WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hawkeye Episode 3, "Echoes," now streaming on Disney+.
Echo might be hunting for the wrong Ronin. In "Echoes," the third episode of Hawkeye, flashbacks to Maya Lopez's past revealed that a masked vigilante dressed just like Ronin killed her father, William. However, that scene may not be exactly what it seems, and we have a feeling that it may have more to do with Maya's mysterious Uncle and Jack Duquesne, the fiancee of Kate Bishop's mother, Eleanor.
First, let's talk about that flashback. Shown through Maya's perspective, the scene finds her showing up to the Tracksuit Mafia's hideout, only to discover a bloody battle taking place. As she moves throughout auto repair shop, she catches glimpses of someone in a Ronin suit as he hacks and slashes his way through the gang. She looks on in horror as the man stabs her father through the chest. She immediately runs to William, allowing "Ronin" to escape through the window while her father dies in her arms. That leads to her situation in Episode 3: the capture of Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, and the near-culmination of her quest for revenge.
However, the flashback may not be as clear-cut as Maya's memory would make it seem. For one, we never see the face of the person wearing the Ronin suit. That certainly makes sense, as this is Maya's perspective, and she didn't get close enough to see him clearly. However, Ronin's identity is no mystery to the audience. Thus, it feels like a deliberate choice to hide his face, as the viewer would recognize that Clint wasn't in the suit if, indeed, that turns out to be the case.
For another, this Ronin has made an interesting -- and coincidental -- choice of weapon. While Hawkeye is famously known for using a bow and arrow in battle, Ronin has always wielded a sword, so this is in line with what we saw of him in Avengers: Endgame. Perhaps a little too conveniently, though, Hawkeye has just introduced us to another Marvel character who is quite proficient at swordsplay: Jack Duquesne, who goes by Swordsman in the comics. On the series so far, Jack has shown off his unusual proclivity for swords through the decor he brought to Eleanor's penthouse. Additionally, in Episode 2, he went toe-to-toe with Kate in a fencing match; when she pushed him, he expertly disarmed her, despite her own skill at the sport. As we see at the end of the episode, he also knows a thing or two about wielding Ronin's sword.
At this point, you may be asking about Clint's reactions to Ronin in this episode, as the name is dredged up again and again. Clint's remorse is consistent with how he has acted throughout the series so far. What's more, he never directly admits guilt for the actions that caused William's death. He is absolutely familiar with the Tracksuit Mafia, as he explains their operation to Kate throughout the episode; as Ronin, he certainly would have been aware of them. From the sounds of it, though, they may have been too small for him to bother with, at least at the time.
Then, of course, there's the matter of Maya's mysteriously Uncle. We never see Uncle or hear Uncle's voice, which has led to much speculation that Vincent D'Onofrio has returned to the role of Kingpin, which would certainly track with Maya's story in the comics (more of that in a moment). We know a few things about Uncle. He wants to keep his identity a secret, so "Uncle" is likely a codename for a bigger Marvel character and/or crime boss. For another, this Uncle likes power. He's a man who wants to stay at the top, and this is the reason why he would want William dead.
After all, as Kazi tells Maya towards the end of the episode, "Your father always put the crew first" -- indicating that William was gathering the loyalty and support of the Tracksuit Mafia. Although he likely did this unintentionally, simply through the means of his own goodness, this could be perceived as a direct challenge to Uncle, who seems to rule his organization through fear. A crime lord wouldn't want the Tracksuit Mafia's loyalty to be split between William and himself. This gives him the right motivation to take William out of the picture, as well as a few members of William's loyal crew.
This has a precedent in the comics, particularly where Maya is concerned. In the "Parts of a Hole" storyline from David Mack, Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiottia's Daredevil run, Maya operates on a similar thirst for revenge. After her father was killed, Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk took her under his wing and blamed William's untimely death on Daredevil, in the hopes that Maya could take out his longtime foe while remaining loyal to his criminal empire like her father before her. Maya eventually learned the truth and teamed up with Daredevil instead in his battle against Kingpin. In this, it feels like Hawkeye is following a similar trajectory with Maya, where Ronin was a convenient scapegoat for Uncle to appear innocent in the hit that led to William's death.
That being said, let's talk a little more about Jack. As established in Hawkeye's premiere, Jack is no stranger to some shady business and neither was his uncle Armand, who mysteriously ended up dead in the same episode. After all, they both took part in an underground auction, where Jack seemed very keen on outbidding everyone else for Ronin's things. He also passed Kate a butterscotch from Armand's home in that episode, which Kate recognized due to its distinct logo. This suggests he was there the night Armand died from a very suspicious slash wound. Then, of course, there are his sword skills, a fact he kept hidden from Kate that would seem to suggest he is keeping secrets from her. He has the skills and connections to be a part of this criminal underworld.
But how would Jack know Uncle? Although Eleanor hasn't been directly implicated in any of the clues dropped so far, her status would make her a valuable asset for someone like him. As someone who runs a security business, she would know all the security protocols and procedures necessary for Uncle's enterprise to commit crimes without getting caught. Plus, she isn't afraid to get to ally herself to someone like Jack, and there was that fight Kate witnessed between Armand and Eleanor. A villain rarely sees themself as such, so it's possible she and Uncle share a few beliefs about the post-Endgame state of the world. If anything, Eleanor may be the one who connected them in the first place. It's just business.
That way, Hawkeye could also combine two seemingly disparate storylines: Clint's hunt for his Ronin suit and Kate's conflict with her family. While this doesn't free Clint of his guilt, it does release him from Maya's warpath because it would mean he wasn't responsible for William's death. Additionally, it would prove Kate's suspicions about Jack correct, even if it further damages her relationship with her mother. This would give Kate and Clint a common enemy to take down, while setting Maya up to fight Uncle in Echo, her solo series.
Additionally, by positioning Jack as a faux-Ronin, Hawkeye could free Clint from the Ronin image. If Jack is outed publicly as Ronin, that shifts any and all blame away from Clint. As such, Clint could finally do what he has longed to since the series picked up: go back to his family in peace. He may even be able to retire, should the Ronin conflict resolve this way.
With three episodes released on Disney+, Hawkeye is halfway through its freshman outing, and it has more than laid the groundwork for the resolution to both Clint and Kate's storylines. In addition to setting Uncle up as Kingpin, which fans have long speculated, those three episodes have also positioned Jack Duquesne to be the main antagonist -- perhaps with a little help from Eleanor, his wife-to-be.
Hawkeye is now streaming on Disney+, with new episodes released every Wednesday.