September 8, 2025 • 49 mins
Rosie and Jason are joined by super producer Ian Johnson to finally do weekly coverage of Peacemaker every Monday. This week is a two-for-one special, where our team has a unanimous feeling about episode two's "bird blindness" and episode three's surprise flashback reveal. Plus, did you notice the weird extras casting? For our reaction to episode 201, check out the XRGC episode "Is Disney+ Ruining Marvel" released on Friday, August 29th, here.
Follow Rosie: IG & Letterboxd
Follow Ian: IG
Follow X-Ray Vision on Instagram
Join the X-Ray Vision Discord
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Warning.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Today's episode contained spoilers for Peacemakers season two episodes two
and three.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Not spoilers.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Oh no, Hello, and it is Jason Concepcion and on
(00:30):
Mersey Night, and welcome back to x Reviews of the
podcast where.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
We dive you to your favorite shows.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Movies, comics of pop culture.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Company over by our podcast where we'll bring you three
episodes a week.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Bless news on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
News on Saturdays.
Speaker 5 (00:41):
And this is Peacemaker's new home where we will be
releasing conversations about it every Monday. And it's going to
be great because you guys want it. The Internet is
talking about it, and we have Peacemaker lover Ian Toper
produced Ian in the house to join us.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Ian, Welcome to our Peacemak.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Welcome, thank you for having me back. I'm excited to
talk about these two episodes. They were very interesting and
I'm curious to see where the season goes from here.
So yeah, excited to dive in.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I am intrigued to them. Let's go.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
The ties to the wider dc EU are strengthening and thickening. Yes,
let's dive in. We open with Peacemaker season two, episode two.
A Man is Only as good as his bird. We
open on the past Argus HQ Senior Richard Flagg Senior,
Dick Flagg. Rich Rick Flagg Senior has just been named
(01:36):
the new leader of Argus for the downfall of Amanda Waller.
Economists is showing him like all around the office. But
of course his first action item on the docket is
access to the full unredacted Quardo Maltese file, yes, from
Suicide Squad two, the events of Suicide Squad two which
(02:00):
resulted in the untimely demise of his son.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Rick Flagg Junior.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Economiss is like, really, I don't know, do you want
to see that important?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
And don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And by the way, anything you might see in there,
it was all Amanda's fault, like we were just following
Waller wanted us to do some crazy stuff, so just
be wart. Rick gets access to the file and it's
clear from the file that what really happened is Peacemaker
killed Rick's son with a jagged piece of metal in
(02:37):
order to keep the operation secret. And Senior is of
course devastated and.
Speaker 5 (02:44):
Breaking because also I said this many times, guys, you
know I am now Joel Kinneman. Rick Flagg Junior Love
and he was doing the right thing. He was trying
to let the world know that America was the one
who had been doing it's on STARO.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
This is very cool that.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
They are bringing this into canon. I kind of love
that James Gunn's idea is just anything I say.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Is canon is canon.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
I mean that's the dream as a creator. So yeah,
I love this opening. I think the way they're building
this in leads to some really interesting and complicated conflicts.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
We go to the present, Chris is there with the
corpse of himself from the Perfect Dimension my guy, and
he's got to figure out, like where do I hide
this thing? So he calls somebody for some bone saws,
and eventually we find out that that's of course Vigilante,
who's the only person who.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
This season is really given. I love Vigilante. I think
a lot about that line where he's like, you didn't
invite me to the orgy and peace Makers like, uh,
you know, having sex is with you don't have sex,
and he said, I only have sex to bond with
my best friends. Isn't that how everyone has sex? I
was like, Yes, Vigilance is still my break out m
VP of this show.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
At A Bio breaks into her ex's home, uh to
you know, pick up some stuff. She's welcoming their former dogs.
Her ex Kia is like, what the fuck? You can't
just show up here like this is we're broken up?
And at A Bio thought it was temporary, but it's not.
And it's very clear that this is because of at
(04:24):
A Bio's basically tossing their entire life that they built
aside in order to like build this new life as
a spy and a very unsuccessful, basically unemployed spy.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
I thought it's very interesting that Kia was like, yeah,
like you blew up our life and now we can't
go back to Gotham. And I'm in my mind, I'm like,
why do you want to go back to Gotham so bad?
