Hawkeye ending, post-credits, and how Hailee Steinfeld hit the bullseye with Kate Bishop

The final episode of Hawkeye, "So this is Christmas?", is now streaming on Disney Plus, with lots of reveals and revelations coming to the forefront, all teasing where the MCU is headed next.  While all very exciting, the real star of the show has always been Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop,  

Warning: spoilers for Hawkeye, Daredevil as well as potential future spoilers for the wider MCU as a whole

After last week's episode finally confirmed the existence of Kingpin in the MCU, the opening wastes no time in showing off the man himself. Vincent D'Onofrio is an extremely talented actor who shines as Wilson Fisk, yet I couldn't help thinking the character was a little underutilised. So much build-up and for what? I'm assuming Kevin Feige and co. have bigger plans for the supervillain down the line. Still, a showdown between Kate and Kingpin was unexpected, not only conveying the raw power of Fisk but how far the new Hawkeye has come.

I've always been a big fan of Steinfeld since the actor made headlines at age 13 in True Grit. Whether that be Pitch Perfect, Bumblebee, the Edge of Seventeen, or Gwen Stacey in Spider-Verse, she knows exactly how to give an instantly likeable performance. It's a big trait of the archer in Matt Fraction and David Aja's comicbook run and something Steinfeld equally nails in this series too.

Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) also gets his own showdown against Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), where the two reconcile as the latter comes to terms with Natasha's death. No doubt, this won't be the last we've seen of Pugh in the MCU. Hopefully, she'll be matched up with Steinfeld again too, as the comedic chemistry the pair shared in every scene is worthy of its own movie. The moment when Kate slaps Yelena and she exclaims: "What was that!". Brilliant.

The first big interaction of the episode we get is Kate confronting her mother, Eleanor (Vera Farmiga), about the criminal deeds she's been pursuing and for framing Jack (Tony Dalton). It's revealed that Kate's father, Brian, owed a "small fortune" to Kingpin and Eleanor was helping to pay it off while still profiting herself. Upon Kate finding this out, it does nothing to sway her motivation and consequently, phones the police. 

Displeased that Eleanor has decided to walk away from their criminal activities, Kingpin sends the tracksuit mafia to her company's holiday party at the Rockefeller Center, before later turning up himself and taking on Kate in a toy store. Kingpin then escapes bruised and battered, only to discover his niece, Maya (Alaqua Cox). After only just killing Kazi, a gunshot is heard in the distance with the presumption that Fisk is dead. Very unlikely, if the comics are anything to go by. 

With Eleanor arrested, Kingpin (supposedly) killed and Yelena accepting Natasha's fate, Clint returns to his family on Christmas day bringing Kate along with him to share in the revelries. 

It's here that the mysterious watch is returned to Laura (Linda Cardellini), where a S.H.I.E.L.D logo and the number 19 is revealed on the back – meaning that she was not only an agent, but the superhero Mockingbird. The character was a long-term partner of Clint in the comics, even joining the Avengers on several occasions.  

Any fans of the ABC series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D will be aware that Mockingbird has already been established with Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki). However, the show is believed to be non-canon, so this either means that Laura passed on the moniker to Bobbi or the MCU is now erasing it completely from canonicity. With several Netflix characters returning, there is the off-chance that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D could return. 

Speaking of Netflix, once Clint burns the Ronin outfit for good and Kate discusses a new superhero name with him – Lady Hawk, Hawk Eve, Hawk Shot, Lady Arrow – the episode ends while looming on an archery target. This looks to be setting up the re-introduction of Benjamin Poindexter aka Bullseye from Daredevil season 3. Whether the Hawkeye rival will be portrayed by Wilson Bethel again, is yet to be determined. 

Last but certainly not least, the post-credits scene dazzled with a full rendition of Rogers: The Musical. I'm happy to say the song performed, "Save The City", is on Spotify, giving us all the early Christmas present we deserve. 

No confirmation on whether season 2 of Hawkeye is happening, with the Echo spinoff series rumoured to be carrying on the narrative. Set to star Alaqua Cox again in the titular role, no official release date has been shared either. I wouldn't expect it until 2023 at the earliest, though. 

The next Disney Plus MCU series slated will be Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac, who is basically the equivalent of Batman with a multiple personality disorder. It starts streaming on March 30th, 2022.

What were your thoughts on Hawkeye? Did the season finale live up to expectations, or was it underwhelming?