REVIEW: ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Is A Messy But Mostly Great Follow-Up

James Gunn’s DC Universe is in full swing. The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director kicked off things in earnest with Creature Commandos, followed by Superman, and now Peacemaker Season 2 marks the third official entry. Like the first season, Peacemaker Season 2 is a hilarious, surprisingly heartfelt, and consistently off-kilter entry into the vast world of superhero television. However, the mostly great follow-up to season one hits a few snags due to showrunner Gunn’s focus being pulled in multiple directions. 

After the events of season one, the “11th Street Kids” have mostly gone their separate ways since defeating Project Butterfly. Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena), the reformed jingoistic vigilante, is trapped in his loneliness, leading him to explore an alternate universe in his Quantum Unfolding Chamber where Peacemaker is considered a hero.

After an incident that leaves his alternate universe self dead, Peacemaker considers taking over his life. Meanwhile, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) puts together a team at ARGUS to take revenge on Chris for murdering his son in The Suicide Squad.

Peacemaker Season 2’s characters stand out with personality and performance.

If there’s one thing to count on with Peacemaker Season 2, it’s the performance. John Cena is every bit the lovable doofus he was the first couple of times around, only this time Cena really lets us see Chris’s deep turmoil as he struggles to accept himself. It’s a wonderfully written and performed arc that keeps the audience with Peacemaker even during its strange asides. 

The rest of the 11th Street Kids are handled incredibly well throughout, too. With the exception of an underplayed John Economos (Steve Agee), this is a murderer’s row of lovable, deeply written characters. The lovably off-putting Vigilante is played to perfection by Freddie Stroma, while Jennifer Holland’s portrayal of Emilia Harcourt communicates a damaged, complex individual in a way the first season never even dared. The real glue of the 11th Street Kids is Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, who turns in a subtly outstanding performance as someone who would do anything and everything for her friends. 

The new (to Peacemaker Season 2) characters are mostly great as well. The cardboard cut-out character of Rick Flag Sr. from Creature Commandos is transformed into a vindictive, slimy villain to watch, courtesy of the combination of Frank Grillo’s performance and James Gunn’s writing. Meanwhile, Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows) may be one of the most purely funny characters Gunn has ever written, whereas Nhut Le‘s return as Judomaster feels like a successful attempt to rebuild the character from the ground up. 

James Gunn has total command over Peacemaker Season 2’s spot-on tone.

Not particularly great are Sol Rodríguez as Flag’s right-hand woman, Sasha Bordeaux, and Michael Rooker as eagle hunter Red St. Wild. Bordeaux, despite Rodríguez’s best efforts, falls almost completely flat due to a lack of characterization throughout.

Red St. Wild, on the other hand, is almost entirely a disaster; an unfunny character whose main “joke” boils down to him culturally appropriating Indigenous cultures and hunting eagles indiscriminately? There’s next to nothing here to latch onto, and it’s a character that could’ve been cut entirely. 

Thankfully, the character misgivings are mostly made up for by Gunn’s total control of tone. Peacemaker Season 2 is gut-bustingly hilarious. Gags such as Langston Fleury’s “bird blindness” and Vigilante meeting his alternate self and immediately geeking out are among the funniest things Gunn’s ever written.

Conversely, the series’ darker, more human moments land every time. Peacemaker Season 2 heavily identifies with the emotional struggles of its band of losers in a way that never feels overripe or manufactured. Like Leota Adebayo, the season wears its heart on its sleeve.

Peacemaker Season 2 is an undeniably solid ride.

That heart isn’t quite enough to hide the inherent messiness of this season. Three main threads are going throughout the series: set-up for the burgeoning DC Universe, Rick Flag and his ARGUS team coming after Chris, and Chris’s trip into the multiverse. All three offer individual pleasures and great moments.

Yet, they’re all competing for screen time to the point where none really gets as much time to sit and shine as it should. The Earth-X/alternate world storyline in particular feels like it gets its legs cut off much too early, while the finale itself hovers above, making the season feel incomplete.

By the end, though, Peacemaker Season 2 is an undeniably solid ride. While the lack of focus and a few whiffs of supporting characters can sour the journey, Peacemaker Season 2 leads with heart, humor, and an outstanding cast to show why James Gunn’s work has connected with so many. Hopefully, next time, Gunn tightens the proceedings up a bit, but if the strengths are still there, it’ll likely still be just as much of a great watch.

Peacemaker Season 2 is now streaming on HBO Max.

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