Like what's going on over there? A shithole? So like
what's going on? You know?
Speaker 5 (04:54):
Nah, dude, that's definitely that would definitely be me. I'm like,
that's my neighbor man. Now we can never go back.
I'm like I want to go see Batman like kick
the shelves and people and smash up a car happening
in this town. Yeah, She's like this is boring when
you've lived in Gotham.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Harcourt also going through it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
A very nice lady at the drug slash grocery store
slash convenience store thinks that she's been through a domestic
violence situation, offers her some help. Harcourt kind of in
classic hardcourt style, very kind of brusquely brushes her off,
and then really takes a long moment to consider applying
(05:34):
for the clerk position at this place, because she, like
everybody else, is like basically unemployed.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Outside Peacemaker's house a guy.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Who we will learn is named Flurry Agent Flury, he's
argust management, comes to Economist's surveillance truck and yes he's
our guests.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
He is really weird.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
He's very interested in strange things like how they will
greet each like what what's the official way we will
greet each other? He decides the economists is very cool,
and he therefore nicknames him Ginger Cool.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I'm like, is this like a weird power play? Like
is he actually trying to be friends?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
Great weird addition to the evergram piece make it cost
very strange and unsettling.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Very and I love that. Like an ongoing theme is
like everybody giving economists like nicknames that he absolutely hates.
What was like die Beard the first season, now it's
ginger Pool this season. I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
He's a and and Flurry is like, as we will
see over this episode, this is what I love about
this show. He's like a basically a classic sitcom archetype,
the dumb middle manager kind of. He's Michael Scott's definitely
Michael Scott vibes.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
Yeah, yeah, and also played Pint legendary comedian.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yes, Pim Meadows, Well, I'm just now.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
And also like, uh, you know Tim Robinson co collaborate
and we see him a lot now and I think
you should leave clips. Just fantastic addition. And also I
think the best thing is just like everyone who works
at August is so weird and clearly has their own agenda,
Like we know what Rick Bleke Seniors is, but Flury's.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
You're like, why are you working? What do you what
do you want? Like, what do you want out of this?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Inside the house, Chris is still trying to shrug off
the recent murders. He's like waking up the orgy people
who are still sleeping, trying to get them out of
the house. At a Bio arrives, Flurry objectifies her like
aggressively over the video cameras while massaging Economists's shoulders like
(07:47):
this is who.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
This guy is?
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Extremely weird.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
When Eagerly comes out, we get a very important.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Reveal that Fleuri has.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
What is medically referred to as bird blindness. He can't
recognize types of birds or even the sizes of birds.
They all look like, I guess the same bird as him.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Can't.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
Yeah, he can't tell the difference of best shape and
size or anything like that. Absolutely bonkers and hilarious. That
has been very divisive online, but I think is one.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I loved it.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Hious, it's so funny, and the way they use it
throughout the rest of the episode, yes, brilliant.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
It's so good.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
It's still one of the craziest scenes that we've gotten
in this show. Full stop.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Chris is, you know, very stressed about you know, what's happened,
and he's about to get more stressed. Idabio tells him
that he's under twenty four to seven artists surveillance and says,
every time you use the portal they know somehow, so
just like give it to them and stop. But he
can't do that because it's basically the last link that
(08:54):
he has to his dad and his family, and there's
also the Perfect Universe in there that he's going to
become obsessed with.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Vigilante of course, comes over with the saws. He gets,
as you mentioned it, be kind of like mad about
the orgy and not being invited, and then Chris takes
him to see the body, which is really what he said.
It was amazingly enough to Vigilante. Alarms go off in
that moment in the truck and at Argus and Bordeaux
(09:23):
like just sit and wait, we're gonna get like the backup.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
In the portal.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Chris explains the whole thing, and then they cut the
corpse up and the dead Peacemaker's phone drops.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Out of his pocket and you just know now.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Peacemaker picks it up. They burn the corpse and yell
at the alien and that's it. Later Chris goes through
the phone and he discovers that he and Hardcourt from
that Perfect Universe are, or were, at for a time,
a very very happy monogamous.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
It appears a.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Couple rare in the world of peace Maker.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Very devoted. They seem devoted from the photos.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
Yeah, I would also say I think this is such
an interesting ton for this to take because it also
tells us a lot about Chris, because like, yeah, in
that old universe world, like you and Hawkele are happy couple,
but your dad is a white supremacist is still alive.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I'm like, is he did he change? Like he's still
that guy?
