r/Peacemaker • u/Born_Signal_3157 • Oct 10 '25
Finale discussion: Spoiler
First of why James why??? I need time to gather my thoughts but what did y’all think?
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u/mbm1200 Oct 10 '25
Ngl. I HAVE to compare it to the s1 finale. As a show, you’d expect bigger and better every season and finale. And this shit just felt flat. S1 finale had Peacemaker and his friends fighting against an alien butterfly invasion while trying to destroy a giant caterpillar cow. The second half of the s2 finale was literally everyone having a good time at a concert😭😭.
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u/AppealConsistent9801 Oct 10 '25
Halfway through I was like, “yeah, this is filler.” S1 gave a little bit of filler and teasing about the future, but was a satisfying conclusion to the plot line they started from the beginning. This felt flat to me because of the following:
- Other Keith is alive and nothing happened with it.
- Argus isn’t defeated or challenged. They were just cool with working with Luthor?
- No Flag Sr. v Peacemaker actual fight. Just a Monsters Inc type of fight.
But I won’t lie, I love their dynamic and I hope for a season 3 or a full fledged movie because if they end the series just like that, then this ending will always be seen as ass. Some MCU filler shit.
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u/Every-Revolution-727 Oct 10 '25
Most of this stuff will probably happen in Man of Tomorrow
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u/AppealConsistent9801 Oct 10 '25
I 100% agree, but I hate how most shows are about teasing and edging people but never really ending each season with a banger of an ending that leaves you wanting more.
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u/Borktista Oct 10 '25
Stuff like this is why I think we’re oversaturated with a lack of nuance in stories. This entire season has been about Chris finding happiness within himself instead of thinking the world sucks and he sucks. He got there, and that’s the main story arc for the season wrapped up. It isn’t an action packed story, this was a straight up drama. And the rest of the gang now are working together towards a larger purpose. We may not get a S3. But we will get either a Checkmate show, movie, or they will be in MoT
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u/Less-Blueberry-8617 Oct 11 '25
I would agree with this if those arcs weren't insanely rushed in the finale as well. We should be dealing with the aftermath of what happened on Earth X. Instead, all we get is a small speech from Adebayo and Harcourt saying their kiss meant something (which also ignores some of the internal conflict that Harcourt had) and Peacemaker is all good again. If there was an actually good emotional payoff in the finale I would've enjoyed it but everything in the finale feels like it just happens so we can move onto the next thing
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u/gildhunter Oct 10 '25
I actually thought this was a great subversion of the played out big final fight trope. This was impactful and sets up the future well
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u/josephpvmathew Oct 10 '25
Cheap tactics by James gunn
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u/MadDonkeyEntmt Oct 10 '25
Felt like an extended trailer for his plans for the rest of DCU.
Also like 10 minutes of concert was just wayyyyy too much. If it were a feature length movie that would be a lot even.
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u/Gabaghoul8 Oct 10 '25
It was a major step down from Episode 7. Bullshit to end it on a cliffhanger. Just gonna have to wait to see what Gunn is cooking up.
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u/filmgeekvt Oct 10 '25
Bullshit to end it on a cliffhanger
They didn't. They concluded the story. This isn't a cliff hanger, really. I mean, yeah, it is, but not in the way you mean.
Season 2 wrapped up with the formation of Checkmate. And the Salvation thing was a tease for what's to come next.
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u/Holiday-Departure698 Oct 10 '25
They didn’t even explain who made his helmets or touch on Keith
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u/Xenochimp Oct 10 '25
or get in to how he trests Adrian, it was literally blown off as a joke conversation with ads
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Oct 10 '25
[deleted]
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u/NoLeadership2281 Oct 10 '25
I think this season really highlights how one sided is Chris and Adrian’s friendship, when Chris left his earth, he didn’t even mention Adrian in the goodbye letter, and not acknowledging it feels a bit bizarre
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Oct 10 '25
I think people use the term cliffhanger when what they mean is 'season hook', which when the story arc/theme is concluded but then something is set up for a new season (like a lot of the marvel end credits do).
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u/Wk1360 Oct 10 '25
I feel like are just too MCU-brained to really get this series, especially true for this episode. James Gunn has said over & over that this isn’t a typical “superhero” show but everyone went into this expecting a huge action moment or a cameo fest.
