James Gunn Addresses Peacemaker Season 2 Finale Backlash

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On Threads, a fan asked Gunn if he was aware of the criticisms of “Full Nelson.” “Definitely! Not everyone can love everything,” Gunn wrote in response. “I love the episode but I understand not everyone does which is completely fair.”

Can Future DCU Projects Redeem the Peacemaker Finale?

Image courtesy of HBO Max

The main issue people seem to have with “Full Nelson” is that it’s more concerned with setting up threads that will be explored in future DCU projects (like Salvation) as opposed to focusing more on the 11th Street Kids and their arc. Fans were unhappy that the Earth-X conflict (which was the main thrust of the first seven episodes) was dropped entirely without a proper resolution, and there was a sense that emotional character beats were rushed in order to establish the Checkmate agency. Gunn is right in saying not everyone can love everything, but the Peacemaker finale felt like the DCU’s first real misstep with regard to general consensus.

That doesn’t mean “Full Nelson” is a wash, however. Though there currently are no plans for Peacemaker Season 3, the Salvation storyline is going to be a key element of the franchise moving forward, including Gunn’s next movie, Man of Tomorrow. How the DCU picks up the Peacemaker cliffhanger and evolves Salvation over the next handful of years will go a long way in determining whether or not the Peacemaker finale gets reappraised. If Salvation resonates with audiences and delivers compelling spectacle in the process, then perhaps fans will look back at Peacemaker Season 2 a bit more fondly, recognizing its role in setting up the DCU’s defining arc.

The mixed responses to the Peacemaker finale highlight the difficult balancing act shared universes can be. DC Studios strives to have each movie and TV show stand on its own and tell a complete story (allowing viewers to jump in at any point without doing much homework), but there’s still an overall endgame the franchise is building to. If Salvation is going to be a recurring element across DCU projects, then the movies and TV shows need to be able to work together to develop it. When teasing plans for his future in the DCU, Gunn referred to Salvation as part of “a bigger story being told,” so fans should expect to see these types of narrative connections moving forward.

Hopefully, time will be kind to the Peacemaker finale. Not only could upcoming DCU projects shift opinions to the more positive side of the spectrum, maybe just having some distance from the episode and all the hype surrounding it will allow people to reconsider its merits on its own. There was a lot of anticipation for “Full Nelson,” especially after Gunn teased it was as important to setting up Man of Tomorrow as anything. Fan theories were understandably running rampant in the build-up to the episode, and a lot of speculation didn’t come true. Perhaps on a rewatch, armed with the knowledge of what exactly to expect, fans will be kinder to Peacemaker.

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