Hawkeye Ep 4 Takeaways: Clint Barton & Kate Bishop's 'partnership' struggles as an unexpected visitor arrives

*SPOILERS ALERT* Amid Marvel's triumphant win at the People's Choice Awards with their other series, Loki starring Tom Hiddleston bagging top honours, Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner starrer Hawkeye is gearing up to set new standards for the studios. MCU's latest show has now aired its fourth episode and things are starting to get irresistibly intriguing from here. With Steinfeld and Renner both bringing them A-game to this series, the latest episode turns out to be a fitting example of how well they can sway your emotions by bringing in the Christmas cheer laced with emotions and equally tense moments with much ease. 

In the previous episode, we got a glimpse of how amazingly deadly the combination of Steinfeld's Kate and Renner's Hawkeye can be if they team up and are on the same page. Much like, Bishop, we also felt that she had officially been promoted to work closely with the Avenger but as the threats begin to get real, we find Clint (Renner) contemplating whether involving Kate is the best thing to do. The fourth episode comes with a lot of surprises, check out below some key moments from it. 

Here are five takeaways from Hawkeye Episode 4:

The Avenger at the dinner table 

After being caught by Jack (Tony Dalton) in the finale of episode 3, Hawkeye finds himself getting a formal introduction with Kate's mother, Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) at the dinner table. Kate explains what an Avenger is doing in her dining room after her mother questions about it and maintains that she's working with him on a case as "partners." While Clint remains hesitant to agree to it, he does promise to look out for Kate when confronted by her Eleanor about her safety. 

Jack's background check 

Much like Bishop, we bet you too have been eager to learn more about Jack Duquesne's (Tony Dalton) character and well, there's finally some development on that part as Clint discovers Jack may not be the "good guy" Kate's mother assumes him to be. In this episode, we also see Kate noticing a softer side to Jack and Eleanor's relationship but that's before finding out that they may not be good news after all. 

An emotional Christmas 

Marvel head Kevin Feige has maintained that he hopes to see fans recognise Hawkeye as a Holiday classic and we can say the show does give us those moments to shift our focus from its action genre. The new episode particularly boasts of a sweet sequence as Kate tries to get Clint holiday-ready as the duo dress up in Christmas jumpers. While on their movie marathon though, their conversation segues into an emotional affair as Clint remembers Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). The heartbreaking flashback will certainly leave you in tears. 

Clint ambushes Kazi 

After he previously failed to convince Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) about Ronin's death, Clint ambushes her close aide Kazi (Fra Fee) to give him an ultimatum to convince Maya about giving up on her search for Ronin. Barton warns Kazi to stop Maya from continuing her hunt so that no more blood is spilled. 

The unexpected visitor 

In the episode's exciting finale, things go unexpectedly downhill as Clint's plan to retrieve a watch from Maya's apartment gets blown. While Kate is attacked by Lopez in the apartment, Clint finds himself attacked by a mystery assassin whose identity is revealed at the very end, and it's none other than Natasha's sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh). Following their deadly brush with Yelena, Clint asks Kate to walk away from their "mission" as he brutally tells her they can't be a team anymore because the "threat just got real." The action in this final scene will be enough to keep you counting the days till the new episode arrives next week. 

Have you been hooked to Hawkeye since its release? Tell us your views in the comments below. 

ALSO READ: Hawkeye Ep 3 Takeaways: Clint Barton and Kate Bishop prove they are a duo you don't want to mess with