All eight episodes of Peacemaker Season 2 from James Gunn are now available for streaming on HBO Max. To mark the occasion, Comics Beat’s Elite have gathered in the Earth-X version of Stately Beat Manor to discuss the latest addition to the DC Cinematic Universe.
What did you think of Peacemaker Season 2? Be sure and let us know in the comment section or over on social media.
Cover Photo Credit: Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
Photograph by Miglio/HBO MaxWhat did you think of Peacemaker Season 2?
AVERY KAPLAN: While I enjoyed the first season, as well as Creature Commandos Season 1 and The Suicide Squad, I thought that Peacemaker Season 2 is easily Gunn’s strongest DCU outing yet. Although the whole season was well done, I thought it peaked with episode 6, and was sort of disappointed that we left the Nazi World behind after the penultimate episode. While John Cena did an excellent job as Chris Smith, the whole cast was impressive this season. I was won over by Judomaster (Nhut Le) during his scene with Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), as well as by the surly cyborg Sasha Bordeaux (Star Trek alum Sol Rodriguez). At this point I do feel a bit like William Boimler vis-a-vis “the multiverse,” but Peacemaker Season 2 handled the idea so well that I am more than willing to see it further explored in future stories.
TAIMUR DAR: Honestly, I think Season 2 surpassed Season 1 in so many ways. While there were a few things set up that didn’t quite come into play whether it was the revelation regarding Eagly (Dee Bradley Baker) as the Prime Eagle or the Justice Gang auditions, I think there was much more chatter and excitement online than Season 1. I know people were expecting Superman or other major character cameos to appear. Aside from Lex Luthor played by Nicholas Hoult, I’m kind of glad the show restrained itself. I blame the Marvel Cinematic Universe for fans expecting these big cameos or post-credit scenes setting up future projects.
LISA FERNANDES: I loved everything about Season 2 of Peacemaker but the ending. It’s extremely dicey to leave your show sitting on a perpetual cliffhanger and hope people will follow all of your movies to figure out what happens next to him. Otherwise, this was Leota’s season to shine in a lot of ways and I absolutely got involved with Chris’ romance with Emilia (Jennifer Holland).
GREGORY PAUL SILBER: I didn’t love Peacemaker season 2 as much as my fellow contributors above, but I looked forward to every episode and agree that it improved on the first season (which I quite liked as well). I like how it fleshed out some of the characters who were a bit underdeveloped in season 1 as well. I didn’t really have much for Judomaster before he was finally given an opportunity to be more than just a punchline this season. Harcourt was a highlight too. I’ll admit to rolling my eyes a little when I found out Gunn cast his own wife, but I’ve warmed up to her much in the way that I’ve grown an appreciation for his brother, Sean Gunn, appearing in all his projects. I hope this propels Holland’s career. I’d love to see more of her; she proved herself to be such a more capable actress than just to be known as “Gunn’s wife.”
OLLIE KAPLAN: I agree with my fellow contributors: Season 2 outshines Season 1. As Avery said to me the other day (and I am paraphrasing here), “Season 1, we might never return to. Season 2, we will definitely watch again.”
DERRICK CROW: Really strong first half, lost me a bit with the final episodes. Mostly because I don’t believe it’s ever a good idea to cram as much stuff as you can into a few episodes that it feels like a whole season on its own. There was a lot of build up to Earth-X only for us to spend very minimal time in it, I assume it’ll come back up again eventually, but like others have pointed out having that uncertainty if we’ll even get a season three or where these stories will pop up again is not making for a great total experience. The MCU has adopted this same tactic and I’ve grown stale towards it. Eagly being the Prime Eagle would’ve been cooler if it didn’t happen in a superfluous subplot. And I didn’t care at all about the relationship between Peacemaker and Harcourt, I didn’t care about the boat.
But I’m coming across a bit too harsh I think. I DID like it overall, mostly because of the character work and that even with stuff that didn’t work for me there’s still plenty in every single episode that I loved. The character dynamics, how they’re all approaching their lives in different ways, how the multiverse is being utilized here, the Justice Gang and Luthor showing up, and a lot more. Peacemaker the show continues to be really, really good, I just felt that the stacked back half made it feel weaker than season one for me.
JEREMY FUSCALDO: I thought it was pretty good and that it built upon the foundations we got in season 1. The season starts out very strong and I like how the series progressed and how it introduced the concept of the multiverse. While I do understand why people were a bit let down by last episode– I think it sets up something fascinating for the series to go if Gunn decides to make a third season.
Photograph by Miglio/HBO MaxWhat was your favorite and/or least favorite part of Peacemaker Season 2?
AVERY KAPLAN: My favorite part of Peacemaker Season 2 was the excellent depiction of how Chris’ white male privilege blinded him to the fact that he was visiting a world that was locked down by white supremacists. And I really enjoyed the sequence in episode 6 in which Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) met himself. Plus, I would be remiss not to mention the excellent opening credits sequence. While I was at first uncertain if it matched the glory of season 1’s opening credits sequence, by a few episodes in, I had been fully won over.
TAIMUR DAR: Favorite part? Oh boy, there’s no shortage of that. I gotta go with the soundtrack. Like many, I used to describe Gunn’s use of music Tarantino-esque, but at this point, I think Gunn has no comparison. I’m guessing like many, this season introduced me to so many bands I was unfamiliar with, including Foxy Shazam whose song “Oh Lord” was featured in the opening credits sequence.
