Peacemaker Season 2: Controversial, Unique, and Impossible to Ignore
Whenever you think no one can make a serious live-action project about a comic book character that is so weird and impossible to adapt, James Gunn proves you wrong. After the Peacemaker season 2 finale, people will continue talking about the show for a long time. It remained controversial, unique, and impossible to ignore for weeks. It wasn’t meant to be a one-season wonder, and now we know why. Season 1 was a more tightly focused story on character study and exploration of inner problems, as well as character development, but in the audience’s eyes.
In this season, John Cena’s physical ability to do comedy and drama and James Gunn’s talent to create humor and interesting stories in surprising moments truly came to life. The second season keeps the things that made the show fun in the first place. There are some changes in the personal goals of the characters as well as in the ending of the story this season, but it all pays off and sometimes feels like a sacrifice to viewers to bring something even better in the future.
[Warning: Spoilers from Peacemaker are below!]
The story in Peacemaker season 2
Peacemaker’s season 2 continues to tell a story about Chris Smith (John Cena) trying to be a better man. Even though it’s on his own terms, the universe is against him. Gunn and anyone who worked on this season decided to double down on the extraterrestrial motives, including alien invasion, for example. Chris stops being a man who believes in “peace at any cost, no matter how many people he kills.” Since the season 1 finale, he has been forced to confront his inner demons that prove his idea of peace often collides with unintentionally hurting the people he loves. And why is that? This season was the perfect excuse to explore and develop Chris’ character even further in that way.
We pick up not long after the events of season 1 and the Superman movie. James Gunn wastes no time showing that Chris’ trauma hasn’t been magically resolved, and now it manifests as self-destructive outbursts of spontaneous decisions. Now he is more of a man trying to convince himself he’s moved on and doesn’t want to hurt anyone, instead of being a mercenary no one needs. The ghosts from his past, in the presence of an alternate reality where his family is alive, became a heartbreaking moment for him that changed everything.
What’s fascinating about all those decisions is how the show uses the lamest and most obvious jokes and makes them fit the entire dark, serious aura. The structure of this season is more focused on the characters instead of the story or a big bad trying to destroy the world. Each of the eight episodes feels like its own contained story that balances between major action moments and then focuses on a strong emotional side. Even the role of supporting characters gets more significant this season.
Another important plot this season is exploring the idea of creating your own legacy and not repeating the mistakes of the past. Chris’s late father, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick), is still a haunting presence, but he is alive in an alternate reality on Earth-X. He is the lovable father Chris always wanted to have, and in addition, his brother Keith (David Denman) is also alive here. This situation creates more confusion and questions for Chris rather than giving him peace and real happiness. The new reality equals a new story. We get to see some slower character and story developments, but the only thing that matters until the end is Chris. Based on his experience, we see the emotional cost of being Peacemaker, a.k.a. the person his father forced him to be, to “not disappoint him.”
By the time the final episodes aired, the tone of the story became even more serious, and the stakes started to become more and more clear. The question Chris and the viewers ask themselves isn’t whether he can be happy, but whether he can stop doing things that he doesn’t want to do and that hurt others, because he can’t be his own man. Those moments, combined with alternate reality scenes, give the show new emotional moments, which, up until the end, show the kind of life Chris could have had. Unfortunately, every dream has to end, and when he finds out the truth about this world, it’s too late. Everything starts to collapse, and that’s the most of this season, and that’s the event that reshaped him to finally become the person he needs to be.
The important part of this season is Chris, and he is the reason everything is happening in the beginning, middle, and end of the season. He is the reason Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) seeks revenge, he is the reason his father dies again, and he is the reason why others suffer. But he is also the reason why some people decide to move forward, and that’s also beautiful in a way.
The bigger connection to James Gunn’s DCU
Season 2 is where Peacemaker starts functioning as another project that is strongly connected to the DCU, now permanently. It’s also important for the future of this universe by introducing us to the prison world Salvation, the political and moral complications of A.R.G.U.S. and its agents, and most importantly, the creation of Checkmate, a.k.a. another important agency in the DC Universe.
Gunn uses these things to not only tease future events but also to constantly develop this world and not let it stay in place for 1-2 years just to develop it a little. He goes all-in and decides the creation of it must start now and can’t be stopped. If you follow the DCU roadmap closely, season 2 functions like a hub for everything that’s about to come. It explains the motivations of certain characters in upcoming projects, teases new villains, and helps some characters to change their allegiance and not care that they will have consequences in the potential future.
Because of the season 2 finale, numerous things have happened that will cause a lot of chaos and create opportunities in the future. One of them is the creation of Checkmate, the new agency of Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) and friends that will handle all the things that A.R.G.U.S. and others won’t. That feels significant for two reasons. Due to the narrative, they may become another shadow agency that will be a counterpart to Rick Flag Sr.. They will do the things they do for the good of other people and not for their own agenda. Even though it’s a cover ops agency in the comics, I strongly believe they will become something more, something better in the DCU.
As for the future of Chris, he landed on the planet Salvation. In the comics, this is a planet created by New Gods (Darkseid among them) to train. There are dangerous creatures, deadly technology, and everything that can be used to cause mayhem. The appearance of that planet alone may lead to teasing Apokolips and Darkseid’s appearance soon. Especially with Lanterns premiering next year and with their plot being connected to the events of this finale.
Final thoughts on Peacemaker season 2
Peacemaker season 2 is a unique journey. It’s also a unique DC project. It’s more ambitious than season 1, and it expands the emotional parts of the show to explore the mentality of characters. When the season goes into more peaceful moments, human moments, moments that we need, it works. And when it has to go into world-building moments, it balances the humor and seriousness really well.
The more you dive into this season, the more imperfect characters become, and that’s good. Because the more imperfect and real they seem, the more connected we’ll feel to them. That is what helps make this season worth watching and experiencing.
Both seasons of Peacemaker is now streaming on HBO Max.
Also check out: Peacemaker Season 2 Early Reaction & First Season Recap | Cosmic Circus Reviews
