After a rip-roaring, action-packed S2 premiere, the second outing of PEACEMAKER this year took a few minutes (48 to be exact) to catch its breath and deliver an info dump. Peace, at any cost, even if it means a bit of exposition.
The year is 2006. I work at an adtech company specializing in the movie and TV studio business. It was here that I had the chance to work on the digital marketing and advertising campaigns for THE MARINE, John Cena’s acting debut after coming up through the ranks of the WWE. It’s a terrible film, and I thought, at the time, Cena should stay in wrestling. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had already started to establish himself in Hollywood, but I’d only seen him in the THE MUMMY franchise, and I had very similar thoughts on the future of his acting career.
The year is 2018, and by now, Johnson is an international A-List star in both wrestling and acting. I’ve seen Cena start to stretch his talents in TRAINWRECK, BLOCKERS, and BUMBLEBEE, and he was really beginning to charm me. Also by this point, another pro-wrestler turned actor, Dave Bautista, had immediately won me over as Drax in THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. I think most of us know that pro wrestling is acting already. So just maybe these guys were here to stay.
The year is 2025. I’m sitting with a few friends at an incredible Comic-Con off-site promoting S2 of PEACEMAKER. We’re all wearing Peacemaker masks that were given out, rocking out to a great metal cover band, and talking about our favorite scenes from the first season. “Anything with Eagly”, I say, hoping to get the chance to meet the real-live eagle that was rumored to be doing photo ops on the roof. I was about as hyped as anyone could be for the return of a TV show I had fallen in love with when it premiered in early 2022. Cena, as the titular character, was made for this role. He’d come A LONG way from THE MARINE, and his comedic timing, along with the ability to absolutely kick ass in any action scene, had made him a huge fan favorite in the DC Universe. Plus, apparently, he still wrestles and wins championships, too? This man is almost 50 years old, and he’s unstoppable. His pro-wrestling-turned-actor colleagues aren’t doing badly either. Bautista has shown incredible versatility, not only in the MCU but across both dramatic and comedic roles. And Johnson was about to drop his Oscar-hopeful pic, THE SMASHING MACHINE, later this year. What a time to be alive! And probably even more exciting if I actually kept following WWE wrestling past the 8th grade.
When I was resting on the train ride home from Comic-Con 2025, I was content knowing that HBO and PEACEMAKER had pulled off one of the best off-sites I’d ever attended in my 20+ years of going, and I couldn’t wait for this show to premiere. Chris Smith, the Peacemaker, has a lot to reckon with after the events of last season. He did save the world, right? And he didn’t even need The Justice League’s help. After some sincerely shocking moments in the premiere, week two took time to calm the storm.
It featured a lot more hanging out and chatting than I may have wished for, but boy, was it great to see the 11th Street Kids again. Freddie Stroma as Vigilante/Adrian Chase is one of my top 5 TV supporting characters. He’s so sincere, even when he’s wrecking absolute havoc, and I only want very good things for him. Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebay is the smartest, coolest, most ass kicking government agent since AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Agent May (Ming-Na Wen). And of course, Eagly is back, and he gets time to shine this week while Chris and the others are distracted.
Outside of the very real shit happening with Chris, Harcourt’s (Jennifer Holland) storyline is the most interesting so far. Viewers are aware of her significant contribution to the team’s victory in S1. Hell, she knows it too, and that chip she has on her shoulder at the moment is earned. While Peacemaker deals with what’s on the other side of his closet door, I’m excited to see where Harcourt’s story goes. And with so much happening, we’d better not have Adebay sidelined either. In just two episodes, Gunn has thrown a lot of balls up into the air. With his recent success with SUPERMAN, I trust he’ll knock at least most of them out of the park.
More Eagly every week, please! PEACEMAKER streams Thursday evenings on HBO MAX.