LISA FERNANDES: The way the team splintered and came back together was excellent. Watching Chris grow up was also excellent.
GREGORY PAUL SILBER: While I agree that a lot of the needle drops were excellent, I missed the focus on hair metal from season 1 that gave the show such a distinct sonic identity. Like Avery though, I was blown away by the episode 6 reveal–easily the biggest “oh shit!” twist in recent memory. I’m still kicking myself for not catching on sooner.
OLLIE KAPLAN: Like Greg, I am kicking myself for not picking up on the twist earlier. But I loved it, and it was great to watch a superhero film or television project with a message beyond, “Look at me, I am soooo different from all the other superhero projects out there.” Instead, Peacemaker’s second season had something to say about cis, white male privilege and the blinders it gives someone to the harms experienced by other communities. When a world is catered to the comfort of people who look similar to someone, it’s easy to miss the signs that others are suffering—unless that person tries to confront their biases, and they try to confront them actively. In fact, even with good intentions, they must be challenged. But, when someone does the work and challenges their implicit biases, they can grow. And we see that journey happen to Chris Smith.
DERRICK CROW: My favorite thing is multiple things. Like I’ve mentioned before the characters in this show are excellently written and acted, they are far and away what makes this show work so well. They make me laugh, cry, and really feel invested in all of their journeys both together and individually. I love that Gunn has never shied away from having FUN with the DC universe and something I genuinely love about his new DCU is that it feels like a place where crazy superhero stuff is allowed to earnestly happen and exist and no one’s trying to minimize that earnestness by calling it out that feels callous. And I look forward to what Checkmate becomes in this universe.
Least favorite thing was the over bloated last three episodes, not actually getting to see Peacemaker exist for a prolonged period of time on Earth-X, and again I didn’t care about the boat.
JEREMY FUSCALDO: My favorite moment of the show was when it started to feel like a shared universe. I enjoyed the multiple DCU characters that appeared throughout the show and I like the fact that the multiverse was treated like an event for the characters to experience for their personal growth. I like how Chris travelling to another dimension played out very much like a Multiversal equivalent of Coraline. It was treated as a huge story moment for the characters and not just another dimension that they were passing through– instead making it integral to the story.
I think my least favorite aspect of the show may be Michael Rooker’s character in this season. This is painful to write because he is always a wonderful addition to every TV or show that Gunn has been involved in and he does a great job acting in these episodes. But I think it mostly has more to do with the writing and characterization of Red St Wild. I feel his character’s inclusion came off a bit weak for me.
I hope that whatever Gunn has planned next, he gets to re-incorporate Rooker in another film/show in the future. Rooker is a wonderful addition and I hope he continues to utilize him in the future of the DCU.
Photograph by Miglio/HBO MaxAre you hoping for another season of Peacemaker?
AVERY KAPLAN: Yes, I am really hoping for Peacemaker Season 3 (if not more seasons). As I mentioned above, I enjoyed the first season but I feel the sophomore season elevated it to all-new heights, and I think there’s the potential to go even higher with another season. I do feel certain we’ll see more of at least some of the characters and subplots in the future of the DCU. But I am a fan of the specific ensemble cast and the themes explored on Peacemaker and hope we get another outing with them before too long. And with Keith 2 plotting revenge against Chris 1, I think there’s a great opportunity to return to the Nazi World and explore it more fully in potential future seasons as well. And of course, it would be incredible to see a third version of the excellent opening credits sequence.
TAIMUR DAR: I went into this season knowing that a third season wasn’t a guarantee simply due to Gunn’s incredibly busy schedule. The fact that the second season came out three years after the first is pretty miraculous given that Gunn was simultaneously working on Superman. While Gunn has promised Peacemaker’s storyline being trapped on the Salvation planet will continue to future DC Studios projects, he’s hesitant to say a third season is a go. As Avery mentioned, there are so many plotlines that could only be properly followed up in a third season. However, there’s also the possibility that these plotlines may factor into the second season of Creature Commandos. If nothing else, it’s the perfect way to bring GI Robot to Earth-X and give him the chance to kill Nazis!
LISA FERNANDES: Yes, because who does a cliffhanger like that in this day and age, Gunn?!
GREGORY PAUL SILBER: I wouldn’t complain about a third season, but as long as the season 2 cliffhanger gets followed up on, I’ll be satisfied. I suspect—or at least hope— that Chris (and his friends) will play a major role in the upcoming Waller series. Reworking the show as a Checkmate series might be a nice way to do a spiritual Peacemaker Season 3 as well.
OLLIE KAPLAN: Simple answer: YES!
JEREMY FUSCALDO: Yes– I would love to see a third season of the show. It will probably not happen anytime soon considering that Man of Tomorrow is taking a bigger priority, as well as Supergirl and Clayface— I do think we may get a third season at some point down the road. It may take a while before it happens, and Gunn has played coy about whether or not it will happen. We will just have to wait and see.
DERRICK CROW: Absolutely. There’s more than enough story left in this for a third season to follow-up on, plus it’d be nice to have an annual show that either weaves in and out of the nuDCU or just exists in it but doesn’t necessarily rely on everything else going on to be entertaining in its own right. Something the MCU is finally starting to learn as it begins to recreate what made the OG MCU TV shows so accessible. We’ll see, but yes, I really want a season three!
Seasons 1 and 2 of Peacemaker are currently available to stream on HBO Max.
English (US) · 