This post contains full spoilers for the Peacemaker Season 1 finale. For more, check out our review of last week's episode.
After killing his Nazi dad and losing his best buddy Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), Chris Smith (John Cena) finds himself out of sorts at the beginning of the Peacemaker Season 1 finale. But, as has been the case for the majority of the season, Smith’s discomfort makes for another great episode of television.
While the bonds of Project Butterfly are pulled pretty tight after Adebayo followed her mom’s — Amanda Waller — orders and framed Peacemaker, the world doesn’t have time for their bickering (and neither does the audience). Writer/director James Gunn is pretty experienced with miscreant teams who start off hating each other, so it’s not too surprising that the Season 1 finale has just the right amount of sniping (and fart noises) to drive home that the betrayal was unacceptable but we have more important things to handle.
Perhaps more important than his experience with misfits is that Gunn knows how to inject just enough heart into the peculiar and wildly entertaining stories he’s known for telling. That heart is on full display in moments like Economos’ (Steve Agee) begrudging admittance that he dyes his beard and why, and Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) taking mercy on Peacemaker when she sees him talking to himself in the forest. These awkward weirdos have grown to love each other, and these brief but integral illustrations make sure we, as the audience, love and root for them too.
As far as action goes, there’s not too much of it! There are some explosions, and we see a couple members of Project Butterfly get rocked by some bullet wounds, but there’s no real knock-down drag-outs as the team works to take down the Butterflies’ cow to ensure the safety of Earth. This is mostly successful because our protagonists simply don’t have the manpower to take on an army of superpowered aliens, and because the “righteous” violence Peacemaker is known for isn’t the future that Gunn has in mind as the character continues to grow.
Instead, we focus on introspection. (But not in a boring way!) Breaking crappy familial patterns is hard, and it can’t be any easier when your dad’s a full-on Nazi. The finale of Peacemaker shows its title character taking the first of what will be many steps of healing his trauma and shedding the neo-fascist ideals he’s been indoctrinated into his entire life.
The finale’s emotional climax is when Peacemaker is met with the final choice. The Butterfly masquerading as Sophie Song (Annie Chang) reveals that their motives were never nefarious. The Butterflies saw humanity destroying their planet in the same way the aliens had destroyed theirs. Their intent was never to invade, but to save humans from themselves and keep Earth alive so everyone could prosper. The antagonist’s speech helps Peacemaker realize what the rest of the team has been trying to help him understand all along: impact matters more than intent, and an invasion is still an invasion even when you’re doing it for all the right reasons.
The strongest aspect of Peacemaker has been its illustration of actual, meaningful growth wrapped in a fun to watch and easy to ingest package. The toxicity of hyper-masculine bro culture is endlessly lambasted while also sitting hilariously on a pedestal. The immediate announcement of Season 2 tells us that there’s a deep understanding of what that growth means (and, yes, that WarnerMedia likes money): the progress that’s nestled underneath a hefty layer of fart-noises and chauvinistic quips isn’t finished yet. Growth is neither immediate nor linear, and Chris Smith is going to continue to fart-noise his way through his relationships whenever they make him uncomfortable. But he’ll continue to learn a thing or two along the way so long as he has a little help from his friends.
Speaking of said friends, the finale growth isn’t limited to the show’s title character. Adebayo stands up to her mother, Economos opens himself up to friends and allows himself to care about more than just his work, Harcourt’s cranky heart grows three sizes, and Vigilante… well, Vigilante’s still a sociopath, but he’s our sociopath!
In a world full of franchise stories, it’s become less and less common that a narrative stands on its own two feet. But the Peacemaker Season 1 finale wraps up the story of this first chapter in such a perfect bow that if the series had ended today, fans would have gotten all the closure they needed. It’s honestly pretty difficult to find a flaw in this delightfully weird little season of television. Performances are incredible across the board, the story’s engaging…
Oh yeah, I guess we have to talk about the Justice League cameo, huh?
The party pooper has logged on: the cameo is fine. The silly, running gag of Peacemaker’s made up stories of actual superheroes comes to a close as Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash (actually Ezra Miller), and Aquaman (actually Jason Momoa) arrive after the mission is already complete. Is it a funny, punchy little moment? Sure. Did it elevate the story or have any emotional impact beyond “dang, Gunn wasn’t messing around?” Not really. No one’s docking any points for it, but something more connected to Peacemaker’s story would have packed a much harder punch. Bring me Weasel!
from IGN Reviews https://ift.tt/JbNLhjB
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