The following article contains spoilers for Hawkeye.

Kate Bishop’s recurring joke of trying to turn Hawkeye into a superhero that’s just as famous as Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America is simply poetic. Why? Because the 22-year-old’s efforts convey the entire meaning of the Hawkeye series as a whole, an attempt to turn the least marketable Avenger into something more.

While Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were relegated to sidekick status prior to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the former was a beloved character since his inception, and still is one of the few super soldiers out there, whereas Sam is now Captain America. On the other hand, despite being an Avenger almost since the very start Hawkeye continues trying to find his place in this Marvel world, even as he’s heading out the door.

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With four episodes down and two to go, Hawkeye has actually done a pretty decent job vindicating Clint Barton as a much cooler character than he ever was when standing in the shadows of his superpowered friends, yet for every moment that does this, there's also one that makes the entire series feel somewhat forced. While this is not necessarily the case for the double feature premiere, nor last week’s action-packed “Echoes”, the fourth episode makes this a more glaring issue.

Clint Barton and Kate Bishop table

Part of Hawkeye’s charm lies in its Christmas-infused New York scenery and Clint’s six-day journey to make it back home for the holidays to spend time with his family, nothing wrong with that, right? Well, no but also yes. Although the show gives Marvel fans a unique glimpse into Hawkeye’s family life and exposes the deeper emotional layers of the character that has been to hell and back, the fact that he’s sharing screen time with Kate Bishop means there’s not enough of that to go around.

All in all, in his eponymous series Hawkeye still manages to be outdone by the young appeal of Kate, who’s even been picked as the designated caretaker for Lucky the Pizza Dog (still unofficial honorary title) because she’s the one who’ll be sticking around when the show’s over.

This is a rare occurrence in the new Disney Plus MCU as Wanda Maximoff, Sam, Bucky, and Loki were all undoubtedly the stars in their respective miniseries, while Clint has to share screen time and -most crucially- character development and progression with his successor. Regardless of his name being on the title, the two arrows stuck in the Hawkeye logo are a stark reminder that this isn’t a solo adventure by any means but rather Marvel's true buddy cop adventure.

Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld riding subway in Hawkeye

There’s definitely nothing inherently wrong with that but when the series starts depicting Mrs. Hawkeye as a whole lot more than the average supporting wife, it’s time to ask some serious questions. It’s never been explained when or where Clint met Laura, whether it was before or after becoming a spy, only that Hawkeye asked Nick Fury to conceal his personal life from all files once he became a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative.

Nevertheless, the audience has to skip past that and now accept that Laura Barton speaks fluent German like her spy husband and is well up to speed with a checklist inventory of the Avengers’ compound. This is not to say her character doesn’t deserve this, quite the contrary, this deeper look inside Clint and Laura Barton’s marriage is a welcome addition to the MCU, the problem is that since Hawkeye has to set up Kate’s own family life so that she can avoid her mentor's fate, Laura lacks any type of character progression or development, she's just there

The same goes for the series’ key item, right after Clint’s Ronin costume, the mysterious vintage Rolex the Tracksuit Mafia is after so intently. There are any number of possibilities and potential owners for this coveted timepiece, or what its purpose and functionality might be, but it’s still an item of utmost importance for the show right now and one that happens to be brought up by none other than Laura.

Hawkeye Yelena Belova fight

Is the mysterious watch tied to Laura’s past as a spy? Does it belong to Nick Fury? The answer, while still possibly mind-blowing, really doesn’t matter because it enhances the belief that a character like Hawkeye didn’t have that many plot points to pick from during the Infinity Saga or in Phase Four, thus the need to create a new one like the watch in question.

In all fairness, even Avengers: Infinity War kind of rolled past the start of Wanda Maximoff’s and Vision relationship, which is barely addressed before that, yet the difference lies in the Scarlet Witch's solo show actually exploring her powers expanding on every single scope there was to the character, a luxury not given to Clint. Of course, there's also the matter of whether such exposure would even fit the character's personality because as Clint makes sure to tell Kate, his job has always been to stay in the background and never draw attention, although the series does prove that's possible while still incorporating a little more exposition of his personal life that still feels insufficient for its protagonist.

Hawkeye is still surprisingly entertaining, it’s a playground for the MCU’s most human hero to thrive and with two episodes left it still has to fulfill its main Disney Plus duties: deliver an all-out battle scene and -at least- one or two jaw-dropping revelations for the future. When the time comes though, do not be surprised to see Yelena Belova stealing the spotlight, Kate talking some sense into Echo or aiming the final shot on the series' real villain, because Clint has much more important commitments to attend to this Christmas.

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