Speaker 5 (10:28):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:28):
We actually don't know, don't know yet, We don't know.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
We actually don't know.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Yeah, I'm very interested.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
I have some questions about that when we get to
the discussion.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Meanwhile, Harcourt is trying to look presentable. She's hosting the
get together, the party for the entire group that they're
having at her place tonight because basically everybody's everyone else's
homes are like not appropriate for this. Economists comes over,
they head to the roof at a Bio comes over
with the tunes, Adrian comes with the beer, and it's
(11:01):
a wonderful party for all of them. Meanwhile, the Artist
Strike Team goes to Chris's house. Fleury is giving them
all nicknames like titties dude.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
I'm like, did Tim I need to know if like
Tim Meadows was texting Tim Robinson while he was doing
this and being like, hey man, I'm really gonna be
riffing on these weird like names.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Can you help me?
Speaker 4 (11:22):
They're so good?
Speaker 5 (11:23):
Definitely and they I think Tom Meadows is so brilliant absurdism.
And the more absurd this show gets, the more I
am falling in love with it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
For sure, I completely agree.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So they go The strike team goes in. They find
the portal, but before they can really get in there
eagerly attacks and severely mames several members of the team
like I was getting pulled out like jugglers getting nicked,
like it's it's really, really, really bad and florid. He
(11:55):
can't shoot the bird even though he got to drop
on it, because he can't see it.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
He can't.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
I can't get a clean shot.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
I can't tell how big this fucking bird is.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
So good.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
At the party at Harcourts, there's like a thaw between
Chris and Harcourt.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
They you know, they start.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Talking a little at a Bio tells Economist how much
he misses this, the whole team and hanging out together,
and Conomist is like, don't worry. This argus is so stressful,
you'd hate being back there and Adam I was like, well,
why don't you quit and be like an independent spy
like me, which, of course we all know how that's going.
Chris says, hey, Harcourt, if you want to get in fights,
(12:41):
then you should join the team and then we could
go fight bad guys and Hardcourt's like, I don't want
to do that. That's really fucking lame and stupid. And
Chris begins to drink heavily.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Yeah, I think she She says to him, like, you know,
I'm not as fucked up as you are, Like she's
really ruthless, brutal. He's like, you know, trying to be
really vulnerable with her. He noticed he's seeing this destructive behavior,
and she's like, you would like love that when we
can just be super fucked up together, Like I'm not
as bad as you do. To brutal, She's really it
was very, very.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Mean, And I mean they're doing a great job with
He's maker really exploring his trauma.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I mean, he says correct.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
In one of these upcoming episodes. In the upcoming episode,
like he really talks about it. But when he gets home,
he's a mess, finds his place wrecked. He doesn't know why,
And so he sits on the edge of his bed
and he starts to go through the phone and he
finds Harcourt's name in there. He texts her, but of
course it doesn't work because he's in his universe. So
(13:39):
he goes to the portal, setting off alarm bells once again,
and he goes into the perfect Universe. He hears voices
the rest of the house. It's his this universe's debt,
you know, his dad from this universe, wondering where he
is because he's been like.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Not reachable for a little while because he's day.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
And then his phone gets serviced and he looks and
Harcourt has sent back a little broken heart of oogh, one.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Little quick note that like it's kind of if you
you could blink and miss it. But in the background,
when Chris first goes back into the library, and you
hear Augie in the background like where's Chris? Like what's
that blood in the library? Is it the pills again?
