Peacemaker Season 2: Both deeply ridiculous and surprisingly heartfelt.

PEACEMAKER: SEASON 2

It’s back to basics, kinda, as Christopher Smith (a.k.a. Peacemaker) tries to find his footing in a world that still views him as a super-villain, or at best, a very loud, very violent idiot. Picking up shortly after the events that shook the new DCU, Chris is desperate to prove he’s one of the good guys, but his past—and the lingering trauma from a certain butterfly infestation—are harder to shake than he thought. Things get instantly messier when a literal doorway to other realities pops up, courtesy of his dearly departed (and still very much racist) father’s shady side hustle, forcing Peacemaker to confront alternate versions of his past mistakes and his “perfect” life. You know, the usual family drama, just with more Nazi dimensions and interdimensional creatures trying to eat people’s faces.

The gang, now affectionately known as the 11th Street Kids, is struggling to keep it together while also trying to keep their boy Chris from fully self-destructing. Leota Adebayo is trying to rebuild a life after outing her own mother, Emilia Harcourt is trying to keep her emotional walls from crumbling, and Vigilante is… well, still Vigilante, trying to be the best-friend-slash-murder-buddy Chris barely deserves. Meanwhile, a vengeful Rick Flag Sr. is breathing down their necks, obsessed with payback for his son’s death and armed with the full, shady resources of a post-Butterfly A.R.G.U.S. that’s partnered up with Lex Luthor. It’s an eight-episode, meta-fictional, high-stakes therapy session with a heavy metal soundtrack, and frankly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Review

Peacemaker Season 2 takes the core strengths of the first season—the outrageous humor, the deep emotional character work, and the ridiculously fun action—and uses them to launch not just a new season, but an entire new cinematic universe. The main plot centers on Chris discovering a Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC) in his home that opens doors to the multiverse. Naturally, he pops over to one where his father, Auggie, and his late brother, Keith, are alive and well, only to realize that “perfect” world is a horrifying, Nazi-led Earth-X. It’s a heavy concept, but it’s handled with James Gunn’s signature blend of absurdity and surprising emotional gravity. This season is less about saving the world from a goofy alien plot and more about Peacemaker trying to save himself from his own history and self-loathing, making it feel more personal and, honestly, a bit darker than the first. The character development for Chris and his team is superb, particularly the slowly thawing, complex relationship between Chris and Harcourt, and Adebayo’s journey to stepping out of her mother’s shadow. The humor is still there, including another iconic opening credits dance sequence, but it often serves to lighten truly dark subject matter, which is a tricky balance the show pulls off. The only real stumble is that the season feels more like a bridge to the wider DCU than a totally self-contained story, especially in the finale, which is more setup than payoff for Chris’s immediate future.

Who Stars in the Episode

The core crew is back and better than ever, making the 11th Street Kids feel like a genuine found family:

• John Cena as Christopher Smith / Peacemaker: The guy who craves peace so much he’ll kill for it. Cena absolutely shines, diving even deeper into Chris’s emotional vulnerability while maintaining his big, dumb, lovable energy.
• Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo: Amanda Waller’s daughter, now fully embracing her own moral compass and becoming the true heart of the team. Her scenes, especially regarding her relationship with her wife, are deeply moving.
• Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt: The stone-cold A.R.G.U.S. agent who just can’t quit this group of misfits. Her character’s slow, reluctant emotional growth this season is one of the most rewarding parts of the show.
• Freddie Stroma as Adrian Chase / Vigilante: Still the bestest, most murder-happy friend a guy could ask for. Vigilante remains the perfect source of oblivious comic relief, though the show hints at a darker side he’s suppressing.
• Steve Agee as John Economos: The ever-suffering tech-guy, who gets a bit more action and even more exasperated reactions to the chaos.
• Robert Patrick returns as August “Auggie” Smith / White Dragon (in the alternate reality): The ghost of Chris’s terrible, racist father haunts him by being… alive and still terrible, which is a genius twist for Chris’s emotional torment.
• Frank Grillo is a major addition as Rick Flag Sr.: The father of the Rick Flag Peacemaker killed, and he’s not happy. Grillo brings a focused, vengeful intensity that makes him a terrifying, institutional antagonist to our heroes.

We also get some great cameos and returning faces like Nhut Le as Judomaster, Tim Meadows as the new A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury, and a surprise appearance by Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, which is a big-deal comic book nerd moment that ties directly into the larger DCU plot.

