Summary
Peacemaker Season 2 continues to reiterate the same rather simplistic point in Episode 3, but it’s nonetheless a funny and engaging chapter.
The more it goes on, the more it seems like Peacemaker Season 2 is pretty specifically about Chris Smith’s relationship with Emilia Harcourt. Sure, it’s about his trauma, self-loathing, and innate need to belong and be valued, too, but it’s almost exclusively manifesting as pining for Harcourt. In Episode 3, “Another Rick Up My Sleeve”, he’s doing it in two dimensions at the same time. And, truth be told, I’m not confident about his chances in either.
In the Prime universe – I’m sure that’s not the official title, but you know how comics continuity can be – another serious wrinkle emerges in Chris’s relationship with Harcourt. In a three-years-earlier flashback featuring a returning Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag Jr., we learn that at the time of his death in The Suicide Squad, Flag was two-timing Enchantress with Emilia. Peacemaker didn’t just kill Flag in that movie – he killed his beau’s lover. It’s not exactly a meet-cute scenario.
This is another in a long list of reasons why Chris much prefers the alternate dimension, where his brother and father are alive and he’s a beloved hero. There, Rick Flag Jr is an A.R.G.U.S. office dork who is pining for Emilia but barely stands a chance compared to the cool, jacked Chris Smith, with his square jawline and defined delts and extensive collection of gaudy silk shirts. It’s overdone, but that’s always how parallel universes work, especially when they’re designed to highlight how dissatisfied a character is with their own reality. As Chris cruises down the street on his “Peace-cycle” on his way to meet Harcourt after drunk texting her in the previous episode, he mutters, not for the last time, “Best… dimension… ever”.
Nothing that happens in the alternate universe dissuades Chris from this notion. He meets up with Harcourt, charms her over hot dogs, and promises that he has worked extensively on his issues. It seems very much like in this universe, she’s a relatively even-keel office functionary who was taken advantage of by an arrogant “hero” who had everything at his fingertips. Traumatised, needy Chris would be perfect for her; all he has to do is prove it. The only “conflict” that really exists here – aside from the obvious one of whether this Chris being an imposter will be discovered – is the possibility of Chris becoming his alternate self after becoming too enamoured by his lifestyle.
You can sort of see how this might happen. Chris and Harcourt’s romantic reunion is interrupted by an explosive terrorist attack perpetrated by the anti-establishment Sons of Liberty, and Chris immediately springs into action, taking down the entire gang and disarming their explosives, all in his silk shirt. It’s the kind of thing that’d result in calamity in his own universe, but here, it goes off without a hitch. That’s just about the worst thing that could happen for him.
The key question of Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 3 is the same one that has been raised since the premiere. Why wouldn’t Chris prefer this dimension over his own? This is especially true given he’s public enemy number one as far as A.R.G.U.S. is concerned. Following Eagly’s messy takedown of Fleury and his team – the “bird-blindness” thing is still funny, isn’t it? – Bordeaux has declared him and his “duck” a genuine threat, especially given the dimensional portal in his secret weapons room. They have a warrant for his arrest. And not only are they dragging Economos along because he’s too scared of being unemployed to quit, they have also roped in Judomaster from Season 1 as a babysitter. Things aren’t looking good.
All this, and Prime Harcourt is still adamant that she and Chris aren’t going to be together. If I were him, I’d very much prefer the other dimension too.
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