This is a spoiler-free review of the first five episodes of Peacemaker, Season 2. 

It’s been just over one month since James Gunn’s first project as the new co-head of DC Studios hit theatres, officially launching his DC Universe–a.k.a. the DCU. His first film, Superman, proved to be a considerable success for Warner Bros. However, if fans expect Peacemaker Season 2 to be a direct tie-in to Superman, they’re likely to be a tad disappointed. Instead, the second series is an enjoyably intimate and organic character study of one of DC’s most absurd characters, thanks to both Gunn and star John Cena. 

The first season of Peacemaker arrived over three and a half years ago, but Gunn hits the ground running in Season 2 with a Season 1 recap intended to set up the events the new studio skipper views as canon. One scene highlighted in the recap is actually an entirely new one retconning a specific Justice League interaction from the end of Season 1. It will undoubtedly make any DC fans, especially those who are fans of Superman, quite happy. The recap also focuses in on some of the known events from the first season and from 2021’s The Suicide Squad concerning Christopher “Chris” Smith, AKA Peacemaker, and his personal journey across these projects. 

In a recent social media video, James Gunn definitively explained that his DCU officially began with last year’s animated Suicide Squad series, disguised as Creature Commandos. Then followed by Superman and now, Peacemaker Season 2. He elaborates by saying that anything spoken or shown in these projects or any that follow is officially canon, even if the entire movie/series from which the event is taken isn’t. 

For example, a significant plot point featured in the recap is how Chris blames himself for the death of his brother when they were kids. They also highlight how Chris killed his racist father, August Smith/White Dragon, in the first season. Since Gunn chooses to highlight these events in Season 2, they are canon, while the events that he excludes from the recap are not. Without giving too much away, there are plenty of other crucial moments from Peacemaker’s life that happened outside of his own series that become heavily important to the developments of this season. 

Throughout the first five episodes, the primary threat on Peacemaker’s tail, other than himself, is Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), father of Rick Flag Jr, who Joel Kinnaman played in both Suicide Squad films. In Episode 1, Flag makes Peacemaker a Priority 1 threat after DCU newcomer Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodriguez) shows him an energy signal that went off in Chris’s house, similar to what appeared after Lex Luthor opened up a pocket dimension in Superman. 

While that may be Flag Sr.’s initial motivation, it’s definitely not his only one, and that’s where the story really ramps up. The energy signal that triggered Flag’s attention originated from a pocket dimension leading to other universes inside Chris’s house closet. In one of those doors lies an alternate universe that Chris visits after chasing Eagly, and it’s one where he runs into more than a few familiar faces.

Those are Peacemakers’ external conflicts this season, which, all credit to James Gunn, are heavily tied to Chris’s internal conflicts and character development. He torments himself with existential crises like wanting to transform into a respectable hero, and also with his constant pinning for the love of Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), who returns from last season in a more sizeable role. Along for the ride is Economos (Steve Agee), also back with an increased presence. All of this to say, Gunn finds a way to make you feel for a murderer wearing a toilet bowl on his head who just wants to change for the better.

Danielle Brooks and Freddie Stroma also return as the daughter of Amanda Waller, Leota “Ads” Adebayo, and Adrian Chase/Vigilante, respectively. Both actors do the best they can with what they are given, but are most definitely pushed to the sidelines to make room for new characters. It’s a shame, given how talented both performers are, but it is nice to see Ads’s friendship with Chris develop, even if it means his friendship with Vigilante has to take a back seat. 

It’s tough to make a judgment call about Peacemaker Season 2, having only seen five out of the eight episodes. James Gunn has mentioned in interviews that he isn’t giving out the final three episodes in advance due to some major secrets he wants to keep hidden, so let’s hope he wraps the sophomore season up in a satisfying way. It’s not that there isn’t a lot Gunn sets up in these first five episodes, but it does feel like mostly setup instead of five distinct episodes of appointment television, almost similar to a Marvel Television series. Still, it’s hard to deny how fun the setup can be when done right. 

Even with some complaints, Gunn and John Cena have accomplished incredibly impressive things in bringing Peacemaker to life over the past four years. They’ve managed to take an anti-hero from the fringes of DC Comics and turn him into a complex character filled with heart and humanity, while simultaneously utilizing him to expand a much larger shared universe. And bonus points go to making an opening sequence that’s fun again, too. And for that, and much more, they deserve all the praise.

Peacemaker Season 2 streams on Crave, with new episode dropping every Thursday at 9 PM EST.