The Hawkeye Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed In Episode 6
Oh my Hulk, they did it! "Hawkeye" managed something no other Marvel Disney+ show has managed so far: They stuck the landing. I suppose in a way this episode did advertise the upcoming "Echo" show, but it wasn't hammered over our heads. It didn't look like a commercial. Alaqua Cox did more to make me want to watch it than any particular scene. It was a full story, despite hinting at the upcoming "Echo" spin-off show. (Thankfully, that wasn't hammered over our heads, it didn't feel like a commercial, and Alaqua Cox's performance did more to make me interested than any given scene she was in.) We even got a special holiday gift from Marvel at the end.
If you somehow missed the headline and a rogue owl made you click on it, you are being warned that there will be spoilers in this post, in which I'll run through tons of the Easter eggs featured in this season finale episode. Proceed with caution.
Before we really even get started, naming the episode "So, This Is Christmas?" is a great nod to the John Lennon song "Happy Christmas (War is Over)." War is indeed over ... for now, at least. Let's get into some of the biggest Easter eggs of the episode.
'A Whole Batch of Way Too Dangerous Trick Arrows'
I want to start with some fun stuff, so we'll be going a little out of order. Let's talk arrows. We've seen a ton of fun ones since the series started. In the Matt Fraction run of "Hawkeye," there are a lot of them including sonic, boomerang (which was sort of a joke in this series), putty, and net arrows. This episode features so many: One with Pym Particles that will come in later in the very best way, Stark Industry tech arrows, and since Kate has a label maker, we know there are also ice breaker (was this the one that froze that guy's leg, or was that the freeze arrows?), flash bomb, air bag, and "too dangerous" arrows.
Bad Mama
Well, we didn't learn that Eleanor is or is working for Madame Masque. What she is doing is dirty work for Kingpin. It was a nice trick to watch the scene between Eleanor and Kingpin, and then find out that we were watching what Kate was watching on that phone video Yelena sent her at the end of the last episode. Eleanor has been working off the debt her husband had to Kingpin, but she's paid, as she says, 10 times over. That means she probably could have stopped working for him. I mean, he doesn't want her to leave now, so maybe he wouldn't have let her anyway, but I don't know. The writing of Kingpin's character and Vincent D'Onofrio's stunning performance really leaves you guessing. You know he's going to do the wrong things, and that he will sacrifice people he loves if they betray him, but you also see that he does truly love people. It's fascinating to watch.
What's interesting here is that Eleanor says she has copies of everything she's learned about Kingpin's empire. She's ruthless, whether it was just for her daughter as she says, or if it's because of who she is. She did make a promise in the first episode to protect Kate, and maybe she thinks she's doing that here. (She does try to kill Kingpin with her car later to save Kate.) But that's not an excuse for framing your fiance, killing Armand, and working with this guy. She does tell Kate she knows the world better and that Kate couldn't survive with nothing. Of course, the cost of what she did ends up leaving Kate with nothing. (Well, nothing from her own family, anyway. I'd argue she has a lot more now.)
Will Kate or Maya ever need to access the blackmail material Eleanor set aside? More on Kingpin in a bit, but there is no way he's dead. He wears armor under his very fancy Hawaiian Christmas outfit. (Cosplay, anyone?) We learned that back in "Daredevil." We don't know how much of that series is canon now, but since we've seen Kingpin and a certain other person from the series in "Spider-Man: Far From Home," (don't pretend you didn't see the spoilers out there), at least some of it might be.
Okay, Fine: I Love Jack Now
Well, Jack turned out to be just adorable, didn't he? I really hated him in the first few episodes, but he's just a goofball. He's free from the clink because the father of the little Armand VII (entitled jerk of a kid) bailed him out. I don't know who that kid's pop is, but I bet he and Jack will be in either "Hawkeye" season 2 or in "Echo" in some way. He's just too good to pass up. The LARPers as well! I absolutely love that they all showed up as waiters at the Bishop family holiday party at 30 Rockefeller Center. I've been in that building several times and it's a crazy place! Anyway, Grills, Wendy (A.K.A. Bombshell – did she get her bag back?), Orville, and Missy not only act as back up, they use their first responder skills to get everyone out! Here's an Easter egg for you: In Grills' apartment, there is a poster for "Dragons of Despair," which is the first of 16 novels by one of the Dragonlance authors, Tracy Hickman, set in that universe. I've read it. Do not judge me. I would totally hang out with Grills and so would you.
Wendy implies that Jack, who is really good with that sword and actually wore it to the party, should join the LARPing group. Since we know Bombshell isn't exactly the nicest person in the comics, and Jack is known as Swordsman in those pages, could they team up in some way? I mean, I'd totally watch it. I do love that we'll likely see them all again, and that there was a tribute to first responders here. I will not get choked up. I just know a few (including my nephew), and they're pretty great. Sniff.
You Don't Leave the Family
Oh, Maya. Things are rough for you right now. Here's what I'm talking about in terms of "Echo" set up. They really did it masterfully. Maya asks to leave, and tells Kingpin, who is indeed her boss, that she's tired of vengeance. She needs a few days off to get her head straight. You can see that Kingpin loves her — not that this stops him from hurting people. He learned a lot of ASL for her (and we know from "Daredevil" that he's good with languages). He probably knows more than he's saying, but it's a gesture. Crucially, he also knows that she's going rogue. He sends Kazi after her. Oh, Kazi. Maya really does want him to leave with her, despite the fact that it was implied that he knew who killed her father and was part of the set-up.