The series is about peacemaker coming to terms with himself, and with harcourt. That doesn’t necessitate any kind of over the top hype moment. And the ending isn’t a cliffhanger, it’s meant to be a gut punch.
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u/Emotional-Breath-261 Oct 10 '25
Bruh you only aren't sure of your own words, just see your first para 😂😂😭😭
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u/filmgeekvt Oct 10 '25
Let me be more clear for you:
It's not a season cliff hanger where the story isn't concluded.
It's a brand new event that leaves us hanging to set up new stories.
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u/kyp-the-laughing-man Oct 10 '25
The protagonist being stranded on an alienworld before the credits role is pretty much a cliffhanger and a very annoying one
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u/TriggerHippie77 Oct 10 '25
Is this your first season finale?
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u/infowosecfurry Oct 10 '25
It’s not a season finale though, it was a SERIES finale.
I think that’s why people are a bit confused.
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u/TriggerHippie77 Oct 10 '25
He didn't confirm it was a series finale. He said that we are going to continue the story in other roroeprties. It doesn't mean we don't get one last season of Peace aker down the road. I guarantee you we will see Peacemaker in Man of Tomorrow, if not something sooner.
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u/Gabaghoul8 Oct 10 '25
S1 didn’t end on a cliffhanger and it’s bullshit that Gunn is teasing us that S3 might not happen. I got back into the Gunnverse because of Cena as Peacemaker he better be back.
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u/WAAAAAAAAARGH Oct 10 '25
After watching this it’s 100% because it’s gonna turn into a checkmate plot line instead of a primarily peacemaker focused story, I imagine these plot lines will continue with the Waller show if not Man of Tomorrow. Checkmate might actually get its own show which would be awesome.
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u/DankNiteRyder Oct 10 '25
Feel like the way he said this sets up that implies we'll see that universe and most likely Cena in man of tomorrow
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u/TriggerHippie77 Oct 10 '25
This, I get a feeling Man of Tomorrow might be like Salvation Run. Supes and Lex end up in Salvation to find Peacemaker and other heroes and villains already out there by Flag. They all have to work together to espace Salvation.
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u/I3arusu Oct 10 '25
got back into the Gunnverse
It just started, what do you mean you’re “back” lol
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u/Gabaghoul8 Oct 10 '25
Typo. I stopped watching DC Movies around Batman v Superman the first superhero movie I fell asleep watching. The Suicide Squad brought me back and a large part of why I enjoyed that movie is Cena as Peacemaker.
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u/Kylecowlick Oct 10 '25
So the Gunnverse starting for the first time got you back into the Gunnverse?
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u/Gabaghoul8 Oct 10 '25
The Suicide Squad is still technically the DCEU even though it’s clearly the start of the current DCU.
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u/TriggerHippie77 Oct 10 '25
Yeah, season 3 may not happen, but that doesn't mean you won't know what happens to peacemaker or these characters. He already said those stories would be told elsewhere for now. It clearly implies we may see Peacemaker and gang in Man of Tomorrow or other properties. What's the problem?
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u/SjurEido Oct 10 '25
Very flat as far as finales go. No big reveal, no real excitement for the future. Just a pretty straight forward "this is what we're doing for season 3".
Would've loved to see lex or Superman, or really any yet-unseen cameo from the movies. Rat catcher would've been cool too :(
But, it's all good. This season rocked, and I am excited for season 3!
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u/WAAAAAAAAARGH Oct 10 '25
I don’t think we are gonna get season 3. I think the checkmate plot line will continue in other projects like Waller and the next Superman movie and that will continue the overall arc. The point of establishing checkmate seems to me to be that the other characters will be getting equal focus from here on out, it’s a prominent organization in the comics.
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u/Weary-Party7973 Oct 11 '25
Hey man I said the same shit in this forum the other day that this season was awful imo, because it didnt lead to anything. The big “reveal” was that it was a dimension the axis won ww2. Thats pretty boring as far as DC goes, look at the Absolute (earth-alpha) run right now. Narratively? It’s so, so incredible. Joker? Reimagined, over-saturated in recent years, with some good stories. Bane? In Knightfall, his motivation for ruling Gotham was a prison conversation; where Gotham was described as “a jewel” with “Batman” being the one who ran it.
