John Cena's Christopher Smith with blood on his face in Peacemaker Season 2
As Season 2 moves into its second half, Peacemaker has brought the pieces together, and after Season 2, Episode 5,"Back to the Suture," everything is heating up. ARGUS has its sights set on Chris , who has disappeared into the parallel world, but between the season's more action-driven storylines, Peacemaker is also setting up an intense rivalry between Chris and Rick Flag Sr.
. Not only is the latter the new director of ARGUS, but he recently learned that Chris killed his son during a mission in Corto Maltese . However, despite the personal resentment, Flag doesn't actually come face-to-face with Chris until Episode 5, where he proves this rivalry is more dangerous than it seemed. Flag has never been a throwaway enemy. His resources at ARGUS and personal motivation make him formidable, but Episode 5 shows another side of Flag that doesn't bode well for Chris. It's not that Flag seems stupid; in fact, he's always been a capable man, but throughout the season, he has appeared blinded by hatred, and it turns out that isn't the case. After his encounter with Chris, Flag reveals that his rage is a calculated strategy, making him a more balanced and complicated enemy than Chris realizes. Rick Flag Sr. Is Seeking Revenge on Chris in 'Peacemaker' Season 2 Oddly enough, Episode 5 first plays into Flag's revenge mission as ARGUS targets Chris, and Flag himself gives the order to take a kill shot, which is everything he seems to want. However, when Harcourt brings Chris in without lethal force, Flag takes matters into his own hands. Sending the other agents away and hiding the evidence of Chris' arrest, Flag has a unique opportunity to confront his son's killer. He beats Chris behind closed doors, yelling at him about his son, even as Chris expresses his regret for killing Rick Flag Jr. . Flag even tries to get Chris to fight back, but Chris takes the beating. It's not shocking that Flag reacts violently to Chris' presence. Throughout the season, Flag has been obsessed with avenging his son, and this is his chance — at least, it is until he learns that Economos booked Chris, which creates a record of the abuse and forces ARGUS to let Chris go to protect themselves. Flag's actions are extreme, and not only do Harcourt and Economos intervene, fearing what he will do to Chris, but even Fleury , who has no love for Chris himself, acknowledges that stopping Flag was the right thing to do. However, Chris admits that Flag has a right to his anger. His son's death shouldn't have happened, and, worse, the details were classified, so Flag didn't know the truth until he became the head of ARGUS. With little time to process the truth, Flag's anger has driven the season as he pushes ARGUS to target Chris at the slightest provocation. Episode 5 shows the laws he is capable of breaking to enact revenge, which is terrifying, but Flag's real plan is even worse. 'Peacemaker' Season 2 Proves Rick Flag Sr. Is a Strategic Enemy for Chris As it turns out, Flag's plan is not quite so simple as killing Chris to avenge his son. After Chris is released, Flag reveals everything to Bordeaux , suggesting he is more intelligent than anyone gives him credit for. Like the audience, Bordeaux and the rest of ARGUS believed Flag was acting against Chris out of anger, and he leaned into that assumption. However, he later claims that it was a ploy, aiming to throw Chris off his actual plan. While Flag may have personal reasons to go after Chris, ARGUS has a logical excuse to watch him. Hero or not, Chris' home has been the source of interdimensional energy, much like the rift that threatened the world during the events of Superman. Flag's calm explanation suggests he never really lost control. In fact, as he describes his full plan to Bordeaux, it's clear that his deception paid off. Relieved that Chris was seemingly out of danger, no one realized that Judomaster followed him to the location of the portal. Judomaster calls ARGUS with the information they need, so Flag's plan works, even though things go wrong before ARGUS arrives. But that wasn't just a backup plan, as Flag claims to have predicted Harcourt and Economos' efforts to protect Chris. He even reveals he chose to cross lines, such as approving a kill shot, to push them to do so and lure Chris into underestimating him. It's a risky but effective strategy that makes Flag both dangerous and intelligent. Rick Flag Sr. Is a Complex Enemy in 'Peacemaker' Season 2 While Flag insists that his focus is on the interdimensional portal, his desire for revenge is equally real. Flashbacks to his son's funeral and his first day at ARGUS show that this isn't a new desire, but something he wanted before he had another reason to send ARGUS after Chris or even knew of Chris' involvement. However, both can be true. Flag wants revenge, but he isn't driven to blind rage as he first seemed to be. This revelation makes him an extremely capable antagonist and puts Chris in even more danger as Peacemaker Season 2 continues, especially as he continues to underestimate Flag and his strategic nature. With a more complete view of Flag and his plan, Peacemaker sets up an epic and layered conflict between these two central figures. The reveal also emphasizes what makes Flag such an interesting antagonist: that he's not a true villain. Sure, he's had it out for Chris since his introduction to the show, but he has good intentions mixed in with his more base impulses as he tries to protect the world from another interdimensional disaster. It's just lucky for him that the person with access to this technology is also the man he's chasing for killing his son. The fact that Flag isn't entirely wrong creates an interesting dynamic in Peacemaker Season 2, especially as Episode 5 highlights the complexity of Flag's character. Not only does this development set up a convoluted moral quandary, but Flag's effective methods further the rivalry between him and Chris, putting the show's hero in that much more danger moving forward. 19 9.5/10 Peacemaker 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Action Comedy Science Fiction Release Date January 13, 2022 Network HBO Max, Max Showrunner James Gunn Directors James Gunn, Brad Anderson, Rosemary Rodriguez Writers James Gunn 9 Images Close Cast See All
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