Director: Jody Hill

Publisher: DC
Price: $14.99 (HBO Max Subscription)
Release Date: 01/20/2022
Reviewer: Soycornholio

The Choad Less Traveled:

I love it when tv shows have super creative titles. Shows such as Supernatural and Batman the Animated Series immediately stick out in my mind. In Peacemaker episode four titled “The Choad Less Traveled, caused me to do a double-take, then bust out laughing. Gunn and the rest of the team are going there with seemingly every episode. This episode is directed by Jody Hill which sharply contrasts with the previous episodes. How so? The emotions and family dynamics. Let’s peek and see what is going on with Peacemaker and the rest of the team.

*Spoilers to follow*

Character Development:

We are only on episode four of Peacemaker, and we have already had some amazing character development. The one that sticks out to me the most, is the dynamics between Harcourt and Adebayo. Adebayo is the daughter of Amanda Waller (the hardcore director of Project X amongst other things). Naturally, one would assume “like mother like daughter.” Adebayo should be hardcore as well. That killer instinct should be ingrained in her. But like we saw in the last episode, Adebayo marches to the beat of a different drum. She is more of a laid-back pacifist who is also a pescatarian. Harcourt on the other hand is hardcore. She recognizes that there will come a time and place, that you must make a decision. This is more spiritually aligned to Waller’s viewpoint and mindset. I can see an internal struggle beginning to take place with Adebayo, as she is trying to live up to her mother’s expectations while remaining faithful and true to herself.

The Sins of the Father:

Another thing that stuck out to me in this episode, is the relationship between Peacemaker and his father aka the White Dragon. Without mentioning exactly what he says, we all know that Peacemaker’s dad is a racist of the highest class. Heck, that prison scene at the end of episode two, confirmed that he truly embodies white supremacy. Now (much like Waller and Adebayo), one would assume that Peacemaker is a racist as well. One of the running conversations is that he only kills minorities (which he adamantly denies). Guilty by association, right? There was even a conversation between Waller and Adebayo about Peacemaker potentially being a racist as well remember in episode one when Waller said, “you do know who his father is”). As the series progresses, it is becoming more and more clear to me, that on some level, Peacemaker resents his father. We must remember that he will do anything to keep the peace. Being a supervillain named “The White Dragon” does not necessarily lend itself to peaceful scenarios. It will be interesting to see how far Peacemaker truly goes to keep the peace. Does this include potentially killing his father?

The DCEU:

Peacemaker is dropping a lot of different breadcrumbs that show the DCEU is currently being built. For starters, let’s talk about the dark creature of the night aka BATMAN! Peacemaker’s father’s next-door neighbor is consistently questioning Peacemaker on whether he is truly a superhero. Who better to compare him to than Batman? Thus far, the neighbor has name-dropped villains such as The Joker (who we already know exist in some type of capacity), the Riddler, and the Mad Hatter. The Mad Hatter caused a small smile on my face as I began to fantasize about a day that I see a live-action Mad Hatter on the screen. Nothing against the 60’s version of him, but a modern-day one? Bring it on.

Another breadcrumb that was dropped in this episode, is the missing gorilla Charlie. Without doing a quick wiki search, I do not know if the gorilla dates to any prior Peacemaker comics, but as we have seen with the MCU, screen interpretations can differ from the comics. Could this be the beginning of a different version of Gorilla Grodd? Yes, he is primarily a Flash villain, but heroes and villains tend to intersect quite often.

Peacemaker also confirms there are alternate universes within the DCEU. He does this very smoothly by name-dropping Bat-Mite (the Batman Stan from an alternate dimension). Some people may find this rush, others (such as myself) love the fact that Peacemaker is quickly setting up the rest of the DCEU. Just because it took Marvel forever to get to where it is now, why can’t DC do it sooner? For me, the MCU was more about origin stories and a slow burn. DC is more about introducing you to the characters as they currently are. Keep it up DC.

Final Thoughts:

Peacemaker episode four took a sharp pivot and delivered more emotional moments than the previous episodes. Yes, the violence and comedy are still rampant throughout this episode, but we were served numerous dynamics and emotions on a silver platter. I cannot keep recommending this show. I am in love with DC creating adult-centric shows and hopefully, they continue this trend.

8.8