Note: This review contains spoilers for Peacemaker Season 2.

Peacemaker season 2 dropped on August 21, 2025, Peacemaker Season 2 dropped. Brought to us by James Gunn and many other talented directors and writers, the show follows the story introduced in Season 1. There is one major difference, though. Season 1 was connected to the previous standing DCEU (DC Extended Universe), while season 2 is part of the DCU (DC Universe). The change is due to James Gunn taking over as the new head of DC Studios. Since Gunn had been in charge of the first season of Peacemaker, he decided to start the new season by altering the ending of season 1. Instead of showing the DCEU’s Justice League, he replaced the scene with the DCU’s Justice Gang, showing Superman, Supergirl, Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner, and Hawkgirl.  

The show focuses more on Christopher Smith’s, Peacemaker’s, mental state while exploring the hidden door dimension that was previously shown in season 1. We find out that the door dimension is actually alien technology that leads to many other dimensions. In one of the dimensions, Chris stumbles upon a different world that is nearly the polar opposite of the one he lives in. To him, this world appears to be perfect. His brother is alive, his dad is not a scumbag, he has a relationship with the woman he loves back home, Emilia Hartcourt, and he is praised as a hero.  

ARGUS, a government agency formally run by Amanda Waller, is now temporarily taken over by Rick Flag Sr., the father of Rick Flag Jr. from The Suicide Squad, and from both Creature Commandos and Superman. When discovering a similar dimensional portal to the one Lex Luthor had opened, he decides to investigate, finding out it comes from Chris’ home. He decides to send an investigation team to go after him.

Throughout the entire season, Chris searches for life purpose – what makes it all worth it? He is seen as a joke by the Justice Gang, a villain by ARGUS, and feels isolated due to Emila Harcourt’s inability to reciprocate romantic feelings. Even though he still has the love of his friends, it is not enough to make him feel whole. He feels like he is still missing a part of himself. After getting rejected from Harcourt, he realizes there really is no point to it all. He says his goodbyes and goes into the other dimension. Though this dimension is not what he though it would be. Once his friends go in to retrieve Chris, it is discovered this is Earth X, an Earth where the Nazis won World War II and society is built in an oppressive and discriminatory manner.  

The writing in this series is really well done for the most part, particularly the character writing for Chris. He is not a superhero, but he is not a villain either. He is a guy who wants to do the right thing. Though every time he feels like he finally is doing the right thing, someone comes in and ruins it for him. The amount of depth to his character runs so deep, going into themes of childhood trauma, self-hatred, and ultimately, depression.

This season sees a deep dive into Chris’ mental health, and the same rings true for the other characters. You see a glimpse of the struggles of all the characters, from Hartcourt, to Adrian, to Economos, to Adebayo.  I think that’s what makes the story captivating. It’s a group of individuals who feel like they aren’t enough and aren’t what you would expect to classify as heroes, even though, at the root of it, they are. Also, I love Uncle Fleury! 

The way they intertwined the story with previous DCU projects really sells the idea that it is all one universe. It is not like a forced connection, like having Hulk and Captain Marvel appear at the end of Shang-Chi. The cameos feel natural. 

The season has also done well in the visual effects department. I love how the show uses practical effects, as it is not something we often in modern media. Visual effects have not been too heavy on this show, but the finale definitely blew me away. The soundtrack in this show is also incredible. I mean, what do you expect from James Gunn? Gunn is masterful at picking the perfect song for the perfect scene, in any project he has worked on. Everyone thought that for Superman, the song had to be “Starman” by David Bowie, but Gunn used “Punkrocker” by the Teddybears and Iggy Pop instead, and it works so much better.

The cinematography is beautiful as well. The lighting feeds into the emotions that the characters are feeling. You can feel that joy with the warm lighting in the roof before it dims down to show the mood changing. The lighting in the door dimension feels like this big, isolated place. You feel like the environments are real, and when they’re meant to feel uncomfortable, they do. Like Earth X feels isolated, racist, and discriminatory. You just get that unsettling feeling just by the way the world is set up, shot, and edited.  

My major issue with the series is the finale. Gunn on his social media kept hyping it up, saying how it was going to lead into the Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow. Unfortunately the finale was underwhelming. It was nice to see the characters getting their proper endings and moving on in life, but it is the last few minutes that truly bring down the episode. After it feels like Chris has finally found his peace, he gets kidnapped and thrown into Salvation, a world where they plan on putting evil metahumans. Flag chooses to send Chris there to “test” the environment on humans, but it was really just revenge for the death of his son. Right before the episode ends, we hear roaring, Chris getting scared, and then a cut to black. That ending does not feel satisfactory. Gunn mentioned possible connections to Blue Beetle and how this show was a prequel to Man of Tomorrow, but I felt none of that. It was just so lackluster and left me confused

The only things I can ask now are “why?” and “what does this mean for future projects in the DCU?” For an hour-long episode, it truly was disappointing. Additionally, a problem with the show is the episode’s inconsistent runtimes. While I do think the writing was done very well, the show’s episodes kept getting shorter and shorter. Having a story spread across shorter episodes makes the wait feel a little less worth it, knowing the episode won’t conclude a thing. 

My only other complaint is the lack of Peacemaker wearing his costume. I understand that this season was supposed to be more focused on his mental battles rather than a big superhero alien threat like the previous season, but I really do think there could have been opportunities for him to wear the suit. At the end of the day, I just wish the episodes were longer, because John Cena has proven himself to be an amazing actor. The acting is incredible. Especially that “stop” scene in episode 7 – if you know if you know, and if you don’t know, don’t let me spoil it for you. 

With that being said, I give this series a solid 8/10. It is a fantastic show that definitely deserves a watch, even if the ending is a bit underwhelming. It honestly could just be the hype built around it that led to higher expectations. What makes the show good, is that it is not just a superhero project, but a story about mental health and struggling to actually appreciate and love yourself.  

Breakdown: Story: 7/10 Characters:  8/10 Visuals: 8/10 Soundtrack: 10/10