And I think that's good. Yeah, So he mentions that
and then we'll see where that goes. But I flagged
that when I first watched it, and I was like, oh,
(14:34):
that's interesting, Like I wonder where that's gonna go.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
It's very interesting.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Also, we don't peace make has only seen like a
smidgeon of the perfect universe. We don't know what he
is actually was like, or what his life was or Yeah,
I just I thought the text moment where he goes
into the portal and gets the text back that is
some true best of the best of what James Gunn
does because it's so relatable even in this crazy absurd
(15:00):
But it also represents the ultimate version of like, don't
text your acts.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
This is like a multi versal implication of.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
You're so right because you understand in that moment that
Chris is about to make a series of really really
bad decisions, and you're the same decisions that you would
probably make in that exact same scenario. Yeah, hopefully not
after having murdered yourself. Let's take a quick break, let's
come back. We'll talk about episode three, and then we'll
(15:29):
discuss these two episodes.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Okay, we're back.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Peacemaker Episode three, Season two, Rick up my sleeve.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Absolutely crazy, guys, this is James Gunn playing Wait.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
This is fun and also just.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
The opening it opens up so many cannon questions.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
And us movies like Way Far Back.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
It's d.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
Yeah, so so well done, and also like Hawk has
got to have one of the most impressive supero body
counts of like anyone du like she is, she's racking
up the hat's man, I.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Mean every like Sea level Hattie.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
She is, She's done, She's in there. It's three years ago,
Hardcourt from uh.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Where we I? I had problems.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I wasn't sure from where at first, but then it
becomes clear that this is current, this is the regular dimensions,
the real. So three years ago, Harcourt wakes up next
to Rick Flagg Junior.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I was just so happy here and he's so good.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Excuse me, Oh my.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
God, this is what I was wishing for.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Guys, you know, I was shoulders.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Oh my god, this.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
Man is that? Like, come on, I think they did
a really good job because, like you said, as soon
as you realize this flagularly, oh, but the bigness, you're like, oh.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Is this okay?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
This is we're talking about a father and son Junior
and senior.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Like that's a hot genetic line that just like you know,
contrarasual ads recently.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Okay, So it's a beautiful sunny day, Junior obviously is cheating.
He's with the chantress, but he does not more lore
for the sixteen squad.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Absolutely crazy lore.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So of course he doesn't want the Chantress, who could
do all sorts of things with dark magical powers, to
know about this. And you know, they wish they could
leave this at a better place, but unfortunately Rick needs
to leave for Quarter Maltese and his imminent death in
only like two hours. I love the spending his last
(18:00):
two hours with his side. He's not his gallery actual.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Girl read I'm not gonna lie like one. That seems
like something people would do.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
But also to like post the fust to his lub movie, like,
I feel like, yeah, him and June are like very
deeply connected, but that was some crazy ship that went down.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
So I he's like the Entrances.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I mean, come on, I mean dating the Entrantress is
gonna be.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
A crazy ride. But also talk to just just just
tell her it's over. Man, you've got feelings for hardcore.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
I get it, but you know, yeah, she might do
that and guess what he's going to die.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, that's he's off the Culto Maltese. So like ripza
that man.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So Chris wakes up in the wrong dimension, his brother,
Captain Triaf, waking him up. Where's the blood from?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
He asks?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And then it, as you mentioned, Ian, it becomes clear
that Chris of this dimension is an addicting.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
There's some seltons in that closet. There's something going on there.
Sure yea.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
Also, did you get the vibe from like that that
maybe there's some kind of you know, I now, I
will say this may have been just may have been
influenced by my current binge watch that I am watching,
which is gen V and the upcoming season, which is
as amazing as the first.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I was a huge fan. But the pills, the relapsing.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
Do you think in this world like Chris is taking
drugs to be a superhero? You know? That was definitely
my first kind of thought was like he couldn't keep
up with his dad.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
And there's some kind of thing like that. I also
could just be addiction, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
I think it's just I think it's just addiction.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Because they're talking about it with the relapsing, you know,
they're talking about, you know, the drinking being a trigger.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I think that.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
Regular.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
I think it's Yes, also as.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Well, I would say I would also say I think
something that, you know, the boys gen V did really
interesting that we could definitely I feel like James Gum
would explore here. Same with Underrated but Huge when it
ended up on HBO Max Titans. These plot lines about
like superheroes who become addicts because of how hard it
is to be a superhero in your body. Chris definitely
(20:16):
seems like, you know, for sure, takes a lot to
be in that shape.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
So I think this is a very interesting plot line.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
I'm really intrigued to see where they go and what
they do with it.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
So Chris manages to put his fake brother at ease
for the moment, and then he pulls up the phone
and he's been texting Harcourt. He's been texting her a
lot in this dimension in this short time that he's
been there, and it's clear that they're broken up.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Something happened, and.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
They made a date to have lunch today, and Chris,
in a panic realize as much like me this morning,
that he is late. He's gonna be late, like he
has twenty five minutes to get to this place, so
he rushes out. We discover that the Kardashians don't exist
in this.