During the big fight, she stabs Kazi with an arrow. I really was expecting him to make it through, though in the comics, Clint kills him with a toothpick. Wishful thinking? I just really liked Fra Fee. Maybe he survives (like Kingpin definitely will)? Probably not, but you never know. So when we start "Echo," Maya is going to be in a really bad place. There is also that moment when Maya shoots Kingpin that echos what she does in the comics. I wonder if we're going to get a Disney+ street level hero series with her in the way we did on Netflix.
I Could Have Used a Pic of Kate and Clint Here, But ...
Let's talk about the Clint and Kate portion of the episode's big fight. (We'll go back to Kate and Yelena later.) All those arrows are used in the very best ways. Frozen legs on bros, rappelling down buildings, blowing up things, spiky arrows that shoot out other spikes, magnet arrows: It's a holiday massacre! So festive! Honestly, having this fight in Rockefeller Center in front of the tree on an ice rink is the best conceit. It may be silly, but it absolutely works. So does Clint getting himself stuck halfway down the huge tree, something several of the cats I've had over my lifetime can sympathize with. He sees an owl, a nice nod to the little owl named Rocky that was found in that tree in 2020. Kate shoots an acid arrow at the tree, sending Clint to the ground.
Not a lot of Easter eggs here outside of the arrows, but the big one was Kate shooting the Pym Particle arrow at the Trust a Bro moving van, making it tiny, and that owl swooped right down to get it. We don't know what will happen to them, but the subtitles saying "children screaming" is pretty wonderful. Clint does say he'll ask Scott (Ant-Man) about what will happen to them, and I'm assuming we'll get a callback later. I hope the bro whom Kate counseled about listening to his girlfriend regarding Imagine Dragons wasn't in there. I like that guy. He thanked her for it before he tried to kill her, and for a villain, that's at least something.
The moment Kate was on the giant foot piano was a nod to the Tom Hanks movie "Big," and I'm absolutely here for it.
One more thing, and I don't think this spoils much, but the ending of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" does pass through Rockefeller Center, and the tree is still up, meaning that the movie happened before this moment, but after Yelena's appearance in Kate's apartment where she talks about seeing the new Statue of Liberty.
Can We Talk About Yelena's Hair?
I'm not one to mention fashion. It's not my jam. That said, I don't know who did Yelena's hair for the party, but as I also have long blond hair, I must learn how to do this. Plus, we get to see Kate's comic (but not exactly) costume (made by Missy) after a coat spin from Yelena. (Clint has his on under his tux.)
Would anyone else sign on to watch a road trip film with Yelena and Kate? Florence Pugh and Hailee Steinfeld have the best chemistry, and I love that while Yelena is an assassin, she's fair to those she isn't contracted to kill. (Oof, my standards have really gone down since the pandemic started. I miss people.) The banter between them in the elevator and their fight through the offices of 30 Rock in those long tracking shots was a riot, and it was cute when Yelena praised her for what she did well. It made me smile while I was rooting for one of them not to die and the other not to kill her. This show has made me feel things that aren't healthy. I really should get out of the house.
I do hope they team up. Don't put Yelena on the Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers or whatever you're planning to do. I want to see her fight alongside Kate and Clint in the future.
She Sacrificed Herself
What a beautiful scene this was. Watching Yelena and Clint beat the hell out of each other while stating their cases evolved into a moment of healing for them both. Clint gets to tell Yelena the truth about Natasha's sacrifice, and he does it by using the whistle that Natasha and Yelena did as children, something we learned at the beginning of the "Black Widow" movie (which took place years before these events). He also references how Natasha flew the plane as a child after Melina gets shot. He tells Yelena that Natasha loved her, and she finally begins to mourn her sister properly. It's lovely.
Also, we have that brutal fight between Kingpin and Kate, which makes it look like Kate has bones of steel. Though she does some really great work getting those arrow bits (after Kingpin snaps them) to zap him, he does survive. Man, does no one get head injuries in the MCU? I bonked my head on a doorframe and almost blacked out this morning! What I got from this scene, though, is that Kate can stand on her own, which is why she is a good partner for Clint now. I'd also just like to point out the fact that Kingpin uses a cane here, something we see in the comics. Nice touch, though a man who can live through all that destruction does not need a cane.
Mockingbird, That IS You!
Clint brings Kate and Lucky the Pizza Dog to Christmas dinner at the Barton farm, and it's a joy all around. Watching Kate help Clint get rid of the Ronin suit was lovely. I love the names she comes up with for herself like Lady Hawk (a great movie, by the way), Hawk Eve, Lady Arrow, Hawk Shot ... and then Clint says he has an idea. Now, in the comics, Kate Bishop uses a few, but her ultimate superhero name is Hawkeye. Is Clint's idea to pass the torch now that he's healed and his family is ready to have him home? Is that what's happening here? I want to see them both fight together and I don't think Jeremy Renner is leaving the MCU, but this could be what he was referencing.
Now, about that watch. Clint brings it back to Laura, and she reveals that it is indeed hers. On the back is the S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol with the number 19. In the comics, Hawkeye is married to Bobbi Morse, Agent 19, also known as Mockingbird. Bobbi changes her name to become a civilian, so Laura may be an alias here. Will we ever see Laura fight? Can we, please? I mean, I know we already got a holiday gift from Marvel, but I want this, too!
Save the City
As I said, Marvel gifted us with a little treat, and it was the entire staging of the song we saw part of in "Rogers: The Musical." It's goofy and fun with some great voices and dancers, but it's also bittersweet, with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus shutting down shows on Broadway just a few days ago. (It's Loki's fault, I'm sure.) It was cool to see Marc Shaiman, one of the composers of the song, in the scene. Fans have been clamouring for this, and though Marvel released the full audio for the song "Save the City," we hadn't seen the full performance until now. Happy holidays to us all!