Where Kate Bishop Stands After That Big Hawkeye Reveal, According To Hailee Steinfeld

Spoilers for "Hawkeye" episode 5 ahead.

So much happened in the penultimate episode of Marvel's "Hawkeye." We got some delicious banter between Yelena Belova (the always charming Florence Pugh) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), a tease about Laura (Linda Cardellini, who is clearly a vampire because she does not age. Maybe she's been talking to Paul Rudd?), and the reveal of who Maya's (Alaqua Cox) uncle/boss is. We also found out who may have betrayed her the night her father was killed.

Still, the story really centers around Kate and her hero worship of Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), and how the two new pieces of information from Yelena about Clint and Kate's mother will affect Kate going into the last episode (and maybe even on into a Young Avengers show or film).

Steinfeld spoke to TV Line about Kate's mindset in the aftermath of the fifth episode. Having her loyalties questioned by Yelena, Clint telling her to go way, then her saving his life, and the reveal that her mother Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) is working with none other than Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) has changed a lot for her. Steinfeld says:

"She has this realization. She's just completely broken and confused and absolutely lost. She doesn't know who to trust or who to look to." 

The thing is, Clint is going to be there for her, even if he doesn't want her there to keep her safe. She says:

" ... thank God because if it weren't for him, she would probably have a much harder time getting back up on her feet after this one."

Even crazier is the fact that this is no longer about playing hero. Now Kingpin is involved, the person she trusted the most has betrayed her trust, and she's in it for better or for worse. Steinfeld says Kate "has no choice now but to really go to work."

The betrayal by Eleanor (who is maybe working with Madame Masque or maybe is Madame Masque?) hits really close to home. Kate lost her father as a kid, so her mom is all she has (outside of Clint and Pizza Dog). Steinfeld continued: 

"The stakes are higher than ever, and the one person that she's been tirelessly trying to protect is now someone that she might need to be protected against. She comes to her senses as quickly as she possibly can after learning this information and puts her head down and does what she has to do."

It will be interesting to see what that means. Is Kate going to have to go up against her mother? Will she rescue Jack (Tony Dalton) from jail? Will she and Yelena and Clint team up now? I hope so. Their chemistry is fantastic.

Steinfeld did give a brief tease about working with D'Onofrio in an interview with EW. She said:

"It's a very different experience standing underneath Vincent and hearing him. To be in his presence is really something. I've been a fan of his for a very long time. It's always amazing to be a part of something with people that you really admire. I'm excited to see people watch it unfold.

This is somebody that she doesn't know much about, but she's been warned. She knows everything she needs to know when she hears Clint say 'this is the guy I've been worried about the whole time.' That right there is enough for her to need to come to her senses and figure out how to handle the situation. If it didn't feel real before, it's real now. After all the partner talk and jokes that have been thrown around, now she has the opportunity to step up to the plate."

It looks like the season finale is going to be chock full of superhero goodness. Are you ready? "Hawkeye" comes to an end on December 22, 2021.