Recap / Hawkeye (2021) Episode 5 "Ronin"

Yelena continues her mission to kill Clint Barton, while Clint deals with Maya.

Tropes:

• Accuser of the Brethren: Yelena hates that Clint's status as an Avenger seems to clear him of all the blood on his hands during his time as Ronin. She's further incensed that Kate still sees him as a hero despite knowing his past. Downplayed, however, in that Yelena is implied to be specifically upset about Natasha's death (which she blames him for out of misguidance) than about anything else about Clint's past; likely because, as an assassin, her own hands are also dripping in blood.
• Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: A significant amount of screentime is devoted to Kate and Yelena's confrontation, and its weight forms the heart of the dilemmas of the main cast, setting things up later in the episode and for the upcoming series finale.
• Agony of the Feet: One of the Tracksuits shoots his own foot by accident when Clint stealthily subdues him.
• Ankle Drag: Tomas gets yanked under a car by his ankles when Clint ambushes the Tracksuits.
• Armor-Piercing Question: During Yelena's conversation with Kate, she challenges the latter's position of uncritically defending Clint by explicitly interrogating the moral grey of his work as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and Avenger:
  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: My sister is gone because of him!
  Kate: What? No. No, that is… No.
  Yelena: She's gone. Is she "collateral damage"?
• Armor-Piercing Response: Following Yelena's Armor-Piercing Question to Kate, when Yelena reveals how she was told that Clint killed Natasha (and is here to kill him to avenge her), Kate points out that, despite his mistakes, Clint is a good man and it wouldn't make sense for him to kill someone who was a well-known friend of his; she should consider the possibility that the person telling her this is lying and using her for their own agenda.
• Arrowgram: Clint delivers a message to the Tracksuits using an arrow with a compartment storing a piece of paper
• Big Damn Heroes: Just as Maya is about to skewer Clint with his own sword, Kate arrives, knocking the sword out of her hands with an arrow.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing:
  • Kazi is strongly implied to have set up William Lopez to be killed by Clint. When Maya questions him about it, he's obviously nervous.
  • For the brunt of this series, Eleanor Bishop has been nothing but supportive of Kate and her desire to emulate Clint Barton ever since her childhood, and calmly comforts her after she returns home from the events of the previous episode. Then the final few seconds of this episode reveal that she was the one who hired Yelena to kill her daughter's idol (and used Valentina as a go-between), and is also revealed to be an associate of the Kingpin himself.
• Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Kate shoots Clint's katana out of Maya's hands with her bow and arrow before she could impale Clint with it.
• Boring, but Practical: Kate's escape plan: call for an Uber.
• Call-Back: The very beginning of this episode gives some backstory on Yelena and what she's been doing after the events of Black Widow. Like Monica Rambeau in WandaVision, we get to see a character that we have come to know experience being blipped, brought back, and their subsequent reaction to it. We also see their natural shock at learning how drastically the world has since changed — all in what feels like literal seconds to them.
• Canon Welding: Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk (as played by Vincent D'Onofrio), from the Marvel Television/Netflix shows, appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper for the first time. He's the second of three characters so far from Marvel TV to do so, after Edwin Jarvis (James D'Arcy), of Agent Carter, appeared in Avengers: Endgame, and narrowly beating Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) who appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which premiered two days after this episode dropped. Whether or not the events from his previous appearances remain canon remains to be seen.
• Celebrity Paradox: The Tracksuits, when discussing known tracksuit-wearers, mention The Royal Tenenbaums, which featured Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) as Margot Tenenbaum and Owen Wilson (Mobius M. Mobius) as Eli Cash. They also mention The Sopranos, which featured John Ventimiglia (Detective Eddy Costa) as Artie Bucco, Annabella Sciorra (Rosalie Carbone) as Gloria Trillo, Chris Tardio (Detective Christian Blake) as Sean Gismonte, and Paul Schulze (William J. Rawlins III) as Father Phil Intintola (among others); while The Sopranos' prequel film The Many Saints of Newark features Vera Farmiga (Eleanor Bishop) as Livia Soprano, Jon Bernthal (Frank Castle / The Punisher) as "Johnny Boy" Soprano, and Corey Stoll (Darren Cross / Yellowjacket) as Corrado "Junior" Soprano.
• Comically Missing the Point: After Clint fires a message for Maya into their windshield, Tomas is confused, pointing out that they aren't Maya. Ivan gives him an exasperated glare, not even bothering to point out that Clint obviously wants them to deliver the message to Maya.
• Continuity Nod:
  • When Yelena breaks into Kate's apartment, she makes macaroni and cheese while waiting, the same meal that she asked Melina for in the opening flashbacks of Black Widow.
  • Yelena mentions the new and improved Statue of Liberty. As shown in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Statue has been restored to its original bronze coloring and redesigned to include Captain America's shield as part of its architecture.
  • Yelena remarks that she approves of Kate jumping into traffic to save a dog and gives her "points" for it. Black Widow had previously established Yelena as a dog lover.
