Peacemaker Episodes Six and Seven: Murn After Reading & Stop Dragon My Heart Around - Spoiler Review

John Cena is giving the best performance of his career in Peacemaker, he can be funny, but he also has a vulnerability to him that is refreshing. James Gunn is such a master at balancing the tightrope between funny and emotional that always keeps me entertained and connected to the material. The show never stops being entertaining; whether it is action, comedy or an emotionally charged dialogue scene I am always entertained. John Cena does such a great job at making Peacemaker a sympathetic character, after what happened in The Suicide Squad, I never thought Peacemaker could bring me tears. The tears have not come yet, but I know when I go back and watch the season at a future date, I will be a mess. I really appreciate that John Cena is game to make fun of himself, there are a lot of stars who would not be willing to be portrayed the way Cena is on the show. Peacemaker is an idiot, he has some really ignorant beliefs, and he is a bit of a screw up. I believe that John Cena must have a lot of faith in James Gunn to go with the writing of the character and trust that the audience will enjoy the show. The end of episode six with Cena playing a piano rendition of Motley Cru's Home Sweet Home was beautiful, but also a really good choice of song that fits the moment and character of the show.

In my review of the first five episodes of Peacemaker I was not sure of what to make of the butterflies, but after episodes five and six I am sure they are bad. I was thinking that maybe there was a twist coming, but after Goff took over Detective Song and took over the police and prisoners, I think it became obvious. I like that the butterflies are not the main focus of the show, the butterflies are a danger, but they do not distract from the character stuff in the show. Having Detective Song be taken over was a great choice as it gave her character a more relevant role, Annie Chang's performance was great once Goff took over. An argument could be made that the show is plodding since the main developments are not happening quickly, but the time being spent with the characters more than makes up for the plot taking a back seat. The butterflies are a nuisance, but the real issue at the heart of the show is who is Peacemaker, what does Peacemaker want to be. Peacemaker is struggling with his identity, his dad sees him as a failure, his team sees him as a joke and a killer. Pacemaker is trying to bond with his team, but he is often fighting against their own judgement of who they think he is. These two episodes really gave John Cena some great material to work with, and he delivered an exceptionally vulnerable performance that made me like the character even more.

'MURN AFTER READING' & 'STOP DRAGON MY HEART AROUND' RECAPPED

Episode six opens with us returning to the final moments of episode five, Leota running away from Murn after she learns that Murn is a butterfly. Murn catches her, but he does not hurt, and it is revealed that Harcourt knew that Murn was a butterfly. Harcourt says that she figured it out after Murn had the bomb explode in his face, and that he walked away fine. Murn explains that the butterflies came to earth because their home planet was dying, Murn says that Goff is the leader of the butterflies and that when she wanted to rule earth, he was the lone dissenter. Leota challenges Murn that it is wrong that he took someone's life (the real Murn), Murn admits that he hates that he has robbed the original Murn a chance to redeem himself. Peacemaker is apparently at a school speaking to small children about how he defeated Kite Man (hell yeah). The children challenge him on the physics of his story, that his pet's name is unoriginal and that he is a loser. One of the kids asks if he has an origin story, and we see a flashback revealing Peacemaker's dad saying that he killed his brother. 

Auggie is released from prison after Detective Song went to a judge with her evidence that Peacemaker is actually guilty of the crime they charged his father with. Auggie is picked up by one of his men, Auggie tells his guy that he will kill Peacemaker. Peacemaker is in his trailer feeding Eagly, but he also feeds Goff some of the goo. Leota, Harcourt, Murn and Economos are working to locate the cow, which is the alien being that makes the goo that the butterflies eat. Vigilante goes to Peacemaker's trailer to hang out, Goff uses the goo to make a peace sign on the bottle. The police are preparing to raid Peacemaker's trailer and arrest him. Vigilante and Peacemaker are trying to question Goff, but before they can learn anything Murn calls Vigilante to warn them that the police are coming. Peacemaker, Vigilante, Eagly and Goff escape to the roof of the trailer where they climb onto a tree to hide. Detective Song spots Eagly and goes into the woods when Vigilante slips on a tree branch and falls to ground that breaks the jar holding Goff. Goff now free immediately flies into Detective Song's mouth taking her over. Peacemaker, Vigilante and Eagly run away, but they are followed by cops who are dispatched by Murn's guy in the police (the captain). The captain coldly executes the cops chasing Vigilante and Peacemaker giving them the location of a get away vehicle. 

