The following review contains spoilers.
Season 2 of Peacemaker continues the darkly comedic tone of the first season. The show remains fun to watch, with jokes, action sequences, and some elements that somehow work for a show about a guy who wears the most obnoxious helmet.
To recap the first season of Peacemaker, a spin-off of the movie The Suicide Squad, Chris Smith (John Cena), or Peacemaker, wakes from a coma after the events in the movie. He is then hired to work for A.R.G.U.S. to stop an alien invasion while grappling with his white supremacist father. The plot leads him to deal with his twisted, contradictory philosophy of peace no matter the cost. On paper, the plot sounds like an exploration of a nuanced and compelling character; in reality, it’s really just a show that has fun with its antics.
This season ventures into multiverse territory, sending Peacemaker to a parallel Earth where his deceased family members are alive. The story also explores the aftermath of his actions in The Suicide Squad (2021) by bringing back the villain Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), a man bent on taking out Peacemaker. Besides that, Eagly (Dee Bradley Baker) gets a subplot involving a recurring joke where he is hunted, and there is also a subplot of the relationship between Chris and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland).
Peacemaker isolates himself to deal with the aftermath of the previous season. After finding another dimension where his family is still alive, he has a lot to process. Harcourt is still central to the plot, though she feels more like a placeholder character, possibly reflecting the tendency of series’ showrunner, James Gunn, to cast his wife in his productions. With the reveal that she had a relationship with Rick Flag Jr., there is an explanation for why her shoehorned romantic feelings for Chris were complicated. Eagly is a standout with a surprising personality, unlike Adrien Chase/Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), who took a backseat this season and made his character feel flat.
New additions include David Denman, an alternate version of Peacemaker’s brother, joining as Captain Triumph. His casting highlights Gunn’s preference for actors he’s worked with before. Frank Grillo re-enters his role as Rick Flag Sr., first introduced in “Creature Commandos” and largely in the 2025 “Superman.” Flag Sr. takes revenge for his son, Flag Jr., who also appears in the parallel Earth, played again by Joel Kinnaman. Sol Rodriguez enters as A.R.G.U.S. agent Sasha Bordeaux, assisting Tim Meadows’s Flag Sr., who comes in as A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury, though he mainly serves as comedic relief. Lastly, Michael Rooker plays Red St. Wild, a character who adds little to the season.
Season 1 explored dysfunctional family dynamics and toxic cycles through Peacemaker’s relationship with his father. The following season continues Gunn’s preoccupation with masculinity, similar to what he’s done in Creature Commandos and Superman. While some of these explorations resonate, they can also feel repetitive and performative in light of Gunn’s past controversies. The humor remains edgy, but while some jokes land well, others lean too heavily on shock value. Fans of Gunn’s style will recognize the lack of studio interference.
Although entertaining, Season 2 struggles with inconsistent character development and an overreliance on Gunn’s trademark humor. The larger vision for the DCU remains unclear, and hints of superhero fatigue may be setting in.
Rating: 3 out of 5 crabs.
