Hawkeye Review: Partners, Am I Right? (Season 1 Episode 4)

How is Hawkeye this good? Who gave Clint Barton the right?

In the holliest of jolliest holiday twists, Hawkeye Season 1 Episode 4, “Partners, Am I Right?” keeps this show’s hot streak going with an episode showcasing the mundane loveability of these archers and those they roped into this mess.

Everything is fair game in this small-scope series, from costume-crafting LARPers to Black Widow assassins to Linda Cardellini bombshells. Teamwork makes the dream work — and what a dream this episode is!

Has no one told Hawkeye it hasn’t the time for movie marathons and tree decorating? As reckless as the lovely mundane pacing is, I will not complain because this is the superhero comfort show dreams are made of.

Slow-paced, character-driven projects are mostly a myth within Marvel’s blockbuster manifest. Yet here we are enjoying meaningful development for Clint freakin’ Barton and layers of emotionally devastating plot wrapped up in a gruff comedic bow.

This holiday adventure could use Kate’s billionaire status to throw money at problems. But, instead, it is letting the cosplayers run the show. Money will not buy good TV, and it’s refreshing to see the series address that.

It’s also great to explore superheroes without other project promotions disrupting the story. This continues to be Clint and Kate’s show to lose.

Mele Kalikimaka More of This

You are not hallucinating. Hawkeye set aside pressing conflict to force Clint and Kate into quality holiday bonding time.

Kate recreating the family movie marathon for Clint tugs at the heartstrings buried deep in this partnership and provides a space for valuable dialogue. A space for an adorable montage involving pizza, frozen booze, and boomerang arrows.

This is a holiday show through and through, and its festive aesthetic is proving to be quite valuable in ensuring the mission’s trajectory spans the entirety of New York City.

We get to see the version of Clint from the comics fully-formed. He’s comfortable with Kate, he’s showing off his sharpshooting skills with parlor tricks, and he is icing his joints with daiquiris.

When he smiles at her in that ugly sweater, our hearts do indeed grow three sizes. I really and truly cannot with Clint Barton.

Shout out to this show for recognizing Kate is whip-smart, and keeping Ronin a secret would undermine her intelligence. Kate reaching that conclusion slowly, with heartbreak cracking her curiosity, is powerful.

Even better, it does not cause the entire plot to crumble. Oh, how I loathe storylines that drag out a secret until any shred of relationship development is worthless.

Clint coming clean to Kate is only the first crack in the foundation. Their partnership survives, but with his reluctance to embrace this dynamic, the moment clings bitterly to Clint’s features. 

There are layers of satisfying development unfolding within each scene, and it’s remarkable to see the mentor dynamic alter perspective here as Kate chooses to view Ronin as a necessary evil and Clint refuses to humor her.

This darker exchange between two generations of Avengers is the warning shot that gives the later showdown the capability to drive that arrow deep.

The Fight to End All Fights

The fight that footnotes this episode is potentially the best from a Marvel series so far.

It isn’t the best in terms of hand-to-hand combat, but this fight is technical. It weaponizes dialogue from previous scenes; it uses Clint’s past to ground the conflict in something tangible. There are so many layers of building conflict on display.

Yelena’s entrance is worth the wait, and her first move is to throw Kate off the side of the building because she loves a good joke, especially one that forces Clint to relive Nat’s death.

It is the final crack in Clint’s partnership with Kate, providing their break-up with a needed gut-punch. As a result, this doesn’t feel like any superhero brawl, and the emotion behind each punch forces the plot forward in significant ways.

It’s brilliant, Yelena moves at high-speed, demonstrating her caliber in an amateur fight. Yet, from a distance, Kate proves deadly. Yet, Kate hesitates to take the shot, creating a magnificent Hawkeye parallel and forcing yet another ship to set sail.

A Few of Our Favorite Things

In the scheme of Yelena and Daredevil, Hawkeye-specific details can seem insignificant. However, that allegiance demonstrates a profound desire to tell better stories.

Hawkeye puts this ensemble before future projects. To come full circle and utilize smaller players like the LARPers in the larger arc is something no other Phase 4 show has prioritized.

Another startling character development, because I now realize how little we expect from Marvel in this regard, Laura is not just a farm wife! It turns out she’s complex and incredibly involved in Clint’s superhero dealings.

She speaks German, knows about the Rolex, and can “look into” covert company dealings. Who is this woman, and why are Clint and her just now revealing themselves as Marvel’s best couple?

Hawkeye could be grander with Daredevil and the Young Avengers eager for screentime. Instead, “Partners, Am I Right?” doubles down on Clint, Kate, and the layers that complicate their messy partnership.

The pacing loses itself in Jack and Eleanor. We root for these baddies, but they do eat up a chunk of the first act, and not much has come from Eleanor’s deception. Regardless, “Natasha Romanoff was pretty good at it, wasn’t she? Being good isn’t always enough to keep you alive,” is savage.

Farmiga is very good at weaponizing dialogue, and Hawkeye is a very good show.

If this series can aim true for the rest of its run, it would be a holiday miracle. But who doesn’t love rooting for an underdog?

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New episodes of Hawkeye will air Wednesdays on Disney+.

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