  • Once again a hero with a secret identity creates a Mook Horror Show by maneuvering unseen around a large group of parked cars, without the mooks even able to see him. Fittingly, that hero's main antagonist is reintroduced here.
  • A minor one, with Kingpin wearing the same white suit and black shirt he wore on Daredevil.
• Dented Iron: Clint is once again beat up and sore after his fight with Maya, a much younger and faster opponent with equal skills (if not equal experience).
• Deprogram: The episode opens with Yelena and Sonya in 2018, on their mission to rid the world's remaining Black Widows of their brainwashing, as Yelena vowed to do at the end of Black Widow. Subverted in this instance, though, as Ana, the Black Widow they try to deprogram, turns out to already be deprogrammed.
• Double-Meaning Title: Clint dresses and fights in his Ronin identity for the first time since Avengers: Endgame, but the episode also spends time exploring Yelena's life after the events of Black Widow and how, no longer being a thrall of the Black Widow program, she eventually became a killer for hire — i.e. a Rōnin. Similarly, after Maya learns that it was "Uncle" who sicced Ronin on her dad, it's all but implied she'll break ties with him.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Yelena blames Clint for Natasha's death, while both Clint and the audience are aware that Natasha willingly traded her own life to not only save Clint, but ensure that Yelena and countless billions of others could be restored.
  • Natasha sacrificed herself so that Clint could reunite with his family and live a long life with them. Now, Yelena is planning to kill Clint all in the name of avenging Natasha. The very thing Natasha didn't want to happen to her best friend.
• Entertainingly Wrong: Rather dark, but Yelena clearly thought Ana was brainwashed to be the "plaything of some rich guy" and trying to free her. It turns out Ana owns the mansion as a freelance assassin and is fully in control of herself.
• Exact Words: Yelena keeps correcting herself when she's trying to reassure Kate.
  Yelena: I don't have any weapons on me... I currently don't have any weapons in my hands. [realizes she's holding a fork] That's a lie also.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: After repeatedly calling Clint and leaving a bunch of messages, Kate tries to cap it off with a declaration that this isn't over and she will find him... only to be cut off by an automated message saying that his mailbox is full. Cue Kate chucking the phone in frustration.
• Failed a Spot Check: When Yelena accuses Clint of murdering Natasha, Kate points out that Clint and Natasha were well-known best friends, so him killing her doesn't make any sense. She also points out how Yelena should think about the credibility of the person telling her this and consider the possibility she's being lied to.
• Foreshadowing: The Reveal of Wilson Fisk's return receives two pieces of foreshadowing:
  • The car dealership where Clint confronts Maya (and had previously killed her father) is called "Fat Man Used Cars".
  • While on the phone with his wife prior to the confrontation, Clint reveals his fear that if things keep escalating, "the big guy" might get involved. He doesn't elaborate on who "the big guy" is until the final scene of the episode, at which it's become clear that he's already been involved the whole time.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: There's a flyer for the Bishop Security Christmas party in Kate's room, showing the date of December 24, 2024, cementing the show's chronological place in the MCU timeline.
• Friendly Enemy: While her tactics are blatantly intimidating, Yelena treats Kate like a friend the entire time they're talking; offering her some mac and cheese, asking for sightseeing tips, and even joking around a bit. Kate plays along to a degree, but she naturally remains on edge with Yelena.
• Full-Name Basis: Yelena always refers to Kate by her full name, cheerfully admitting that it's a way to intimidate her, which Kate lampshades as obvious.
• Go-Karting with Bowser: Yelena and Kate eat some macaroni and cheese that Yelena made while waiting for Kate to show up. Kate gives her some sight-seeing tips and restaurant recommendations, too.
• Good Is Not Soft: Clint suits up as Ronin and reveals his identity to Maya after a brief fight, giving her an ultimatum to drop her vendetta and stay away from his family, or he will kill her. Clint doesn't want any more death and wants to be done with that part of his life, yes. However, he will do what he has to in order to protect his family.
• Happily Adopted: Ana, one of the freed Black Widows, adopted a child during the Time Skip between the Snap and everyone returning in the Blip.
• If I Wanted You Dead...: Yelena finally gets Kate to sit down and eat by pointing out that if she wanted Kate dead, she would have killed her when she came into her apartment in seconds. Kate agrees, noting that she probably never would have had the chance to close the door, to which a chuckling Yelena agrees.
• Improvised Weapon User:
  • In her apartment, Kate throws a sauce bottle at Yelena when she pops into view, which she easily catches mid-air.
  • Maya tries to use an ejected ammo magazine as a thrown weapon at the start of her fight with Clint. It doesn't work.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Although it was previously made clear that she suspected it, Clint unmasking in front of Maya confirms to her that he is Ronin. He also tells her that he was tipped off by someone on the inside of her father's organization. Her boss.
  • Kate tells Clint that the assassin who tried to kill him was Natasha's sister. Which doesn't surprise him much, since he knows that Natasha had a sister named Yelena.
