Last night, I decided that I was going to pause with the write-ups after the episode because I absolutely wanted to finish season one and, if I took the time to write about each episode, I would not have been able to finish the show. So tonight, after seeing the last three episodes back to back to back, I am doing one overall write-up.
Man, those three episodes were great. Building upon episode four and five, which I loved, these three eps just knocked it out of the park.
Some of my favorite moments:
The use of Howard Stark in a conclusion that is meant to bring us full circle from Captain America: The First Avenger.
Peggy telling the SSR the truth! It is a strange story beat to tell the truth is so uncommon. How many times can stories be fixed if people just talked to each other. I loved when Peggy and Jarvis just laid it all out.
The death of Chief Dooley was extremely well done and surprisingly emotional.
Speaking of emotional, Peggy pouring the blood of Steve Rogers into the water nearly brought me to tears. Powerful end for the series.
Peggy and Jarvis handcuffed to the table… LOL
Peggy showed off her skills and the SSR realized how kick ass she truly was.
Daniel Sousa picked up some slack in these episodes.
The massacre at the movie theater was brutal.
Ivchenko. Come on. Gotta love those mentalists.
Post credit scene: Ivchenko and Arnim Zola in the same4 cell, with Tobey Jones right there to play the role of Zola. I do not think this gets used in season two (I might be wrong about that) and that is a total shame.
This was so great. It felt like a series ahead of its time in the MCU. Peggy Carter brought such a gravitas in this series and Edwin Jarvis, and his loyalty to Agent Carter, was a special relationship. Howard Stark arrived as a total jerk with the heart of gold. We got to see the façade of Howard Stark crumble away in the finale and get a glimpse into the soul of Howard Stark.
Another boomer of an episode as Neal McDonough reprised his role at Dum Dum Dugan, member of the 107th aka The Howling Commandos.
After breaking a code from the mysterious message that came across the typewriter at the end of last episode, Peggy talked herself onto the team that was heading to Russian to try and find out what they could on Leviathan and the connection with Howard Stark. Although, technically, Peggy wasn’t going to be allowed to go even after breaking the code. It required her delivering the Howling Commandos to be the ground support to get her on the team.
As soon as the adventure began, it became clear that Peggy was in her element and that Thompson was not the leader that he seemed. This episode really dove into his background, giving him reason to reconsider his stance on Peggy.
One of the best parts of the show was how Dum Dum and the Howling Commandos just accepted Peggy into their ranks and listened to what she said. Peggy hasn’t had this kind of respect from anyone in the SSR and watching even Dum Dum Dugan ask for Peggy’s leadership was awesome.
The raiding party was able to find a psychiatrist in the Russian prison who was there trying to keep a scientist balanced so he could design a weapon from Stark blueprints. They also saw more of the Black Widow program, including a little girl who wound up killing Junior Juniper, of the Howling Commandos.
I love how this still feels as if it is in continuity of the MCU. Agents of SHIELD was initially in continuity but, as the years went on, it evolved into what had to be considered an alternate universe (perhaps somewhere in the multiverse), but Agent Carter fit right in with the MCU timeline.
We see more of Dottie and her search of Peggy’s place, as well as some flashbacks to her youthful training. She does not find the stash of Cap’s blood, thankfully, but she does find photos of Stark weapons Peggy had hidden.
Chief Dooley approached Jarvis again, with a bit of an olive branch, telling him that he just wanted the truth and that he would love to hear what Howard Stark had to say.
And Agent Sousa discovered a link between the blonde in the photograph they had from a few episodes ago and Agent Carter. Sousa was not sure where to go from here.
As good as episodes 1-3 of Agent Carter were, “The Blitzkrieg Button” was easily the best of the series so far. One of the big reasons was the return of Howard Stark to the show’s canvas. Nothing like a dose of lies and manipulations to spice up a secret agent show.
We also got the obligatory Stan Lee cameo. It was unexpected, but there he was, sitting right next to Howard Stark, asking for the sports section. I miss Stan.
So many things happen, including the reveal that Stark had a vial of Steve Rogers’ blood among the weapons that the SSR currently had. He manipulated Peggy into stealing it back by saying that it was a bomb that would cause a massive blackout if activated. Peggy was too quick for Howard though as she picked up the tells from him and from Jarvis (scratches his ear when he lies) and she discovered the blood inside the weapon.
