There is no better nor more difficult character to write a spin-off series about than Chris “Peacemaker” Smith (John Cena, WWE Smackdown!). While giving enough of a recap to generally understand without a prerequisite viewing of The Suicide Squad, it’s best to watch the film to gain a full understanding of Peacemaker’s character, especially with all the development and insight given in just the pilot. (#JusticeForRickFlag)
Peacemaker as a character can best be equated to a golden retriever who thinks tearing off limbs is the same as playing fetch. He is the poster child of “nature vs. nurture,” and the entire episode was a constant loop of whiplash to try and keep up with all his contradictions.
Never has a cis white man seemed so sincere in his ignorance that it garners more sympathy than frustration.
This isn’t accidental, however, which is the highlight of the episode and, most likely, will be the highlight of the entire series, as it’s clear the entire show will be Chris unlearning all his internalized bigotry and educating himself on the world that was made for him from the very beginning; they even acknowledge the that Chris has the confidence only a straight white man can have, which really hits the nail on the head.
But he can’t educate himself alone, which is where the other strengths of the episode come in: the side characters.
It goes without saying that bald eagle sidekick Eagly is the best character hands down, main or side, so it’s best to touch on the other, human characters to show some semblance of fairness.
Familiar faces Agent Emilia Hartcourt(Jennifer Holland, Sun Records) and John Economos (Steve Agee, Superstore) are back to tie-in the series to its preceding movie, which had initially set up the TV show with them in the end credit scene. Watching their established banter added to the already entertaining dialogue, and it was great to see more depth given to Hartcourt towards the end; and here’s to hoping that she will not remain the love interest but instead become a platonic best friend to Peacemaker who will accept that and not adhere to the toxic concept of “the friendzone.”
Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji, The Split) was a very interesting character, as it’s clear he practices his Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder) impression in the mirror before leaving his house every morning. It was hinted that he may not be trustworthy—let’s be real, anyone working with Waller and the U.S. government cannot be trusted—but since the judgement was coming form Chris, there’s no guarantee that there’s any real merit.
Speaking of allies to Amanda Waller that are not to be trusted, the hands down best character of the episode was Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks, Close Enough) who, at the end of the episode, was revealed to be the Waller’s daughter; and, additionally, also revealed to be the one exception to the previous statement about untrustworthy people.
While a complete plot twist, especially after Murn who seems to be always auditioning for the role of Waller’s clone son, this was a fascinating development and symbolic foil to Chris in terms of the “nature vs. nurture” concept. After all, if Leota was raised by Waller and still managed to end up as lovable as she is, Chris’ upbringing does not excuse him from changing himself for the better, which definitely seems to be the direction the show is heading.
But symbolism and themes aside, Leota is just a great character, with her first scene being her wanting a James Bond-esque apartment and suggesting to her wife Keeya (Elizabeth Faith Ludlow, Another Life) that they name their children “Sharknado” or “Octopussy”; hopefully, they’ll have twins and get to use both names. With her rambling speech when the team storms Chris’ trailer and her empathetic stance towards him at the end of the episode, it’s clear she’s going to be the heart and soul of the show in tandem with Chris.
After all, she and—presumably?—the villain were the first to enter and join Chris during the title sequence, so that has to mean something. A title sequence which managed to successfully execute a very risky comedic concept and earn the series instant brownie points from the very start, and while it does raise the bar on the expected level of entertainment, the show has already shown more than enough promise to fulfill demands.
James Gunn clearly excels at dark humor where he’s allowed to curse and be more vulgar; not so much family friendly content, so it was great to see that this was nothing like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
As mentioned, the show will definitely show the arc of Chris learning what it actually means to be a good person and him unlearning all that his father had taught him—which will definitely not be easy—and it’s specifically his father that makes this so fascinating, as the man is clearly a despicable person, but he’s not playing up to the dumb southern white man either; instead, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick, Terminator 2: Judgement Day) watched Into the Spider-Verse and decided to take on the role of Aunt May, complete with a secret high tech lab with gear the government could only dream of having.
The man is a smart bigot, and really emphasizes that while it’s fun to joke about ignorant people being stupid—the show itself made its own joke with the show Auggie had on the TV called “Fact Attack” which was clearly FOX News on steroids—many of them are actually, in their own way, very smart; or, at the very least, have the power to cause serious harm, and with how abusive he is to Chris, it’s horrifying to think of the damage he could cause if he actually acted on what he said his hopes for his tech to do.
Speaking of that scene, it should be mentioned that while it’s understandable why Auggie used the slurs he did, as the clear intention was to emphasize just how awful and shameless he is, it can be argued that the slurs used were unnecessary in getting that point across, especially as Auggie used the term “Blacks” in a derogatory way, which he could have done in place of using the slurs—the most notable being the anti-Semitic slur—which, while understandable in context, are still harmful.
It will be interesting to see how Chris’ relationship and dynamic with his father evolves, as well as how Chris’ own person goes against everything his father believes, as there seems to be some hints of some aspects of Chris’ identity—particularly his sexual orientation—that will hopefully be expanded upon in later episodes.
Overall, this was a very strong start to a very promising series, and hopefully they keep this momentum for the rest of the season.
Rating: 9.5/10