Peacemaker (S02E07)

“Like a Keith in the Night”

After realizing that the alternate universe is actually controlled by Nazis, Peacemaker and Harcourt immediately have to fight their way through A.R.G.U.S security.

And you know what? Since I did have mixed feelings about Peacemaker feeling at home in a racist society, I was happy to see that he didn't hesitate to change his mind about this world once he realized it is populated by Nazi's. Because I can easily see how a younger version of this character may contemplate staying. So, even in spite of his faults, it's good to see that Peacemaker is still growing. Unfortunately for him, he and Harcourt still end up getting cornered by his father and brother.

And just as Adebaya is about to be captured by white supremacists, Judomaster rescues her by electrocuting the Nazi's. I mean, I don't know who would put a swimming pool that close to a telephone wire since it seems like an obvious hazard to me, but whatever I guess. The sequence allowed Judomaster to show some genuine growth, and that was pretty nice to see.

Back at the Smith house, Peacemaker is interrogated by his father and brother, and admits that he accidentally killed their Peacemaker. This obviously upsets his brother, Keith, but his father, Auggie, actually takes the news surprisingly well. He even allows Peacemaker and his friends to return home unharmed. Because, as it turns out, Auggie is actually a decent person in this universe. I mean, he explicitly states that he does not agree with the world that he lives in and that he even uses his influence to help people in any way that he can. Which is crazy!

But before anyone has the time to let that information sink in, one of the Vigilante's breaks into the house and starts stabbing Auggie. This prompts Keith to shoot at everybody, but he gets severely injured by Eagly and the rest of the gang. Traumatized, Peacemaker breaks down and sobs over Keith's body, preventing the rest of the team from killing his brother. 

Which probably makes for the best performance that John Cena has ever delivered.  And Cena has always been terrific in this role, but it does feel appropriate to acknowledge his performance in this specific episode. I genuinely felt bad for Peacemaker here, and that was all due to Cena's delivery. I mean, the way he admitted that he feels responsible for all of the deaths that occur around him; it broke my heart! So, if people still didn't consider Cena to be a serious dramatic actor, they definitely should now.

But even after Peacemaker pleads for his brother's life to be spared, Harcourt still chooses to execute him. Which is interesting...

I mean, I get that she doesn't want Keith coming after them, but what the hell did she plan on doing afterwards? Was she just going to lie to Peacemaker for the rest of his life? Would she be able to live with that execution on her conscience? How would Peacemaker react to learning about said execution? I don't know, but that's a decision that may come to haunt Harcourt. Especially since Keith ends up living anyway.

Regardless, everyone manages to return to their proper reality, but - thanks to the deal that he made with Lex Luthor in the previous episode - Rick Flag Sr is able to locate and confront the gang. But Peacemaker hands over the Quantum device, takes the blame for all of the events that transpired, and gives himself up for arrest.

So the episode ends having answered most of my questions about the Nazi universe, revealing narrative elements that can trickle into future seasons of the show, and bringing each storyline to a natural conclusion. Meaning that: the episode basically functioned as a satisfying season finale. But, with one more episode left in the season, I have no idea what to expect from the actual season finale!

And, given how awesome the penultimate episode is, I really hope the finale will end up being just as good. My expectations are high!

But I guess we'll see how Season 2 of Peacemaker will actually come to an end, once the finale gets released on Thursday!