*WARNING* THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE EPISODE FOUR

What started as a tense exchange at the end of Hawkeye episode three turned into an emotional gutpunch. After all that, we got a fairly decent set of action and then a reveal connecting this show to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Black Widow. For those who didn’t see Black Widow, Florence Pugh‘s character Yelena Belova recieved a mission from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to kill Clint Barton.

Her arrival signals Hawkeye‘s shift from happy-go-lucky Christmas/Holiday story to something much darker. Combining that with the oncoming debut of Kingpin, we’re about to see some serious sh*t. Between the much darker tone, Clint’s ongoing battles with his demons of the past, and the possibility of Laura Barton (Linda Cardellini) being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, we have plenty to go over from this episode.

Even in his small time in the show so far, Tony Dalton‘s portrayal of Jack has been a clear highlight. Of course he would know that Clint Barton is an Avenger, and in his house. The small details like how he sips his tea, his word choice, and just his overall swagger while one of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is sitting at his dinner table, are fantastic. Here’s hoping we see more from his character in these final two episodes.

The Real Story Is Clint’s Heartbreak And Pain

If anything this was a look into Clint’s heartbreak that he’s gone through in the past couple years. His family was lost to the blip, his best friend was lost in the quest to defeat Thanos, and now he has to deal with Kate Bishop. The parallels between Natasha’s last moments and Kate on the roof here were telling. Now, he has to deal with another reminder of his past in Yelena. It was touching to see Kate bring Christmas to Clint while he was recuperating. It’s moments like that, that make this show so special and heartwarming.

This is a completely different beast than the previous Marvel shows. We have family dynamics, action, holiday themes, and revenge. It’s all wrapped in a box of the more personal and human story of Clint Barton. He is the most human of all the heroes we have. He’s arguably gone through just as much loss and sorrow as other Avengers.

That’s really the key with this episode. The precedent for fourth episodes in these Disney+ shows have been that episode four is where it really kicks off. We got a more subdued episode when it comes to action, but much more character development. That’s for the best, because by all accounts, episode five and six are packed to the brim. Like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, we got a much more character-centric middle section of the series that culminated in an excellent finale.

Here’s hoping that Hawkeye can follow in that series’ footsteps for the final two episodes.

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