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Peacemaker Season 2 raised one of the most incendiary questions that have been argued among audiences ever since the jaw-dropping events of The Suicide Squad: Is Rick Flag Sr. seeking revenge on Peacemaker? With Season 2 now available to stream, the truth is no longer left to wild fan speculation; rather, it's written into the show.
Peacemaker's killing of Rick Flag Jr. was a ripple that the DCU couldn't help but fall into, and the show plunges headfirst into this unresolved tension. Rumor is now fact, with the aftershocks of that gory battle resonating in the current season. The revelation of Rick Flag Sr.'s presence stirs things up.
Whereas his son, as a soldier, was compelled by duty, Flag Sr. appears on the scene with raw emotional anger of a father whose son has been killed and who has motive and mandate. That he now leads A.R.G.U.S. only adds to his ability to make life as hard as possible for Christopher Smith, aka Peacemaker.
This is not club loyalty or politics, it's revenge. As Season 2 continues, the clash between these two men is no longer painted as conjecture but as a necessary force of conflict for the story.
The backstory of Rick Flag Jr.'s demise and its ramifications in Peacemaker Season 2
To understand why revenge becomes such a crucial aspect of Season 2, it's helpful to turn back to Rick Flag Jr.'s final moments. In The Suicide Squad, Flag Jr., played by Joel Kinnaman, finds evidence of corruption by the U.S. government regarding Project Starro. His moral compass drives him to make the truth known, as much as it drives him into conflict with Amanda Waller's overall agenda.
Peacemaker, by Waller's strict directive, determines to prevent Flag Jr. from making this information known. A brutal fight ensues, with Peacemaker ultimately killing Flag Jr., a scene that is still one of the biggest surprise showdowns in the DCU. Its aftermath is what Season 2's storyline revolves around.
Unlike in the first season, where Peacemaker's personal conflict and his attempts at redemption were the focus, Season 2 introduces the real-world consequences of his actions in the form of Flag Sr. For the first time, Peacemaker is confronted by an opponent with personal motivations and administrative power to pursue him.
The specter of the death of Rick Flag Jr. hangs over every decision Peacemaker makes during this season and making it obvious that the past cannot be hidden quite so easily.
Rick Flag Sr. steals the spotlight
Rick Flag Sr., portrayed by Frank Grillo, is an important figure in Season 2. For every ideologically or organizationally motivated villain, Flag Sr. possesses a very personal chip on his shoulder.
His loss gives his journey purpose and sets him up to avenge his son. What makes it more interesting is the understanding that Flag Sr. isn't an off-books character acting outside the bounds of what's right; he's been promoted to director of A.R.G.U.S., and he's the one in charge of pursuing the assets and the glory it takes to make Peacemaker's life terrible. It shifts the dynamic of the show.
With Peacemaker in Season 1 opposed to Amanda Waller's calculated nature, in Season 2, he is thrown against someone whose motives are rooted in personal loss and not clinical politics. Grillo himself indicated that Flag Sr. is "hell-bent on burying Peacemaker," and it is explicitly stated that this is not a story of abstractions but one of revenge.
James Gunn's confirmation that Flag Sr.'s arc is the center of the season makes a definite point that what previously overflowed as fan theory has become canon.
A central conflict, not speculation
One of the largest Season 2 reveals is that Rick Flag Sr.'s revenge is no longer a fan theory going around on fan sites; it's a confirmed, official storyline. Trailers, episode recaps, and interviews with the cast all point to this father/killer dynamic as the thread of the new season.
While battling guilt and trying to carve out his own identity outside of the anarchy of previous missions, Flag Sr. embodies consequence. The tension no longer lingers in the background or is hinted at; it plays out in the narrative itself and influences how audiences receive Peacemaker's road to redemption. This is important on the larger DCU, as well.
By emphasizing the consequences of the demise of Rick Flag Jr., the show ties The Suicide Squad into other tales being developed. It keeps continuity alive and avoids one of the greatest character deaths in recent memory from being whitewashed. Flag Sr.'s pursuit of Peacemaker is a pleasant reminder that deeds committed in this world have repercussions down the line, and Season 2 does well to explore those repercussions.
Flag Sr.'s bigger role in the DCU
Aside from Season 2, Rick Flag Sr. is a thread throughout different DCU series. He's not only limited to this show, he's also in Creature Commandos and has planned appearances in Superman (2025). The greater incorporation has to do with how valuable he is as not one-dimensional evil. Flag Sr.'s presence gives the DCU some gravity as a character of interest to tell stories about in the long term.
This growth also stems from James Gunn's overall story framework, where characters are not limited to one project but are part of the overall universe. Flag Sr.'s quest against Peacemaker thus is not strictly revenge but also the building of a larger story. Though Season 2 achieves the closest and most emotional growth of his revenge, his continued presence guarantees that the battle will bleed out of the show itself.
The emotional underpinning of the revenge
What works so well to draw in Rick Flag Sr.'s revenge in Season 2 is its emotional underpinning. It is not a duty or obligation; it's a father mourning the brutal murder of his son and channeling that hurt into the person who did it.
The result is a character that is raw, human, and believable even when his actions tip on the edge of ruthlessness. For the show, this is not the same type of challenge he had in season one. Rather than fighting bureaucratic deception or outside threats, he must now deal with the toll of his past actions. No longer is Rick Flag Jr.'s guilt internalized; it is externalized in Flag Sr.'s unending chase.
Such internal conflict is repeated in the overall storylines, giving Season 2 both individual and universe-sized stakes.
Finally, Season 2's revenge plot is no longer hypothetical but the very heart of Season 2's narrative. Rick Flag Sr. is a complex villain through and through, motivated by sorrow over the loss of his son and fueled by his newfound position as one of authority in A.R.G.U.S. His revenge against Peacemaker is no longer hypothetical but a crucial aspect of the narrative that fuels much of Season 2's conflict.
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By actually brushing against the reality of Rick Flag Jr.'s death in The Suicide Squad, the series makes sure that its characters are not made oblivious to the repercussions of their own actions. Season 2 brings into reality speculations, offering a plot where revenge is not only realized but dissected in depth. In doing so, it also makes Rick Flag Sr. a great character in the series as well as in the larger DCU.
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