The confrontation between Peggy and Howard after that was fire and the right cross was well deserved. Peggy kicked Howard to the curb and kept the blood for herself.
We also discovered that new girl at the hotel, Dottie, turned out to be someone special. I remember from the first time that Dottie came from the Black Widow program, though they have not revealed that yet. The acrobatics Dottie executed on the unexpecting Russian was epic. And it was all over a cool gun he had that she wanted.
SR Chief Dooley went to Germany to find out information about this mysterious Battle of Finow from former Nazi colonel Ernst Mueller. Dooley offered Mueller a cyanide pill to avoid the scheduled hanging that he was headed for in exchange for info. Mueller told Dooley that there was no battle and that it was just a group of mutilated bodies.
Lots of excitement heading forward. Pieces are falling into place and we have four more episodes in season one.
At the end of last episode, the guys at the SSR had found the bumper of the Stark car in the remains of the Roxxon plant. This set them on the trail of Howard Stark, indirectly through the path of Edwin Jarvis.
In this episode, we learn a little bit more of the past of Jarvis and the SSR attempted to have him and his wife deported. Thankfully, through some sneakiness of Peggy, Jarvis is set free.
Peggy consistently is shown as quick-thinking and intelligent. She is very much the opposite than what the others at the SSR seemed to think of her.
Peggy and Jarvis wind up finding the missing Stark tech and they report in anonymously. Peggy wanted to do it herself, but Jarvis correctly convinced her that the people she worked for would not see it as a positive. They would see it as a way of tying Peggy to Stark and questioning her motives. Still one of the best parts of this series was how Peggy, the most capable person in the room, was mistreated or disrespected by her colleagues.
There was also a cool fight scene with a guy. Peggy needed the help of Jarvis or else she would have been killed. Then she was able to use one of the Stark toys against the guy, breaking his arm. With Peggy and Jarvis out of the way, the SSR arrived and found the witness. He was in the car with Krzeminski and about to blow Peggy’s cover when another car struck them from behind. That led to a person assassinating both Krzeminski and the witness.
This was the first death of a member of the SSR that we got to see and it was quite dramatic. Peggy was hit harder than she thought.
The series continues to build its central mystery and progress every episode. Carter and Jarvis continue to be an awesome pair and the stakes continue to rise.
In episode two, Peggy Carter continued her attempts to prove the innocence of Howard Stark while trying to prevent her co-workers from discovering that she was working the case.
Peggy went to investigate the missing molecular nitramene bombs from the milk truck from last episode and trying to discover more about the mysterious Leviathan.
Running though the episode was clips from the “Captain America Adventure Program” which was a radio show detailing fictionalized adventures of the war hero Captain America. Poor Peggy was reduced in the show as a damsel in distress and the real Peggy kept hearing the show wherever she would go.
There was an exciting fight on the top of the milk truck that ended up off a cliff and imploding in a massive implosion. Again, it showed the relationship between Peggy and Jarvis. Not that there was ever going to be anything between the two besides friendship. It was not that sort of vibe. Jarvis is able to convince Peggy that she could not take everything on herself and that she needed to have help. He was meaning himself, but it also led Peggy to take an apartment that she turned down before because she was afraid that she brought danger to people around her.
Roxxon is included in the show as well. Roxxon has always been the evil corporation of the Marvel Universe and this would be no exception. It was awesome to see Ray Wise (Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks) make his appearance as one of the heads of Roxxon.
After watching the Agent Carter Marvel One-Shot for this past Saturday Shorts day, I decided that I would begin a rewatch of Agent Carter’s ABC TV show that ran for two seasons after Captain America: The First Avenger. I remember that series being a lot of fun and ahead of its time.
Peggy Carter is working at the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) in New York City, but the other agents are anything but welcoming. One of the key sections of this series was the inclusion of how men treated women in the mid 40s and how Peggy Carter was not going to take such behavior.
Howard Stark, played in this series by Dominic Cooper, is believed to have sold some of his weapons to enemies of the USA and has become a fugitive, wanted as a traitor. Howard approached Peggy, along with his butler Edwin Jarvis (James D’Arcy), and asked her to investigate this case. He needed her to prove him innocent. Peggy decided to help him, even though helping him might be seen as her turning traitor too.
