History TearJerker / Hawkeye2021

* As well off as the Bishop family may be, they still manage to be caught in the crossfire of a [[Film/TheAvengers2012 full-scale alien invasion]]. What's worse, is that minutes before the attack, Kate's father lovingly promises his 10-year-old daughter that he'll always protect her before leaving to work in his office. Minutes later, their home is destroyed in the crossfire of the battle. Kate is barely saved by an alien that charges at her and her mother flees from the collapsing home with a terrified Kate in her arms, who begs to know where her father is. He was one of the many casualties of the Chitauri's attack on New York, dying when their home was partially blown up. Hearing Kate's voice call out to her father as she and her mother run to safety can be hard to listen to, as she's just a scared little girl who wants her father, who's now dead.

* When Clint goes to the restroom for some air, he sees some graffiti with the phrase "Thanos was right." This is a bit of a gut punch for Clint on multiple levels; he lost his wife and children for five years to Thanos' actions, descending into a ruthless, murdering vigilante to deal with his grief over said loss, and lost several close teammates - including his best friend - in order to bring everyone back. Just seeing Clint's reaction puts a highlight onto [[UngratefulBastard how callous such a sentiment actually is as are those who somehow agree with Thanos]].

--> '''Kate:''' He's still an Avenger.
--> '''Yelena:''' What does that word even mean? Huh? That it holds so much power? You call him a hero no matter what he does?
--> '''Kate:''' It means that when you choose to spend your life trying to help people, there are going to be things that you lose. When you face the kinds of threats that he has, there's going to be collateral damage.
--> '''Yelena:''' [[SuddenlyShouting My sister is gone because of him]]!
--> '''Kate:''' What? No. No, that is… No.
--> '''Yelena:''' She's gone. …[[ArmorPiercingQuestion Is she collateral damage?]]

** Yelena being snapped also makes Natasha's depression in ''Endgame'' HarsherInHindsight. It also explain why Nat was the first one to agree with Scott's plan: she was so desperate to bring back Yelena, that didn't even care if the chances of success were near nonexistent.

* When Clint is trying to reassure Eleanor that Kate is good, she immediately says "Natasha Romanoff was pretty damn good, wasn't she?" The look Clint gives is one barely containing rage.

** After this conversation Clint sends Kate off to bed, and sits in a chair wide awake and flashing back to his family before the Snap, his days as the Ronin and then finally, [[Film/AvengersEndgame Natasha's death on Vormir]].

** Earlier when Yelena, Sonya and Ana have a conversation, Ana mentions having to use her Black Widow skillset in contract work (aka assassination) to make a living. This is, sadly, an obvious logical conclusion to what many Widows will do after they are free of the chemical programming as being kidnapped from a young age and trained to become assassins leave them with no idea what to do to integrate to normal life again except doing what they are trained to do to whoever pays them the most. While Ana is lucky enough to have a mansion, (as of 2023) a husband and a child, what about others like Helen from ''Shang-Chi''? Goes to show how much damage Dreykov and the Red Room have done to the girls they abducted.

** What's also sad is that, like Maya with her grief over losing her father, Yelena is also consumed by grief-fueled rage over Natasha's death that she's also refusing to listen to Kate's logical reasoning. Kate says that, given the simple fact that Clint and Natasha were good friends, it doesn't make sense that he killed her. When answering Yelena's ArmorPiercingQuestion, Kate gives the ArmorPiercingResponse that perhaps the person telling her that Clint killed Natasha is lying to her. Despite this, Yelena is so determined to avenge Natasha's death, she dismisses the rational idea, chooses to focus on Clint's past as Ronin and that he's killed people (which is [[DoubleStandard hypocritical given her and Natasha's pasts]] as [[ProfessionalKiller Red Room assassins]] and the fact Yelena herself is ''working'' as a contract assassin), and views him as a cold-blooded killer whose death will allow her to avenge her late sister.

** What Clint says at the last part hits even harder when it's revealed later that Clint takes up the Ronin moniker again during his confrontation with Maya. It's as if Clint is pre-emptively apologising to Natasha at the memorial plaque for breaking his promise to never don the Ronin suit ever again.

** Although she still loves her mother, Kate is completely demoralized by all of Eleanor's actions. She willingly killed Armand, framed her own fiance to take the fall, hired an assassin to kill Hawkeye (her idol and savior), and even went into cahoots with the ''Kingpin'' behind her back and has been dirty/corrupt for years. Eleanor tries to insist that [[CondescendingCompassion everything she did was for Kate (as she "knows" her daughter couldn't handle a life without wealth), says her actions were "an unfortunate arrangement" and it's simply "how the world works". She even goes so far as to say that Kate is too "immature" to understand that Eleanor had a responsibility to handle it so they wouldn't "have nothing"]]. A stunned Kate has none of it: she has her mother arrested for her crimes... ''on Christmas''. Worst, her mother ''still'' tries to [[NeverMyFault guilt-trip her]].

