6 Issues We Appreciated, and three We Did not, About ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2

After eight weekly episodes, Peacemaker season two has lastly come to an finish. James Gunn’s sophomore effort with the John Cena-led present, which exists in canon limbo between the DCUs of previous and new, had plenty of hype round it. That hype turned much more fever-pitched because the present was positioned as a direct follow-up to Superman. So with out additional ado, listed here are all of the peaks and valleys from Peacemaker season two.

Appreciated: Eagly being badass

We right here at io9 have made it our prime precedence to glaze Eagly, the perfect Peacemaker character (edging out Adrian by the narrowest of margins), at each given alternative. He’s merely a delight. There’s simply one thing concerning the Muppet kayfabe of its forged of actors having to pantomime (or higher but, act with a mocapped actor like in Superman) for all of Eagly’s foolish little moments.

Whether or not it was Eagly indignantly ignoring the crew to chase down some baloney or hovering into the fray for his massive hero second, the truth that CGI and movement seize turned a rattling chook right into a cherished character—and made viewers search “does the chook die” each week—is proof of how good Gunn is at weaponizing cute animals to drag at our heartstrings. Fortunately, the chook survived this season. Huge shout-out to Dee Bradley Baker, whose wild profession arc led to voicing the present’s undisputed finest boy.

Appreciated: Purple St. Wild’s Looney Tunes aspect quest

Peacemaker‘s second season felt distinctly sillier than its first. Perhaps one thing was within the water with the present sharing a streaming service with Looney Tunes (earlier than Warner Bros., in its infinite knowledge, got rid of the show) as a result of this season had massive Looney Tunes power. No factor emphasised that greater than Michael Rooker’s Elmer Fudd-ass subplot as Purple St. Wild, who hunted Eagly whereas toting a comedically outsized rifle. It’s all the time a great signal when a comic book ebook present isn’t afraid of being goofy, and this entire bit was peak. No notes.

Appreciated: That massive (albeit predictable) Earth X twist

Though viewers predicted that Peacemaker‘s alternate dimension was Earth X weeks prematurely of when Gunn thought they would catch on, the punch of the reveal wasn’t any much less efficient as an enormous “uh-oh” second of the season. Kudos to Gunn for intentionally selecting background characters in Earth X to be of the mayonnaise complexion selection, whereas quickly reducing again to our world—set in Atlanta, thoughts you—with very seen and, dare we are saying, drop-dead attractive extras turning the heads of the principle forged. It was a intelligent twist made all of the extra poignant for followers sitting in anticipation for a way that shoe would drop, and it dropped in essentially the most hilarious approach attainable.

What’s extra, it managed to make its total Nazi world experience the road between being outwardly comedic and deeply upsetting, highlighting the hazard Judomaster and Adebayo have been in. We all know Gunn tries to not make his works analogues for actual life occasions (cough cough Superman), however letting Adebayo say the quiet part out loud about our present political local weather not being so completely different from Earth X was some good shit. Robert Patrick’s character can hold his fence-sitting centrist hero speech, although.

Appreciated: The Superman cameos

From the second Gunn turned publicly cagey about the place the remainder of the season would head, it was clear the DC boss had massive plans and cameos in thoughts. Whereas it was a little bit of a disgrace that, regardless of all of the secrecy, he ended up scooping himself within the director’s commentary of Superman‘s expedited digital release, it didn’t make Nicholas Hoult‘s cameo as Lex Luthor any much less large.

Contemplating Gunn’s misgivings about his Peacemaker characters haphazardly making cameos in different DC initiatives with out his prior data, it was neat to see Gunn make Peacemaker really feel much less like a property stripped for components to raise shakier initiatives and as a substitute act as an essential lynchpin. It could afford to have cameos that aren’t silhouettes, and massive marquee gamers within the DC Universe can come mess around in Peacemaker‘s toy field.

Appreciated: The eleventh Avenue children’ profitable chemistry

Gunn’s actually good at making an ensemble forged of characters who’re in any other case assholes really feel like essentially the most endearing, compelling, tight-knit group of friends. Peacemaker‘s forged is to DC what the Guardians of the Galaxy misfits have been to Marvel, and that sentiment is made much more true in season two.

With each growth the place the gang was on their very own splintered journey, the considered “I’m wondering what X would assume/say about this” was all however unimaginable to disregard. And, not lacking a beat, the present would ship these moments. Seeing the gang’s reunion teased out was tremendous efficient as a result of the present felt like its coronary heart was made entire each time the group received collectively and tried to beat no matter harrowing scenario they have been in. Witnessing the gang giving one another shit from a spot of affection and dropping the pretenses of their joking relationships to get actual was probably the greatest bits from the present.

