- In this season finale of Peacemaker, we see a few teases to bigger-picture things in the DC Cinematic Universe.
- The 11th Street Kids gain a new ally who will play a key role in the future.
- Do Peacemaker and Harcourt finally get together?
Since James Gunn hopped over to the DCU, we've been seeing great stories unfold on screen, including that of vigilante character Peacemaker. Peacemaker season 2 delivers quite the punch, especially in its jam-packed, emotional rollercoaster of a final episode. We follow our protagonist as he becomes determined to becoming a respectable hero—except he's got ARGUS agents chasing him down, including one particularly determined leader seeking to avenge the death of his son. So where does Chris Smith (John Cena) escape? An alternate universe.
This season, fans get to see more of an exploration of DC's iteration of the multiverse, and how this plays into not just Peacemaker's story, but the larger cinematic universe. Using his father's Quantum Unfolding Chamber, Chris finds a parallel world where his dad and brother are still alive, and from a heroic team alongside him. But will things turn out differently in this other world? Will he get his happy ending?
Here's everything that happens in the Peacemaker season 2 finale.
What happened on the boat?
The episode begins with a mini flashback to a month prior to the events of today. We get to see what happened on the boat. It turns out Chris and Agent Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) met at burger joint Big Belly for a meal, almost get into a fight with another customer as they were leaving, and ultimately ended up having a ton of fun at the Foxy Shazam concert on a boat cruise. The two end up kissing, but Harcourt runs away saying that she can't be in a relationship with anybody right now.
Peacemaker is in prison.
Back to the present moment, Chris is sulking in jail and is refusing to let any of his friends from the 11th Street Kids squad visit him. This is because of the events that unfolded in the alternate universe, where his father and brother still end up dying. He blames himself and feels like he has a curse that causes loved ones around him to die. Still, his besties won't let him rot in a cell, so Ads (Danielle Brooks) hatches a plan to use Vigilante's (Freddie Stroma) blood money—that he's accrued from crime busts over the years—as bail. At first, Vigilante refuses because he believes the money to be cursed. But Ads uses her master powers of verbal manipulation to trick him into doing it. Despite his desire for self-exile, Chris makes bail. Still determined to isolate himself from his friends, he takes Eagly and hides out in a dingy motel.
ARGUS goes on a deadly mission through doors to other dimensions.
While all this drama unfolds within the heroic friend group, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) is busy exploring the multiverse. In the second to the last episode, when Chris surrenders to ARGUS (and Harcourt who helped them locate him), the agency gets possession of the Quantum Unfolding Chamber. And Flag's wasted no time, sending his agents out to find a door that leads to a world with a similar atmosphere to that of Earth's (drinkable water, breathable air). This little adventure is kind of reminiscent of Monsters, Inc., if you ask me.
Most of the doors are locked, but when the agents do find ones that are open, they have deadly consequences. One agent they calk Kewpie dies in a "candy land" looking place that seems harmless enough, until tiny flesh-eating creatures attack them. Then, there's the black hole universe that tried to devour them all. A creepy skull-spider universe, etc. But, eventually, they find the jackpot: a seemingly uninhabited Earth-like universe.
Flag is in cahoots with Lex Luthor.
Flag makes the pitch to higher-ups in the government that this alternate universe, which he calls "Salvation," could be a prison for meta-human criminals, which Arkham Asylum and Belle Reve aren't equipped to handle. What Flag fails to tell his seniors and subordinates is that this huge push is actually a plot in collaboration with evil billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who will likely want to trap his arch nemesis Superman (David Corenswet) in this alternate world after his pocket universe plan failed and literally collapsed within itself. Flag, too, wants to trap his own rival in this same prison.
Sasha Bordeaux breaks up with Flag.
There's been a lot of sexual tension building between Flag and cyborg ARGUS agent Sasha Bordeaux. But their love connection flatlines when Sasha learns of Flag's plans to turn Salvation into a multidimensional prison of sorts. She then forms an alliance with Harcourt, meeting her at Big Belly to spill the tea on what's actually going on at ARGUS and the plans Flag has for the future. The two promise to band together to put a stop to these sinister plots and hidden agendas.
Ads breaks up with her wife.
Another more heart-wrenching breakup is Ads and Keeya's (Elizabeth Faith Ludlow). She and her wife have been separated for a while, and we haven't really seen her partner for much of the season. All the same, it's a sad moment when Ads finally admits that there's no returning to her old life and no foreseeable way for her and her ex to get back together. She tells her, "It tears me apart at my bones and I will love you for the rest of my life, but I know we’re not right for each other."
Checkmate is born.
With loose ends tied up, the gang decides to get Chris back. Ads is able to find Peacemaker's location, and they all head over to confront him. Chris is initially resistant, but that all stops when Vigilante electrocutes him. A bit of an extreme move, but definitely an effective one.
They all say what's on their mind and reassure Chris that they've got his back, and that they're his family now. This is a very heartwarming moment for the group, and Chris is certainly touched. But before everything gets settled, he speaks with Harcourt separately to ask her if their date on the boat really meant nothing to her. She then admits that "It meant everything." This, of course, leaves our hero in an extremely giddy state. He goes back to his motel room to dance it off like a fool.
A montage then ensues with the gang grabbing Vigilante's blood money, which they then use to build their own office for their own covert operations agency they call Checkmate. Economos (Steve Agee), Vigilante, Ads, Peacemaker, and Harcourt are joined by Judomaster (Nhut Le) and Agent Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows).
A happy ending? Not so fast.
Just when you think everything's coming up roses for Peacemaker and the 11th Street Kids, Chris gets abducted by ARGUS. As it turns out, the papers they made him sign when he got bailed out of prison included release forms saying that he agreed to be their guinea pig for the new Salvation project. And so Flag has him thrown into this alternate dimension, where there are no signs of intelligent human-like life. However, we do hear the grumblings of potentially-dangerous animals.
Will there be a Peacemaker season 3?
When asked in an interview about whether he's already planned for a third season of Peacemaker, James Gunn said, "No, this is about the wider DCU and other stories in which this will play out right now. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be. I don’t want to never say never, but right now, no, this is about the future of the DCU. It’s an important character."
So while we may not be getting a third season for certain, this conclusion to Peacemaker's second season sets up a much larger storyline for the larger DC Cinematic Universe. And there's no doubt that there will be some critical connections to Superman: Man of Tomorrow. Make sure to watch this space.
