The fourth episode of Marvel's newest Disney Plus series, Hawkeye, featured the long-awaited return of one Marvel heroine. As exciting as the return of Black Widow's Yelena Belova is, it also guarantees a lot more heartbreak for Clint Barton. After being sent after Clint in the post-credits of Black Widow, Yelena's appearance in Hawkeye was inevitable.
Some attempted to figure out exactly how she would fit into the already busy plot of the series, while others simply hoped they would get to see her return soon. While motives behind her arrival aren't a secret to viewers, Clint and Kate are in for one shocking surprise.
In the final moments of the newest Hawkeye episode, "Partners, Am I Right?" Clint and Kate battle Maya and a masked Yelena on a rooftop. During the scuffle, Yelena's mask vanishes from her face, allowing Kate to get a strong look at her (and even a strong shot). Kate's decision not to shoot Yelena allows her to get away, though it's highly unlikely that this will be her last appearance in Hawkeye or the MCU. After Yelena is gone, Kate asks Clint who she was. Due to her fighting style and use of her Widow Bites, Clint recognized that the mystery woman was a Black Widow assassin. He tells Kate as much, believing that someone has hired Yelena to come after him. Of course, viewers know that Clint's statement is only partly correct.
Yelena may not have officially been hired to go after Clint, but she was strategically sent after him by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. In the Black Widow post-credits, it was Valentina who showed Yelena a photo of Clint, pointing him out as the man responsible for Natasha's death. Yelena's desire to seek revenge for her sister figure's death isn't surprising, but like Clint, Yelena only has half the story. Yelena isn't aware of the strong bond between Clint and Natasha, nor does she know of the numerous times that Clint has saved Natasha's life (including his relentless attempts to do so in Endgame), and vice versa. The perfect example of Clint's affection toward Natasha is heard in "Partners, Am I Right?" His answer to Kate's question about the best shot he ever had is, "The one I never took," an ode to his decision not to shoot Natasha when he had the opportunity.
Natasha was always a secretive figure in the MCU. Despite trusting her fellow Avengers and relying on them in battle, it doesn't seem that she ever told them about Yelena or the makeshift family she once had as a child. Black Widow gave names and faces to these people, which include Alexei Shostakov or Red Guardian (played by Stranger Things' David Harbour) and Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz). Following her death in Avengers: Endgame, her fellow Avengers questioned if there was anyone they should notify about her death, including family. Steve Rogers had responded by insisting that they were her only family. This suggests that Natasha never did tell any of them about the family she had rekindled a relationship with during Black Widow, which followed the events of Captain America: Civil War.
Due to Natasha's secrecy, Clint also doesn't know the full story behind Yelena or why she has decided to come after him. Given his current issues in Hawkeye that largely revolve around the Ronin suit, he likely believes the so-called hired Widow to be another result of his own assassin persona. The only person aside from Clint and his wife that knows he is Ronin is Kate, who he told in "Partners, Am I Right?" It is likely that Valentina does have an ulterior motive by sending Yelena after Clint, especially following her recruitment of John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Valentina's own motives are clouded with secrecy and for Yelena and Clint, the unraveling of the truth behind their personal ties to Natasha will only create more heartache for both of them.
Hawkeye has closely followed Clint's grieving of events tied to Endgame. While Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were amongst the casualties, Natasha is the most significant loss to him and his family. The worldly reminders of her that continue to pop up around Clint have only made the guilt he feels over not being able to save her (or not being the one that gave their life) worse. Once Clint finds out that Yelena is practically Natasha's sister, the guilt he feels over her death and what he was inevitably unable to stop will reach new heights.
Given Yelena's blunt personality, it may take her a while before she believes what Clint will have to say. Clint may also find it difficult to believe that Natasha kept Yelena and the rest of their familial figures from him, especially given that he has made her such an influential figure in his own family. Either way, both Yelena and Clint have a lot of talking to do and a long road of forgiveness ahead of them.
The first four episodes of Hawkeye are now streaming on Disney Plus.