One of the detectives finds the diary that Leota planted in Peacemaker's trailer, which he gives to the captain who lets Murn know. Peacemaker and Vigilante make it back to the base, where they tell the team that they kept Goff who has now escaped. Peacemaker complains to Murn that the captain killed the cops in cold blood which horrifies Murn. Detecting Song (now Goff in Song's body) contacts the other butterflies and brings them to her location. Economos using traffic cams tracks the delivery trucks for the goo to a ranch, Murn says that butterflies dig into the ground. Peacemaker is mad that the team is keeping something from him (Murn being a butterfly), Leota tells Peacemaker about the cow. The butterflies meet Goff, and she leads them to the police station where they start taking over the cops (including the captain). Auggie is putting on his White Dragon suit in preparation of attacking Peacemaker. Goff then heads to the prison where the guards and the inmates are taken over too. Harcourt is putting the dove of peace on Peacemakers P90 gun, Peacemaker admits that he doesn't actually care about the dove of peace he just might not want to kill anybody anymore. Harcourt then tells him that she now does not believe he is a total piece of garbage, and then she tells him her first name (Emilia). Peacemaker then goes to a piano and plays Home Sweet Home (Motley Cru) on the piano. The police hold a press conference where they lay blame for a lot of deaths on Peacemaker as the episode comes to a close.

We see a flashback to start episode seven, we see Peacemaker and his brother (Keith) bonding over music (rock 'n roll) listening to Home Sweet Home. Auggie is taking bets on which son will win in a fight between the two, the fights starts and when Peacemaker punches his brother it causes his brother to have a seizure and die. Auggie blames Peacemaker for the death as the flashback ends with Peacemaker in the present crying in front of a mirror. Vigilante and Peacemaker realizing that the cops are now butterflies need to vacate the base before the cops arrive. Auggie is using the helmets to track Peacemaker's location. Peacemaker, Economos and Vigilante are going to go to the ranch and kill the cow before the cops/butterflies can stop them. Harcourt confronts Leota about planting the diary framing Peacemaker. Leota tells Harcourt that her mother is Amanda Waller, Murn arrives and tells them to drop their issues and pack. Murn says that the captain is now a butterfly, and they need leave the motel before the cops arrive. 

Judomaster has escaped again, and he is eating Cheetos (again) when he is confronted by a couple of jerks going into a convenience store. Auggie crashes into the van carrying Peacemaker, Vigilante and Economos knocking it over. Vigilante attacks Auggie and he uses a grenade which injures him, but it allows Economos and Peacemaker to escape from Auggie and his men. Peacemaker realizes that his helmet is how Auggie found them, Vigilantes steals their car when they chase Economos and Peacemaker into the woods. Judomaster attacks the two guys stealing their car and driving away. Murn is stopped by the police who arrived before he could leave. Harcourt and Leota watch as Murn is killed by Goff. After the police leave Harcourt holds the butterfly Murn in her hand as he dies before Judomaster arrives. Judomaster beats them up, but Harcourt keeps him distracted while Leota sneaks up and uses a taser on him. Peacemaker attaches his helmet to a raccoon to lead Auggie on a wild goose chase. Vigilante passes out while driving and crashes the car into a ditch, but Peacemaker and Economos get to the car. Unfortunately, Vigilante brought the remaining helmets into the car so Peacemaker needs to pullover so he can throw the helmets into the woods. It is too late as Auggie and his men have found them, they attack Peacemaker until Eagly helps Peacemaker, but Auggie arrives and hurts Eagly. Auggie is about to kill his son when Vigilante jumps on his back damages the suit, while Economos shoots all of Auggies men. Peacemaker beats up his dad blaming his father for the death of Keith, Peacemaker then grabs a gun and shoots Auggie in the head killing him. 

The team meets up at a veterinary who gives Eagly medical attention, Peacemaker prays for Eagly health. While praying, Eagly wakes up and hugs Peacemaker (again) which Leota takes as a miracle which causes her to call her wife and says she needs to finish the mission before going home. The team heads to the ranch, and we see the butterflies beat them there and are setting up the teleportation device as the episode ends.

FINAL VERDICT ON EPISODES SIX AND SEVEN

I wonder if maybe Peacemaker should have been released after The Book of Boba Fett had aired all of its episodes. I feel Peacemaker has been overshadowed by Star Wars here, Peacemaker is the better show between the two. I hope the show gets recognized with awards (I'm sure it won't), between Cena's performance and Gunn's writing I think this show is far better than anyone could have predicted. Another performance that I like (while hating the character so much) is Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith (Peacemaker's dad); he is such a piece of garbage. When Peacemaker finally killed Auggie I was cheering, I think Auggie is a despicable human being. Seeing Auggie and his followers killed made me so happy, they were truly monsters that deserved what happened to them. The butterflies I have a feeling will have more depth to them, they left their world because it was dying, and I think we will learn why they decided to take over earth. I think the one thing I wish the show spent more time on was the backstory of the butterflies, I want to learn more about them. There is a possibility that we will learn more, but it is more a want than a need. Now that Auggie and his followers are dead the finale can devote all of its attention to the conflict between team Peacemaker and team Goff. 

