I Understood Peacemaker's Big Decision But Now I'm Worried About It

Warning! This review contains SPOILERS for Peacemaker season 2, episode 5.Peacemaker‘s latest episode ended with the biggest cliffhanger in season 2. After last week’s episode turned out to be slower than expected, I was hoping episode 5 would pick up the pace again. I’m glad to say that it very much did so, with several anticipated events finally happening, such as Rick Flag Sr. confronting John Cena’s titular character.

Episode 4 ended with a major reveal, as Emilia Harcourt decided to help Flag arrest Peacemaker. At the core of the DC series is the relationship between Peacemaker and Harcourt, and I have enjoyed how the show uses their complicated relationship to motivate Christopher Smith’s actions. Harcourt has a major role in episode 5.

James Gunn has made it clear that from here on out to the end of the season, season 2 will be full of major surprises and cameos. Based on the decision Cena’s DC hero makes at the end of the hour, I wouldn’t expect anything less. It seems like a profound shift has happened, and Peacemaker is better for it.

Emilia Harcourt Did Not Turn On Peacemaker

With their relationship at the core of season 2’s story, I wondered how the show would make it so that we would be torn between cheering for Chris to be with the main version of Harcourt or her alternate universe self. Up until episode 5, Peacemaker’s chemistry with the alternate Harcourt and their genuinely sweet interactions made me lean that way.

After all, due to Rick Flag’s death, there was a lot of baggage that hindered the characters from being together, with the main version of Harcourt being rude to Chris multiple times this season. However, episode 5 reminds us that she does care deeply for Chris, and that is why she is so confused.

I still have hopes for Chris and Harcourt’s relationship being fixed in the remaining three episodes.

Despite how episode 4 might have made it seem, Harcourt did not betray Peacemaker. While she told Flag Sr. that she would work with him to arrest Chris in exchange for her old life back, Harcourt secretly signaled Chris that it was not safe to come meet her.

I’m glad the show went that route, as Harcourt betraying him would have been a step too far. Additionally, when she knocks him out and arrests him, Harcourt is doing so to protect Peacemaker, guaranteeing that no one kills him. I still have hopes for Chris and Harcourt’s relationship being fixed in the remaining three episodes.

After Peacemaker’s arrest, we finally get to see Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. alone with him. It happened as expected, with Chris beaten into a bloody mess. Given how Flag has appeared in every DCU project so far, watching the character shift with each appearance has been interesting. Gunn writes the most intense role for Flag yet, and Grillo pulls it off.

Eagly Has Another Moment To Shine

Superhero movies do not usually have animals play the kind of big roles that James Gunn has written for them. That is something I admire about his work, as making characters who can’t talk stand out is impressive. Eagly had his moment earlier in the season when he defeated an entire team of ARGUS agents.

However, that pales in comparison with the shocking nature of his episode 5 role. Gunn often uses the absurd in ways one would never expect. While the show had teased the whole Primal Eagle prophecy earlier in the season, I was certain it would be nothing more than a joke, with Red St. Wild alone believing in it.

I was wrong. Peacemaker season 2, episode 5, confirms that Eagly is the Primal Eagle who rules over all eagles. That leads to the apparent death of Michael Rooker’s DCU character, with a hilarious sequence that sees Eagly and several other eagles attack him. It is easily one of the funniest moments in the show due to its sheer absurdity. I loved it.

Peacemaker Makes A Shocking Decision That Changes Everything

Peacemaker smiling and wearing his helmet in Alt Reality Peacemaker Season 2

Finally, the biggest moment in episode 5 is surely Christopher Smith’s decision to stay in the alternate dimension. This episode and the last were about Chris looking at his life and deciding whether he wanted to continue or go to the world where everything was better, with his father and brother alive, and Harcourt waiting to be with him.

Sure, Peacemaker’s decision makes sense. However, I can’t shake off the feeling that something is wrong with the other dimension. With the door to it closed, the 11th Street Kids will have to figure out how to open it and get Chris back. Gunn has done a great job of making these characters feel like a family, and now they’re after one of their own.

Peacemaker season 2’s latest episode also includes a nod to Gunn’s Superman, as the Top Trio stops a Kaiju like the one in the DCU film. With the three remaining episodes of the DC series remaining a mystery, I wonder just how many more connections to Superman could be in store to set up Man of Tomorrow, as Gunn has teased.

New episodes of Peacemaker season 2 release every Thursday at 9pm ET on HBO Max.