Peggy is shown as remarkably capable and she is able to retrieve one Stark bomb and disable it. However, it led to the death of her roommate. This scene and the following one of Peggy with Jarvis at the restaurant was pretty strong. Hayley Atwell is an excellent actress and can take the material to another level with her performance.
There is a great chemistry between Peggy and Jarvis, and their bickering and interactions are funny and endear us to the characters immediately. Comic fans knew of Jarvis, since he was the comic book butler for the Avengers and in the MCU is the person whom Tony Stark originally named his AI in his armor.
The show started by highlighting Peggy’s co-worker, Daniel Sousa, who had been wounded in the war and needed a crutch to move around. I have a much more positive memory of Sousa from later when he joined Agents of SHIELD and was matched up with Quake.
This introduction does a great job setting up the series and what is to come.
Moon Knight came to a conclusion this morning with a fantastic finale episode that should have given those people complaining about a lack of Moon Knight or a lack of action just what they wanted.
For the record, I have not been complaining about this at all. I have thoroughly enjoyed following the life of Marc Specter, either as himself or his alter Steven Grant. I consider having Marc on screen the same thing as having Moon Knight on screen.
But there was plenty of Moon Knight (and Mr. Knight) in the finale as he took on Harrow in the streets of Cairo. Meanwhile, gigantic Ammit was fighting Khonshu outside the pyramids. The action was planned out well and then the blackout moment that we haven’t seen in a few episodes took me by surprise. Jake?
I’m jumping around, but the post credit scene with the official debut of Jake Lockley, still under control of Khonshu, arriving to kill off Harrow was an awesome moment. I had a sneaking suspicion that Jake would show up and be named in the post credit scene. I was not sure how that would be done, and I did not see the way they did it coming. It was great.
Leyla, the newly minted avatar of Taweret, is amazing. Her wings were stunning and looked so bad ass. I loved how they carried out her story. I was afraid that they would have her take the power of Moon Knight instead and I’m not sure how I would have felt about that. She has been a secondary character and the show has been about Marc and Steven. No one else should be finishing up a fight but them (or… I guess, Jake).
I thought the special effects were just spectacular, especially with the god fight. There was a shot of harrow walking with Khonshu and Ammit fighting behind him that was just exceptional. All three of the Egyptian deities that we got in this series (Khonshu, Ammit, Taweret) were brilliantly designed and the execution of the CGI was seamless.
I will say that this week’s finale was a bit of a step back from last week’s brilliant episode, but that is to be expected. Last week was one of the best episodes of TV that Marvel Studios have put together so far. The finale pacing did feel somewhat rushed. It would have been nice if the episode was closer to the hour mark than it was to the 40 minute mark. That would have given some of the emotional parts (such as an excellent scene with Marc and Steven in the sands) some time to breathe. I’m not sure why the finale turned out to be the shortest of the episodes, but that is what happened.
In fact, I think there was enough story here that they could have had 7 episodes instead of six. It is not a complaint that is going to ruin my love of this series, but it is more of a wish instead.
Here is my list of Marvel Studio Disney + series so far.
WandaVision. This continues to be my #1. A lot of emotion and so much fun. I could not wait for the next episode to arrive every week.
Loki. Very close to WandaVision. I loved the creativity and the craziness of Loki.
Moon Knight. Close to Loki, but just behind. Oscar Isaac is the MVP and probably the best actor of any Marvel series (with Elizabeth Olson right there too).
Hawkeye. Lots of fun and a great Christmas tone. Kingpin returned. Hailee Steinfeld and Florence Pugh were sensational both together and with anyone else who shared scenes.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This moved up a notch because of some of the emotional moments I recently revisited. It was messed with during COVID so I give it a bit of a break.
What If…?. This is a vital series for the upcoming Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The animation was astounding, but the fact that it is animation moves it back a tad.
We are about a month away from Ms. Marvel. We’ll see where that one falls.
Episode 5 of Moon Knight was off the charts. I have been singing the praises of the acting skill of Oscar Isaac all season long, but he took it to another level in this episode. Oscar Isaac is just spectacular, covering every possible emotion with this performance. If he does not receive an Emmy for this, there is something wrong with the system.
