Peacemaker season 2 has reached its incredible finale, capping off another spectacular chapter in the DC Universe. Following the world-shattering events of Superman, this season saw Chris (John Cena) and the rest of the 11th Street Kids facing threats from A.R.G.U.S. and from across the multiverse, making for a weird, wild, and rocking new adventure.
There are so many hilarious, surprising, and dramatic moments in James Gunn’s latest project that it will likely stay in viewers’ minds for a long, long time. Now that Peacemaker season 2 has come and gone, here are the moments that made it an unforgettable installment in the DCU.
Chris kills Chris – The Ties That Grind (season 2, episode 1)
The season 2 premiere of Peacemaker ends on a surreal and shocking note with this unforgettable scene. When Chris explores the seemingly perfect parallel dimension, he is attacked by his alternate self, who mistakes him for an evil shapeshifter.
When the fight enters the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, Chris activates his counterpart’s jetpack, accidentally killing the latter by impaling him on the ceiling. The shocked look on Chris’s face as he held his own bloody corpse signaled that nothing was going to be the same after this episode.
Adrian meets Adrian – Ignorance Is Chris (season 2, episode 6)
After the 11th Street Kids arrive on the alternate Earth, a curious Adrian (Freddie Stroma) can’t resist trying to find his parallel self to see what his life is like. Adrian laughing nonstop at all the anomalies was funny enough. However, his meeting with his alternate self is even more perfect.
Instead of reacting with existential dread, the other Adrian geeks out like a schoolboy and starts having fun with his alternate self. It’s also impossible not to love watching the two of them asking each other weird questions with such childlike glee.
The Earth-X twist – Ignorance Is Chris (season 2, episode 6)
Though fans guessed this big twist weeks in advance, that doesn’t make the revelation any more perfect. As Chris shows Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) around the alternate Earth, he is shocked to discover an American flag with a swastika on it in A.R.G.U.S., realizing that this world is ruled by the Nazis. This twist occurs just as a crowd of white supremacists chases Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) down the street before the credits roll.
It was easy to predict that there was something wrong with Chris’s idyllic new world. Nevertheless, the way Chris misses what should have been an obvious truth shows how easily one can accept such a dark reality if it seems like paradise to them. With almost every member of Chris’s team put in extreme peril, this twist ends the episode on a shockingly high note.
Escape from Earth-X – Like A Keith In the Night (season 2, episode 7)
Just when Auggie (Robert Patrick) sounds like an actual hero, Adrian swoops in and ruins the moment by stabbing him to death. Things quickly descend into chaos when the cops raid the Smiths’ house and a vengeful Keith (David Deman) attacks the 11th Street Kids. Chris then relives his childhood trauma as he watches his allies beat Keith almost to death.
Audiences can feel the pain Cena conveys in this scene as he screams in agony. With a top-tier performance, Cena makes it clear that Chris has reached his lowest point. After that, the broken Peacemaker blames himself for the deaths of everyone around him, and he turns himself in to A.R.G.U.S., making this ending even more heartbreaking.
Checkmate is born – Full Nelson (season 2, episode 8)
Instead of an action-packed battle, the season finale’s climax shows the characters rebuilding their lives. Using all the money Adrian gathered from his work as a vigilante, the 11th Street Kids fulfill Adebayo’s dream of setting up a state-of-the-art spy agency, “Checkmate.”
Joined by Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodríguez), Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows), and Judomaster (Nhut Le), the 11th Street Kids look completely reborn as they find new purpose in life, choosing to help the people on their terms. This all happens as the band Foxy Shazam performs the season’s theme song in concert, making the scene feel even more uplifting.
Chris’s happy ending doesn’t last long due to the season’s shocking cliffhanger with Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo). Nevertheless, it was still terrific to see Chris and his friends find joy after enduring so much hardship throughout the season, even if it did only last for a short time. Hopefully, things will turn around for them soon in the DCU.
All eight episodes of Peacemaker season 2 are available on HBO Max.
