*WARNING* THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE EPISODE SIX

Can Marvel make more than six episodes of their series, please? Hawkeye‘s finale felt a bit rushed, but once it got going, it stuck the landing for a finale. We got plenty of moments and set up for shows and movies down the line. That shouldn’t be the point of these Disney+ series, and it definitely didn’t feel like the point with Hawkeye, but that’s what we get out of this finale. Clint made it home, Kate is officially his partner in the superhero business, and we’ll have questions about whether or not Kingpin is dead from now until whenever we get him again. (Double spoiler alert, he’s not dead).

The episode was the longest Marvel episode we’ve had on Disney+, and it used the whole hour to great effect. It did fall into the trappings of the finale that we’ve seen from these shows, but they have to emulate the movies somewhat. There’s always a big final fight in Marvel movies, if that’s a dealbreaker, go watch something else.

This whole show was about the characters though. It’s about the relationships between the various characters and how they grow throughout the six episodes. The performances by Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, Alaqua Cox, Jeremy Renner, Vera Farmiga, Tony Dalton, and everyone else in the cast were all top-notch. Of the Marvel properties we’ve seen on Disney+, this has some of the best performances of the year.

A Quick Aside About Tony Dalton And Jack Duqesne

Give him his own show. I need more Jack in my life. In the small amount of time with Jack on-screen, he went from surefire villain, to suave maybe villain, to sword-wielding hero. Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see of Jack in the MCU. It would be a shame for the star-making performance here by Tony Dalton to go to waste.

Hawkeye Needed A Bit More Time, But It Spreads Holiday Cheer

At the end of the series, we all knew this would be a piece of the holidays, it’s what Marvel does best. They take a slice of something like The Manchurian Candidate and add superheroes, then you get Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This time around, we took all those wonderful holiday stories of old, and you added Clint Barton to it. What we ended up getting was a bit larger and more encompassing than what was originally stated. This wasn’t just a story about Clint getting home for the holidays, but it ended up being that.

Added to the pot were stories of Marvel’s past, present, and future. Black Widow, Kingpin, Echo, Daredevil, and others were all set up, teased, or referenced in this show. The story of Clint Barton was one that needed some extra love from Marvel, and we got it here. Everything that makes the character so special was on full display in Hawkeye. In addition to that, we got a new character for all of us to love in Kate Bishop. Hailee Steinfeld put on a performance here that’s up there with the best debuts in Marvel’s illustrious catalog.

Like with the “new” six-episode variety of these shows, it feels like we need more time. Marvel’s Netflix shows were thirteen episodes, WandaVision was nine episodes, and now we’ve settled into six episodes. Loki was likely longer, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that. Going forward, for these shows, it might be better to increase the episode count. With all the awesome character work that we’re getting, it shouldn’t be too hard.

Hawkeye As A Whole Was Extraordinary

This series just goes to show that Marvel can do something incredibly epic and “superhero-y” like their previous shows while also giving audiences a more grounded and character-driven show. It was a terrific look into what it means to be a hero and the relationships that our favorite heroes build.

If this is what the Disney+ Marvel universe looks like, it’s in good hands. Looking to the future, we have She-Hulk, Echo, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and Secret Invasion coming up. A couple of those shows should have similar tones and action as Hawkeye. I’d like to see the movies and TV shows work in uniform, but making a separate feel and tone for the shows would be awesome.

Let’s hope we get a season two because we all want more from Clint Barton and Kate Bishop.

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