What makes it even more impressive is that Oscar Isaac has been doing a ton of acting by himself. When he is acting opposite Steven or Taweret or Khonshu, there is nothing actually there. Some of his work as both Marc and Steven is transitional.
I am not sure that Marvel Studios have ever done anything like this before. This is so dark and traumatic that is all centered in character. The tragic events that were shown from Marc’s childhood that led to the creation of Steven are some of the deeply disturbing images in the MCU. It was extremely heavy and dark. Amazing with a show that is featuring a giant talking hippo.
This episode took us on a journey of self-discovery for Steven that, quite possibly, could have been the best episode of Marvel television yet.
I have heard this referred to the Bing Bong moment. It was amazing how close it was.
There are plenty of people out there who will claim disappointment because of the lack of Moon Knight in this episode. I have heard this complaint of the series so far, and I could not disagree more. Marc Specter is Moon Knight and Marc (and Steven) have been on screen constantly. The amount of the costume is not what makes this a brilliant series.
Moon Knight is exceptional when dealing with the DID suffered by Marc Specter. Every step of the way with Marc and Steven felt accurate and truthful with how this disorder affects the person. I have also heard complaints about the lack of the third identity (aka Jake Lockley). Moon Knight has certainly teased the possibility of Jake, who is a known alter from the comic books. Personally, I believe that is how the series comes to a close, with cab driver Jake taking control of the body. But if that does not happen, I would not be disappointed. I trust Marvel to do what is best for their character.
The ending of the episode was difficult too. I mean, the episode was almost an hour long, but it felt like it flew by and when the screen went dark, I desperately wanted more. As the scale was finally balanced and Marc found himself in the Field of Reeds.
With just one more episode remaining, Moon Knight is right up with WandaVision and Loki as the best Marvel Studio’s Disney + series.
Episode four of Moon Knight flipped the script big time and ended with one of the biggest WTF scene of anything in the MCU so far.
Of course, if you are a Moon Knight comic reader, you were not shocked at what happened this morning on Disney +, but, like I was, you were probably amazed that the show actually went there.
Steven and Leyla found their way into the hidden tomb and then all kinds of weird stuff started happening. There were some crazy-looking mummies making this eerie clicking sound, went after Steven and Leyla.
Leyla showed why Khonshu wanted her as his new avatar as she tossed the mummy down the giant pit after ripping off its arm and shoving a red flare in its face.
Steven found the lost tomb of Alexander the Great, who according to MCU lore, was the last avatar of Ammit and where the wooden statue of Ammit had been hidden (shoved down Alexander the Great’s mummified gullet. It was a real creepy scene where Steven had to reach down the mummy’s throat to retrieve it.
At this time, Harrow arrived with his henchmen and ended up shooting Marc directly in the chest twice. Marc fell backwards into water and sank into the light.
All the pre-shot stuff in the tomb was cool, giving off a very Indiana Jones/Mummy vibe, but none of that prepared us for what was next.
We see a movie playing that turns out to be “Tomb Buster” with a character called Dr. Steven Grant. It is clearly a cheap knockoff of those type of films.
When the camera pulls out, we find ourselves in a mental institution where we see all of the characters from the show up until this point, only looking very One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest-like. Marc is here too, in a wheelchair, clearly out of it. There is a game of BINGO going on with numbers that do not exist in BINGO games. Leyla is here too, but nothing like the mummy asskicker that we saw earlier.
Marc winds up talking to a psychiatrist, who happened to be Harrow. This led to Marc running from the office and finding a sarcophagus with Steven inside. Yes, there were two Oscar Isaacs.
They’re on their way through the mazes of hallways when they come across someone who I can honestly say, I never would have expected.
Taweret.
And Marc and Steven’s response was exactly what you would expect…
Taweret is the Egyptian Goddess of Fertility and Childbirth and she was the goddess that the statue on LOST was based.
It was great to see the hippo on Moon Knight. I loved LOST and the connection was awesome. I’m curious to see how this plays out on Moon Knight, or if even she was more than just a fantasy in the head of Marc Specter.
