Peacemaker S2 (2025) Review
At this point, we all have to agree that James Gunn is the best comic book filmmaker of all time. No other storyteller adapting these comics has been as consistently impressive at embracing the heart, weirdness, and range the medium has than the co-lead of DC Studios. The second season of Peacemaker is yet another notch in Gunn’s belt.
S2 takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, building off of Chris Smith’s S1 journey of finding friendship and belonging in an unexpected, yet somehow logical way. Chris has grown from his old ways, but can he move on and find love? Or is he destined to be this cursed, lonely person who brings death wherever he goes? John Cena gives, in my opinion, a career-best performance as this deeply flawed and complicated character.
The returning 11th Street Kids are lovable as ever. Their dynamic - one that begins as close friendship that evolves into as found family as you could get from James Gunn - is the beating heart of Peacemaker and makes the show what it is. Leota’s friendship with Chris, Emilia’s struggle with her feelings, John pulling through despite others belittling him, and Adrian being his endearing psychopathic self all come together to form one of the best found families in modern comic book adaptations.
I actually think S2 improves on the humor of S1. Whereas I felt the earlier episodes of Peacemaker’s first season really struggled to balance humor and honest storytelling, S2 is consistently great at its comedic timing. Though plenty of characters have their funny moments (Adrian discoveries in Earth-X and John’s sarcastic remarks), it’s Tim Meadows’ Agent Fluery and his out-of-pocket comments about codenames, innuendos, and “bird blindness” that had me in utter stitches.
The show keeps the momentum of the DCU going with its comic book-y weirdness, utilizing the dimension-hopping Quantum Unfolding Chamber in a way where the multiverse carries genuine emotional weight. Rather than being a vehicle for surprise appearances and crowd-pleasing wish fulfillment, the show incorporates the multiverse to highlight how tragic and unfortunate Chris’s life was and continues to be.
Like FX’s Alien: Earth, Peacemaker S2 ends up suffering from the “Where to now?” problem. Its finale - despite resolving the emotional journey of Chris in a surprisingly sweet and impactful way - leaves many plot threads open for whatever comes next in this new DCU. ARGUS’s obtaining of the QUC, the 11th Street Kids forming Checkmate alongside ARGUS defectors Fluery, Bordeaux, and Judomaster, and the whole Earth-X ordeal with Keith are left open-ended.
Out of the 11th Street Kids, Vigilante is the one sidelined the most. Freddie Stroma’s performance is as delightfully deranged as ever (really, the entirety of the main cast - Cena, Holland, Brooks, and Agee - are splendid) and Peacemaker’s best friend works as the show’s main comic relief, but he’s not given as much of a focus as S1 offered.
I think my biggest issue with the show is that several episodes felt really short. With the scale of S2 being significantly larger than S1, having 35-40 minute episodes trying to develop each storyline was maybe the wrong call. Either make each episode longer, or make the show 10 episodes so that things like Earth-X, Rick Flag Sr.’s obsession with the QUC and his abrupt heel turn, and Adrian’s entire role in this story can have more time to develop.
Peacemaker Season 2 gets an A-