Thoughts on Special Effects

The special effects are solid, thankfully. The multi-dimensional nature of the story, especially the trips to Earth-X, necessitated a lot of cool visual work. The Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC) portals are visually distinct and feel appropriately dangerous. The standout effects come from the brief glimpses into other dimensions—like the horrifying, tiny-monster-face-eater world or the giant skull spiders—which are quick, shocking, and look genuinely gnarly. There are a few big action sequences, but the show keeps its focus more on visceral, bone-crunching choreography (which looks amazing) rather than giant CGI battles. Even Eagly, Chris’s beloved pet bald eagle, looks fantastic, pulling off some impressive flying and attack maneuvers without looking like a Playstation 2 cutscene. They nailed the dark-humor-meets-body-horror aesthetic perfectly.

Rating

4 / 5 Stars

Complete Synopsis and Plot Breakdown

Introduction to the Multiverse Mess:

The season kicks off a month after the events of Superman (2025). Christopher Smith/Peacemaker is still dealing with his post-Butterfly trauma and guilt over killing his father, Auggie. He discovers the Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC) in his old house is more than just a storage unit; it’s a multiverse gateway, a concept he accidentally activated after the big DCU crossover event. Meanwhile, the core group (now dubbed the “11th Street Kids” by the fans who know their secret) is under the scrutiny of A.R.G.U.S., now led by a vengeful Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), who wants Peacemaker to pay for killing his son, Rick Flag Jr.

The Earth-X Dive:

Chris, desperately seeking a second chance and familial connection, enters an alternate dimension through the QUC. This dimension is revealed to be Earth-X, a world where the Nazis won World War II. Here, his father Auggie and his brother Keith are alive. Auggie is revered as a heroic figure, which initially gives Chris the peace he craves, but he soon discovers the fascist reality underneath the surface, including the persecution of minorities (like an alternate Adebayo) and the ultimate truth that a bigot is a bigot in any universe. This storyline is the emotional core of the season, forcing Chris to realize that running from his problems is impossible, even in a new reality.

The Rise of Rick Flag Sr. and Luthor’s Plot:

Rick Flag Sr. uses the QUC technology as an opportunity to secure his place and enact his revenge. He partners with an imprisoned Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who is all too eager to help the government weaponize the multiverse. Luthor’s interest is in finding a new dimension to use as a metahuman prison—a place called Salvation. Flag Sr. doesn’t trust Peacemaker’s team and begins monitoring them, using new A.R.G.U.S. agents like Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodriguez) and Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows).

Team Conflict and Resolution:

The 11th Street Kids have their own issues. Adebayo and Harcourt continue to navigate their uneasy friendship, with Harcourt finally letting down her guard and sharing a moment (and a kiss!) with Chris, only to immediately regret opening up. Vigilante, feeling abandoned by Chris’s focus on his “perfect” other-world family, ends up following him to Earth-X. The penultimate episode is the climax of the Earth-X arc, where Vigilante, in a misguided act of loyalty, kills the alternate Auggie Smith. Chris, realizing he can’t escape who he is, returns to his own dimension, leaving his alternate brother Keith alive but injured, setting up a potential new, inter-dimensional antagonist.

The Finale and DCU Setup:

Upon his return, Chris is broken and briefly jailed by Flag Sr. The rest of the 11th Street Kids, now including Fleury, Bordeaux, and even a slightly reformed Judomaster, team up in a spectacular rescue mission. They expose Flag Sr.’s increasingly unethical work, particularly his partnership with Luthor and the plan for the Salvation dimension. The team decides to quit A.R.G.U.S. and form their own private-sector oversight group, tentatively named Checkmate (a huge comic book nod). This is a moment of pure, earned triumph and found family for Chris—he finally has the love and purpose he desperately wanted.

The Cliffhanger:

However, the peace is short-lived. Flag Sr. has the final move. Before the Checkmate team can fully secure their position, Flag Sr.’s loyalists capture Peacemaker. Using a forged document, Flag Sr. forcibly sends Chris, alone and without supplies, through the QUC’s final, stable door—straight into the Salvation prison dimension as its first inmate. The final shot is Peacemaker stranded on the lush but dangerous-sounding world, with monstrous roars echoing in the distance, setting the stage for his next appearance in the wider DCU, specifically the upcoming Man of Tomorrow film.

Photos / Video

Review Notes

Love the show overall, the ending was a letdown, I would have liked to have seen the end with CheckMate sign, but I understand the need to set up the DCU stuff.

John Cena has become a surprisingly good actor, when he screams in Episode 7 you really feel what he is feeling.

Probably the best thing about this season is the ridiculously good acting, Chris and Harcourt in the cell had me crying, the 11th street kids bringing Chris back into the fold did the same.