I love how this scene at the end of the episode puts into question everything we have seen up until this point and made it uncertain about what is real and what is imaginary. Much like the awesome Jeff Lemire run on Moon Knight comic book, this could be a real trip of a final two episodes.
I missed a bunch of stuff from this episode (including Marc telling Leyla about her father’s death, Khonshu’s statue being placed with the other trapped Egyptian deities, Steven kissing Leyla, the third sarcophagus, the Moon Knight action figure). This was a great episode that was so chocked full of goodness and epic moments that I can’t wait to find out how they are resolved.
Moon Knight’s third episode continued to be some excellent television. I have loved this show very much so far. The biggest facet of the show that I have loved has been Oscar Isaac’s amazing performance as two distinct characters in one body. Playing both personalities, Marc Specter and Steven Grant, he has done stunning work, providing subtle but definite differences between the two characters.
However, in this episode, we get the hint that there may be a third personality hiding inside the head of Oscar Isaac’s character. And that is awesome news. Is it Jake Lockley or some other version? I assume we’ll learn that soon. We are half way through the season now.
Marc Specter was in control of the body much of this episode, with Steven appearing in the reflective surfaces around Egypt. We got more action here, but some of the best action beats continue to be when the personalities are switching. When that happened to Marc early in the episode, it gave us the idea that a third personality had arrived.
Layla found her role elevated this week, including the cold open with her “mother” making her a fake passport. That scene reminded us that Layla’s father was an archeologist and he had been killed in the sand years before. Clearly that is a story bit that is going to pay off down the road.
We had a meeting of the Gods, through their avatars that looked to judge Harrow, but, instead, seemed to place judgment on Marc and Khonshu.
This episode was really packed with material. So much so that it might have been nice to have this episode increased to two instead of one. The whole Egyptian God’s Court scene could have been extended to easily a half hour or more. Understand, it was a great episode, but I would have liked more specifics than what they gave us. Oscar Isaac, who was acting as if Khonshu was speaking through him, and Ethan Hawk’s Harrow were tremendous together once again.
Khonshu and Steven helped turn the night sky back in order to use a map they found on a sarcophagus as a way to find Ammit’s tomb. It was an incredible display of power, as well as some of the best visuals of the series.
This was the episode that featured the actor Gaspard Ulliel, who passed away in January of this year in a skiing accident. Ulliel played Anton Mogart, a wealthy collector who owned a specific sarcophagus that Marc had been directed toward. In the comics, Mogart is known as the Midnight Man. In the episode, Mogart was wounded as he was on horseback riding into the fog. Did the character die? Who knows. Marvel Studios dedicated the episode to Gaspard Ulliel. RIP.
The second episode of Disney +’s new Marvel series Moon Knight aired last night and it was fantastic, every bit as great as the first week’s debut episode.
Oscar Isaac is killing it as Steven Grant/Marc Spector, the Moon Knight. His acting has been unbelievable, especially when his two DID characters are arguing with each other in mirrors or any other reflective surfaces. Oscar Isaac has been totally masterful. I have never seen an actor who has so much chemistry with himself as Oscar Isaac has shown.
Ethan Hawke is a sensation as the main protagonist, Arthur Harrow. We got more depth of Harrow’s cult and what he wants that mysterious scarab for. One could certain see why people might be attracted to him. It is great that Harrow believes what he is doing is the right thing.
Khonshu appears quite a bit in this episode and continues to look spectacular. The character design is creepy and frightening and works so great.
Marc Spector’s wife (yes, wife) Layla arrived in this episode. We had heard her on the phone last week, but now she showed up and finds out about Steven. Their relationship is interesting and I am looking forward to seeing more of her. Marc has certainly been trying to distance himself from her- most likely as a way to protect her from the dangers he is facing…and from Khonsu.
Mr. Knight appears as the suit that Steven summons to save himself from falling. The suit is a wonderful design and look exactly as it does in the comics. Yes, Mr. Knight, the character, is quite different in this series than the Warren Ellis comic run where we first meet this version of Mr. Knight.
The episode concludes with Marc back in control and in Egypt. I’m guessing that episode three will dive into the origin of how Marc Spector/Steven Grant became the avatar of the Egyptian God of the Moon.
