Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 7.The last episode of Peacemaker“Like a Keith in the Night”, was perhaps the most complex episode of the entire series so far. See the characters’ shock at this dark universe where the Nazis won World War II, as well as the nuances of this world, like the way Auggie (Robert Patrick) doesn’t seem like a bigot, made the 11th Street kids’ escape feel held and high stakes, as they couldn’t be sure of anything, being what they expected. However, while the deaths of Auggie and Keith (David Denman) The brutalization was traumatic for Chris (John Cena), Peacemaker failed to leave a more lasting impact on audiences because it chose to tell, rather than show, the atrocities committed against other POC characters.
Not only would this have been a great opportunity to introduce the fate of the original universe’s characters, adding an emotional layer to the horrors of Earth-X, but it also leaves the possibility that someone might wonder, “Is Earth-X that bad? “That shouldn’t be left in doubt. Ultimately, this lack of broader scale is a symptom of a problem with racing throughout Season 2 of Peacemaker. Whether it’s a budget or a narrative decision, PeacemakerThe limited scope of execution and focus became too obvious to ignore in Episode 7.
‘Peacemaker’ should have shown the most disturbing aspects of Earth-X
In storytelling, the overwhelming lesson writers are taught is that it is a visual medium. This is not a play where dialogue can be used to convey more exposition. In television or film, the audience must see what the story is trying to portray, and Peacemaker failed in this area. The best way to successfully communicate the truly dystopian nature of Earth-X is not only to show the beautiful suburbs in which white people live, but also the camps that watch out (Freddie Stroma) DoppleGanger mentioned.
These camps should have not only shown us unnamed POCs, but their inclusion would have allowed Peacemaker To confirm the fate of characters such as Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) and Judomaster’s dopplegangers (NHUT LE). Especially when considering how these two were paired up in this episode, it seems like it has them exploring how different their lives would have been in Earth-X. This would have emotionally connected the audience to the suffering felt by millions in this universe, making Earth-X’s doom much more final and crushing.
Some may argue that Peacemaker instead followed a rule often used in horror, which is to let the audience’s imagination do the work, because nothing you can write is as scary as what they can think of. However, this only works when showing a tease of evil, such as a slight glimpse of the monster in a dark corner, or cutting away as the horror unfolds. Peacemaker don’t do that, like The only way we know about the camps and the background of Earth-X is the aforementioned vigilante line and repeatedly mentioning that the Nazis won WWII in this timeline. These lines don’t do enough to make us feel the horror of the context and, if anything, they rely on the audience having seen atrocities based on historical evidence rather than direct scenes from the series.
Earth-X’s Lack of Scale Limits Impact of Peacemaker’s Dark Alternate Universe
Being physically shown how the Nazis persecuted marginalized people, especially the characters we know and love, would have been extremely beneficial for Peacemaker. This type of scene would also have changed the fundamental tone of Peacemaker. There would have been no time for levity in such scenes, as we see Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Chris have a comedic scene in the opening of the episode when she points out how obvious the signs of it were, like a mural of Adolf Hitler on the wall.
Such a contrast would have made the audience feel how different and dystopian Earth-X is. The shame is that it’s not surprising that this didn’t happen. Yes, James Gunn is edgy and willing to push the boundaries of the superhero genre, but Guardians of the Galaxy, SupermanAnd Peacemaker Always have a comedic tone at the end of the day, which seeks to add levity to the darkest moments. The only problem this time is that restraint held back the story.
‘Peacemaker’s Earth-X is a symptom of a bigger problem in season 2
What’s most frustrating about the problems with this latest episode of Peacemaker is that it’s inevitable, given the structure of the season. Whether it was a budget or a logistical issue, most episodes enjoyed a 35-38 minute runtime, including the opening and closing credits. For most episodes, this just meant we didn’t get to chew more of what was great about the episodes, but In episode 7, this means we actually lost what could and should have been explored. Even another 5 minutes of time could have been used to great effect in showing the previously mentioned horrors.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no hope for the rest of the season. Peacemaker; There’s every chance that the upcoming season finale, “Full Nelson,” could give us an episode that quickly moves past this problem. However, even though this is a 10/10 episode, a macro analysis of Season 2 of Peacemaker will still have to include the flaw of not showing the audience how poorly these invisible characters were treated in Earth-X.
- Release date
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January 13, 2022
- Network
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HBO Max, Max
- Directors
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James Gunn, Brad Anderson, Rosemary Rodriguez
