‘Hawkeye’ – ‘So This Is Christmas?’ – Review

Twas’ the night before Christmas, and all were about because the final episode of Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye is here and this festive series finale is about to get explosive!

Determining that her mother Eleanor Bishop (Vera Farmiga) is part of a criminal conspiracy with arch crime lord Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) make their plan to put an end to Eleanor and Fisk’s criminal empire once and for all. And this sets the stage for a very fiery end to the holiday season.

Director Rhys Thomas returns to pick up the reigns of Hawkeye following his work on Episode 1, ‘Never Meet Your Heroes’ and Episode 2, ‘Hide and Seek’, and things get explosive in the series finale. The cards are all on the table this time and the puzzle makes sense with Bishop and Barton determining how deep the criminal conspiracy runs, and with the inclusion of Kingpin, the stakes could not get higher than this. Thomas weaves together several over-arching narratives within ‘So This Is Christmas?’ and the result is a flat out, full-on action spectacular that balances both character and narrative and really gets your heart racing as an audience member.

‘So This Is Christmas?’ really brings the full Hawkeye series to a close in big grand-standing fun, and there’s plenty of action to keep things moving. You want high-spinning archery action? You’ve got it. You want secrets and revelations? You got it. You want some crack up comedy. That’s right you’ve got it. All of it is present and accounted for in ‘So This Is Christmas?’ and it’s a fast-moving and fun watch. One of the coolest scenes accounted for in the episode is when Barton and Bishop construct their own ‘Santa’s Workshop’ to make a whole stash of new trick arrows. ‘So This Is Christmas?’ also has serious glamour and style to it with Barton and Bishop donning tuxedos and working the room with plenty of spy, debonair cool that really adds flavour to the appeal of the series finale.

The character journeys for Kate Bishop and Clint Barton also come full circle as well, with each of them confronting their past and dealing with their present situations. Each of them reaches a moment of catharsis with their role as a superhero and come to the conclusion that heroes react no matter how difficult and dangerous the situation. What we’ve seen happen over the course of this series is these two very different personalities in the form of Kate Bishop and Clint Barton come together, form a partnership and now they have the ability to become the true heroes they were supposed to be.

‘So This Is Christmas?’ also gives us a major BIG BAD in the form of Wilson Fisk/Kingpin who officially make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe through this appearance in Hawkeye. Having lauded over Hells Kitchen, Fisk now his eyes set upon the grand prize of New York City and this brings him head-first into conflict with Barton and Bishop. As he did with Daredevil, Vincent D’Onofrio completely takes over the screen when he brings his presence to the dominant and dangerous Wilson Fisk and he again makes a damn compelling bad guy in Hawkeye. The presence of D’Onofrio has so much possibility for a new heavy-hitting villain within the MCU and long time Marvel fans will get a real thrill out of this one.

This series finale is also jam-packed with action. Trick arrows are loosed and it’s general chaos as Barton and Bishop take on the Track Suit Mafia, Yelena Belova and the Kingpin all at once. From a mad dash through a private Christmas function that quickly goes to hell, to a full-on arrow shoot out in the middle of Rockefeller Plaza, this final episode of Hawkeye is packed full of action and it’s so much fun to watch. Barton and Bishop jump and dive while letting off arrows and their carefully crafted mix of trick arrows certainly get the job done. Tony Dalton’s Jack Duquesne also gets to show off his true colours, and it turns out that Jack’s not such a bad guy after all and he puts his swordsmanship to good use as he takes on the Tracksuit Mafia. And yes there’s also a stellar action moment with a GIGANTIC Christmas tree as well that only adds to the fun.

Throughout this series, we’ve seen two radically different people join forces together to make a difference and prove that you don’t have to have superpowers to be a superhero. Through skills, commitment and just turning up to get the job done, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop have made a big impact in Hawkeye and it’s been a lot of fun to see the mantle of Hawkeye passed on to another. Where we go from here with the characters of Barton and Bishop is still to be seen, but I’m certain that we’ll no doubt see more of them in the near future.

Hawkeye comes to a fitting conclusion with ‘So This Is Christmas?’ and brings the story to a full and complete conclusion. It’s a terrific episode that captures the energy and action that is an integral part of the character of Hawkeye and what’s more it’s a perfect Christmas treat.

Hawkeye streams on Disney+ every Wednesday.

Image: Walt Disney Pictures