We should all be convinced that James Gunn can take anything and turn it into gold. Did we know who the Guardians of the Galaxy were before him? How about most of the members of The Suicide Squad? Well, he’s done it again with Peacemaker. For a show that was written as a way to escape the horrors of March 2020; Peacemaker turned out with much more heart and soul than anyone could have anticipated. I mean, it’s a show about a side character, from a movie made of side characters. Not only does Peacemaker combine the deep emotional wounds of its characters and makes the audience feel that much for them; Gunn combines that with his trademark action style.

In the finale episode of a series, a lot of the time it’s just about wrapping up the loose ends, and the penultimate episode ends up being more impactful from an emotional standpoint. Peacemaker‘s seventh episode definitely gave us the most emotional points of the series, but Gunn and Co. saved some major emotional beats for this episode as well. Let’s get into two of the most emotional portions of the finale.

John Economos And Leota Adebayo Carry The Finale

I was almost moved to tears when Economos had to explain why he dyes his beard. We all knew a good reason why he would do that, but the anguish and pain in his words really drove the point home. Steve Agee does a magnificent job flip-flopping between comic relief, badass, tragic character, and then back to a goof on the fly. I’m very glad he continued his work from The Suicide Squad for this film. It makes all his development across the series that much sweeter.

Adebayo is also a character that went from loveable, inexperienced goofball to a full-fledged action hero in this series. The finale gave her the chance to shine, and it also set her character up further down the line in the DCEU. Her revelation at the end of the show and revealing her mother’s misdeeds to the world will have ripple effects.

That’s not to say that the other characters didn’t get their time to shine, but it feels like Gunn saved these two characters for last. We got the emotional journey for Peacemaker in the seventh episode, Harcourt got hers previously, and Vigilante got to star the show in episode four. It’s a testament to the writing and script for the show that it juggles this many characters and makes them all feel important throughout.

A Nice Wrap-Up With Some Glam Metal

Peacemaker was a breath of fresh air for the DCEU. Like The Suicide Squad, it made these characters fun, loveable, and it was full of vigor and color. Luckily, we’re getting a second season on HBO Max. From the soundtrack, to the action, and the characters, Peacemaker was excellent. Of course, it ended up with a gigantic (slightly cute) monster getting murdered. The commentary on the butterflies and humanity was a nice touch. Don’t let the talk about the cameos at the end of the episode (Aquaman and The Flash) drown out how great this show was. It was also nice to know that Aquaman does in fact, bang fish.

It’s a twisted look at what the future of DC looks like. It was heartfelt, genuine, and only something that James Gunn could deliver. This is a true triumph.

For more on DC, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.

Keep Reading:

Why Guardians Of The Galaxy Is The Most Important Film In The MCU