While there are some hidden Easter Eggs that tie Moon Knight to the MCU, they are hidden well and it feels as if the show has never made an allusion to the MCU yet, and that is awesome. It allows them to create their own part of the world. Eventually they will obviously tie it to the universe, but how cool would it be if that did not happen until a post credit scene of episode 6?
After two weeks, Moon Knight has become a must see. A show that I base the week around. Next Wednesday can’t get here soon enough.
Oscar Isaac has entered the MCU with his portrayal of Moon Knight, one of the myriad of characters from Marvel that just a few years ago, seemed to never have his own TV show. Yet here he is, with a huge name star playing him.
We are introduced to Steven Grant (That is Steven with a V) and it is clear that he has been having sleep problems. Little did he know how many problems Steven was going to have.
Steven worked at a museum in London, with an Egyptian exhibit. Steven knew a lot about the Egyptian mythology, but it could not get him any further than the storage room. Steven was a sad, bumbling man who seemed very disoriented. There were moments when he was unsure about things that have happened.
When Steven awakes, face down in a field of grass with a dislocated jaw, he is even more confused. Then, people started shooting at him, chasing him over a gold scarab.
Steven winds up in a group of people who were watching judgment being laid out by Arthur Harrow, a cult-like leader who crushes up glass and puts it into his sandals to walk on in the morning. Harrow had a tattoo on his arm that moved when he was judging a person, not only what the person had done, but what they may do in the future.
Harrow is the avatar of Egyptian deity, Ammit. Harrow pursued Steven back to his museum and unleased a jackal to attack him.
We learn that Steven has D.I.D. (Dissociative identity disorder) and that one of the personalities is a mercenary named Marc Specter, who is a clear bad ass and who jumps back into control of the body when Steven found himself in several major problems.
The DID was shown in serious light. You could see how scared Steven was, how confused he was as the strange things continued to happen to him and he could not explain it.
Oscar Isaac is a sensation actor and he shows it with every scene, not just the over-the-top spots. There was a quiet moment where he had lost time and thought it was Friday night, instead of Sunday. He was supposed to meet a woman at a steak house for a date (a date he did not remember making, by the way) on Friday and he waited for the woman to show up on Sunday, thinking it was Friday. This is an impressive performance in this small point.
Ethan Hawke is sinister too. I can’t wait to see more from him as the season progresses.
The visuals of this show are amazing. There are a lot of practical effects for the show, with a limited amount of CGI/green screen. From that, the show looks wonderful. It is extremely cinematic and some of the shots are exceptional. There are some frightening moments in the show, most dealing with Khonsu, the Egyptian deity that speaks in Steven’s head. Voiced by F. Murray Abraham, Khonsu is incredibly designed and looks just stunning.
The Moon Knight costume, which we do not see until the very end of the episode, is beautiful. It works so well with its practical design. An all white outfit should not work outside of the comic book page, but this costume design is spectacular. The wrapping cloth around Moon Knight is a great visual and brings up an amazing image.
There was so much character development in the first episode, and it did not lack excitement. The car chase scene through the winding mountain was expertly shot and carried out perfectly. Directed by Mohamed Diab, you can see how talented he is with the camera and the visual picture of each scene.
The use of mirrors in the episode is a great way to show the contradiction between the identities. The confrontation between Steven and Marc in the bathroom at the end of the episode was thrilling and led to our reveal of the titular hero. Another key to the episode is that everything was shown through the POV of Steven Grant. Every time Marc would take over, we would see Steven’s eyes go white and the scene would jump ahead to when Steven retook the body. It was very effective and helped to build the character of Steven.
The mystery of the show and what is going on is going to keep the audience guessing and Moon Knight feels like something different in the MCU. It is fascinating that there was no mentions of the greater MCU that usually happens in these shows. It builds a new section of the MCU and I look forward to learning more.
The Hawkeye finale had a lot of actions and the wrap of storylines (maybe too many), but it left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach because of one major moment… after a confrontation with Kate Bishop and being hit with a car driven by Eleanor, Kingpin ran into someone with a grudge.
Maya.
The show made it appear as though Maya, aka Echo, killed Kingpin by shooting him in the head. We did not see the actual shot, but we heard it off screen. Still, it made me unhappy that after so long waiting to see Vincent D’Onofrio reprise his role only to kill him off after the first episode.