* A vengeful Yelena finally has her showdown with Clint, who tries telling her the truth about how Natasha died: she [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed herself to save him]] despite his best efforts to have stopped her. Yelena refuses to believe him, outright saying he's lying and even says if he cared about Natasha, [[KickTheDog then he would have fought harder to have saved her instead of "letting her die"]]. Again and again, he tries to get through to her that Natasha dying was her ''choice'', but she repeatedly refuses to listen while giving him a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. It becomes clear, especially with the increasingly distraught look on her face, that she's so consumed with grief she doesn't ''want'' to believe it was Natasha's choice to have died. Instead, she ''needs'' to believe Clint killed her or that her death was somehow his fault.

** What's worse, is that the entire scene parallels that of her father's death. Her loved one dying in her arms and holding her face as they beg her to leave for her own safety... except this time, she's directly responsible for their death.

* Throughout the episode, Kate is clearly an [[AscendedFanboy Ascended Fangirl]] being able to hang out with her favorite Avenger Hawkeye... who spends the entire episode treating her as JustAKid who's way over her head. Which she somewhat is compared to him, but still; Clint being dismissive of her is a little depressing.

** Clint also has a moment of AdultFear when he realises it's Nate, his youngest, calling and has to confirm where Laura and the other kids are. (Thankfully, they are only in bed asleep and Nate was calling because he woke up early and was bored.)

** What's worse is that, at that point, Kate was having a happy time with Clint and Grills when she suddenly gets a text message from Yelena - and the two men [[MoodWhiplash see Kate's face drop]] after reading it, and she slowly looks up while on the verge of tears. Seeing her horrifically discover her own mother was in on hiring Yelena to eliminate Clint (the Avenger who's been her inspiration for 12 years and has now become her personal friend) is hard to watch. Especially considering how cheerful Kate normally is, seeing her heart break in seconds at this betrayal by her own mother tugs at your heartstrings. And despite the betrayal, she still shows [[AdultFear sheer existential horror]] when seeing just [[TheDreaded who her mother is doing business with]].

* Before Kate shows up, there's a series of cuts between her with Eleanor and Jack and Clint, who's duct taping frozen vegetables to himself in a borrowed apartment and sitting on a chair. It's remarkably sad and lonely before Kate thankfully shows up to help out.

** What's also sad is that, like Maya with her grief over losing her father, Yelena is also consumed by grief-fueled rage over Natasha's death that she's also refusing to listen to Kate's logical reasoning. Kate says that, given the simple fact that Clint and Natasha were good friends, it doesn't make sense that he killed her. When answering Yelena's ArmorPiercingQuestion, Kate gives the ArmorPiercingResponse that perhaps the person telling her that Clint killed Natasha is lying to her. Despite this, Yelena is so determined to avenge Natasha's death, she dismisses the rational idea, focuses on Clint's past as Ronin and that he's killed people (which is [[DoubleStandard an ironic statement given her and Natasha's own pasts]] as [[ProfessionalKiller Red Room assassins]]), and instead views him as a cold-blooded killer and that killing him will allow her to avenge her late sister.

** What's worse is that, at that point, Kate was having a happy time with Clint and Grills when she suddenly gets a text message from Yelena - and the two men [[MoodWhiplash see Kate's face drop]] after reading it, and she slowly looks up while on the verge of tears. Seeing her horrifically discover her own mother was in on hiring Yelena to eliminate Clint (the Avenger who's been her inspiration for 12 years and now her friend) is hard to watch. Especially considering how cheerful Kate normally is, seeing her heart break in seconds at this betrayal by her own mother tugs at your heartstrings. And despite the betrayal, she still shows [[AdultFear sheer existential horror]] when seeing just [[TheDreaded who her mother is doing business with]].

* Maya confronts Kazi and begs him to run away with her so they can leave their life of crime behind to start anew. Keep in mind that despite knowing Kazi knew about her father's assassination at Ronin's hands, Maya still cares enough about him to offer him one last chance and is willing to forgive him. Unfortunately, he says ItIsTooLate for him now and chooses to fight her, forcing Maya to kill her OnlyFriend, and [[DiedInYourArmsTonight tearfully holds him as he dies]]. [[AlasPoorVillain Maya is devastated]], but finally gets her closure by confronting her "uncle".

