A surprising Peacemaker gives Harcourt's despair a new dimension

Peacemaker then pivots from its tragic mope-a-thon on DC Prime (or whatever we end up calling the DCU’s Earth) to its happier, sunnier alternate Earth, where morning arrives a bit more harshly for Chris. However, his wake-up nudge from big brother Keith (David Denman), who offers the rejuvenating promise of eggs and a meetup with Emilia at noon, puts a spring in his step. (“C’mon, piss!” he groans, shaking off last night’s Bud Light binge.) Instead of eggs, he eats some crow for breakfast, shimmying into his doppelgänger’s wardrobe of silk shirts and leather pants, a forlorn heart looking ready for a night of overpriced bottle service. Keith drops a warning: “What about the jarhead?” His little brother, perhaps too amped up to parse what that means, replies, “Fuck ’em.” To which Keith returns: “Agreed. Fuuuck him!” 

How best to arrive in style? Via the Peace-Cycle, naturally, roaring down Evergreen’s main drag to the adulation of its citizenry (including an overly emotional child and one lusty lady). Basking in stolen valor, Chis declares: “Best. Dimension. Ever.” (Query: Does Eagly exist here?)

Meanwhile, back in Sad Land, Harcourt-Prime grinds some coffee for her overnight guests, Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), and Economos (Steve Agee). Nursing a skull-stripping hangover, Ads notes that Chris’ stormy exit from the previous night suggests some raw feelings between him and Harcourt. Vigilante disagrees—he’s Peacemaker’s best friend, surely he’d have been informed of any emotional baggage—but he’d mostly rather riff on a few animal facts. (I love Stroma, but Vig needs new material.) On the rooftop, amid scattered bottles, Tostitos crumbles, and congealed dip, Emilia admits little about her and Chris’ love-boat situation that occurred between seasons—only that “him and her” will never happen. “Does he know that?” Ads asks.

It’s worth noting that this secret Harcourt/Flag situation, aside from revealing much about her recent misadventures chasing nighttime punishments for some nameless sin, deepens the season’s themes of regret and despair with its complexity. Is Harcourt punishing herself for never sharing her true feelings, whatever they were, with Flag before his death? Does she hate Chris for killing him? (In light of this development, her behavior toward him at the end of season one can be interpreted in any number of ways.) Guilt is weighing on her; that much is clear. But where does it come from?

From here, we return to Happy Land, where everything rules. Peacemaker’s biker helmet doesn’t muck with Chris’ perfect coif, and people shake his hand instead of constantly telling him where to get off. Emilia seems perfect: Her hair frames her face instead of obscuring battle scars, and she has a sonorous laugh, which comes naturally. She loves dogs and pets them in gauzy slow motion (which she does here, scored to “Dreamer” by Ozzy Osbourne). But all is not so perfect: Here, Rick Flag Jr. still draws breath and has very intense opinions on Chris’ proximity to Emilia. (Kinnaman’s death glare at Cena as he walks out of frame is meme-ready and hilarious.) Still, this Flag seems much less intimidating than the Prime-Earth version Chris killed, a foil that Chris can wheelie around easily (for now, anyway). 

It’s all very soapy. But before anyone thinks Peacemaker has suddenly forgotten how to annihilate, Gunn tosses a human bomb into the mix courtesy of the “Sons Of Liberty,” an anti-fascist militia hellbent on blowing up Evergreen institutions until their demands are met. Their latest target: the DMV, which prompts Chris to shift into ass-thwomping Peacemaker mode. Sans supersuit, Chris brutally dispatches the Sons one by one: fire axe to the head, boot to the head through a wall, and an ear cleaning with twin No. 2 pencils. After a perfect streak of headshots, he disarms a mega-bomb, while Keith rockets through the militia’s getaway helicopter decked out in battle armor. Victorious, Chris embraces Emilia and takes in Keith’s beaming grin as Evergreen cheers them on—an unforgettable experience that, despite his efforts, does not belong to him. “Best dimension ever,” Chris confirms, oblivious. 

Back home, Agent Bordeaux (Sol Rodríguez) briefs Economos on the Quantum Closet Chris inherited from his dad, Auggie (Robert Patrick). After taking some shit from Agent Fleury (Tim Meadows) about Eagly’s eye-popping rampage last week, Bordeaux introduces him to Michael Rooker’s Red St. Wild, the world’s foremost eagle-killing savant. “Ain’t no one kills eagles more good’n me,” he drawls. After barely weighing his latest moral quandary—”fuck this, I’m out” is met with a curt “you’re fired,” followed swiftly by an “I’m in”—Economos is introduced to his other new partner: Rick Jagger, codenamed Judomaster (Nhut Le). “Hey, Fatty,” he says, cozy in Economos’s spy truck, crunching away on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. 

All told, this week’s Peacemaker is livelier than the last but no less emotionally present or surprising. The final scene between Chris and Keith, where Cena and Denman share a tender moment between brothers, reasserts both the ache of regret that has resonated throughout the series since the very beginning and the dramatic, dimensional rift to come. Even as Chris pours his heart out to his brother, whom he has missed dearly, he knows he can’t fully reveal himself, not without giving the whole game away. In chasing what he most desires, Chris alienates himself, neglecting the enemies at the gates while deepening connections that are practically preordained to be cut—and violently. Will he live a lie just to feel whole? Does this penitent Peacemaker, who wants so much to do right, still have it in him to admit that he’s so, so wrong?

Stray observations

• • “Why do all my clothes look like the Kardashians’ furniture?” “Who are the Kardashians?” I’m warming to this reality.
• • Chekhov’s pill drawer? What has the pharmacy cooked up for alt-Chris, and will Chris-Prime sample it?
• • Hmm. A.R.G.U.S. usually stands for “Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-humans,” but in the alt-reality, it means “Advance Research Group for the United States.”
• • From Emilia, Chris pieces together a few sins of his alt-self: He was arrogant (no surprise there) and unfaithful, which ultimately drove her into Rick’s arms. But this repentant version of Chris appeals to her, and the possibility of reconciliation hangs in the air. One condition: “The last thing I need is you being impulsive,” she tells him. The irony!
• • Fleury: “He [Economos] told me ‘duck!'” This implies that, on top of bird blindness, Fleury also suffers from hearing birds wrong. (He doesn’t; he’s just covering his ass. It’s still funny though.)
• • The Sons Of Liberty are, in fact, a DC thing and used to be a crew that worked with Benjamin Lockwood, a.k.a. Agent Liberty, a Superman supporting character from DC’s much-loved Triangle Era.  
• • Even though I don’t recall hearing anyone say the name out loud this week, Keith Smith’s super-moniker is Captain Triumph. He was created by Alfred Andriola in 1943 for Quality Comics.
• • Regardless of reality, the Mighty Crabjoys endure.
• • Keith’s name for his little brother: “Chrisper.”
• • Rip Jagger is indeed Judomaster’s secret identity: Hadley “Rip” Jagger was a character created by Frank McLaughlin and Joe Gill for Charlton Comics, which was sold, along with Judomaster and Peacemaker (among other heroes like Blue Beetle and The Question), to DC in 1983. 
• • Instead of the post-credits stinger giving us some additional improv shenanigans, this week’s included a story beat, revealing how, exactly, Vigilante removed Economos’s pants as he slumbered in Harcourt’s bathtub. That smooch was incredible.