EPISODE MVP-ROBERT PATRICK
Robert Patrick has been one of our most reliable character actors for the past thirty years. Yet, I do not know of an appreciation post on the internet that talks about how wonderful he’s been over the course of time in menacing, hateful-type villains just like he plays in this show.
I have lamented how the subplot of the White Dragon’s legal troubles kind of held the show back in my past reviews. However, I’m going to walk some of that back here. Perhaps we didn’t need so much of the subplot, but without it, the emergence of the White Dragon in this episode, in particular, loses a lot of impact. The White Dragon is already on the list of worst TV dads in only seven episodes of this show. And that is a testament to Robert Patrick doing what he was put on this Earth to do…. portray a character on screen that you absolutely loathe.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
JOHN CENA- I am thoroughly convinced that everything comedically that he’s done in the show (and throughout his acting and wrestling career, for that matter) comes naturally to him, and he’s always seemed pretty awkward whenever it turned to more dramatic fare. And this episode was kind of an emotional roller coaster for Peacemaker in a bunch of really gigantic ways. And I feel that Cena’s performance as the Peacemaker has evolved very well since we first saw him in the SUICIDE SQUAD movie. This episode features his most dramatic performance to date in anything I’ve seen him in so far, and…it’s…not terrible. He’s trying as hard as he can. So I’ll give him kudos for that.
I’m trying not to come off snide when I put it that way. However you feel about his dramatic performance, I would suggest you take another look at his performance in F9 and understand that he’s come a long way in many ways.
ALL THINGS JUDOMASTER – Although I’m still trying to figure out precisely what the point of him being in this episode was, I’m never disappointed by the savagery of the Judomaster. I see him. I understand the asses are about to get kicked. And I’m satiated. There have been a lot of complaints about this character being here simply because his presence allegedly feels overblown from time to time. But the Judomaster has had one really good action scene after another.
Maybe his role in the show will be to continuously show up and beat the s*** out of people. Why complain about that in a show as silly as this one?
LINE OF THE WEEK
“I’d make a collage of the three of us f some chicks, with a bunch of dolphins around us doing beer bongs in a Corvette.”
-Vigilante- (Vigilante really could win this award every episode. It’s almost not even fair at this point)
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE
EVERYTHING INVOLVING MURNS – At first, he was an ancillary routine authoritative character to the wacky group of protagonists, then at the end of the fourth episode, that took a turn. There are many, many, many different ways in which Murns could have been integral to the big picture of this show (granted that it lasts a couple of seasons). But, here we are heading towards the season finale of this show, and this opportunity for him to be fleshed out as a pivotal character seems to be abruptly wasted.
Every show out there ebbs and flows in terms of how entertaining it is from episode to episode. However, PEACEMAKER has continued to be a model of consistency that has defied expectations. I’ll go as far as to say that if this show closes out strong with its season finale, there should be a conversation on if this is the best DCEU related content on the market right now. But it must close out strong.
PEACEMAKER is now playing on HBO MAX.