* Maya confronts Kazi and begs him to run away with her so they can leave their life of crime behind to start anew. Keep in mind that despite knowing Kazi knew about her father's assassination at Ronin's hands, Maya still cares enough about him to offer him one last chance and is willing to forgive him. Unfortunately, he says ItsTooLate for him now and chooses to fight her, forcing Maya to kill her OnlyFriend, and [[DiedInYourArmsTonight tearfully holds him as he dies]]. [[AlasPoorVillain Maya is devastated]], but finally gets her closure by confronting her "uncle".

** What's also sad is that, like Maya with her grief over losing her father, Yelena is also consumed by grief-fueled rage over Natasha's death that she's also refusing to listen to Kate's logical statement that, given the simple fact that Clint and Natasha were good friends, it wouldn't make sense for him to have killed her. When answering Yelena's ArmorPiercingQuestion, Kate gives the ArmorPiercingResponse that perhaps the person telling her that Clint killed Natasha is lying to her. Despite this, Yelena is so determined to avenge Natasha's death, she dismisses the rational idea, focuses on Clint's past as Ronin and that he's killed people (which is [[DoubleStandard an ironic statement given her and Natasha's own pasts as brutal assassins]]), and instead views him as a cold-blooded killer and that ending him will allow her to avenge her late sister.

** Although she still loves her mother, Kate is completely demoralized by all of Eleanor's actions. She willingly killed Armand, framed her own fiance to take the fall, hired an assassin to kill Hawkeye (her idol and savior), and even went into cahoots with the ''Kingpin'' behind her back and has been dirty/corrupt for years. Eleanor tries to insist that [[CondescendingCompassion everything she did was for Kate (as she "knows" her daughter couldn't handle a life without wealth and luxuries), says her actions were "an unfortunate arrangement" and it's simply "how the world works". She even goes so far as to say that Kate is too "immature" to understand that Eleanor had a responsibility to handle it so they wouldn't "have nothing"]]. A stunned Kate has none of it: she has her mother arrested for her crimes... ''on Christmas''. Worst, her mother ''still'' tries to [[NeverMyFault guilt-trip her]].

** Adding to this, she learns that the reason her mother worked for the Kingpin was because she had to pay a debt ''her father'' owed. The man whose death had a part in Kate's journey to heroism.
* A vengeful Yelena finally has her showdown with Clint, who tries telling her the truth about how Natasha died: she [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed herself to save him]] despite his best efforts to have stopped her. Yelena refuses to believe him, outright saying he's lying and even says if he cared about Natasha, [[KickTheDog then he would have fought harder to have saved her instead of "letting her die"]]. Again and again, he tries to get through to her that Natasha dying was her ''choice'', but she repeatedly refuses to listen while giving him a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. It becomes clear, especially with the distraught look on her face, that she's so consumed with grief she doesn't ''want'' to believe it was Natasha's choice to have died. Instead, she ''needs'' to believe Clint killed her or that her death was his fault somehow.

** Just when Yelena is about to shoot him, Clint ''finally'' manages to get through to Yelena, using Natasha's secret whistle to stun her into listening. He reveals to Yelena everything Natasha told him about her, such as their separation as children, and how much she loved her. Hearing Clint affirm that Natasha loved her makes Yelena [[HeroicBSOD break down in tears]] in her held-back grief. She actually [[ItsAllMyFault blames herself]], is jealous that Clint got to have so much time with Natasha, and believes that if ''she'' was there then she could have stopped her from sacrificing herself. Clint replies that ''nobody'' could have stopped [[{{Determinator}} Natasha]] once she set her mind to do something. Yelena cries that she loved Natasha so much, to which Clint agrees he did as well. He tells her Natasha made her choice in order to save them; they have to find a way to live with it. This moment forces Yelena to make peace with losing her sister and that she must move on with her life. She quietly leaves in sorrow after letting go of her misguided hatred and helping Clint to his feet.
* Maya confronts Kazi and begs him to run away with her so they can leave their life of crime behind to start anew. Keep in mind that despite knowing Kazi knew about her father's assassination at Ronin's hands, Maya still cares enough about him to offer him one last chance. Unfortunately, he says it's "too late" for him and chooses to fight her, forcing Maya to kill her OnlyFriend, and [[DiedInYourArmsTonight she tearfully holds him as he dies]]. [[AlasPoorVillain Maya is devastated]], but finally gets her closure by confronting her "uncle".

