Zahn McClarnon in Hawkeye

Zahn McClarnon is a C&I reader favorite who has long been a force to be reckoned with on the small screen. From his work on Fargo, Longmire and Westworld, to his latest gig on the acclaimed Hulu sitcom Reservation Dogs and a starring role in Marvel’s 2024 spinoff series Echo, McClarnon is at the center of a long overdue shift in the representation of Native Americans and Indigenous people on TV.

As the series returns for its second season, the talented McClarnon has a number of exciting projects lined up for the remainder of the year. The actor is also appearing on the AMC Western series Dark Winds as well as in the upcoming Disney+ sequel series Hawkeye, based on the Tony Hillerman novels. He’s also a main cast member of the popular Netflix series Westworld as Akecheta, a new character for this third season.

Taking place shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Hawkeye finds Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) living in a post-apocalyptic world that’s been overrun by a hostile alien species called the Chitauri. The series features a mix of coming-of-age drama, laugh-out-loud comedy, sharply observed cultural specifics and matter-of-fact magical realism. The first two episodes have already been released, and it’s clear that Marvel Studios isn’t holding back with its ambitious new Marvel Cinematic Universe show.

While the series centers around the characters of Kirkman and Bishop, it also manages to make some interesting statements about deafness and how it works while living in a hearing society. One of the most noteworthy statements came from Maya Lopez, who is played by Alaqua Cox. She made her MCU debut in the second episode of the series, and this latest installment reveals more about her origin story by flashing back to her past with her father William, who was murdered on Wilson Fisk’s (Kingpin) orders as the commander of the Tracksuit Mafia.

The episode is full of interesting twists and turns, but one of the most intriguing aspects involves Maya’s relationship with her uncle. Earlier in the episode, we see her talking to him about how she was raised as a hearing person, but that she wanted to go to school for the deaf and learn karate. Her uncle responds to this by telling her that it’s better for her to be a part of the hearing world and not rely on him for everything.

While the rest of the show focuses on how Clint and Kate will try to navigate their relationships with each other and the outside world, this episode takes a step back in time to reveal more about Maya’s childhood and her relationship with her father. This isn’t the first time we have seen a glimpse of this important moment, as the second episode of the series featured a scene in which Maya is watching her father play golf with some friends. The moment is both poignant and funny, but it’s also a reminder of the important things that Maya is missing out on by not going to school for the deaf.