Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Mike Redmond | TV | October 10, 2025
Heading into the Peacemaker finale, James Gunn was riding on the wave of two killer episodes that put John Cena’s Chris Smith through the wringer while also delivering the madcap fun that made fans fall in love with this seemingly random spinoff. The show was firing on all cylinders, so when Gunn started saying things like the finale sets up the future of the DCU, is longer than any other episode, and was a key part of the pitch that he presented to Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav, the expectations were through the roof. What we got was Gunn at his overindulgent worst.
In an episode overloaded with musical montages, we see Peacemaker and Harcourt (Emilia Harcourt) have their Rock Cruise encounter that he’s been obsessed with all season, get a brief foray into the Quantum Unfolding Chamber for the sole purpose of finding a potential realm for Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) and his new BFF Lex Luthor (Nicolas Hoult) to use as a metahuman prison, and watch as the 11th Street Gang get back together and inevitably form Checkmate complete with the comic accurate inclusion of Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodríguez) who’s grown disgusted with Flag. Mike, what is Checkmate? Another spy agency. Hot dog!
To quote my son, who James Gunn miraculously converted into a diehard DC fan thanks to Superman, “That was nothing.” Granted, we got a glimpse into what’s in store for Man of Tomorrow, but that glimpse is that Gunn will be mining Salvation Run, a storyline from the late aughts that was forgotten for a reason.
I genuinely wish I had more to say about what is apparently the Peacemaker series finale because, as you saw in my previous recaps, I was hooked on what this show was selling and thoroughly impressed with Gunn delivering on the hype. Until he wasn’t. The exploration of the QUC seemed rife with possibilities, and as the head of DC, Gunn had carte blanche to go hog wild teeing up his burgeoning DCU. Instead, we got an empty field and Checkmate.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still pumped for Lanterns, a show that has even has Dustin piqued and he hates superheroes. But as I watched both Nelson and Foxy Shazam perform sets that felt like they lasted for eternity, I can’t help but think that maybe James Gunn shouldn’t have filmed Peacemaker Season 2 and Superman at the same time. Probably wasn’t the best idea because this wet fart of an ending doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in a cinematic universe that desperately needs to overcome superhero fatigue. Superman was a strong start, but that goodwill can be burnt up very quickly.
Case in point: another spy agency? Are we seriously doing Agents of SHIELD again? Jesus.
