Peacemaker Season 2 review: The DCU does Sliding Doors and it gets emotional

Peacemaker Season 2 tells a touching tale which lacks the potentially world-ending stakes of its predecessor, but makes up for that with an emotionally charged tale that acts as the DCU’s answer to Sliding Doors.

We’re in a golden age for comic book characters on TV, as rather than telling straightforward stories, this new breed of show challenges what we thought about the genre.

The likes of Invincible and The Boys provide excitement and thrills, but also encourage audiences to question why they worship at the altar of super-powered beings.

Peacemaker does much the same, satirising and sending the genre up, while at the same time delivering everything a good superhero story should. Season 1 was a twisted delight, and Season 2 builds on that firm foundation, through a story that’s very different to what came before.

(This review is of Episodes 1-5 of the eight-episode season.)

What is Peacemaker Season 2 about?

HBO Max

Much of Peacemaker Season 2 deals with the fallout from James Gunn’s Suicide Squad movie, as well as the Season 1 events that it precipitated.

In the film, Chris Smith murdered teammate Rick Flag Jr in cold blood. In S2, his father Rick Flag Sr becomes the head of A.R.G.U.S., meaning painful retribution is coming Peacemaker’s way, via a seemingly sympathetic villain.

Leota Adebayo’s actions at the end of the first season have also had far-reaching consequences, as by hanging mother Amanda Waller out to dry, she’s got herself and her former colleagues either sacked or “black-booked.”

Much of Season 2 therefore revolves around the mismatched gang from Season 1 reconnecting, squabbling, kicking the proverbial out of each other, drinking, and potentially re-teaming. Though five episodes in, there doesn’t appear to be an overarching threat for them to unite against.

The DCU does Sliding Doors

Instead, much of the drama revolves around a portal to another dimension. Chris Smith finds said door, and discovers that beyond it lies an alternate reality where life is good, Peacemaker is popular, and his father – who is very much alive – genuinely loves him.

So, like the Sliding Doors movie where audiences saw two versions of a character’s life play out, here we get a sense of what Peacemaker’s existence might have been had tragedy not struck. Though unlike the movie, Chris Smith also gets to see and experience the alternative.

The mirror world has more surprises in store that we won’t spoil here, but it causes Smith to have something of an identity crisis, as the character considers how childhood trauma has defined him, and whether there’s any way of escaping that affliction in this brave new world.

It’s heavy stuff, that gives John Cena the opportunity to flex his acting muscles alongside the real ones, especially when interacting with Robert Patrick’s adorable version of his dad, which very nearly breaks Peacemaker’s brain.

New characters bring the laughs

On top of the many returning heroes and villains, there are two brand-new characters who lighten the mood when it all gets a bit existential.

Tim Meadows plays A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury, whose bird blindness is the gift that keeps giving, while his interactions with Ecomomos provide more memorable running gags.

Michael Rooker also brings the laughs as Red St. Wild, the world’s greatest (and most insane) eagle hunter, who declares a war on Eagly that results in Season 2’s wildest and most unexpected arc.

The Justice Gang also make a brief cameo in Episode 1; one that connects the show to Superman, and leaves you in little doubt that Peacemaker is a James Gunn joint.

Is Season 2 good?

HBO

It’s hard to properly judge this Peacemaker story having watched just five of the eight episodes. They do tell an entertaining self-contained tale, but the really dramatic stuff is clearly to come, meaning we have no idea if Season 2 sticks the landing.

There’s stuff that doesn’t work, such as Adebayo’s dull consulting agency sub-plot, Harcourt’s repetitive anger management issues, and the introduction of Sasha Bordeaux, which feels rushed.

But the good easily outweighs the bad, with highlights including flashbacks that cleverly reshape the narrative, a savage dig at Jared Leto’s band, Eagly’s brutal solo fight, fun Easter eggs in that parallel dimension, and the grandstanding moment where Peacemaker comes face-to-face with himself.

Peacemaker Season 2 score: 4/5

Episodes 1-5 of Peacemaker Season 2 aren’t as exciting or funny as the entirety of Season 1, but the new stakes make it a different show that packs much more of an emotional punch. Here’s hoping that continues into those final three episodes…

Peacemaker returns to HBO Max at 9pm ET on August 21, 2025, and Sky Max in the UK on August 22. For more comic book action, here’s Dexerto’s ranking of the best superhero movies ever, plus our list of the best superhero shows of all time.