By Jack Deegan
Staff Writer
Set after the events of “The Suicide Squad,” the series follows the villain Peacemaker (John Cena) as he is forced to join a black ops squad called “Project Butterfly” in order to maintain his freedom from prison.
Shortly after James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” hit theaters last August, it was announced that he would be writing and directing a show centered around the character of Peacemaker to release this year. Admittedly, I wasn’t too interested in the show once it had been announced. This was going to be the first TV show in the DC Extended Universe too, so there was a lot of pressure riding on this to deliver. It was a surprising decision since there were far more popular characters than him, but Gunn knew exactly what he was doing. With the finale’s release on Feb. 17, the show was not only one of the best superhero shows I’ve seen, but one of the best shows I’ve seen in years.
At its core, “Peacemaker” is a show that explores the complexity of its titular character. A man who will do anything for peace, no matter how many men, women and children he has to kill to get it. The main goal of the series is to show the moral gray area of his character. One of the most interesting things about the series is how they explore Peacemaker’s origins. We see what made him into a merciless murderer in the first place, which recontextualizes everything and portrays him as a much more compelling character than we thought.
The show also explores his morals after the events of “The Suicide Squad” and how he’s been grappling with his life decisions. He still believes in hurting bad people, but he’s less willing to do whatever it takes to get there. The show explores that concept in a way that makes sense and doesn’t completely change the character. They could have just had him give it all up and turn into a good guy, but he still has those anti-hero qualities to him. He’s the same character at his core, he’s just been given natural growth and complexity.
The tone of the show is handled masterfully, jumping back and forth between comedy and serious emotion. The show is really funny and constantly had me laughing. The dynamic between Peacemaker and Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) was my favorite part of the show, and those two characters stole every scene they were in. While it is mostly a comedy, there are emotional beats in there that work really well. Whether it’s the tragedy of Peacemaker’s character and the villains he is up against, or the bond he begins to form with Project Butterly and Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), the emotion enhances the story they’re telling.
One of the most important things a show can do is wrap things up in a satisfying way so as to not leave the viewer with a bad taste in their mouth, and “Peacemaker” did just that and then some more. The plotlines were all tied up in a neat way that didn’t feel rushed. It came to a very organic conclusion that made sense for every character. One of the biggest things about the series was its R-rating, which it very-much-so earned and was reflected in the gorey violence of the show. The rating led to some very inventive action here in the finale as they weren’t pulling any punches. There were even some huge surprises that I never saw coming in a million years. The series had lasting consequences for the entirety of the DCEU and “The Suicide Squad” franchise too, which made it feel a lot more important.
With its renewal for season two that was announced the other day, I’m interested to see where Peacemaker goes from here and what they do with this show. They turned him into one of the best characters in the entire DCEU, and I cannot wait to see what is next in season two. The final teased the central struggle of the next season, which looks promising and already has me sold. Also, I have to give credit to the series’ intro sequence, which completely catches you off guard and is one of the funniest things I have seen on TV.
“Peacemaker” exceeded my highest expectations for the show and proved that not only does DC know what they’re doing with shows, but they can turn even the most unlikable characters into a fan-favorite. I constantly found myself laughing and having a great time with this surprisingly beautiful series.