When Judomaster showed up in episode seven I was a little confused, the last time we saw him was in episode four after he was shot by Leota. When he showed up at the convenience store, I was wondering how he escaped again, but on my second watch I noticed a short scene of Peacemaker going to check on Judomaster only to realize he escaped again. I guess in episode seven we will finally learn what Judomaster was going to tell Peacemaker about the butterflies before Leota shot him. I am curious if Judomaster will revealed to be a good guy, who was led to believe that the butterflies are more benevolent then they really are. The fight between Judomaster and those jerks at the convenience store makes me think he will be redeemed by the end, if he was a villain, he would have attacked anybody who had a car rather than a pair of idiots. Judomaster is a force to be reckoned with, he has defeated everyone who has tried to stop him, the style of his combat makes for a lot of fun to watch. Leota and Harcourt are starting to form an interesting bond, now that Peacemaker has lost his trust in Leota she can bond with Harcourt. Together, Leota and Harcourt took down Judomaster, that is a significant improvement in their relationship. Harcourt confronting Leota about planting the diary revealed just how out of place Leota feels there. Leota was prepared to leave the team until she saw Eagly hug Peacemaker, that event restored her faith in the team and the mission. I do believe that she and Peacemaker will repair their relationship, Leota will need to prove to Peacemaker that she is the good person he thought she was. 

The bromance between Peacemaker, Vigilante and Economos is a lot of fun, they have such hilarious scenes together. The back and forth between Vigilante and Peacemaker when they were trying to question Goff was too funny. Economos joining them on the mission to kill the cow was great, Economos is slowly getting braver and more confident. It was great to see him be the one who killed Auggie's followers, it was also funny to watch him plug his ears when Harcourt tried to talk about Murn being a butterfly. Vigilante continues to be such a fun character, nobody I think has mentioned it, but he is obviously a sociopath. The fact that Vigilante didn't understand Peacemaker was crying or that he wanted to use his machete to kill cops makes me sure Vigilante is dangerous. We have seen him painted in more of a fun goofball light on the show, but I wonder if his sociopathic tendencies will come up at some point. Murn's inside man (the police captain) is also a sociopath, he killed those cops with no hesitation, and he even mocked them before killing them. The captain also blaming a character who resembles the Hamburglar as the one who killed the cops was just so funny to me, I can't explain it, but it made me laugh so hard. I hope this show gets a second season so we can explore the character of Vigilante in more detail, we still do not know a lot about except that he worships Peacemaker in an unhealthy way. The early episodes had me thinking that Leota and Peacemaker's bond was the most important one, but now I think the one between Vigilante and Peacemaker is more important. 

I think this show continues to be very entertaining while also delivering a thematically rich story, Peacemaker is such a deep character in this show. We saw some of the cracks in his armor appear in The Suicide Squad, like when after he killed Rick Flag, he seemed upset, but he put that away in favoring of trying to get Ratcatcher 2. This season has explored the identity crisis that Peacemaker is having, he no longer seems to know who he is anymore. By killing his father, he is closing the book on what his father taught him, and also reaching a peace about the death of Keith. I do think there is more to explored about Peacemaker, especially if they delve into who Christopher Smith is. I could see a second season where Peacemaker starts to try and have a life outside of Peacemaker, where he might be Christopher Smith for awhile. I think the evolution of Peacemaker in this season has been very well earned, Gunn has taken the time to show the good and bad sides of Peacemaker. I am excited for the finale; I think it will be a big and crazy episode that will deliver great action along with the show's signature twisted humor. I will give both episodes a 9/10, the character work and the humor are both really working for me, and I think this has been one of the best shows I have watched in a long time. While I feel that the show will be overlooked when it comes time to award shows for their excellence, I do think fans will be very vocal about how amazing Peacemaker is. The show just works, not only do I think the humor and character stuff is fantastic, but the music choices for the show really work for me. Gunn has a belief that music and cinema go together, which I totally agree with; there is a reason that great movie trailers are associated with great music in the trailers. While some of the songs featured on the show are new to me, I like them all, and I think they perfectly fit with the tone of the show.

Thank you for reading my review, please let me know what you have thought of Peacemaker and stay tuned for my review of the finale later this week. 

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