FINALLY!
Of course, it was him all along. Welcome back, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio).
First, though, Clint still has to deal with two women who want to kill him, and one is more justified than the other.
Kate is still involved, and won’t turn back. She won’t be happy with a certain text, though.

SPOILERS BELOW

First off, TOLD YOU!
Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) was caught in the Blip, and nothing has been the same after losing five years. One moment, Yelena’s trying to free a Black Widow named Ana, next moment it’s 2023 and she’s got a family. That’s why Yelena works for Val, and has to kill Clint based on a lie. Without Natasha, it was easy….maybe too easy.

Eleanor (Vera Farmiga) still tries to be the “concerned” mom, talking Kate out of the super-hero life.  She’s also told about Jack (Tony Dalton) and what Sloan LTD is doing. Kate thinks Eleanor should look into this. Actually, she gets Jack arrested for tax fraud. Maybe she is the good mom, after all or something else is happening.
Meanwhile, Razi (Fra Fee) tries to talk Maya (Alaqua Cox) out of her vendetta against “Ronin”, but she’s puzzled about the other assassin, Yelena. He insists once Ronin is dead, they move on. Maya also has the Rolex that came from the Avengers complex. but what’s inside is still a mystery.

Then an interesting meeting happens between Kate and Yelena at Kate’s burned out apartment. At least Yelena is friendly enough with mac and cheese. Florence and Hailee have pretty good chemistry here as their characters both try to make their cases, but Florence really shines. She acts like an excited girl being in New York for the first time, then cheerfully changes gears to explain why she has to kill Clint.

To the show’s credit, it’s much more than “Countess Val told me so.” Yelena points out Clint is a killer, and caused a lot of damage. Also, he didn’t help save everyone in Endgame, it was Natasha. She also dismisses Clint claiming to be an Avenger, as if it’s a meaningless title. Yelena thinks she has to kill him, to honor Natasha’s name. As she says, “We are defined by what we do”.

What’s interesting is what is not said here. Kate doesn’t tell Yelena Clint became a killer because the Blip took his family, or that she’s a killer, too. If that happened, Yelena might say, “Well, he had his free will but…wait, what did you say about the Blip?”

For now, she tells Kate she won’t hurt her…if she stays away. Of course, that won’t happen. She might wind up being the referee onceClint and Yelena meet. People may want a lot more after this, but that’s what future TV episodes are for.

Meanwhile, Kate decides she may not be a super-hero, but she can certainly help. She leaves Clint a hundred messages, then figures tracking his phone would be easier.

Meanwhile, Clint still thinks about what Natasha did, and that she was the bravest of them all. He hopes, wherever she is, she’ll forgive her for what he has to do. He has to confront Maya as Ronin.
They meet at a used car lot, along with the Tracksuit Mafia. They’re sidelined quickly.

It leads to one intense confrontation and great fighting action. Clint doesn’t kill her, but tells her to stay away from his family. He also tries to tell her he did not kill her father, but she attacks him.
Then an arrow stops her…and yes, it’s Kate to the rescue.
By the way, he hands her an arrow a short time later. This makes it official, but Clint should be in the MCU in a role similar to Coulson or Nick Fury. Laura can help out.

Maya leaves, and starts to wonder if Clint’s right. She asks Ravi about it, but doesn’t say much. He is glad her vendetta is over, but it might be shifted somewhere else.

The final scenes reveal a lot, but might confuse some. Kate does tell Clint about Yelena, and he doesn’t seem to be surprised. Maybe he knows she is mad at him somehow. Then, Yelena sees Eleanor enter a building.
That’s followed by Kate getting one shocking text: Eleanor hired Yelena to kill Clint. The look on her face:

It gets worse. Clint gets the picture with Kingpin and Eleanor. That’s followed by the most appropriate Christmas song for the moment.

However, fans might wonder if the text is true. Didn’t Val hire Yelena to kill Clint? The picture also looks dodgy, but that is the Kingpin.
Clint confirmed it.
Well, how about this:  Yelena decided at some point she wouldn’t kill Clint. Val calls Eleanor (maybe episode four) to convince Yelena by emphasizing how he’s a stone cold killer. She does, and that gets Yelena back on the job. That still doesn’t confirm the text came from her, but that’s a possibility.

Still, if Eleanor is the “concerned mother”, telling Clint that “being good isn’t enough to stay alive” still hints that she is sketchy somehow.
It’ll be interesting learning how she got involved with Fisk, if she is.
Also, it’s safe to say Jack will come back, being upset by her betrayal.

Next week, the story wraps up with the most stressful Christmas Party ever. It might be a cousin to a certain red event.
A lot will take place between the eggnog and mistletoe. Yelena will have a long talk with Clint, which he’s willing to have. Maya will want to meet Fisk about her dad, and may not like what she learns. Kate will want the truth about her mom, and will soon have something in common with Maya.
Finally, we’ll see why everyone wants that Rolex, and not in a gift box.