Spoilers for: “The Suicide Squad,” “Peacemaker” seasons 1 and 2, “Creature Commandos” season 1, and “Superman”

“Peacemaker” season 2 marks the third entry in the newly formed DC Cinematic Universe, helmed by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Season 2 premiered on August 21, 2025 and aired weekly through its 8 episode run on HBO Max. It concluded on October 9, 2025.

Picking up a few years after the first season, the 11th street kids feel they should be taken more seriously after saving the world. Peacemaker wanders into his dad’s Quantum Unfolding Chamber and finds an alternate universe where his father is alive and very well off. After trying out for the Justice Gang and getting rejected, Peacemaker goes back into the dimension to find his deceased brother, alive. He then runs into his alternate self and accidentally kills him, deciding to take his place in the world.

The ideas presented in the beginning of this season are brilliant, using the multiverse as a genuine plot device to discover one’s purpose in their life. Peacemaker is depressed in his current world and feels he does not belong. Once he finds this alternate dimension where everything is the complete opposite of his life he takes the chance to live a better life.

This season is also followed by the events of James Gunn’s “Superman” released on July 11, 2025 which is where the biggest flaws of this season like set-up and connectivity stem from. 

The character of Peacemaker first appeared in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” released on August 6, 2021. In that film Peacemaker murders Col. Rick Flag Jr. and then regrets the decision in “Peacemaker” season 1. Both of those projects were helmed by James Gunn but were semi-connected to the previous DC Cinematic Extended Universe. 

Once James Gunn was brought in to helm the new DC Cinematic Universe he carried those previous projects over. The first project part of the new DCU was “Creature Commandos” where we met Rick Flag Jr.’s father, Rick Flag Sr. as he teamed up with a task force full of monsters, robots, and other creatures. Flag Sr. also appeared in “Superman” where he helped take down Lex Luthor after causing a massive rift to rip apart Metropolis. When we find Flag Sr. in “Peacemaker” season 2, he has learned about Peacemaker killing his son and now wants revenge. 

Gunn has said that “Peacemaker” season 2 is very important to set up the next installment in the “Superman Saga,” his next film “Man of Tomorrow”. Throughout the entire press tour Gunn made it his goal to hype up the connectivity between “Peacemaker” season 2 and “Man of Tomorrow” which definitely garnered excitement but led to many fans being let down by the lackluster finale.

So much of this season felt like they were just waiting for the final episodes to set up something crazy. A lot of the characterization, themes, and dramatic moments felt sidelined to rush a season of television so we can get excited for another movie. Not to mention the fact that the finale was still not entirely clear as to how it sets up “Man of Tomorrow”.

Episode 6 was when the show finally picked up, revealing the alternate world to be ruled by Nazis just for them to rush that idea as well. It continued in episode 7 but they played off Peacemaker’s ignorance to the Nazi earth as a joke just so they could get to the so-called “action packed” finale.

Episode 7 felt like it should have been the actual finale seeing as how it stayed focused on the show’s core storyline and characters, wrapping up everyone’s arcs. Episode 8, the finale, felt like a rushed season 3 trying to jam pack a whole new storyline within itself. If the finale let us sit in that original storyline from throughout the season it would have been an awesome pay-off.

Overall, Peacemaker season 2 is definitely a dip in quality from the first season and has divided many fans. Gunn has said he wrote “Creature Commandos,” “Superman,” and “Peacemaker” season 2 in one year. With “Peacemaker” season 2 being the last thing he wrote, it was probably the most affected by his writing burnout.

This season has raised much concern about the future of the DCU, but the next few projects in the DCU are definitely promising with the releases of Lanterns, Supergirl, and Clayface. Gunn is not directly involved in those projects and will hopefully bring a fresh perspective to the DCU and bring new excitement to the fandom.