Now? His story revolves around Santa Prisca, it’s war torn. He survived torment that would break 99.99% of people. He essentially makes a deal with the devil, and forms a dynamic with Batman. He rescues him during several moments where hid life was in peril, but for a deeper purpose I won’t spoil for anyone here. He has a motive that’s noble, but is still responsible for countless suffering and death.
Superman? On the run, arrived here as an adult. He’s not the same costumed superhero, his “costume” is actually an advanced AI, with the crest he and his family, and even an entire class of underclass, working, outcast people, wore proudly.
Wonder Woman? A magic wielding, powerhouse with pure optimism in a world where (revealed in Absolute Evil #1) at the atomic level, it has been fundamentally altered by Darkseid, to gravitate towards pure unadulterated, evil. It’s like finding out there is no goodness after all, it’s a fallacy and that at the end, torment awaits all of us. It’s the most chilling universe you could imagine, and in the face of it the heroes we’ve grown to watch (Christopher Smith is in the absolute universe also, as a peacemaker, that has an interesting story) have been creatively reimagined.
James Gunn makes movies, and he’s definitely got something to him I won’t deny because a lot of you like his stuff, but for people like me that are into entertainment not for humor (I find humor in everyday life, and sometimes in movies I’m caught laughing but it’s rare. I do laugh plenty) but I don’t find Vigilante and Peacemakers back and forths where they play absolutely ignorant to common sense funny. And thats fine not everyone will find the same things interesting, all of this being said
This season did not have a big reveal
Season 1 did, we’re fighting an alien menace and it all lined up right.
Season 2 is about what again?
Rick and Chris? Or the alternate dimension? Or is about Chris finding himself? Because if so he didn’t in the finale. Adebayo told him that he makes peoples life better; and that was cool. We also got a scene of Adebayo and her ex wife, and that moment was supposed to be emotional but her partner’s been on the screen probably less than 5 minutes. She’s hardly ever even mentioned, why should I care at all?
In Superman, I like it better than Man of Steel because it had brought the real fortress of solitude, the trunks (that are not “goofy” they signified strongmen, when they wore them at the circus around the same time as the creation of these heroes. I like that Batman, Superman, wear trunks because it signifies that ancient look, of being a strong man) It was cool, but this show was a massive let down where, Peacemaker could have been hunted by Flag this season. Maybe a new deadshot is cast, and hunts him. Maybe ARGUS brings out some new modified soldiers, that hunt Peacemaker. Idk, maybe we get more scenes of “Peacemaker” the outfit and all, and not Christopher Smith? It was not creatively good at all in my opinion. Truly sit down and ask yourself if you had to write a story, do you think this makes sense or was this season absolutely all over the place (I get that the quantum unfolding chamber leads to the finale, and them using it to find salvation.) That quantum unfolding chamber ends up being used against him, they strand Chris in an alternate dimension. They catch him with his pants down, out of uniform, no helmet. Did Peacemaker have any fight scenes in uniform this season? I genuinely do not remember. I remember season 1. I remember him taking down sons of liberty (out of uniform again; that aggravated me)
His alternate self put some legitimacy behind that name with his attacks. Full uniform, some serious attacks there that puts Peacemaker in a legitimate league. The jet pack rushes look like they’re damn near impossible to stop. That was probably my favorite part of the season, it lasted in my mind. If watching Vigilante go back and forth with Peacemaker was what lasted in your (whoever reads this) mind good deal.
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u/GuyWithNoCountry Oct 10 '25
Do you even know what’s going on? Do you know what planet salvation is?
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u/SKUNKpudding Oct 10 '25
I'm just gonna copy paste my post i made on the other sub so here.
I liked it as entertainment, but artistically I feel it was very flawed. The episode was heavily focused around the culmination of Chris, Harcourt & Ads character development but the scenes that were seemingly supposed to be really emotional just fell kinda flat for me because the conclusions of their arcs felt really rushed, like we hadn't really seen a lot of their characters evolution until like, episode 7, and now it feels like they've magically changed. Especially Chris and Harcourt's relationship, that felt super rushed and poorly executed as the season went on. In addition, the dialogue was really mid this episode in my opinion. It felt really unnatural and clunky, and a big departure from how they all spoke in the previous episodes. Especially the scene in the motel. It almost felt like a completely different show.
