Give Peacemaker a Chance

I didn't have high expectations for the TV series Peacemaker. The thing it was spinning off of, The Suicide Squad, was "good, but hardly great." The ongoing concerns of the DC film universe aren't even on my radar.

But... this show was spun-off from one of the best elements of that movie; John Cena has shown again and again that he has comedy chops. Writer-director James Gunn was returning to write every episode of the show (and direct most of them), ensuring the sense of fun he's brought to everything he's been involved in since Slither. So yeah, I was going to check out the show.

The first episode was a little slow to get started, but by the second, I was hooked. And the series pretty much continued to get better each week, building to an excellent season finale. There's a lot to like about the show -- with a lot of attention given to that catchy opening credits dance, all things Eagly, and an unashamed enthusiasm for hair metal. And yes, that's all great. But for my money, here were the real highlights.

They didn't use John Cena only for comedy. As the season progresses, his character of Peacemaker gets some moments of real pathos that are all the more remarkable for the fact that very similar moments earlier in the season were meant to make us laugh. I feel like I remember a time when John Cena was "another wrestler trying to cross over into acting like The Rock." It turns out, Cena is a better actor on absolutely every level than the "always plays himself" Dwayne Johnson.

There was a new character brought in to be the clownish comic relief that Peacemaker himself was in The Suicide Squad movie -- Vigilante. Freddie Stroma's complete sociopath became my favorite character on the show within five minutes of showing up, and that pretty much never changed.

There were meaningful story arcs for all of the characters who rounded out the team. (Mild spoilers here...) Harcourt was a hardass who softened over time without becoming weak. Adebayo goes from wanting to be anywhere else to choosing exactly where she wants to be, from in over her head to capable and essential. And memorably, the finale served up an emotional sucker punch with Economos, another reliable source of laughs throughout the season who becomes more exposed and relatable than any other character.

I would never have imagined there would be another season of Peacemaker. It just felt from the beginning like it was built to be a one-off, and I would think James Gunn and John Cena both had too much on their plates to want to come back. But through some combination of HBOMax backing up the money truck and both of them truly enjoying this storytelling, they've agreed to a second season. I'm cautiously excited. I'd say season one was a B+ as an overall average, but on a steadily rising trend throughout. If they can keep that trend rising in a season two, Peacemaker could (as unlikely as it sounds) become one of the best shows on television.