Appreciated: John Cena’s evolution from wrestler to bona fide actor

Amongst wrestlers turned actors, the hierarchy of expertise continues to be ironclad, with John Cena behind Dave Bautista and leaps forward of Dwayne Johnson. Nevertheless, Cena’s efficiency this season was his finest but; together with his uncanny comedic timing, bodily performing, and emotional depth, Cena was firing on all cylinders. You’ll be able to all the time inform when an actor is simply phoning it in in comparison with once they’re deeply of their factor, taking part in off their costars and performing like a sponge, squeezing out each motion and response they’ll from a scene. And Cena did that shit.

Watching him play a person with a foolish helmet who bawls his eyes out when he’s seen as a joke—and later realizes his weirdo assortment of a discovered household is keen to kill his alternate dimension household to save lots of him—was genuinely emotionally stirring. Certain, strong scripts lay the groundwork for distinctive tales—however the uncooked vulnerability and flexibility Cena introduced this season really earned him the title of actor.

Didn’t like: The repetitive, rambling jokes

One of many sturdy factors of Peacemaker‘s first season was its comedy. A lot of it was Donnie Darko-esque, delivering terminally on-line asides about fandoms, area of interest factoids, or observations that might in any other case match proper at house on r/ShowerThoughts subreddit. However what made them work was that they weren’t throwaway quips to fill time. Some have been overly lengthy however labored as a result of they have been the uncommon, drawn-out, improvised bits in a sea of short-jab punchy jokes.

We didn’t get a lot of that this season. As an alternative, the humor hovered someplace between “drawn-out Household Man prelude to a cutaway gag that by no means comes” and Ghostbusters-reboot ranges of “oops—all improvisations.” The tip end result was plenty of long-walked bits that weren’t price their flimsy punchlines. Sadly, a lot of this was divvied as much as Economos, making him a personality one would reflexively brace themselves for in preparation for a ramble that didn’t go wherever, a lot much less successfully distract the dangerous guys whereas the remainder of the gang engages in sneaky subterfuge.

Didn’t like: Too many musical montages

It’s no secret that James Gunn loves his needle drops. And to his credit score, he does it higher than most. A lot of his deep pulls are leagues preferable to the overplayed tunes different administrators make use of, which develop into extra distracting to the scenes they’re tied to than a stellar underscoring.

That being stated, Gunn received a bit too overzealous this time round. Whereas sure, Cunning Shazam’s “Oh Lord” is a bop, its inclusion as one in every of three needle drops in montages within the present’s finale felt extra like padding out a limp ending to a present whose penultimate episode ended on a stronger observe than its personal finale. What’s worse, lots of the finale’s musical sequences felt like they might’ve been leagues extra attention-grabbing as precise scenes. Talking of…

Didn’t like: That cliffhanger finale

A lot of Peacemaker‘s thrust as a present felt prefer it petered out by the point its eighth episode and ultimate episode rolled round. Certain, we received to see what occurred between Harcourt and Chris on that boat. Certain, we received to see the gang have an emotional climax that deepened their bonds. However the entire episode felt like a number of epilogues stitched collectively to signpost the place the DC Universe was going with portal dimensions, leaving the eleventh Avenue children within the mud.

And that sucked. Particularly since its heavy-handed musical montages flattened moments when it felt like we have been constructing as much as the gang thwarting ARGUS’ plans with Planet Salvation, solely to putz round with Judomaster, Fleury, and Bordeaux (who simply present up as new members of the group with none actual justification for why), organising their very own base of operations.

Having the legs minimize below what felt like a approach to get again at ARGUS made it seem to be the present didn’t actually know what to do with them. Plus, Chris getting black bagged and sequestered in Planet Salvation felt like a cop-out after that rah-rah speech about preventing again—and a little bit of a waste of time with a present that’s in any other case been lean and to-the-point.

Finally, “Full Nelson” felt extra like an empty punt towards the remainder of the DC Universe that left its characters in a lurch. Putting Chris in a proverbial field and submitting him away was definitely not a cathartic landing. We spent the entire season liking these characters. Having the finale arrange different exhibits whereas shelving the eleventh Avenue children didn’t instill pleasure for a way Lanterns—or any future DC challenge—will “sure, and” with Peacemaker as an expansive linked universe.

Peacemaker season two is now streaming on HBO Max.

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