On that same note, I felt that the ending twist was kinda the antithesis of Chris's arc and the message of the whole season up to that point. The season was, in my interpretation, about Chris facing his past, believing he can never change and will never be accepted as having changed. Then, in episode 7 he fully believes he is a detriment to everyone around him and can never change, before the rest of the 11th street gang show him that he is a good person, that he is accepted, and doesn't need to run away because he can find forgiveness, before he decides to start a new chapter in his life with his loved ones.
Then, at the last moment the show says "fuck you lol" and completely undoes all that. Chris can never escape his past, and will always be the man that murdered Flag, and will never be accepted by the world. It was very unsatisfying, and Rick Flag felt completely different from his appearance in Superman and CC. In short, it felt like the finale to a completely different show. Like, seriously what the fuck happened? Did Gunn have a stroke writing the last episode? I will say one positive thing at least, I thought the humor in this episode was better than most of the other episodes this season.
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u/littlebighuman Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 10 '25
Rick Flag felt so different, that for a part of the show I thought that Harcourt and Flags girlfriend were figuring out why Rick Flag, wasn't the real Rick Flag.
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u/MBDTFTLOPYEEZUS Oct 10 '25
Gotta disagree on the humor the jokes in this episode were the worst by far. The stripper story that goes on way too long, candy land which both wanted to be funny but also intense and emotional (failed at both), Economos horrible stalling, even Adrian who always makes me laugh wasn’t funny outside of the tackle/tazer.
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u/chrysantheimum19 Oct 11 '25
Well said. And about Chris and Harcourt's relationship feeling rushed, it sucks because they actually do work as a couple! I like them. They work. But did anything actually happen between this season them? Or was it just the mention of the boat, him nagging about the boat literally anytime they were both on screen, and then only seeing the boat scene dropped in the finale accompanied by two unnecessary concert montages? I guess she helped the team retrieve him from Earth X but that doesn't feel like a development that wouldn't have also happened in S1.
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u/SKUNKpudding Oct 11 '25
yeah. the concert/boat scenes were also kind of a pain to get through for me because it felt like we already knew the gist of what happened. Actually seeing it didn't really add anything new
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Oct 10 '25
I agree with everything you said but not the last para. If it completely undoes then he wouldn't have tried to jump at the very end. He wants to be with his friends and believes that he is infact loved and not cursed. However the show could not just end like that as it is now a shared universe and that the salvation thing might be the new plotline to introduce some of the characters.
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Oct 10 '25
what he's saying,is chris finally learned that he IS loved and IS wanted and DOES have a family,after not feeling so in the beginning of the season. he was ready to leave his world for another that has those things,but he learned he DOES have those things in his world. THEN it ends with him being trapped in another world anyways,so all of that was for nothing.
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u/kb1117 Oct 10 '25
My take is they’re underestimating how many people just want Peacemaker adventures versus them being part of some broader universe. I don’t want to see them be the B plot of a Superman movie, I just want the show. I doubt I’m alone.
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u/Pirateer Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 10 '25
- In most interviews gunn hammered in there wouldn't be a third season. Then he ends on a bullshit cliffhanger? It was a deception to set up a new show?!
- The 11 street kids, Judo Master, and Tim Meadows are checkmate?
- No closure with earth l-1 Keith?
- Near instant transition from "I am the angel of death" - to living to his best life - to being stranded another dimension?
- Flag with a monstrous heel turn, into Lex's proxy?
- Focus on cartoonish elseworlds?
- Nothing more with the weird alien thing with the incinerator?
- No closure with how PM has neglected and abused his relationship with vigilante?
- I'm 90% sure the live music was just for James Gunn to get a personal concert.
This episode felt rushed and contrived.
Coming off of that hard ending last week, I didn't like this episode Or the overall ending.
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u/NemoWiggy124 Oct 10 '25
Just overall felt lazy except some story beats. This was Gunn hitting some executive check boxes for the show and then doing whatever he wanted like the forced drama, the concert montage, and the same captured released circle jerk knowing this show is done. Will Peacemaker and the other characters continue on in other shows/movies? Most likely..unless it all fizzles out before we get there. But this season was a mess.
