Hawkeye took a more serious turn in its third episode, with Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) fighting for their lives.
The episode, “Echoes”, like the title suggests, saw Alaqua Cox make her Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut as Maya Lopez, aka Echo, and she stole the show.
Introducing Echo
Episode 3 of Hawkeye focuses heavily on Echo’s origins, opening with her as a young girl as she learns to navigate school life while being deaf.
Her father William (Zahn McClarnon) tries to support her as best he can, saying she is “special” and can succeed regardless of her prosthetic leg and deafness by watching and learning.
His words hold true and Echo becomes a skilled fighter, but her world is turned upside down by Clint’s Ronin who, during his crime-fighting spree during the Blip, killed her father and his men.
If a villain ever needed a good reason to go up against the hero, the death of their loved ones would certainly do it.
Prior to his death, William also made reference to Echo’s uncle, which could hint at the introduction of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin, into the franchise.
Cut to the present day, and Clint and Kate are still with the Tracksuit Mafia, tied up to coin-operated kiddie rides.
Clint seems less than pleased to be on the ride and Kate helps a Tracksuit Mafia member with his romance woes, but the fun stops when Echo makes her entrance.
Seeing Clint is using a hearing aid, Echo communicates with him through sign language but he admits he doesn’t understand her and, through interpreter Kazi Kazimierczak (Fra Fee), tries to reassure her that Kate is not Ronin.
He argues that Kate took the suit by accident and the real Ronin is dead, killed by Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson), but Echo’s anger over her father’s death gets the better of her and she attacks the young woman.
Car chases and trick arrows
During the scuffle Clint manages to get free of his bonds and starts to attack the Tracksuit Mafia goons, before going up against Echo in hand-to-hand combat.
She kicks him in the ear and destroys his hearing aid, and Clint is forced to manage without the hearing aid for the rest of the episode.
While he struggles without the device, Clint helps free Kate and they escape the compound by stealing a car with the villains following close behind.
Clint proves to be an impressive driver as he veers through traffic at breakneck speed, even turning the car around and reversing down the streets to make it easier for Kate to shoot arrows, all whilst being shot at and being unable to hear.
Kate proves she’s a worthy successor to Clint by thwarting the Tracksuit Mafia with his trick arrows, some of which just seem a bit silly (who thinks of using Play-Doh as a weapon?) but they work nonetheless, especially the one designed by Pym Technologies.
Eventually Kate and Clint get away from the Mafia and they take the chance to assess their next moves while taking Pizza Dog for a walk through New York City.
A moving scene also sees Clint struggle to talk to his son on the phone without his hearing aid, with Kate helping him understand his youngest by writing down what he was saying on a notepad.
While it’s only a brief moment it certainly helps bolster the emotional bond that is growing between the pair this series.
In the end, Kate and Clint decide to investigate the Tracksuit Mafia as well as her future step-father Jack Duquesne (Tony Dalton) by sneaking into her mom’s penthouse suite.
But their investigation is cut short when Jack stops Clint in his tracks by holding him at sword point, ending the episode on a rather dramatic note.
Hawkeye airs every Wednesday on Disney+.
Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
