‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4 Reveals Ronin’s Identity & a New Adversary

There was plenty of family holiday time in this week’s Hawkeye episode 4. And a new character cameo may be joining the Hawkeye family.

This week’s episode of Hawkeye was full of family fun-time and some important details. Audiences got answers to some questions, but now we’ve got a few more questions.

There’s big spoilers for pretty much all of ‘Hawkeye’ past this point. Cool? Cool.

The fourth episode of Marvel’s newest Disney+ series shows Kate and Clint doing some real holiday bonding. The two even work as a team to track down Clint’s remaining Ronin relics.

But a rooftop fight ups the stakes when a new player is introduced– so Clint decides to break off his partnership with Kate.

Ok, But It was Elenor All Along, Right?

The episode begins with an uncomfortable sit-down between Elenor, Jack, Kate, and Clint. The exchange was certainly funny, but it has a lot of undertones.

Elenor seems remarkably unfazed by Kate’s involvement with an Avenger. Even for a character who’s that aloof, she betrays the concern she feels for Kate as she walks Clint to the exit elevator.

After appealing to him as a father and taking a cheap shot at Natasha’s memory, she asks him if he plans to drop the case. The phrasing seems strange, and no longer focused on her daughter’s wellbeing.

Ronin’s Identity Revealed

The beginning of Christmas movie night was all about Clint having fun teaching. We really get the see the Hawkeyes in their stride. It’s a bright and shiny moment.

After a series of frozen cocktails, the two start talking about Natasha. In a move I found a bit surprising, Kate outright asks Clint if he was the Ronin. What’s more, it seems like she’s suspected for a while.

Clint explains that he lost his family in the blip, so he did what he was trained to do: hurt people. And the phrasing of his confession implies that his actions as the Ronin were under someone else’s orders.

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

This exchange focuses a lot on Clint’s grief, which is understandable– grief and death are worthy story avenues here.

But it still feels like the script is moving around Clint directly taking responsibility for the violent acts he committed as Ronin. I’m still waiting for the moment when Clint has to say ‘I did that.’ And I suspect that moment will involve Maya.

When it does happen, will it be devastating? Yes. But it’s an emotional crisis both characters need to experience. You know what they say: ‘the only way out is through’.

Clint Tells on Himself

For all the flack he gives Kate, Clint is the one who made the biggest mistake this episode.

When Kate broke into Maya‘s apartment to steal back the Rolex, Maya might have been expecting some kind of attack after Clint’s warning.

While they’re in the car together, Kazi makes a great point. Hawkeye’s motivation for telling Maya to drop her vendetta against Ronin don’t serve him in any way.

He practically told them he was Ronin!

The Masked Assassin

As Maya is making her nighttime appearance, Clint is attacked on the roof by a masked assailant. The fight choreography is gorgeous, and once Maya and Kate make it to the roof, it’s worth watching twice.

Fortunately after the four characters do bendy-fighty things for a while, we find out who’s behind the mask. It’s none other than Natasha’s little child-soldier sister, Yelena Belova.

During the end-credits scene of Black Widow, Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine visits Yelena at Natasha’s grave. She gives Belova her newest target, who she claims murdered Nat. And yes, it’s a picture of Clint.

Are we starting to see more signs of the Soviet secret science initiative Leviathan? Is Valentina pulling a double or triple agent gig? And how does she know what did (or didn’t) happen on Vormir?

Yelena finds herself face to face with Kate. There’s a moment when Kate decides not to shoot Yelena and it is electric.

The chemistry between these two actors is the climax of the episode. The directing team for this episode, Bert and Bertie, spoke to Variety about the two performers together.

When you’re directing actresses like Florence and Hailee, they bring so much to it. There was this immediate natural chemistry between them, which — I can’t say anything else. But you know, when they give you that, it’s this gift, and all you want to do is take care of it and unwrap it slowly.

Other Hawkeye Episode 4 Highlights

An interesting detail of this episode was seeing Laura help Clint and slinging her best German. This level of teamwork leads us to ask questions about Laura. What’s her background? How did she met Clint in the first place?

Shout out to Boomerang Arrow– it’s the greatest and I think we’re gonna see it toward the end of the season.

Finally, any frostiness felt in Clint’s attitude toward the LARPers in episode 2 of Hawkwye was melted this week. Kate quickly recruits them with her enthusiasm, and secures allies for the Hawkeyes’ search.

The scene does invoke some of the neighborhood block party vibes of the comic book series. Although there’s still no grilling, and all the normal neighbors are cops now?

Will Episode 5 of Hawkeye Break Twitter?

The next episode of Hawkeye is supposedly kind of a big deal. Legend has it that the episode will blow up the Twitters.

Nearly everyone suspects Kingpin’s reveal. I have to admit, it’s hard not to. We won’t know until next Wednesday for sure.

New episodes of ‘Hawkeye’ premiere every Wednesday exclusively on Disney+.

Author: Danni Danger

Danni is a staff writer and editor whose expertise lies in comic books, superhero movies, science fiction/fantasy, horror, and cheesy dad jokes. They spent 8 glorious years working at Austin Books & Comics, and created content for almost 15 years. They've written for the Daily Dot and made YouTube content with the Weirdlings. Danni currently does all the things for BoLS, Screen Fanatic, and TheStreet.