As a part of its two-episode premiere on the day before Thanksgiving, Disney+ and Marvel Studios’ unveiled the next chapter in the first season of its original series Hawkeye, entitled “Hide and Seek.” Coming on the heels of a tense start to the series, showrunner Jonathan Igla (Mad Men) followed up with an action-packed second installment and provided some more questions for the viewers towards the various new characters in the MCU.
Hawkeye’s “Hide and Seek” picks up where the first episode left off with a further exploration of the brand new relationship between Hailee Steinfeld’s (Edge of Seventeen) Kate Bishop and Jeremy Renner’s (Wind River) Clint Barton or Hawkeye. The first act of the episode demonstrates the wise veteran superhero moves of Barton mixed with the inexperience and innocence of Bishop. After they escape from an attack from the tracksuit mafia at the conclusion of episode one, the duo retreat to Bishop’s apartment where Barton begins to pry on the ronin suit and see if she was followed which she was oblivious to. The tracksuit mafia further entrenches themselves as the main antagonists of the series with a molotov cocktail attack on Kate’s apartment while Kate also exhibits her archery talent in front of Barton.
Once more, the second episode displays some other suspect behavior from the supporting cast that was a main theme for the pilot episode. Particularly, the individuals being that of Jack Duquesne and Kate’s mother, portrayed by Vera Farmiga (The Departed), in addition to the aftermath that may arise from the death of Armand III. Furthermore, there still remains a lot of questions regarding the circumstances of the death of Kate’s father that still float in the air alongside the fishy background of her mother’s new background and his talented swordsmanship.
In the meantime, Hawkeye flirts with a fun interaction of regular human beings with Clint Barton partaking in a LARP event in order to regain the Ronin suit that was left behind in Kate’s apartment amidst the fire caused by the tracksuit mafia. For one, the scene demonstrates Clint’s humanist appeal to others and the ability to display empathy despite some of the most recent viewings of his character such as his life during the blip caused by Thanos. Overall, the LARP event was a fun adventure into the development of his character in this six-episode run and shows promise towards the future events of the show.
The second episode “Hide and Seek” showcased the fun side of Barton as well as further entrenched the viewers into the interesting and seedy background of New York City. Additionally, the series has incorporated the Big Apple as a character of its own successfully such as seen in films like Ghostbusters that has breathed life into the story world. While the Battle of New York got to display the city into the MCU, it did not fully breathe life into it as the Spider-Man franchise or other forms of media that displayed the city and its inhabitants. Furthermore, Hawkeye has created a unique antagonist with the tracksuit mafia instead of the now conventional supernatural villains that the MCU has imbued itself within. The second episode did serve as another example of exposition for both main characters as well as provide some potential clues as to what to expect and hopefully, the upcoming third episode can reveal further answers towards the wild story that the series can offer to its audience.
Rating: 8.5/10