic-book appearance in 1999s Daredevil #9. Played by Alaqua Cox, Echo's already got her own spin-off show confirmed for Disney Plus. Unlike previous Marvel Disney Plus TV shows, Hawkeye has
more than one director. Thomas helms episodes 1, 2 and 6, while Bert & Bertie oversee episodes 3, 4 and 5. Writer Elisa Climents previous credits include work on TV shows Sorry for Your Loss, Imposters and Queen of the South.

New episodes of Hawkeye stream on Disney Plus every Wednesday.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/hawkeye-episode-2-recap-the-mcu-meets-john-hugh es/


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