‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 spoilers follow.
If there is a central antagonist in season 2 of “Peacemaker”, it is General Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), new director of the Advanced Research Group of The United States (ARGUS). Still, even though he was the source of conflict this season, I didn’t really consider him a “bad guy.” After all, Peacemaker/Christopher Smith (John Cena) did kill the general’s son, Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman). Can you not Do you see why Flag wants revenge for this and relentlessly pursues his quest?
To recap: Peacemaker was placed in Task Force X during “The Suicide Squad” for a mission in the South American nation Corto Maltese. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), leader of Task Force X, wanted the team to destroy evidence of U.S. crimes against humanity at a base on the island; she put Peacemaker on the team because, in his ideological dedication to “keeping the peace”, he is the one she can trust to destroy the data. When Flag Jr. found out the truth, he wanted to speak out. He and Peacemaker fought and Chris stabbed Flag in the heart.
NOW, We know that this murder was a turning point for Chris and one of his greatest regrets. He admired Flag as a “hero”, and Flag’s last words (“Peacemaker…what a joke…”) struck Chris. hard. We also know from watching Season 1 of “Peacemaker” that Chris has become a better man. But even if Flag knows this, the guilt and growth are little consolation; the better man Chris is now is still and always will be the man who killed his “Ricky”.
Plus, when Flag debuted in the animated film “Creature Commandos”, he was a pretty heroic guy, just like his son. He was more neutral in “Superman”, but still skeptical of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). In “Peacemaker,” however, Flag turns to the dark side and not just because it’s a story told from the point of view of the man he hates the most.
Revenge and paranoia have corrupted Rick Flag
“Creature Commandos” established that Flag Sr. had retired, but he returned to active duty to fill his late son’s role at ARGUS. He was put in charge of Task Force M, Waller’s new team of Belle Reve prisoners turned secret agents, aka the titular Creature Commandos. On a team consisting of the Bride of Frankenstein, the translucent nuclear man Doctor Phosphorus, and the Nazi-killing robot, Flag was the straight man.
He ended up being seduced and deceived by Ilana Rostovic (Maria Bakalova), princess of Pokolistan and aspiring world conqueror, but he had good intentions. In “Peacemaker”, Flag is once again led astray by his personal feelings.
First, he essentially blackmails Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) into betraying Peacemaker by offering to remove her from the blacklist of US intelligence agencies. Once he and ARGUS arrest Peacemaker, Flag viciously beats him in a detention room. (Chris does not fight back, recognizing that Flag has a right to be angry with him.) If Chris had not been registered in the system, it is suggested that Flag would have outright killed him or “disappeared”.
The turning point for Flag, however, comes in Episode 6, “Ignorance Is Chris”, when he makes a deal with Luthor. The flag doesn’t just wants revenge on Peacemaker, he wants his Quantum Deployment Chamber (QUC) that jumps into dimensions. For what? Find a dimension where the US government can send metahuman prisoners, forever, as a black site between worlds. “Superman” suggested that Flag was becoming paranoid about metahumans gaining more power and it’s paying off.
In “Full Nelson”, ARGUS finds his prison in the unspoiled but habitable forest world, “Salvation”. Flag spends the episode taunting Luthor’s lackeys and, in the season’s final scene, sends a kidnapped Peacemaker through the Salvation Portal as his first prisoner. I started this season thinking Rick Flag was an honorable man justified in getting revenge on Peacemaker, only for the season to slowly convince me otherwise.
“Peacemaker” is streaming on HBO Max.
