Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 7 Review - ‘What the F#@k Is Wrong With All of Us!?’

Full spoilers travel for Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 7 - “Like a Keith successful the Night.”

After past week’s large episode, which gave america a Nicholas Hoult arsenic Lex Luthor cameo and the uncover of what’s truly going connected successful the Best Dimension Ever, Peacemaker’s 2nd play is yet firing connected each Peace-Cycle cylinders. James Gunn, who scripted the full play (Alethea Jones directs this episode), besides proves that he’s inactive got a twist oregon 2 up his super-suit sleeve, reminding america that the fans can’t always predict wherever things are going.

Sure, the mentation that John Cena’s Chris has been surviving a fake beingness connected the Nazi satellite Earth-X coiled up panning out. But who saw Robert Patrick’s alt-Auggie Smith being an existent leader alternatively than a Nazi monster? It’s hinted astatine aboriginal successful this occurrence erstwhile helium recalls seeing what we tin lone presume was Auggie Prime years agone wrong the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, describing him arsenic “something cruel, similar helium came from a satellite that was a acheronian mentation of ours.” But close earlier things spell to hellhole astatine the alt-Smith location successful the episode’s climax, with the improbable squad of Ads (Danielle Brooks), some Vigilantes (Freddie Stroma), and Judomaster (Nhut Le) invading the spot to prevention Chris and Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), alt-Auggie adjacent gives a code astir warring “the madmen, murderers and monsters successful beforehand of me, due to the fact that that’s each I tin control.” I for 1 definite didn’t spot that coming.

Of course, alt-Auggie is unluckily killed moments aboriginal by 1 of the Vigilantes, and it’s played arsenic benignant of a gag. But the unusual happening astir this play has been however it’s felt similar a batch of moving successful spot was going connected for the archetypal 5 weeks, and fixed however abbreviated the occurrence runtimes are, we’re present rushing to the decorativeness enactment with lone 1 week near aft this. I wouldn’t person minded a spot much clip with alt-Auggie to fig retired what Gunn’s constituent was with this twist. Good tin beryllium adjacent successful acheronian times? You’re inactive a collaborator, adjacent if you deliberation you’re warring the bully fight, arsenic agelong arsenic greater evil remains successful your midst? I dunno.

Still, “Like a Keith successful the Night” is 1 of the strongest segments of the play truthful far, and it’s afloat of not conscionable humorous bits (“His favourite Pokemon is besides Infernape!”) but besides immoderate existent affectional moments arsenic well. Harcourt laying her caput connected Chris’s back, and him taking her manus portion they’re riding connected the Peace-Cycle portion a stone ballad plays connected the soundtrack – contempt being pursued by the cops astatine the aforesaid clip – is conscionable great, and surely Cena continues to beryllium his acting chops, peculiarly erstwhile Chris aboriginal breaks down implicit each the decease that helium has caused.

In the past mates of episodes since the uncover of the Nazi satellite – yes, they won World War II, which led to this full messiness – Peacemaker Season 2 has had to locomotion a comic benignant of enactment betwixt the brainsick conception of a fascist satellite portion besides maintaining the show’s mostly comic and wacky tone. The series, and beauteous overmuch Gunn’s full assemblage of work, has ever been capable to sew unneurotic large characterizations, insane and silly scenarios, and existent affectional throughlines, but having a Black histrion chased by a mob of achromatic supremacists portion inactive keeping things “light” is rather a feat. Of course, it helps erstwhile you tin extremity the country by electrocuting that mob successful a swimming pool.

Cena continues to beryllium his acting chops this week, peculiarly erstwhile Chris breaks down implicit each the decease that helium has caused.

But adjacent look astatine the commencement of the episode, which picks up precisely wherever we near disconnected past week. As Harcourt points retired each the evident “Nazi planet” signs – copies of Mein Kampf everywhere, a mural of Hitler connected the A.R.G.U.S. partition – Chris tells alt-Harcourt that helium thinks they should interruption up. It each could’ve been depicted arsenic dark, foreboding, scary, oregon each of the above. Instead, it’s hilarious.

This week we bash walk a batch of clip with the 11th Street Kids getting retired of each the jams they recovered themselves successful astatine the extremity of the erstwhile episode, truthful immoderate different characters are short-changed. Frank Grillo’s Rick Flag Sr. meets Lex’s adjunct (Stephen Blackehart's Sydney Happersen, from past summer’s Superman, successful a acold little breathtaking cameo), who instantly locates Peacemaker’s dimensional portal for him. But the Rick Sr. scenes this week bash thing to beforehand what his docket truly is oregon wherefore helium cares truthful overmuch astir the portals.

Alt-Harcourt is simply a enigma present successful the aftermath of alt-Auggie’s heroic reveal. Is she a Nazi too, oregon conscionable surviving among them? And again, arsenic with alt-Auggie, is determination a difference? With lone 1 week left, I wonderment if we’ll ever find out. But David Denman’s Keith/Captain Triumph, connected the different hand… his rage implicit the decease of his existent member is surely justified, and present that the tempering unit of alt-Auggie is nary longer astir – and that Harcourt didn’t negociate to instrumentality Keith retired earlier heading backmost location – 1 can’t assistance but wonderment what the last showdown betwixt him and Chris volition beryllium like.

Thoughts From the Quantum Unfolding Chamber:

• “You thought I wanted a portion of string!?”
• I’m gladsome the 2 Vigilantes didn’t person to combat each different and alternatively remained champion buds who could combat together!
• Speaking of bully teams, Ads and Judomaster? And Scrobble? It works!
• Lochlyn Munro’s instrumentality from Season 1 arsenic Detective Fitzgibbon, sans butterfly, was fun, and a reminder that alternate realities mean nobody ever truly dies.
• Chris and Harcourt tag-team combat good together, with immoderate bone-crunching, guitar-riffing enactment successful that opening scene. But the champion portion has to beryllium erstwhile they’re moving distant and Harcourt takes idiosyncratic down with a transcript of Mein Kampf to the head.
• The promo for adjacent week’s finale seems to beryllium promising immoderate weirdddd other dimensions. Let’s spot wherever this each winds up.