** Just when Yelena is about to shoot him, Clint ''finally'' manages to get through to Yelena. He reveals to Yelena everything Natasha told him about her (such as their secret whistle and childhood separation) and how much she loved her. Hearing Clint affirm that Natasha loved her makes Yelena [[HeroicBSOD break down in tears]] in her held-back grief. She actually [[ItsAllMyFault blames herself]], is jealous that Clint got to have so much time with Natasha, believing that if ''she'' was there then she could have stopped her from sacrificing herself. Clint replies that ''nobody'' could have stopped [[{{Determinator}} Natasha]] once she set her mind to do something. Yelena cries that she loved Natasha so much, to which Clint agrees he did as well. He tells her Natasha made her choice in order to save them; they have to find a way to live with it. This moment forces Yelena to make peace with losing her sister and that she must move on with her life. She quietly leaves in sorrow after letting go of her misguided hatred and helps Clint to his feet.

* The episode opens with confirmation that Yelena was a victim of [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar the Snap]]. She's horrified to learn she just lost another five years of her life on top of the time taken from her as a Black Widow. The scene ends with her telling Ana she needs to find Natasha, unaware that by now [[Film/AvengersEndgame Natasha has sacrificed herslef]].

* The episode opens with confirmation that Yelena was a victim of [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar the Snap]]. She's horrified to learn she just lost another five years of her life on top of the time taken from her as a Black Widow. The scene ends with her telling Ana she needs to find Natasha, unaware that by now [[Film/AvengersEndgame Natasha has since died]].
** Earlier when Yelena, Sonya and Ana have a conversation, Ana mentions having to use her Black Widow skillset in contract work (aka assassination) to make a living. This is, sadly, an obvious logical conclusion to what many Widows will do after they are free of the chemical programming as being kidnapped from a young age and trained to become assassins leave them with no idea what to do to integrate to normal life again except doing what they are trained to do to whoever pays them the most. While Ana is lucky enough to have a mansion, (as of 2023) a husband and a child, what about others like Helen from Shang-Chi? Goes to show how cruel people like Dreykov and their actions are to those girls.

** Kate explains that the Black Widow who attacked them was Natasha's sister... and Clint automatically replies with Yelena's name with a look of shock. It's clear Clint has heard of her before and it dawns on him that Yelena is not trying to kill him for profit, but to avenge her sister since she mistakingly believes he killed her.

** Just when Yelena is about to shoot him, Clint ''finally'' manages to get through to Yelena. He reveals to Yelena everything Natasha told him about her (such as their secret whistle and childhood separation) and how much she loved her. Hearing Clint affirm that Natasha loved her makes Yelena [[HeroicBSOD break down in tears]] in her held-back grief. She actually [[ItsAllMyFault blames herself]], is jealous that Clint got to have so much time with Natasha, believing that if ''she'' was there then she could have stopped her from sacrificing herself. Clint replies that ''nobody'' could have stopped [[TheDeterminator Natasha]] once she set her mind to do something. Yelena cries that she loved Natasha so much, to which Clint agrees he did as well. He tells her Natasha made her choice in order to save them; they have to find a way to live with it. This moment forces Yelena to make peace with losing her sister and that she must move on with her life. She quietly leaves in sorrow after letting go of her misguided hatred and helps Clint to his feet.

** It also hurts that Clint thinks someone hired Yelena to go after him in connection to his time as Ronin and she's simply a random assassin doing a job. He has no idea that the assassin is Yelena and that she was lied to that ''he'' caused Natasha's death. For Yelena, this isn't just an impersonal assassin job, [[ItsPersonal she's trying to avenge her late sister and what she believes was her murder]]. Also adding in the fact that we see Clint still grieving Natasha's loss and how much he misses her, it makes the whole thing even more painful.

** Adding to this, she learns that the reason her mother worked for the Kingpin was because she had to pay a debt ''her father'' owed. The man who's death had a part in Kate's journey to heroism.

* When Clint goes to the restroom for some air, he sees some graffiti with the phrase "Thanos was right." This is a bit of a gut punch for Clint on multiple levels; he lost his wife and children for five years to Thanos' actions, descending into a ruthless, murdering vigilante to deal with his grief over said loss, and lost several close teammates - including his best friend - in order to bring everyone back. Just seeing Clint's reaction puts a highlight onto [[UngratefulBastard how callous such a sentiment actually is and those who somehow agree with Thanos]].
* For animal lovers, it's sad to see poor Lucky being abused by the Tracksuit Mafiya and the poor dog is blind in one eye. Thankfully, Kate comes to rescue him and she and Clint absolutely love and spoil him.

** What's worse, is that the entire scene parallels that of her father's death. Her loved one dying in her arms and holding her face as they beg her to leave for her own safety.