Episode Review: Peacemaker 2x2 - "A Man Is Only as Good as His Bird"

Welcome back to the blog readers. Peacemaker (2022-) has been one of my favorite shows on television with its blend of humor and heart. Getting to get back into this wacky world that has only been made more wacky was so damn rewarding, especially because last week's premiere episode was stellar. Would we get more of that this week with this episode, titled "A Man Is Only as Good as His Bird," written by James Gunn and directed by Greg Mottola? Stick around to find out.

NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.

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After last week's thrilling second season premiere, I was hopeful that the only place this show would go is up. I mean, how could I not given I love everything about this show and everyone involved in it? So when I booted up HBO Max last night and got past the stupid buffering (why are we doing buffering in 2025?), I watched an episode that was weaker in story but stronger in laughs, especially from Tim Meadows (who kills it in overall performance as well), and I loved Frank Grillo's very brief performance in this episode.

I want to start by talking about the performance of Tim Meadows. Meadows has been in the business for a very long time, and his stint on Saturday Night Live (1975-) from 1991-2000 really allowed him to hone his craft when it comes to comedy. So when I found out he would appear in the second season of Peacemaker as ARGUS officer Langston Fleury, I knew we would be in for a hell of a time. But not only does he add a veteran presence to the show that Robert Patrick solely owned before, he had me belly laughing more times than I would like to admit. Meadows' deadpan delivery of some of the funniest lines I have heard in comedy this year make this character all the more endearing. Please James, do not kill this character off because I am starting to fall in love with him. It's pretty hard not to when he says the line, "I have bird blindness" full-chested with no emotion in his face.

Next up, I want to talk about Frank Grillo for a minute. Frank Grillo has been around for a while, but the fact that he appeared in the MCU (where I first found him) and that he grew up where I live really endeared him to me. So when I heard he was going to appear in the DCU as Rick Flag Sr., I was happy. He was great for his brief role in Superman (2025), and he was great in his brief appearance in this episode. He displayed such power, such vulnerability, and such a thrilling screen presence whenever he is given the opportunity to let loose, and I have a funny feeling that this is not the last time we will see this happen for Grillo, one of my favorite guys in the business.

And now, I want to talk about the story of this episode because I think the DCU is going to have major issues in the future (story-wise). We start this week with a flashback to eight months prior to the start of the season. Rick Flag Sr. (or as I will refer to him as, just Flag or Rick Flag) has just been named as acting director or A.R.G.U.S by the President of the United States after Amanda Waller was outed by her daughter Leota Adebayo. Flag has returned to the United States after a successful mission in Pokolistan with Task Force M. He is being shown around A.R.G.U.S. by John Economos. Flag pressures Economos into giving him the files on his son's death in Project Starfish in Corto Maltese, and Economos reluctantly gives in despite protesting. Flag reads the documents and gets visibly upset as he reads what happened in Corto Maltese, as he orders more surveillance on Christopher Smith / Peacemaker despite his exoneration at the end of the first season.

Eight months later, Chris has just killed himself from another dimension where he has the admiration of his father and still-alive brother, and he has no idea what to do. He tries to hide the body of his doppelgänger, but it fails in hilarious fashion. He is left with no choice but to call the one person who will not ask questions about what happened. He showers to try to get the blood off his body. Meanwhile, Adebayo stops by at her ex-wife Keeya's apartment, where she is met with a frosty reception. Keeya is not happy to see Adebayo, who she claims disregarded her dreams for hers. Adebayo leaves disheartened when Keeya refuses to say she loves her.

Meanwhile, Economos meets his new handler: A.R.G.U.S. agent Langston Fleury, who is just as insensitive and as much of an asshole as Peacemaker once was. Fleury immediately gets on Economos' bad side by calling him "ginger cool" and announcing he has something called "bird blindness," where he cannot differentiate birds. Adebayo arrives at Chris's house, who is unaware the guests from his "party" are still in his house. The two sit outside as they discuss recent events, with Adebayo spilling the beans about A.R.G.U.S's surveillance of him. He admits the existence of the Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC), and he suggests he hands over the QUC to them to avoid them using this to put him back in jail, but he refuses to do so.

Adrian Chase / Vigilante arrives, and Adebayo leaves, as do the "party guests." Chris admits to Chase about the existence of the QUC and the other dimensions, and of what he did to his doppelgänger. Chase is more than willing to help his friend clean up the mess, and they enter the QUC to begin chopping up Chris 2's body and putting it in an incinerator that belongs to an alien that has been disregarding Chris. While chopping up the alternate Chris's body, Chris notices his phone fell out of his pocket and takes it to be able to cling on to that life a bit more. He begins scrolling through the photos and picturing the life he could be having.

Later that night, Chris leaves the house to have a party for the 11th Street Kids and their reunion, and Fleury has assembled a group of agents to raid Chris's house to look for the anomaly. He makes them wait a while after Chris leaves to ensure he does not return, which causes an argument amongst the agents. They eventually leave the truck and Fleury gives them insulting nicknames before they move on the house. Concurrently, Economos and Emilia Harcourt (still reeling from the bar fight the previous night and a concerned patron earlier that day) are the first to make it to the party, with Chase using the fire escape to make his grand entrance. Chris and Adebayo come together as they engage in drinking and dancing. Economos and Adebayo deepen their friendship as Chris unsuccessfully attempts to strike up conversation with Harcourt, who is not interested in his sympathy regarding her bruises. He bails on the party upset that Harcourt is not interested in him.

The A.R.G.U.S. agents break open the door to Smith's house and find nothing out of the ordinary until one of the agents discovers a different kind of energy coming from the QUC door. Before he can alert them, Eagly is able to stop them by dealing with all five agents. He is able to bite someone in the neck multiple times, take someone's eye out, and knock Fleury out cold. Eagly flies away to avoid being killed. Meanwhile, Chris uses Chris 2's phone to text Harcourt 2, but the message does not go through. He goes into the QUC and into the other dimension where he overhears Auggie 2 and Keith asking where their Chris is, as Harcourt 2 answers the text.

I want to briefly talk about what I think is going to happen as we prepare for the next episode (and I prepare to turn this series into a Friday watch due to football starting up). Chris has killed his doppelgänger, carved up his body, and stolen his phone. He also realizes life is not going his way in his home dimension, and I think he is starting to see this "grass is greener on the other side" mentality. I mused in my review of last episode that that almost always never works out and it will kill him to have to lose this life, but it is necessary character development for the character. I think the next episode will see Chris get to live out that perfect life he has been dreaming of with a father that loves him, a brother who is alive, and a Harcourt that actually cares about him.

Peacemaker is a bit weaker in this second episode when it comes to story, but you cannot call them short on the laughs this time around. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.