Hawkeye Directors Talk About Kate Bishop Meeting [Spoiler] At The End Of Episode 4

This article contains major spoilers for "Hawkeye" Episode 4, "Partners, Am I Right?"

If there was one thing everyone agreed on when it came to Marvel Studios' "Black Widow," it was that Florence Pugh stole the film as Natasha Romanoff's pocket-loving sister-figure and fellow ex-Red Room assassin Yelena Belova. As /Film's Hoai-Tran Bui wrote in her review, Pugh's turn as Yelena "is equal turns prickly, hilariously self-effacing, and even a little soulful, showing the emotional vulnerability that has made the 'Midsommar' star into such an arthouse darling." Hence, even those who walked away from "Black Widow" feeling disappointed (slowly raises hand) were excited to learn that Yelena would soon return in the "Hawkeye" TV show ... if also under less than friendly circumstances, given that she's on a mission from Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to kill Clint Barton, believing him responsible for Natasha's death.

Yelena finally made her grand entrance near the end of "Hawkeye" episode 4, coming face to face with Clint and Kate Bishop. Of course, unlike those at home, Kate has no idea who she is other than a mysterious assassin trying to kill her new mentor/buddy. So, as the episode's directors Bert & Bertie explained to Variety, it was important for them to keep this in mind and have Kate react in a natural way to seeing Yelena for the first time, and not make her a glorified stand-in for those watching at home (who, unlike Kate, had feelings about Yelena coming into the episode).

Bertie talked about this subject in greater depth, explaining that it all came down to them keeping the scene rooted in Kate's perspective:

"So much of 'Hawkeye' is seeing the world through the characters' point of view of it. So if we look at the end of [Episode 4], we are with Kate Bishop as she's seeing this person, who she has no concept of who she is, actually, and how she's going to fit into the story. But there's this connection, and you can see and feel the presence of this new character. It's actually a balance between what the audience feels about this character and what Kate's feeling that makes that ending so special."

Expanding on this, Bert noted there was "this immediate natural chemistry" between Steinfeld and Pugh but stopped short of saying where things will go from here on "Hawkeye." Even so, it doesn't take a huge leap in logic to predict that Yelena will evolve from being Clint and Kate's enemy to their ally once Clint clears the air about what really happened to Natasha. Ideally, "Hawkeye" will even end with Yelena and Kate becoming pals after saving the day and spending Christmas with Lucky/Pizza Dog while Clint goes home to celebrate with his family. Nothing wrong with a little extra (if perhaps unearned) optimism around the winter holidays, right?

"Hawkeye" will continue with its fifth episode on Disney+ next Wednesday, December 15.