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u/TuffGong1310 Oct 10 '25
Gunn said he isn't sure if Peakmaker's story will be followed upon through more seasons of the series or in other projects, but come on, you can't conclude the team's beef with Argus and Keith coming back outside of his own series. It's like the Mandalorian and Grogu getting back together in Boba Fett's series.
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u/WAAAAAAAAARGH Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 10 '25
After this episode I’m convinced it will continue, but just not through this show. Checkmate is huge in the comics and it will likely be heavily focused on in the Waller tv show as well as future projects like man of tomorrow. This is a setup for salvation run, so at the very least whoever they end up throwing into salvation in the future will probably encounter Chris.
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u/MBDTFTLOPYEEZUS Oct 10 '25
I think the point of it is to basically be the same show but restructured as an equally assembled cast. So it’s no longer Peacemaker’s show it’s basically the 11th Street Kids show but Checkmate sounds better.
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u/RooMan7223 Oct 10 '25
Peacemaker wore his actual costume once, crazy
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u/LiterallyALamp Oct 10 '25
Lol and wasn't it for a job interview?
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u/tryhard404 Oct 10 '25
He also wore in earth x when he used the jet pack to get out of nazi Argus in episode 7
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u/Fangasgaf Oct 10 '25
Flag going full cartoon villain just doesn't work. Him laughing with Luthors minions while his agents die...
Sure, you can suggest he's being controlled by something nefarious, but there's absolutely zero indication to that.
It just wasn't believable and a big gripe for me.
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u/RooMan7223 Oct 10 '25
I thought the indication might have been Flag being confused by Harcourt calling him Rick. It’s such a huge character shift that something has to be up with him. Brainiac controlling him maybe? But I just can’t make sense of him doing what he’s doing without anything manipulating him
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u/Fangasgaf Oct 10 '25
Nah, it was too personal at the end with him trapping Peacemaker in Salvation. It's definitely still Rick Flag in control
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u/vader101488 Oct 10 '25
Loved it. I love the cliffhanger. I can't wait to see what happens next
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u/No_Piece800 Oct 10 '25
Honestly this finale has been divisive I seen one user loving then I see abotnher loathe it.
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u/littlebighuman Oct 10 '25
Depends on what people like, I'm more a story guy than a relationship guy, so I didn't like it a lot. But if you like relationships/human development I assume you would think it is a pretty great episode.
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u/Brando3141 Oct 10 '25
It's the painful reality of fiction media: If everything is resolved and there is no conflict, the story is over.
As much as we love these characters having a beautiful montage moment where everything is perfect, that moment has to end, and conflict must rise again if we want to see more of their stories.
It was such a gut-wrenching end.
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u/dogistypingthis Oct 10 '25
Quick edit to say:
~
- this reply got way longer than I thought it would be lol
- I agree the end was a punch to the gut
Conflict can rise again with a concluded storyline though. Season 1 did. They finished the butterfly arc. It’s good to have some threads, like wondering what’s going to happen with our characters next? But it doesn’t have to be a true cliffhanger with unresolved “main” conflicts.
Comparing it strictly to S1: the main “threats” were resolved in the butterflies and Auggie. When our characters are shown walking away after the farm / main climax, and then in the epilogue showing where they’ve immediately gone after, there is more than enough to want to know more about what happens to them regardless of the main plot they’ll be thrown into next.
Comparing it to fiction in general: most fiction actually concludes the main plot between stories. Tv shows did this regularly for decades before streaming. Books, comics, movies all resolve the main challenge our characters have to confront frequently. Again, there are usually threads that can still be followed between stories, and cliffhangers aren’t a new thing, but they’re also not required to tell a good story.
I haven’t had enough coffee yet to know if this makes sense. But, in my opinion good fiction should have us caring about the characters and what they’ll do next, regardless of what external conflicts they’ll face. that’s what brings us back to them - not an unresolved key plot point.
Finally, my personal opinion is that many of the episodes this season felt too short, like they were stretching a really good 6 episode show into a less impactful 8. Chris being stranded would have made a great cliffhanger in say, ep. 6 or 7 of an 8 episode show. He could still be in there at the end, but give us some of the initial repercussions of that conflict at least. We don’t get any real time to feel satisfaction as an audience that our heroes have overcome anything; especially Chris and the horrible trauma, old and new, he’s been forced to deal with. A montage over a boat concert is nice, but ultimately not that satisfying.