Speaker 6 (21:04):
Universe, which is which is pretty great, pretty great reveal,
and then he then furthermore realizes, wait, I don't know where.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Harcourt works, so where are we having lunch? And two
I don't know like what my vehicle is. He gets
that all sorted out by basically running this fake quiz
on his brother, who then reveals all this stuff, but
does think that this is very strange. As he's driving
down the streets, people are cheering. This dimension loves him,
(21:38):
and of course they are. He and his brother and
dad are the top trio in this dimension. In the
normal dimension, Harcourt is making coffee as Adebayo is waking
up from the party at a Bio is kind of
quizzing her on Chris what went on. Seems like something
was happening. He guess we're hanging out out now. It's
like you're not You're not even speaking. Hardcore is very
(22:01):
insistent that nothing happened in the other dimension. Chris arrives
at Arguess. He passes the retinal scan. So, okay, this
is so bad, Like this is basically an identical peacemaker
like you would surmise like there aren't enough.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
It's not like a Bizarro type or even like twitch. Yeah,
this is like he's the guy.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yes, and by the way, I mean all sorts of
I don't know, interesting. Are we sure that it leads
you to believe like have ever have any of these
people ever switched before?
Speaker 1 (22:39):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (22:40):
It's giving you remember that well yes, for you know,
a six six year old movie. But it's definitely inspiring
those conversations like the End of Us where it's kind
of like, you know, who gets out and who's trapped inside?
And I think that the notion that people have been
able to do that in James Gunn's DCU is absolutely
(23:02):
going to come into play in the Why to DC
because this cannot be the first time, Like Peacemaker is
a dumb cough Like he's definitely not the first person
who stumbled onto this, but he is probably the first
one to just like be like, okay, well killed my
alternative self just going to take over his life, like
right now. I think it's that there's not going to
be any issues like my guy, come on.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
So I don't I guess. Chris arrives on Hardcourt's floor.
SE's strict Flag Junior there. He's alive and apparently he
and Harcourt are dating now.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
You like, he's like not the sex. He's not like sexy,
badass Soult.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
He's like unconfident, kind of.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Nicky, like very stressed, weird, yeah, very stressed by the
sudden arrival of his girlfriend's ex, the Peacemaker on the scene.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
It's no confidence, no rizz.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Which is like very hard to believe.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
But he did a watching very nervously, like as they hug,
he's like spying on them every conversation they have. That.
So then Hardcourt and christ are like, let's step outside.
Back in the other dimension, Bordeaux calls economists, reams him
out over the eagle. Why didn't you warn us about
the eagle? Fleury thought it was a duck because it
was a duck, and YadA, YadA, YadA. In the altmension,
(24:19):
Chris and Harcourt have a full on rom com level
date with hot dogs, and.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
It's very happening. How good this could be. Look at us,
look at this cute situation.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
And it's very clear, not that even they need to
show us anymore, but it's very quick.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Chris is going to try to live here.
Speaker 5 (24:42):
Oh, like no question because also he probably might I
think in his mind. He's like, well, I can come here,
I can have this relationship with Hardcourt, and then I
can go back to my universe.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
We do what I need to do. But it is
not because also every time you.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Go through that bloody door, the alarms are flaring, like
you are getting Yes.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
We learned that Chris had been fucking around on Harcourt.
Rick Flagg junior would never do that ever, And it's clear,
you know, a great acting by the way, from Joel Kinman, I'm.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
Saying the way that you can like turn it from
you see that original the sexy, thick neck like fucking
around with Harcourt before he goes on his mission, Like
that is so different than the senior, the junior that
we get here, And I just think it's so interesting
and it makes a lot of sense that this junior
would not have gone to Quarto Maltese. Like he's not
(25:32):
the same guy, and if he was, he probably wouldn't
have betrayed Amanda Ola. Like that's not who this guy is.
