You can’t deny these 7 moments from Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 1 got you hooked

Peacemaker is a superhero, black comedy created by James Gunn and starring John Cena.

It follows the story of Chris Smith, an antihero who wants peace at any cost. The first season portrayed his battle against a mind-controlling alien parasite, and after a good three years, we get to witness the next season of the show, which, by the looks of it, is as enthralling and engaging, if not even better than the first one. The show is filled with DC Universe elements and tackles themes like identity, self-worth, guilt, redemption, and family.

If you are a fan of the show, I bet that these seven moments from Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 1 got you hooked right away.

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You can’t deny these 7 moments from Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 1 got you hooked

1) Alternate Reality Discovery

The second season rests on the core foundation of an alternate reality. We see Peacemaker following his eagle and stumbling across a pocket dimension, which is powered by a quantum unfolding chamber. Entering the chamber through a glowing door, he finds an alternative universe where everything is different.

His father is alive, and contrary to his abusive past self, in this reality, he is warm and supportive. His brother Keith is also alive and healthy, and both of them share a good bond.

This alternate reality is tempting and alluring, as it presents Chris with a second chance where his earlier, fragile and fractured life is transformed into a warm and kind one. This alternate reality presents the audience with a number of different directions in which the story could unfold.

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2) Peacemaker fights himself

It is a truth well known that messing with time and the quantum realm always lands one in trouble, and the same goes for our peacemaker. As appealing as this alternate world seems, he encounters trouble in the form of none other than himself.

As he gets to meet his family in the parallel universe, he also finds an alternate version of himself. Both of them indulge in a fight for life and death, and the outcome of this fight? Well, that’s a cliffhanger you need to watch and find out for yourself. This scene, presenting a violent crash in the multiverse, makes the show even more engaging.

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3) Retconning Season 1 via the Justice Gang

Another moment in Season 2, Episode 1, which gets us, the audience, hooked, is the retconning of the Justice Gang. In fact, right at the start of the episode, we get a montage with the silhouettes of Aquaman, Flash, Superman, and Wonder Woman, who are now replaced by the Justice Gang, which comprises Superman, Supergirl, Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, and Hawk Girl.

Seeing the mighty Justice League get replaced is a new evolution in this series, which the audience is loving. It marks a clean break from the previous narratives and presents a clean slate for this show to build on.

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4) The Audition Scene

In the audition scene, we see a struggling Chris Smith presented with the opportunity of joining the Justice Gang. The cherry on top is that the audition takes place in a Krank Toys store. It's a hilarious sight to see Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Maxwell Lord trying to assess the qualifications of Peacemaker.

While they judge him behind a glass panel, a mic mishap happens, due to which Chris gets privy to all their personal conversations. This leads to them mocking him. Hurt by the mocking, he leaves the group, saying, “I don’t wanna be in their lame group anyway.” It's a juxtaposition between validation and rejection and gives us a deeper insight into the protagonist's psyche, his identity crisis, as well as his hero complex.

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5) Emilia Harcourt’s Breakdown and Stunts

Another absolute delight to watch in this episode was the character of Emilia Harcourt, who is blacklisted from her previous jobs because of her ‘particularly severe form of toxic masculinity.’ In the scene, we see her dejected and depressed, entering a bar where she finds herself in a confrontation, severely outnumbered. While she loses the fight, her stunts are a thrill to watch.

Jennifer Holland, the actress who portrays Emilia, has performed her own stunts, and seeing her perform such great fight sequences is a true delight was all we could ask for. The scene is symbolic of her loss of purpose and emotional suppression, which she expresses through physicality.

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6) Linking to Superman

The events of Peacemaker are set one month after the Superman (2025) movie. Any DC enthusiast would have leaped to their feet with joy to see the universe continuity in this episode. Many characters from the movie make a comeback in the series. Besides, both attribute their core foundation to a shared technology - The QUC.

Quantum Unfolding Chamber, previously seen in the Superman film, is the core basis of this series as we see the titular character entering an alternative universe to find his family, alive and well, and also encounter a ruthless version of himself. These echoes from the Superman movie were a delight for the audience.

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7) Heavy Batman Easter Eggs

The series is filled with Batman Easter Eggs, and if you are a committed DC watcher, you would identify them, cherish them, and speculate on them. Some of these easter eggs, which we get to see in Episode 1, involve the cameo of White Rabbit, a famous Batman villain.

Other easter eggs involve - The Krank Toys Shop, ARGUS Agent Sasha Bordeaux, Fifth Dimension Imps, Mention of Ultra Humanity, and others. It is an extension to the Gotham Ecosystem and implies the possibility of further multiverse collaborations. The easter eggs make for a fun watch for fans of the universe and add to the show's rewatch value.