• Major Injury Underreaction: Kazi is stitching up Maya's arrow wound, which looks even more painful than in the previous episode. When he tells her that she doesn't have to be so stoic around him, she angrily admits that it hurts, before asking if he's glad that she shared her feelings.
• Misblamed: Yelena blames Clint for Natasha's death, not least because Valentina misinformed her to help inspire her to hunt Clint for cash.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • The dinner between Yelena and Kate is full of this, as Yelena keeps switching between being friendly with Kate, intimidating her, and lashing out about Natasha's death and what she believes was Clint's role in it.
  • After the reveal of Kingpin, it cuts to the credits playing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".
• Mook Horror Show: A brief one before Clint's showdown with Maya. Clint moves unseen through the used car lot, silently taking out Maya's backup one by one, causing them to become increasingly panicked as their comrades suddenly disappear.
• Mundane Solution: After saving Clint, he asks Kate how they plan to escape from the scene of the fight. Turns out she had arranged an ride-share pickup beforehand under a false name.
• Mythology Gag: Clint making a "Not So Different" Remark to Maya while wearing the Ronin suit. In the comics, Maya was Ronin for a while.
• No, Mister Bond, I Expect You To Dine: Yelena ambushes Kate in her own apartment, with... really good macaroni and cheese.
• Not Brainwashed: Ana, a Black Widow who when doused with the antidote is only annoyed that her expensive rug was ruined. This makes Yelena realize that Ana either broke free in the past or wasn't ever brainwashed in the first place.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Clint to Maya, claiming that they're both human weapons, filled with rage, and victims of manipulation by powerful people. Maya thinks enough of the comparison to follow Clint's advice and Pull the Thread surrounding her father's death.
• Pull the Thread:
  • Maya does this with Kazi after talking to Clint, questioning him about where he was on the night of her father's death, pointing out that he was conveniently absent and had missed a regular meeting that he normally always attended. She claims that she believes his reason, but takes off immediately after, with a clearly rattled Kazi left behind.
  • Yelena also does this after her conversation with Kate to find out the identity of her employer, who turns out to be Kate's own mother.
• The Reveal:
  • Yelena was a victim of the Blip. And this is the first time we see it from the perspective of someone who got blipped. It's fairly horrifying.
  • Maya's "Uncle" is Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin.
  • Eleanor was the one who hired Yelena to kill Clint (implying that she is in league with Valentina) and is photographed by Yelena in a meeting with Kingpin.
• Shout-Out:
  • Yelena's fellow Black Widow, Sonya, jokes about Yelena dreaming of a life with Natasha in New York à la Sex and the City.
  • Ivan and Tomas discuss Run–D.M.C., Tommie Smith, Tony Soprano, and The Royal Tenenbaums, all known tracksuit-wearers.
  • The tracksuits are listening to "Christmas in Hollis", which is an homage to Die Hard.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Clint dons his Ronin costume for his confrontation with Maya, suggesting to the audience and to Maya herself that he means to murder her. Instead, after he has her cornered, he lets her know that, yes, he is the Ronin, but he doesn't want to kill her... unless she keeps going after his family.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: The end of the episode, which brings back Kingpin, ends with "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Clint vanishes from Maya's view while she's distracted by Kate's arrival.
• Talking to the Dead: Clint speaks to Natasha at a monument in New York that commemorates the site of the Avengers first assembling.
• The Teaser: Unlike the previous four episodes, this one begins with a flashback to 2018 during the climax of Infinity War, showing Yelena and Sonya on their mission to free the world's remaining Black Widows from the Red Room's conditioning. They attempt to save a former Widow named Ana, only to learn that she's Not Brainwashed. Yelena is blipped in the bathroom and returns nearly instantaneously from her point of view at the climax of Endgame, and she learns what happened in the last five years from Ana.
• Time Skip: The Blip is presented in this way, as the episode depicts the event from the perspective of one of the victims — Yelena Belova. It also further confirms what Spider-man said in Endgame, that returning from the Blip happens immediately from the perspective of its victims.
• Trespassing to Talk: Yelena breaks into Kate's apartment to interrogate her about Clint's whereabouts.
• Villain Song: Right after the Kingpin is introduced to the story, the credits begin, with the music being a thematically appropriate Christmas-aligned ode to villainy, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch".
• Wham Episode: Kingpin (as played by his Netflix series actor Vincent D'Onofrio) makes his first appearance in the MCU outside his show, and he's in league with Kate's mother (who also hired Yelena to kill Clint).
• Wham Line: When Kate asks who's in the photo with her mom, Hawkeye answers that it's the guy who he's been worried about: Kingpin.
• Wham Shot: The photo of Eleanor with the Kingpin, and that she was the one who hired Yelena to kill Clint (therefore revealing that Valentina was acting as a go-between).
• You Monster!: Maya signs that Clint is a monster when he compares the two of them.

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