The I saw this on Twitter. It was from the comic books.
This made me feel a lot better. I expect that Kingpin survived the attack and will be the main antagonist in the upcoming Echo series on Disney +.
So with that out of the way, I can look back over the rest of Hawkeye episode 6 with more open heart and less bitterness over the possible death of Kingpin.
There were a lot of great scenes in this episode, many of which included Florence Pugh as Yelena. Her initial reactions with Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop in the elevator and through the Christmas Eve party was great. Honestly, I would go for a whole series of Kate and Yelena together. The dialogue is crisp and the action is well designed.
But even more emotional was Yelena’s showdown with Clint on the ice outside 30 Rock. Yelena had every intention of killing him, but she wanted to know about her sister Natasha more. This was a powerful scene and fit beautifully with these two tremendous actors. Clint doing the whistle brought Yelena back to reality, finally accepting that what Clint was telling her about Natasha’s final moments was true.
We got a chance to see the new costumes and to see our LARPers in action as Clint and Kate’s “army.” This was a little iffy for me, but it worked in the long run. Gotta love Grills.
One of the issues I believe is the difference in directors. Episode six was directed by Rhys Thomas, who also directed episodes 1 & 2. Episodes 3-5, which are considered the best of the series by most critics and commenters, were directed by Bert and Bertie. I wonder how the series would have felt had Bert and Bertie directed episode 6 as well?
Then, thankfully, Clint was able to get back to his family for Christmas as he promised, with Kate and Lucky the Pizza Dog in tow. I could not have handled a tragic end for Clint Barton after these six episodes so I am thrilled that he made it home. Plus, he had a certain gold watch with him that he gave to his wife Laura. On the back of the gold watch, we see a symbol of SHIELD, confirming that Laura was, at one time, an agent of SHIELD. Was she Mockingbird? Maybe.
This episode ended with a post credit scene, the only episode of the series to do so. After wishing everyone a Happy Holidays from Marvel Studios …
The show gave us a full Broadway number from Rogers: The Musical. We got the full song of “I Can Do This All Day”!
This was a ton of fun and really put a nice button on the series.
Some other plot points wrapped up:
Eleanor killed Armond.
Jack was innocent and had been framed by Eleanor. Jack had a chance to show his sword skills helping Kate at the party.
Maya killed Kazi in an emotional struggle.
Eleanor was arrested for the murder of Armond but she did show that she loved Kate more than her partnership with Wilson Fisk.
More trick arrows including another Pym tech one that led to a problem for the Track Suit Mafia.
Eleanor using information to try and blackmail Kingpin shows that she has some balls.
Clint called Kate his partner.
Kingpin wore his Family Business outfit from the Marvel Comics.
Hawkeye has been a great season. My current Marvel Studios’ Disney + series ranking are as follows:
WandaVision
(very close) Loki
Hawkeye
What If…?
Falcon & Winter Soldier
They’ve all be excellent though. Not sure what is next…maybe Moon Knight? She-Hulk? Ms. Marvel. I’m sure it will continue the excellence the 2021 shows have begun.
After weeks of speculation and trepidation, Marvel Studios brought the first character from the Netflix Marvel shows into the MCU, and it was one of the characters/actors that everyone wanted.
Yes, Vincent D’Onofrio is now a member of the MCU playing the one and only Kingpin. Wilson Fisk appeared in a photo, a blurry and out of focus cell phone picture on Kate Bishop’s phone.
Technically, I suppose that could be any actor, but Vincent D’Onofrio’s name was in the end credits so it is 100% confirmed. One of the greatest villain performances of all Marvel projects is D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, and now he is in the MCU.
This was, of course, the conclusion of the episode, but the show had so much more to it than just a Kingpin cameo. We had a flashback to 2018 as Yelena was out trying to free another former Black Widow agent when we saw her get dusted during the Blip. However, we saw the event from Yelena’s perspective and it looked as if she was only gone for a matter of seconds, but it turned into 5 years. When she came back and realized that she had been gone for 5 years, her first thought was of Natasha, and that was heartbreaking considering that she had no idea about Natasha’s sacrifice.
Then in present day, we get a fantastic conversation between Yelena and Kate Bishop. Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld showed just how much charisma and chemistry they had. The discussion between them was as compelling as any action scene that the show gave us. These two women are incredible performers and will be vitally important to the MCU over the years.
