One of the most anticipated parts of Hawkeye was seeing how Kate and Clint worked together. Beyond those two, however, fans found that the whole series revolved around each character's relationships with friends and families.
Some of those relationships were given more focus than others, but all of the relationships explored help to tie together the past, present, and future of the MCU. As Phase Four continues to expand the universe (and multiverse), some of these relationships may come into play through new alliances as well as laying the groundwork for brutal enemies.
Clint And His Family
It was a surprise to fans everywhere when it was revealed in Age of Ultron that Clint had a secret family hidden away from the rest of the Avengers. Since that time, Hawkeye's actions have consistently revolved around his family, including his decisions to get involved (or not) in different fights, and his decision to become Ronin.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been nearly enough screentime devoted to Clint's family, especially with the hints that Clint's wife Laura might play a bigger part in the future. While the audience hears about them frequently, none of his children have established personalities, and the family as a whole feels a little shallow. Clint's desire to get home before Christmas for his family helped this problem a bit, but that relationship was still consistently overshadowed by others.
Echo And Kingpin
A relationship that Hawkeye introduced, without developing it as much as fans might like, is between Maya Lopez and the Kingpin. There are hints throughout Maya's backstory that he was a father figure to her, but just how close they were remains in question. The answers may well come in the Echo standalone show coming to Disney+ in the future.
In the comics, the Kingpin takes Maya in like his own daughter, and she remains loyal to him until learning that he was responsible for her father's death. Fans see a taste of this arc in the show, where Maya eventually shoots the Kingpin, but there is certainly more that could be done with these two in future projects.
Kate And Jack
Jack Duquesne was introduced as a figure representing change and rejection of the past in Kate's family dynamics. However, despite the red herring of Jack potentially being part of the Tracksuit Mafia, this relationship gradually grew and developed until Kate found herself fighting alongside him.
After realizing her mother's treachery, Kate had to take a hard look at who was actually hurting her and who wasn't. While Jack was awkward in his attempts to get close to Kate, they were sincere, and his money and proficiency with a blade potentially set him up as a strong future ally. Fans of the comics will know that Jack becomes the hero Swordsman, a take on the character that will be interesting to see moving forward.
Yelena And Natasha
Despite not being a part of the Hawkeye show, Natasha's memory hung over the series like a ghost that wouldn't go away. Yelena's whole purpose in being there comes from her desire to see Natasha avenged, which provides viewers another look at the two's relationship beyond just what was shown in Black Widow.
The information that Clint reveals to Yelena about Natasha's sacrifice allows Yelena and Natasha's arc to be completed, although not happily. Yelena's determination to kill Hawkeye, regardless of whether or not she gets paid for it, shows her devotion to Natasha, but her eventual decision not to kill him shows that she honors Natasha's wishes above her own revenge-based idea of what Natasha would want from her.
Kate And Lucky
It might seem like a joke, but Kate's relationship with Lucky the Pizza Dog was one of the most heartwarming in the series. It's standard practice in film development to show the main character caring for animals to prove that they are worthy heroes, but in this case, it definitely worked. By risking her life to save a dog, in Yelena's words, "[Kate] got a few points" for that in the audience's book.
Kate and her dog serve as a bit of an allegory for Hawkeye's relationship with Kate, in which the hero takes in a stray and cares for them until they can carry on on their own. Lucky is worth taking a chance on and ultimately prompts both Kate and Clint to get to the next stage of their hero journeys.
Kate And Eleanor
After losing her father at a young age, Kate's relationship with her mother is paramount. While they have their conflicts over Kate's recklessness and her mother's new fiancé, the two generally start the show with a strong relationship. This strengthens as Kate tries to protect her mother from Duquesne, all of which makes it that much more painful to see Kate learn that her mother is the true criminal and hired Yelena to kill her hero.
The heartbreaking moment when Kate's mom asks her if heroes send their own mothers to jail cut Kate deeply, and viewers will likely see her regret and doubt over that decision in the future. While Kate was lucky enough to have a mentor to take her in, she will certainly suffer from her separation from her mother and the repercussions that come from it. Hopefully, Kate realizes that she has done the right thing and won't let her mother guilt her into thinking otherwise.
Echo And Clint
One of the more interesting relationships in the Disney+ series was between Clint and Maya Lopez (AKA Echo), where fans get to see Marvel gradually adding to the diversity of their universe by showing Hawkeye's hearing loss, which calls back to the character's deafness in the comics.
Echo, another canonically deaf character, is respectful of Clint, making sure his hands are free to sign as soon as she spots his hearing aid. While she remains a minor villain through the majority of the series, seeking vengeance for her family, she and Hawkeye are repeatedly able to communicate clearly and honestly about what is going on within the Tracksuit Mafia as well as issues of acceptance and identification with disability.
Kate And Yelena
The fan-favorite relationship of Hawkeye has to be the banter between Kate and Yelena, who provided fantastic comedic moments during an otherwise dark series. Yelena feels like she could be any viewer, enjoying mac and cheese and playfully shaming Kate for her cutlery situation. Even when she is using her assassin's training, she is able to banter with Kate and congratulate her on her moves.
The two have remarkable chemistry together, and fans can only hope to see more of the two together in future MCU projects. It seems that the second iterations of Black Widow and Hawkeye will have just as significant of a relationship as the originals.
Clint And Natasha
Like Yelena and Natasha's relationship, Clint's relationship with Natasha is one of the most significant motivations he has over the course of the show. Not only does Clint have to support his family, but he has to live a life worthy of Natasha's sacrifice. His guilt and pain are shown multiple times over the course of the show, which tells the audience that he doesn't feel worthy of being the one to survive Vormir.
With that being said, he seems to get some catharsis from his conversation with Yelena, and fans can only hope that the two are able to form a new family in Natasha's absence that would make her proud of them both.
Kate And Clint
Of course, the top of the list couldn't be anything other than the relationship between Kate and Clint. Kate is not a carefully chosen protegé—she is a mistake that Hawkeye has to continually clean up after. But despite that, the two grow to have a strong mentor-student relationship, as Kate continually shows Clint that she is proficient with her bow and wants to help.
From the place of hero-worship that the two start with to the closer relationship they have at the end, Clint and Kate work well together, rescuing each other and then dragging each other into even more trouble. At the end of the series, it is hinted that they will be sharing the name Hawkeye moving forward, which promises even more of Kate and Clint's relationship.