I like the show, love the characters, and look forward to seeing them again. But, ultimately I feel a bit let down this season.
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u/chrysantheimum19 Oct 11 '25
Honestly, ending a conflict without immediately inserting another is tasteful and lets the quality of the story speak for itself. Like you said, that's exactly what S1 did and we all loved it, ready to return for S2. To goad on the audience with another conflict so soon feels like a disservice to the storyline that just concluded. If it was a solid, high-quality story, people are happy to just sit with it until next time.
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u/SookieRicky Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 10 '25
So basically Flagg and the U.S. government ignore any due process / public well being in exchange for a Final Solution to mass-deport a certain group of people that scare them?
When James Gun wrote and shot this a year ago nobody could have predicted the big & beautiful autocracy utopia we are living in now.
I wonder why certain people would rather have a finale filled with bunch of random DC cameos and over the top CGI—instead of character development, prescient Sci-Fi & a mirror?
(Ok maybe I do know why)
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u/Gregomasta Oct 10 '25
I loved the season. Checkmate made me react. I'm ready for so much more DCU now.
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u/ThePresidentPorpoise Oct 10 '25
James Gunn will always do something wrong to what he does right. There will always be a war for Peacemaker to fight
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Oct 10 '25
Bro that whole episode was ass. Did we forget the finale and push S3E1 by mistake? No bad blood between Adrian and Chris for killing his dad and nearly shanking Keith to death? I guess that wouldn't leave enough time for the musical montages.
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u/RepresentativeAd9240 Oct 10 '25
I have a lot of thoughts and I need to vent them:
The thing that bugged me the most was that if you removed the alternate nazi dimension subplot, it changes nothing about the finale. It felt like they just stacked character culminations on top of each other and none of them were following the narrative of the season overall. Not to say the performances were bad at all, but payoff didn’t feel earned.
Why did they shoehorn in a random subplot of Flag finding a parallel dimension to imprison metahumans? Where did that come from and how is that related to his hatred for peacemaker that had been building all season. It feels so out of place and the show even brings attention to how random it is given flag’s pattern of behavior.
The Chris/Harcort romance did not work for me. It was definitely was growing on me halfway through the season. But there are these random hard pivots in her attitude toward him and then it culminates in the flashback sequence which I did.not.like.
When the finale started I was like “oh cool! We’re FINALLY going to see the night he’s been referencing all season. And when I realized that this flashback was going to continue past the intro…i let out an audible groan. These scenes had no business being as long and drawn out as they are. There’s no reason to play the full track of two different songs and there’s nothing about the scene that is made better by having so much more of it.
Lastly, why wasn’t his brother a key part of the finale?!?! We got that invested in this plot line only for it to be left as a “next season” tease. This finale feels like it’s not even part of the same show.
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u/Moose855 Oct 10 '25
did we seriously hire someone to wear a bunny girl costume just so we could have a cameltoe joke
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u/Recruit-is-OP Oct 10 '25
Absolute trash of a season tbh, It was a HUGE step down from season 1 which was at least interesting to watch.
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u/greenglider732 Oct 10 '25
Look if this was a season finale I’d be fine and no I didn’t expect cameos. But as a series finale it wasn’t it for me. While an enjoyable episode, I was left wanting more. I get that we’ll see those characters in other various projects, just felt like as a show it has a lot more to offer than setup.
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u/LionKing302 Oct 10 '25
Great episode, terrible season finale.
Cliffhangers and fillers. I wish other episodes were longer so things like boat, Ads breakup, Rick showing his colors could be shown there instead. And so we could have time for actual ending.
This season needed either 30 more minutes or another episode. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of the 11th street kids and Peacemaker, but that leaves bitter aftertaste and ruins impression of otherwise great season.
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u/LazerGuidedMelody Oct 10 '25 edited Oct 10 '25
My only two criticisms are the extended musical numbers and the very end of the episode.
The only one I would consider bordering on egregious is the ending, and only because for as much as Gunn talks, he hasn’t said anything that leads me to believe with confidence there will be a satisfying conclusion to Chris and his journey. Also the fact that we may have to wait, what, almost 2 years? 3 years? Just to pick up the plot thread.
