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After a slew of mediocrity, director James Gunn breathed new life into the DC cinematic world with 2021’s The Suicide Squad. For the film, the brighter tone, witty writing, and dynamic characters lit a spark of hope that future DC cinematic installments would witness a similar increase in quality. Unfortunately, over the following few years, subsequent releases would continue to see middling receptions, with the exception of the first season of Peacemaker, with the titular character played by John Cena, following the events of The Suicide Squad. Now, one studio reboot later, Gunn is now in the producer’s chair as CEO of DC Studios, and the first few installments of the new “DCU” have landed. Peacemaker Season 2 continues the story of the first, while also trying to slide it into the new DCU timeline.
The final product here is a second season that feels off. While there are some moments of good writing and character building, the season is bogged down by bad pacing, repetitive bits, dead-end subplots, and world-building that distracts from the show’s more personal themes.
Brave New World
Peacemaker Season 2 takes place following the events of the first season, as well as Gunn’s Superman film, released earlier this year. With a new status quo of metahuman superheroes out and about, Peacemaker, a.k.a. Chris Smith, is trying to make a name for himself as a hero and change his image from the more morally dubious antihero he was in the previous season, as well as in The Suicide Squad. Smith isn’t the only misfit looking for redemption in this season, though. Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) is looking to start up a detective service after being expelled from the Advanced Research Group of the United States (A.R.G.U.S.) for leaking government secrets. Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), also out of a job, deals with her darker, violent side as she keeps others at a distance, and John Economos (Steve Agee) faces a crisis of conscience as the only member of the team left with a government position.
These character conflicts are key to the plot of Peacemaker’s second season, as the narrative attempts to take a more personal turn away from the world-ending stakes of the body-snatching butterflies from the first season. In theory, this works, as we get to explore life in the new DC Universe through the struggles of these likeable misfits. What we actually get, though, is a wildly uneven story.
One of Peacemaker’s central arcs deals with his discovery of an alternate dimension where his father Auggie (Robert Patrick) and brother Keith (David Denman) are still alive and actually love him, as well as another version of Harcourt whom he harbours a relationship with. As he attempts to distance himself from his friends in his home dimension, we begin to see how this new “perfect world” might not be as perfect as it seems. However, this multiverse plot is not nearly as well explored as it should be, as the show makes room for another plot surrounding Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) and his handling of A.R.G.U.S.
These two plotlines feel at odds with each other. On one hand, the alternate universe plot feels like it’s trying to tell a personal, character-driven narrative, while the A.R.G.U.S. plot aims to set up a larger narrative for the future of the DCU, which feels somewhat out of place for this show.
Rapid Fire Narrative
Another aspect of the show that hinders the narrative is the pacing. Far too many episodes in the middle chunk of the season barely rest above half an hour, telling what should be a fairly linear story over way too many episodes. Just as it feels like something is about to happen, a licensed song is needle-dropped and the credits start to roll, making it feel like the narrative climax is being held out just in front of you for over half the season.
That said, even the longer episodes feel drawn out, too. I can forgive the first two episodes for this, as they have the responsibility of setting up the season’s narrative and reintroducing audiences to the world, but the finale is a whole other situation. After a string of fast-paced narrative beats, I expected the longer finale to wrap everything up pretty nicely. Instead, while we did receive some satisfying character developments, the show ends on a pretty open note. Overall, it just feels like Peacemaker has misused its time this season, making for a rather unfulfilling watch, especially week-to-week.
Charismatic Characters
Peacemaker Season 2’s saving grace is its characters, most of whom get interesting arcs, or at least some pretty good scenes. The highlight of these performances is, of course, John Cena as Peacemaker himself. When it comes to the multiple wrestlers-turned-actors, Cena has turned out to be one of my favorites. Here, he does well to provide a nuanced performance, making Peacemaker hilariously naive at times while also making sure to show his vulnerable side from time to time. Another stand-out performance here is Jennifer Holland’s Harcourt—or better said Harcourts—as she portrays two different versions of the character. There is the original Harcourt, who uses a tough and edgy personality to hide her deeper insecurities, but also the alternate reality version, who comes off as more passive and subdued. Holland and Cena have some pretty good on-screen chemistry in both contexts, and a certain scene in the sixth episode of the season does a great job at humanizing both characters.
Steve Agee’s Economos plays a much bigger role this season as the inside guy at A.R.G.U.S. while the events of the season are going down, letting the rest of the cast in on what possible issues the morally dubious government agency could be getting up to. He is also joined by newcomer Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows), who, while used mainly for comic relief, is an entertaining addition to the cast with some pretty solid line delivery and memorable jokes.
Keep On Keeping On
At the end of the day, Peacemaker Season 2 is serviceable. There are some interesting story ideas here and some frankly great character moments. Unfortunately, those things are weighed down by a poorly paced narrative that attempts to tackle too much at once, eventually leaving behind the series’ strengths for franchise setup. While I am excited for the future of the DCU, and it is likely many of these characters will return in the future, I can’t help feeling a sour taste in my mouth from the series’ ending.
Sources: IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB, IMDB
Images: Warner Brothers/Discovery, Warner Brothers/Discovery, Warner Brothers/Discovery
Contact Ian Case with comments at ian.case@bsu.edu
