full nelson
ARGUS goes looking through the alternate dimensions while the 11th Street Kids work on getting Peacemaker out of prison. Meanwhile, Rick Flag continues his descent into villainy.
Warning: Spoilers below
On the Boat
The episode recaps the night on the boat that has driven a wedge between Chris and Harcourt. The pair enjoy a night out eating and drinking, but Harcourt nearly gets into a fight when a man objectifies her. Chris steps in and Harcourt is angry he tried to protect her until he pointed out he was protecting the man from her. There’s also a funny line from the objectifier who responds to Harcourt mocking his freckles with “my mother taught me to be proud of my freckles.”
Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
The pair go to a boat where Nelson is playing. Chris is a huge Nelson fan (so is James Gunn, proof that even people with good musical taste overall like terrible bands). The pair share a dance and then a kiss before Harcourt flees. Chris is left confused and hurt before the show jumps back to the present.
In Prison
In the present, Chris is sitting in a prison cell after the events in Earth X. Every member of the 11th Street Kids is trying to come visit him, but he keeps denying visitors. He’s broken and thinks he’s the reason everything keeps going wrong in his life. He calls himself the Angel of Death when the warden asks him why he won’t accept visitors which leads to mockery. Still, he hates his life, he hates the pain around him and he only blames himself.
Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
While this is going on, Economos is taking care of Eagly for Peacemaker. He and Harcourt are searching his apartment while discussing the work they are doing. Harcourt talks about all the ways their work can improve things until Economos hits her with the ultimate truth bomb. He asks “when has anything we’ve ever done been for the good of humanity?” They are working for a secret government entity, and all too often government work claims to be for good while having nefarious undertones.
Into Other Worlds
ARGUS teams are trying to make their way through doors in the Quantum Unfolding Chamber to try to see what they can find. They keep finding locked doors until they find one that looks like a world out of Candyland. Then some creatures in the world attack, killing Klein, a henchman who's been around since the early part of the season. Fleury has a breakdown over Klein’s death showing that while he’s a bit crazy, Fleury does value every member of his team. This will become important as the season continues.
Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
The teams go into more worlds without Economos being able to track them leading to a lot of deaths. They see a zombie world and a world full of skulls. But the team keeps getting into dire situations. Economos calls out how reckless it is, but it’s becoming clear other members of ARGUS aren’t thrilled with what’s happening.
Face and Heel Turns
Rick Flag is bringing in a lot of the guys who worked with Lex Luthor in Superman to try to uncover the secrets of the Quantum Folding Chamber. It’s clear that Flag, who appeared to have a moral conscience when the season started, is quietly descending into villainy. He’s laughing and joking with Lex’s minions and constantly getting updates from Lex, who is still in prison, by the way. Flag can also be seen doing lines of cocaine and not caring about the people he is sending to their deaths.
Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
After Harcourt’s team finds an inhabitable world, Flag is excited but also shrugs off Harcourt when she finally calls him “Rick” instead of “General.” He presents her findings to the government and talks about how this inhabitable world can be used as a prison for metahumans. He calls it “Salvation.” Sasha Bordeaux is in this meeting and is a meta human herself. She meets with Harcourt and Adebayo and the trio work together to get Chris out of prison and work toward their futures.
Out of Prison
Adebayo convinces Vigilante to use some of the money he’s taken off the streets to bail Chris out of jail. She also rightfully calls out his awful treatment of his own mother which is something that needed to happen. Still, Peacemaker sequesters himself to a hotel and wants nothing to do with the 11th Street Kids, but they won’t take no for an answer. They meet at the hotel and tell him how much he means to them and how he only makes things worse when he listens to others rather than to himself. Eventually, Peacemaker and Harcourt talk to each other about the night on the boat, and Harcourt admits that it meant everything to her.
Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
They raid the “blood money” in Vigilante’s basement where they all walk away much richer and a montage of the new work they are planning plays over an extended version of the opening theme: “Oh Lord” by Foxy Shazam who is playing a concert on that same boat from earlier (This makes up for making viewers sit through Nelson). Sasha Bordeaux, Langston Fleury and Judomaster join the 11th Street Kids to form a new antihero group, Checkmate. Appropriately, there are 8 pieces to Checkmate, just like 8 rows on a chess board.
Rick Flag Goes Full Villain
While it looks like things are going well, anyone who knows anything about James Gunn projects knows the other shoe is about to drop. Rick Flag Sr. and ARGUS agents grab Chris Smith off the street and throw him through the door that sends people to Salvation. Flag openly talks about how this is personal and revenge for Peacemaker killing Rick Flag Jr. in The Suicide Squad. He used a consent form that Peacemaker signed under Amanda Waller as proof he agreed to go to the prison. He went from an antagonist where you can understand his motives to a villain in one fell swoop, but it really isn’t that simple.
Jessica Miglio/HBO Max
Flag was a grieving father looking for his son’s killer, yes, but he was also featured heavily in Creature Commandos where he led a team of metahumans on a mission. While that makes some viewers think he’s a friend to meta humans, it’s clear there’s more to it. He has his back broken by a metahuman and actively works with Eric Frankenstein to try to stop the team from completing the mission to kill the princess. It turns out, he’s now been tricked multiple times by metahumans.
By the events of Superman, he’s in pain from his broken back, he’s grieving and he’s developing a distrust for metahumans. While he doesn’t fully join up with Lex Luthor, he seems to be developing an understanding with what Lex is saying. Fast forward to Lex’s appearance in Peacemaker season 2, and the man who they say is the smartest in the world is able to manipulate his pain, grief and distrust, leading to a fall. The character arc is there, but projects are so spread out, fans may miss it. Rick Flag Sr. was never a friend to metahumans. He’s just a man who tolerated them when they served his plans and then quickly discarded them.
What’s Next for the DCU?
This finale was an excellent episode of television and an excellent set up for the DCU at large, but it was not a good season or series finale for Peacemaker. Chris Smith is now on a feral world separated from the friends who helped him forgive himself. Checkmate is on the board as a foil for ARGUS and for more villains in the DCU, but it’s still not clear what they are going to do with the seven who remain in the prime world. Lex Luthor has fully infiltrated ARGUS from prison and it appears that Flag is his lackey. It’s a great setup.
However, it really felt like everything in this one episode could’ve happened in a third season of Peacemaker to expand upon both the DCU and the Peacemaker world at large. Going into other worlds could’ve been a fun experience and we should’ve gotten more. While Flag’s descent wasn’t as abrupt as others claim, it could’ve been fleshed out more. There’s ways to expand upon what we saw.
Plus, look at where the 11th street kids are. Peacemaker wanted to leave his own dimension for a new world. He did that twice this season. Harcourt wanted her job at argus back. She got it, but quickly realized it was the wrong team. adebayo finally got her dream of a detective agency but had to give up her marriage to get it in one of the most beautifully written break-up scenes put to screen. even vigilante had to start the "blood curse" by using the blood money to bail out peacemaker. Many got what they want and it was a real monkey's paw situation.
It’s obvious everyone involved is intended to be seen again in the DCU, but James Gunn says there’s no plans for a third season. It’s a shame because it would be great to see a third season. Hell, the finale felt like a truncated third season. As an episode, the finale gets 3 stars. As a finale, the episode gets 2 stars. But as a series, Peacemaker gets 4 stars. Episode seven was the best by far.
Check out Peacemaker on HBO Max.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2025
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