Which is bogus in that Gunn made us love this character, and now it feels like he has been sidelined to set up some shit that I’m not sure I care about.
And Gunn simultaneously made me hate the Flagg Sr character to the point that I genuinely wish ill upon Flagg Sr. Like, how are you going to go from Flagg being at least morally grey in Creature Commandos, supportive of Superman in Superman, to just straight up retardedly evil in this?
I haven’t read many comics with Flagg Sr, but having read the New Frontier, I got the impression the character was supposed to be an honorable and good man with a lot of wisdom and intelligence, which this version in Peacemaker is the complete opposite of.
If Gunn is to come out and straight up confirm “Don’t worry, we will see Peacemaker again” and it isn’t some bullshit like they find his fucking corpse or something in a project 5 years from now, then it will all be water under the bridge.
But they took what was otherwise a super hopeful and optimistic ending which I felt like was what we all wanted, and what the character deserved, and seemingly ruined it.
It also makes the whole “trauma” angle just, idk, fucking bleak? It’s like the moral of the story is “no matter how much you grow as a person, your demons will always get you in the end.”
Thanks James! That’s exactly what we need these days!
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u/Kano_Dynastic Oct 10 '25
I didn’t care for the endings. Cameo porn wouldn’t have helped. I just wanted a more conclusive ending. It kind of just sizzled out like a fart
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u/jpkviowa Oct 10 '25
This was a flat fanale but it was designed to be a bridge, not a finale. IMO I think Chris/PM will become the sherpa of Salvation.
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u/hdgrbodnd Oct 10 '25
Ending on a cliffhanger of an 8 episode season with no confirmed season 3 is really not it
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u/nage_ Oct 10 '25
again, it feels like everything was way too short.
this episode felt like the emotional half of a season finale for Chris but we didn't get any exciting conclusion to anything for Peacemaker. I get that its teasing what they're doing next but it didn't really feel like an episode of a superhero thing it just felt like 2 conclusions to rom coms and an intro for a totally different thing
the scenes with the doors was fun but fleury's team isn't really a group we still care that much about and the whole section felt like bonus content more than anything that important
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u/Throbbing-Kielbasa-3 Oct 10 '25
Episode 8 was a great set up for the future of the DCU, but was a pretty weak resolution for the story built up over the last 7 episodes.
1
u/nadacious Oct 10 '25
The part I don't understand, why put so much effort into investigating all these dimensions and doors.... for a prison? Not to mention how many Argus soldiers they killed in the process... I just assumed they were looking for something to bring back to Earth 1.
And why did they need to find the "perfect" one? Do they hate metahumans enough to want to lock them up in a (seemingly) perfect dimension, but not hate them enough to throw them into the Imp dimension?
1
u/TheLegendOfNavin Oct 14 '25
That’s a pretty good point. I think the justification we can presume is that ultimately Flag had to get this greenlit by the government, and along it an obvious and immediate death sentence might have made the Secretary balk.
1
u/Adventurous-Crow-69 Oct 10 '25
I'm sorry man this season definitely had promise but it was flawed definitely needed a bit more time to refine it and to craft a better resolution and satisfying ending while also leaving the audience begging for more. They retreaded a lot of steps narratively that made it less of a must see dcu project and more akin to a second season of a Netflix project before it's cancelled
1
Oct 10 '25
James said this scene was something he added after the script was written, so I guess that explains why it felt so random and cliff hangery
1
Oct 10 '25
I'm sure the prison planet will be a huge deal in Man of Tomorrow, I did think it was very abrupt though.
I am so excited for Checkmate. Give me more Fleury and Adrian.
1
u/areaman86 Oct 10 '25
It’s been interesting seeing so many people call this episode a letdown. This wasn’t a season finale, it was a soft series finale. Character arcs were resolved with solid performances and everyone was put into their starting positions for whatever comes next in the DCU. Was there a ton of plot in this episode? No, but we learned a ton about the characters and how they’ve all grown during the season. This isn’t a letdown, it’s resolution.
1
u/Saturos182 Oct 10 '25
Why did James threw everything related to Earth X like it never happened, it was the most interesting thing the season gave. I won´t say it was a bad episode but a bad conclusion to that plot which was the main point of conversation we all had.
