PEACEMAKER SEASON 2 EPISODE 1 RECAP: The Ties That Grind

Peacemaker is back, picking up where season one left off, showing the team struggling with the events of the previous season’s finale.

The episode kicks off recapping what happened in the season one finale of Peacemaker; however, it answers some of our burning questions. Hawkgirl and Guy Gardner are shown to have shown up with the rest of the Justice League, blacked out retconning the previous cameos and launching us into this new but familiar DCU.

Our team is no longer together, as Chris (John Cena) is struggling with having killed his father and having killed Rick Flagg Jr. Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) has broken off from the team and is fighting pent-up anger as she searches for fights at every turn. Adrian Chase (Freddie Stroma) is back to work at the restaurant while John Economos (Steve Agee) is working for Argus, and Leota (Danielle Brooks) is going through a breakup.

James Gunn confirmed there would be a new intro song and dance, which debuted on this episode, and surprisingly, it may be better than previous seasons. The song is that beautiful blend of classic rock titled “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam, still choreographed by the great Charissa Barton.

Eagly wakes Chris, needing to go outside to but it is too cold, so Chris takes him into his fathers multi multi-dimensional room, which opens up into a much larger room than we had seen previously. We’re met with a terrifying creature going about its business, and Chris finds a door that opens into another Earth where his father is still alive.

Harcourt, who hasn’t seen any team member, is fighting her own battles and finds herself in a bar where she gets into a fight against every patron within the walls. The fight sequence is done violently and beautifully, but ultimately Emilia is beaten and thrown out of the bar, where she passes out.

We are taken to the Argus headquarters, where Rick Flagg Sr (Frank Grillo) is newly appointed head of the organization, and references are made to the previous events of Gunn’s Superman (2025). A beacon goes off showing they have been keeping tabs on Peacemaker.

Earlier that day, Peacemaker has an interview with Maxwell Lord, Hawkgirl, and Guy Gardner of The Justice Gang, to which Guy Gardner plays a trick on the mic and the trio trash Chris in demeaning yet hilarious fashion, causing him to storm out.

That night, Chris is shown to have thrown himself into lines of cocaine, but, even more than that, a page ripped out of what you would see on The Boys, as there is a drug and alcohol fueled orgy taking place in his house. He shuffles his way to the multidimensional room.

It is revealed that John has been hired by Argus and is in a truck outside of Peacemaker’s house, keeping tabs on him for Argus. Adrian calls him, and there is fun banter about owls when John goes to investigate the disturbance, snapping a photo of Chris entering the room. John meets with Leota, revealing that Argus has been keeping tabs on Chris ever since Flagg Sr has taken over, and that their lives are in trouble.

Chris has found himself in the meantime, standing outside of his father’s house in the alternate world, when it is shown that his brother Keith is still alive to and Keith thought Chris was still in Bludhaven. The two, along with their dad, enjoy a drink as Keith and their father retire to bed. Chris is left crying and finds his way to his bedroom, revealing that this Earth’s Chris and Emilia were in a relationship.

Peacemaker of this new Earth returns home to find Chris from our Earth in his room, and the duo square off, taking their fight into the multi-dimensional room. Earth 2’s Peacemaker has a retro-style suit outfitted with gadgets such as a jet pack, which becomes his downfall as Chris is about to be killed and hits a button setting off that version’s jetpack and launching him into the ceiling and impaling him. The other Earth’s Peacemaker dies in Chris’s arms, ending the episode shockingly.

Season two kicks off in an emotionally charged fashion, setting us up for a rollercoaster of a ride into this new DCU. Let us know what you thought of the episode below!