Four Years Later, James Gunn Just Changed How You’ll Watch a Major DC Movie

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Warning: Spoilers below for Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 3

Season 2 of Peacemaker took things one step further by re-editing key scenes from the first season in a clever “previously” segment. The message Gunn wants to send fans is that most of Season 1 of Peacemaker fits the DCU continuity, and whatever doesn’t fit can be simply thrown away. As Season 2 of Peacemaker unfolds, Gunn keeps using the same principle to look back at The Suicide Squad, completely changing how we watch that movie.

Emilia Harcourt and Rick Flag’s Affair Recontextualizes The Suicide Squad

The opening scene of Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 3, finds Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) dressing up after spending the night in bed with none other than Rick Flag Jr. Set three years before the main events of Peacemaker Season 2, the scene underlines how Rick Flag is still in a relationship with Dr. June Moone, aka the Enchantress, the villain of 2016’s Suicide Squad. Emilia and Rick have been meeting up behind her back, although Emilia insists Rick should be honest with his girlfriend and break up already. Rick is hesitant, given June’s ability to channel the Enchantress, which Emilia sees as an excuse. Their dialogue also reveals that Rick is in love with Emilia, even though she is hesitant to commit to anything beyond a colorful friendship.

While talking about work, Emilia also tells Rick he should get ready, as he is about to be deployed to Corto Maltese. That means the two of them spent the night together right before Rick was dispatched to his final mission. So, while monitoring Task Force X from ARGUS’ control room, Emilia was following the tragic demise of her lover during The Suicide Squad. She watched as Peacemaker (John Cena) killed Rick Flag Jr. to protect U.S. intelligence secrets, which helps explain her reluctance to work with Christopher in Season 1 of Peacemaker. Even in Season 2, Emilia keeps pushing Chris away, despite his making it clear he is in love with her.

This single scene retroactively injects personal tragedy into every moment of Harcourt’s screen time in The Suicide Squad. Previously, her character was perceived as a highly competent, if somewhat cold, ARGUS operative dutifully monitoring the mission from a distance. With the knowledge of her affair, we will now know that her entire demeanor in The Suicide Squad is an act of emotional fortitude. All the time, she is watching the man she loves lead a disposable team into almost certain death. As a result, every static-filled communication and every chaotic battlefield update becomes a source of profound personal anxiety. We know how Emilia likes to put on a tough face to hide her emotional vulnerability, and her affair with Flag gives her character more depth in The Suicide Squad, helping to justify why she joined the temporary uprising against Amanda Waller (Viola Davis).

Season 2 of Peacemaker Also Changes Emilia and Chris’ Relationship

The reveal also deepens the entire emotional foundation of Peacemaker‘s first season. Harcourt’s initial animosity towards Christopher Smith was originally framed as professional fury. After all, she was forced to work with a man who, despite following orders, murdered a respected commander in cold blood to cover up a government conspiracy. That motivation was already strong, but the affair made it intensely personal. Her assignment to Project Butterfly was a cruel punishment by Waller, who almost certainly knew about the affair and forced Emilia into close quarters with her lover’s killer.

This recontextualizes Emilia’s entire Peacemaker Season 1 arc, from her initial contempt for Chris to her grudging respect for his capacity to change. Her struggle to accept Chris’s romantic gestures is also clearer. Her decision to trust him means processing a profound personal grief and finding humanity in the person directly responsible for it, a challenge she has yet to overcome.

New episodes of Peacemaker premiere on HBO Max on Thursdays.

What do you think about the Peacemaker Season 2 reveal about Emilia Harcourt and Rick Flag Jr.’s affair? Join the discussion in the comments!