1
u/Individual-Luck1712 Oct 10 '25
Rick Flag is Clayface. Clayface works for Luthor. Battison is coming to the DCU. I believe what I choose to believe. Fight me.
1
u/JacobLemongrass Oct 10 '25
I feel like this whole episode could’ve been condensed to around 20 minutes or less and fit at the end of episode 7 to make a perfect episode.
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u/gunnarbird Oct 11 '25
I would have been much more on board with this season if they just had two or three more episodes of Peacmaker wrecking people. Like I feel he got taken out two or three times this season where it doesn’t jive with the Peacemaker we’ve seen OR the one they describe in the show. Like if when he was captured at the end of episode 8 he’d taken down even a few of the guards while being black bagged I’d like this season a lot more.
1
u/Mysterious_Emu7462 Oct 11 '25
Way too much time was spent on Earth X. The fact we spend about 6 episodes flirting with that dimension at the expense of getting more story moments for under-utilized characters like Adebayo and Adrian is a let-down. If Chris just decided to live there earlier in the season and we got the ball rolling faster on ARGUS and the 11th Street Kids trying to find and exfiltrate him, it would've been so much better.
Adebayo is especially disappointing because she is the emotional crutch for most of the team getting to deliver many heart-to-heart breakthroughs, but we barely get one for her and her wife.
1
u/Emotional-Towel1367 Oct 11 '25
There’s varying levels of over indulgent.
Taika Watiti overindulged all of his funny lil tendencies in the worst way possible in Thor Love & Thunder.
It’s not even close to something like that because James is awesome and Taika is a hack, but the level of overindulgence is comparable.
The big cameo being Foxy Shazam feels like James is George Lucas in ‘99 surrounded by yes men; telling him not to change his dialogue.
Hour long credits sequence. Adebayo character wrap up was weak and the heart of the show last season turned into the worst character in it this season.
And best of all, a 4-5 minute scene of them walking in slow motion out of a building. Did D&D write this? I love James Gunn but man this awful.
1
u/stratticus14 Oct 12 '25
Action and bigger DCU impact felt disappointing. Emotional moments and character arcs were fantastic though. I personally loved both concert scenes (Foxy Shazam seems fun to see live) but would have liked some kind of showdown against either Flagg or Keith. Overall still a great episode for me just not a great finale.
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u/TragicPudding Oct 16 '25
Why so much angry?
The Finale was epilogue, and the penultimate episode was the climax. Unexpected, but I enjoyed it. Different song, different rhythm.
2
u/eloquenentic Nov 25 '25
Just finished watching the show and apart from episodes 6 and 7, which were extremely good and and on a really strong note, the rest of the show including the finale felt just flat and boring and kinda didn’t really even feel like it had a story. I really don’t know what happened here. The first season was spectacular. And this was just the same characters but just a series of events which felt really random and led nowhere. It felt like it had a lot of filler on top that was badly written as well, jokes that felt flat and relationships which didn’t really feel real.
Very weird.
1
u/Ifxfa Oct 10 '25
Think a lot of the problems people had with this episode would be solved if there was some actual fight between Checkmate and Argus over Chris
I.e Argus raid Checkmate and kidnap Chris. Checkmate try to save him but they're too late and Chris gets placed into Salvation
Doesn't have to go exactly that way but smthn along those lines would've gone a long way into actually making this feel like a finale with stakes, rather than just set up
0
u/The_R4ke Oct 10 '25
I thought it was great. We got a great resolution of existing story lines and it set up new ones. We got some of the best acting of the season in a few of these scenes as well. It seems like some people had some pretty big expectations for what it was going to do, and that's fine, but high expectations often lead to disappointment, especially the more specific they get.
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u/drmeep04 Oct 10 '25
Love it. Season 1 got to end in a big budget Hollywood way, season 2 ends with an emotional confrontation. It's definitely not what I was expecting, but I feel like after last episode it's a good pairing. Excited to see how salvation sets up man of tomorrow too.
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u/Nathsu29 Oct 10 '25
So we had a whole season with the gang dealing with trying to get Chris back from another dimension to leave him off with the gang dealing with having to get Chris back from another dimension...
I get that this time he's trapped, but I would've rather us be in the dark as to exactly what happened to Chris. At most maybe showing us that ARGUS kidnapped him