If you’re looking to find an improvement to any of the relationships in this episode of Hawkeye, don’t get your hopes up! Tensions are high as Kate and Clint continue to work together while Kate also deals with both her mother and Jake. Needless to say, this Hawkeye Season 1 Episode 2 recap includes spoilers for both the show and related films.
Before jumping into the episode, a neat recap detailing the goings-on of the first episode of Hawkeye shows Kate Bishop’s origin of seeing the Battle of New York firsthand and getting saved by Hawkeye himself, although unknowingly on his side. In the present day, Clint Barton spends time with his family downtown as they prepare to make their way back home for Christmas. Elsewhere, an adult Kate goes to a charity gala with her mom where she discovers an underground auction where she ultimately finds the Ronin suit. After some crime-fighting, she gets spotted by Clint and the two archers meet.
Consequences
The episode picks up right where the last one ended. Clint Barton meets Kate Bishop and vice versa. To avoid the incoming police, the two head back to Kate’s place where Kate brings Clint up to speed about her life and her archery skills. Clint is not amused. And he’s also not interested in answering her questions. Hawkeye explains that he made many, many enemies during his time as the Ronin, including the Tracksuit Mafia that most recently jumped Kate. Looks like she was followed home as a Molotov cocktail comes sailing through the window and into the apartment.
Some back and forth between the thugs outside and the two archers inside, and Clint even gets to see Kate and her archery prowess. Ultimately the two leave the apartment and the Ronin suit behind. After grabbing a few medical supplies, Clint and Kate break into the apartment of Kate’s aunt who is away for the winter. Convenient! Kate’s admiration for Hawkeye continues to dwindle as his sour attitude and disregard for her contributions become clearer each time they speak.
Clint heads out to retrieve the Ronin suit on his own. Back at Kate’s apartment, which is now a crime scene, Clint manages to get himself a firefighter jacket and helmet. Under disguise, he looks for the suit inside the apartment with no luck. On his way out, he spots a sticker labeled NYC Larpers on the firetruck. After getting back to Kate and updating each other on a few more details, Clint does some research into this Larpers business and finds someone showing off the suit on social media. Wonderful.
A New Day
The next morning Clint is sending his family home without them. Lila, the observant one, knows that something is not quite right. Clint reassures her that he’ll be home for Christmas but Lila isn’t as convinced. Later, Kate is watching a news report where footage of her in the Ronin suit saving the dog is linked to a mysterious figure seen leaving Armand’s home after the murder. To keep things on the down-low, Kate heads to work to keep a regular profile. As the two walks through Times Square, Clint implies the need for his hearing aid is a bit hard to track but likely has a lot to do with all the explosions and other physical trauma he has experienced over the years. Before heading into work, the two exchange numbers with Clint feeling positive this will be their last interaction. Little does he know, there are still four episodes left.
Look at that, Kate works at Bishop Security. Looks like we know a little more about her family’s wealth. There she storms into her mother’s office to do some explaining but also finds Jack. Seeing him again for the first time since the wine cellar auction, the hostility from Kate is at an all-time high. Kate reluctantly agrees to join their dinner later that night on the condition that she gets to dictate the topics of conversation. Let’s get some exposition going, I’m ready for it! Kate also gets a phone call from the police department regarding the fire in her apartment the previous night. A few shaky answers later and a meeting is set for the next morning.
Before we can get to that, Clint is strolling through Central Park where he finds the NYC Larpers gathering for a medieval role-playing session. He spots the guy with the Ronin suit and gets some pushback from entering so he does what he must. He signs up. Striding down with minimal getup and toppling over the role players with ease, Clint finally reaches the man with the suit. After some back and forth, Clint agrees to a fake trial by combat where he will ultimately let the man win. It all happens as planned, we learn the man’s name is Grills, and Clint takes off with the suit. As he calls back home to let them know he’s staying a bit longer, Clint stashes the suit in a gym locker.
Tension Filled Dinner
Time for dinner! Alright, so it turns out it isn’t exposition-heavy as they mostly talk about swords with plenty of underlying hints. This ultimately leads to a fencing match between Kate and Jack where Kate’s aggression is turned up another notch. Kate calls out Jake for letting her win multiple times and is ultimately proven right when she goes for a sneak attack to his unmasked face that he very swiftly blocks.
Oh, but the fun is not over! Eleanor is not happy and Kate follows her into the next room making her case that Jake is lying about something. Her mom is not buying it and instead starts going off about Kate not being a superhero who can figure things out like Armand’s death and how she has a future at Bishop Security. After getting asked to do so, Kate gives a non-apology to Jake and he reciprocates by offering an Armand branded butterscotch candy. This sends Kate into a flustered frenzy as she recalls seeing the same candy during her time in Armand’s manor the previous episode.
Somewhere else in town, Clint purposely gets captured by the Tracksuit Mafia and is brought to a warehouse where he continuously asks to speak to their leader. Kate Bishop, who in an earlier scene tracks the location of Clint’s phone, bursts through the ceiling roof and lands at the center of the line of fire. Both get captured and tied down. To cap off the episode, one of the thugs alerts an unknown woman of their capture.
Things continue to get festive in the world of Hawkeye and the Disney+ exclusive show will keep releasing each of its six episodes on a weekly basis. Catch each episode of Hawkeye, along with our detailed recap, every Wednesday.
