Kate Bishop has been a character that I have been waiting for the MCU to finally introduce. From her very first comic book appearance, I have been reading and waiting for her to finally get her big debut. I knew it was just a matter of time, the hints of the arrival of The Young Avengers have been more and more for a while now, with Phase Four finally putting everything in place for them to finally get their due. So Hawkeye was a show that I had been waiting for a very long time. Then, you put Hailee Steinfeld in the role and you just have me extremely happy and satisfied even before I see any frame of the show.

To say I had high expectations for this show would simply be an understatement.

And after watching the first two episodes of the show (and sitting on this review for almost a week), I can say that Hawkeye satisfied some of my expectations while also leaving others to be desired.

(This review pertains to the first two episodes of Hawkeye.)

Maybe by the time the series end and I have watched every episode, my opinion will change but for now, Hawkeye just did not blow me away the way I wanted it. Now, that might be of my own doing and my own expectations but even then, the first two episodes did not captivate me the way I wanted it.

Sure, the casting of Hailee Steinfeld is perfection. She embodies everything that Kate is. She is clearly having fun in the role, Kate is a smartass, Kate and Clint’s bickering is still there, Kate’s attitude is very much like in the comic, so for that, I can’t be anything else but happy. This is why I love Kate Bishop, because of how she holds herself and Steinfeld does a great job at showing these moments of pure confidence in between the moments of “I do not know what the fuck I am doing.”

Jeremy Renner is okay as Clint, he has never been my favourite choice as Clint and he continues to do a fine job with the role. He finally gets more to do and showcase a bit more of his talent, but even then, he gets outshined by Steinfeld. It is very nice that they are finally going to what we know Clint as in the comics and having him lose his hearing is something that I didn’t think would ever happen but the show found a great way to explain why it is finally happening.

Now, I do not want to go into spoilers and plot points of the show, I think that everyone should be able to discover it as they watch. But after two episodes, I will say that I am very underwhelmed by the story. And maybe that is why I found myself so puzzled by this show. I can see what they are trying to do, but the first two episodes are all setting it up and yet, nothing truly happens and this is just a six-episode mini-series. I just don’t see what they are trying to do in such a short time. Maybe it will become clearer with the next episode, but with the first two, I just don’t see how this show can have a full story with the way they are setting it all up.

Visually, the show continues the trend of the Marvel shows looking incredible. The opening sequence of the series is proof that Marvel Studios is investing a lot into making these shows. It’s a sequence that had me very excited (even if the rest of the show didn’t blow me away just yet.)

But at its core, Hawkeye is Kate Bishop’s origin story. It’s about her taking the mantle from Clint. And the first two episodes do that perfectly, if anything, it is the only reason why I will keep going back to watch it because the show understands who Kate Bishop is and as someone who loves her, I just want to see more of her and what they have in store for her.