Clint, meanwhile, got himself back into the Ronin costume for a confrontation with Echo. During this fight, Clint revealed himself as Ronin to Maya and then told her that her “boss” had an informant send info to Ronin about her father. He told her that the boss wanted her father dead. I have a feeling that we just saw the set up for the Echo Marvel Studios series that is in the works.
We also got to see a cool thing with a monument in NYC honoring the Avenger members for their efforts of the Battle of New York. Clint came here to talk with Natasha.
It is just another example of Marvel’s expert world building. Yelena also mentioned the “improved Statue of Liberty” which was an allusion to Spider-Man: No Way Home, which I will be seeing tomorrow night.
Next week, the Hawkeye series comes to a conclusion and they seem to have a lot of area to cover before it is over. Just looking at a possible list of things that they may need to cover includes:
Kingpin’s plans
Who killed Armond?
What is up with that watch from Avengers Compound? How does it tie with Laura Barton?
Hawkeye and Yelena’s problems
Echo and “Uncle”
Is Elenore the real power? Did she frame Jack or is that part of their plan?
Name the Pizza Dog!
Will Clint make it home for Christmas?
Hawkeye has been a great series so far and I am excited to see the finale next week.
Marvel Studios Hawkeye has become an awesome series, improving every week. Episode three was such a great episode, could episode 4 match up?
While there were fewer action scenes this week, the character moments were all the more impactful. There was a sweet moment between Kate, her mom and Jack. We saw Eleanor and Jack dance and Jack had a funny quirk of screwing up phrases such as “Absence makes the heart grow older.” It was enduring and made you wonder perhaps they aren’t as bad as you think…
Okay, maybe not. But there were some cool character moments with them anyway. I also believe very much that the show is setting up Jack to look like one of the people in charge of the Track Suit Mafia when I believe the real power is Eleanor. I love Vera Farmiga and anything that gives her more to do, well, I am all for it.
There was a great set of character beats between Clint and Kate when Kate came over with films and ugly sweaters for some Christmas cheer. Kate knew Clint would be missing his children so she came to cheer him up. This led to the discussion about Ronin and Kate guessing that Clint was actually Ronin. Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld are such exquisite actors that even the minimalist scene is powerful. Renner’s facial reactions are beautiful, revealing Clint’s guilt over his past as Ronin, the pain of losing Natasha, and the loneliness of not being with his family on Christmas. All the while, slowly building confidence in Kate as a partner, though he is not willing to call her that. The subtlety of the scenes in the apartment shows off such great direction and some superb writing.
And when the action arrives, the action is so kick ass. The action sequences in the last couple of episodes have been exceptional and the rooftop fight with Maya, Clint, Kate and the mysterious masked figure was just brilliantly executed. Of course, we knew who that masked figure was. Anyone who saw the post credit scene of Black Widow earlier this year knew that Yelena Belova, Natasha Romanoff’s “sister”, was on her way and she had some unfinished business with Hawkeye.
Florence Pugh is one of the brightest new stars of the MCU and, with a potential pairing with Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, the MCU has two amazingly talented actors to carry the franchise into the future.
Last week’s biggest shock was the appearance of “Uncle” in Maya’s flashback and the speculation that this was Vincent D’Onofrio reprising his role as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. We did not get any confirmation of this in episode 4, although there was another mention of “The Big Man” at the top, which was an obvious inference to Kingpin. If this turns out to not be Kingpin, this would make the absence of Mephisto in WandaVision seem like nothing. With Kevin Feige confirming that if Daredevil appears in the MCU, he will be played by Charlie Cox, it is simply a matter of time before Kingpin shows his bald head. With episode 5 scheduled to come out the day before Spider-Man: No Way Home is released (and Charlie Cox rumored to be playing Matt Murdock there) I would not be surprised if Vincent D’Onofrio is coming next week.
This show continues to showcase the exceptional interplay with Clint and Kate. Of course, now Clint is trying to distance himself form Kate as a way of protecting her because he knows that the arrival of the Black Widow Assassin changed the game. It is unclear whether or not Clint knew who Yelena was, but that confrontation is coming soon because there are only two episodes left.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 