HANGIN’ WITH HAWKEYE - EP 4 - The Shot Not Taken (Patreon)

More solidness this week! As always, let’s go subject by subject…

The Important Lack of Moral Hedging - Last time I expressed some worry that Hawkeye was going to bring up the Ronin and his dark past, but only hint at and play with it instead of really “going there.” To my delight, they go there in this episode. In fact, the emotional talk between Clint and Kate actually does a whole bunch of heavy-lifting with all his ongoing characterization. Because what makes Clint important to the MCU is his absolute lack of moral hedging. In a world where everyone has to characterize themselves as “the good guy” in every situation (no matter how much some of these characters have been mind-bogglingly selfish) he instead has made peace with the fact he is used as a weapon. He doesn’t bend over backwards to see himself as “defending” anything. He knows what he’s done and what he can do. There are no illusions to cling to. But what I like about this attitude is that it actually extends to his actions afterward.

Because he immediately brings the attitude back to the Maya problem and makes the stakes clear to her friend: “I don’t want anyone else to die.” That’s it. That’s the only thing he wants. But if she comes at him, she’s going to “get herself killed.” Again, there’s a 1000 yard certainty here that again is so refreshing with the moral hedging we see so often (I particularly like the understatement of: “this is the final warning, let’s get it done.”). There’s this clean clarity in that he knows his Ronin past will haunt him, but he’s not going to ever put that guilt ahead of a future with his family. He’s simply taking responsibility for it. Moreover, the way this clarity plays with his mourning of Natasha / the fear of letting Kate get hurt, while still opening up to her? I’m just really deeply appreciating how all this stuff is actually landing. Especially in an episode that really needs it to work.

Ladies Be Falling Off Stuff - So. I can’t remember if I brought it up in writing before, but I have a lingering problem with how Black Widow died in Endgame. Because it’s probably one of the most dramatically-bizarre scenes in a giant movie that I can remember? I get that it’s steeped in the motives of sacrifice and regret. I also get the basic logic of why they’re doing it. I really do. But it has such a convoluted path in getting there and really doesn’t feel properly set-up for her conclusion, especially outside of the logic applied in the scene itself. So as you sit there and watch two actors effectively compete in a fight to leave the MCU it just feels so damn odd to behold. Yeah, it’s sad, but it lacks a real positive or negative catharsis as a story. And I say all this because seeing it get invoked in this episode just reminds me of that weird feeling, but if I accept it, I know it does also accurately speak to his deeper feelings of including Kate in the violent shenanigans, especially as it gets more and more dangerous (which speaks to another deeper fear that it will go MCU-Spider-Man-y and also become about plucky teens never listening or learning larger lessons? As I always seem to say, we’ll see).

Non-Cliffhanger Entries - I never like when cliffhangers are essentially big fake outs. We end the last episode with a sword at Hawkeye’s throat and promise of deeper conflict and here with whatshisface and instead it’s just: “oh, it’s you” and then everything is immediately normal more or less. It’s not just the fake-out, though. You literally feel the story WANTING this conflict between the two of them to actually come out. And yet, we must delay, delay, delay… Which it also gets into a larger issue…

Kate’s Mom / Stepdad - Did anyone else feel like that scene of her sitting there watching them be all lovey dovey was so weird? I had no idea what this scene wanted from me or was trying to provoke, but it actually ended up getting weird enough to the point that I kinda liked it? But it also represents the weird dance that’s going on when it comes to withholding her step-dad’s role and how her mom, given that she’s Vera Freaking Farmiga, probably has a bigger thing going on here, too. But so far all the two have really done is dance and taunt the plot. Which sort of gets into my larger fears about how storytelling has lost its entire foundation of misdirection / charging at conflict targets along the way to something bigger - and instead storytelling just coasts on vague hinting at something before hitting you with what has been in front of us since the start… Anyway!

“An Avenger” - There’s something about this phrase that gives me pause every time. It’s tricky because I don’t think it’s ever one thing that causes it, but they do it twice in this episode (and several times in episodes prior). There’s something so strange about referencing someone as “an avenger” and the notion of fandom for what are, essentially, military assets and some of them even have histories as “war criminals.” (the Hannibal Burress joke in Spider-Man: Homecoming was very funny but also directly calls into question the lack of teeth or reality with that particular plotline). It just always feels weird for me that there’s this really pronounced in-universe hagiography and constant utterances of “big fan!” in a way that somehow feels even present than what I feel like even happens in real life? Am I alone on this?

Lesser But Still Ongoing Contrivance - Again, now that we’re in the meat of the story things are working much better , but everything about the LARPers just keeps feeling forced to me? And somehow wildly inaccurate? Like it keeps having this “look at these weirdos” attitude in a way that even Role Models didn’t have. So it coming back to the main plot and hinting at them making the suits just… I dunno. Maybe it's fun and innocuous, I just feel like even the fun joking of it isn’t landing. Which is weird cause the rest of the show is pretty good at landing the fun?

Whose that Avenger-Mon!?!? - I’ll get to the cameo at the end of this piece, but I just find it funny what people would think if they watched this but never saw Black Widow.

BEST JOKES / RANDOM THOUGHTS

-Clint: “It sounds weird because it is.” Once again, that’s the kind of line that’s actually hard to deliver, but weirdly Renner just keeps nailing this stuff?

-I have no idea who the Rolex is for (I also thought they were saying Rolodex at some point early on), but I made the mistake of googling fan theories. Most of them sound kinda boring?

-Step-Dad - I genuinely can’t figure out what accent Tony Dalton is doing? I googled his real normal voice from interviews and his Spanish language work. I just feel like I’m missing what he’s aiming for? Anyone know?

-Hailee had really great delivery on “this is the part where you finish my sentence with a plan.” Sometimes characters can take a little bit of time to find and this slightly more subdued delivery is absolutely dead on vs. the more aggressive jokey tone of the first episode. Feel like the character is definitely starting to solidify in this ep?

-“Are you sure that is dry erase?”

-That moment of Clint saying “I really appreciate what you did tonight,” was really well earned bonding beat and a good emotional set-up for trying to keep her from the fight later.

-Something about the crystal clear New York imagery in this really made me miss a lot of the stylization you were FORCED into doing with old cameras, particularly with lighting and color vs. how everything now picks it up as saturate-able flourish. I dunno. I just miss starker choices.

-“Prioritize a quick exit over quick entrance,” that’s actually good advice.

-The timing of the gag of her getting stuck on the zipline was actually pretty good.

-Maya’s not a bad fighter at all, don’t get me wrong, but the incredible stunt double in the black suit absolutely highlights the way that truly amazing stunt people can make you look GREAT on screen in turn. But speaking of who that stunt person was playing…

-Well, look who showed up! With that, the big pulpy news of the episode is that Yelena showed up (and by showed up I mean they were able to film her somewhere and then CGI her head onto the stunt person’s body for a hot second. Which is totally fine. I know how these films are made). Naturally, we’ll see where this goes but were scheduling and pay not an issue I feel like this character would have been so much more integrated into this story? But hey, I’ll take the fact it’s happening at all. And I’m enjoying the ride as we get there. But like always…

I just hope they find a way to deliver.

<3HULK