Widow got a film, Hawkeye gets a TV show. Somehow, that seems both seems fittings and works perfectly for their respective story arcs. I had wondered if we were going to get the story of Ronin, effectively flashing back to the period within the Blip where Clint went a little off the deep end, but instead we get a form of closure on that chapter in his life, whilst also fleshing out his character a whole bunch (and finally giving him his disability). It works nicely and feels like a fitting end to Clint's story, whilst leaving him open to take up the mantle of Avenger (or simply mentor) if that's what they choose.
However, the real star of Hawkeye is the new protege, Kate Bishop. Not only is her role in the show a really fun and interesting one, she is played to perfection by Hailee Steinfeld. The humour and heart Steinfeld brings to the role make Kate feel immediately likeable, with enough depth to migrate to the big screen or stick around on the Disney+ platform as long as they need. She also manages to make the whole archery schtick look both cool and somehow her own thing, rather than purely being Clint 2.0. In short, she's great and I can't wait to see more from her.
And speaking of OG Avenger replacements, Hawkeye is jam-packed with all manner of threads weaving throughout the wider MCU, but most importantly is the return of Yelena, our new Black Widow. This was an excellent decision by the creative team, not least because it gave Clint some clear closure over what happened to Nat, but because it fleshes out Yelena wonderfully. Not only do we now know that she blipped, handily explaining why Nat didn't bring her into the Avengers between Infinity War and Endgame, but the burgeoning relationship between her and Kate is just wonderful and I am here for it 😄 Honestly, Hawkeye got the inter-character relationships really right, but this has to be my favourite.
The other big cross-franchise thread was obviously the surprise reintroduction of Wilson Fisk, thankfully still played by Vincent D'Onofrio. Between this and No Way Home, Marvel have made the dreams of a lot of fans come true, which is just great to see. And no, I'm pretty sure he isn't dead, though quite how they get out of the whole point-blank gunshot from Maya is unclear.
Speaking of, I enjoyed Maya as a villain. She had a little more depth than was needed, and I thought the Tracksuit Mafia, in general, were wonderfully goofy. I'm glad to learn that those wacky personas are very much taken from the source material, because if they'd been done for the show it would have felt a little cheap, but as fan service it works nicely. I'm not too sure I'm invested enough in Maya to go for a whole spin-off series, but I'll certainly give it a look, particularly if they use it as a way to incorporate some more of the Netflix MCU characters into the main timeline.
Which is all to say that Hawkeye ended up being a really solid end to a fantastic year for the MCU. They've had some slight missteps and one major cock up, but their TV shows keep taking fresh approaches and (largely) sticking the landing. Honestly, Hawkeye may be my favourite to date; it never quite reaches the heights of Wandavision or Loki, but its consistency is better than both, and I think it does more for the wider franchise than What If?, even if that is probably my favourite from a purely artistic perspective. I hope this isn't Clint's fond farewell from the MCU, but if it is then at least it's a solid high note.