He's not the big brave hero. I mean, yeah, Joe Kinneman,
I'm a huge fan. I think he's an unbelievably underrated
actor and I just think this episode, James Gunn is
pulling out all the stops and people and you know what,
He's right.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
People should be watching this if they care about what
happens in the DC. Yes, and you love the DCEU.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Chris tell us how our court because she's like you
you do seem different, and he's like, well, you know,
I'm really trying to work on my arrogance, so I'm
trying to be less of a dick. I'm trying to
engage with my vulnerability and try to understand like how
I'm a product of trauma. I don't want to be
that guy anymore. Ps like I murdered your X and
taking his place.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Here, I.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Lie take right out.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
I think this is like the saddest thing about Chris,
and I think I hope and think that James Gunna
is going to explore this, but like he doesn't understand
that this is like incredibly wrong, Like he doesn't understand
to him, this is just hardcore and he loves her
and he can make it work, but he doesn't realize
that she doesn't have any consent in this.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
She doesn't understand who he really is.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
I feel like I think he does know what's wrong,
But the temptation is too great for him, Like he's like,
this is the chance to.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Have everything that he shouldn't.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Right, right, Yeah, but I think he knows it's fucked up.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Yeah he does. And I think what's very human about
the situation to me is that you know, when people
do try to change often, you know, it's not a
binary it's a process. You don't change overnight, and part
of that process is like you're more cognizant, you're trying
to be better, you're trying to be more present and aware,
but you still when you see a short cut, still
(27:22):
take it because you're like, oh, this will get me,
this will get me there quicker. I can just immediately
be the good person, because this person that I killed
was the good person. Everybody thinks I'm him. So now
I just have the perfect opportunity to hit the reset
when no, you're just taking a shortcut. It's a very
human it really is thing to do.
Speaker 5 (27:43):
Also, who wouldn't want to have a fresh start with
this person? You know everyone has dreamed of, like, well,
imagine if all my mistakes that I made didn't I
didn't make them, and I don't have to make up
for them, and I don't have to do the work.
Like you said, Jason, you can just exist in this
world where it's essentially a short cut. It is deeply relatable,
and I think it's part of the reason why this
season is hitting so hard for people, because I think
(28:07):
it's another step in James Gunn's You know what, I
felt like was an almost impossible effort to make Peacemaker empathetic.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
But somehow you are still understanding why Chris is doing it,
even though you, along with him, know it's wrong.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Before they can take this conversation any further, there's an explosion.
The Sons of Liberty are attacking the town. They've seized
the DMV. They're looking to attack any government building in town,
and they demand they have certain demands and they're gonna
kill all the hostages unless their demands are met.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And inside they're just planning explosives.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Harcourt gets an update on the situation where Chris just
leaps into action without his suit, which from let me
ask you this, from the exchange that the cop and
Harcourt had, it seemed as if going in without a
suit was maybe not a thing that happens in this
year universe exactly Like from the reaction, it seemed like,
(29:05):
I don't know, did you sense anything there?
Speaker 5 (29:07):
I definitely felt like maybe the Chris of this universe
is not the like you know, just like all out badass,
like can beat the shout of somebody without that his
helmets or his suit. That was definitely something I was
interested in also as well. Then they just know who
(29:27):
you are, you know, So there's that aspect too, But
obviously here that the family is celebrities, So yeah, intriguing.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Chris goes in there kills everybody, yep, kind of with ease.
Helicopter arrives to whisk away the rest of the Sons
of Liberty.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
They set the explosives to leave.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Chris kills you know, everybody finds the explosives, diffuses them,
and then somebody like launches an RPG at the helicopter
and they win. And the person they did that was
Captain Triumph. Chris gives the thumbs up to the crowd.
The crowd goes fucking crazy, and it's clear that this
is the best dimension, like of all time.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
He is never leaving.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Here, I'm sorry, where it's giving homeland a killing that
guy and everything.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
The acceptance he has desired for his entire life.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
His brother woman, He loves that.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
A loving, supportive family. They are all here.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Why would he leave Bordeau and Fleury in the other
in the other dimension are still reaming out economist about
Bordo only cares about the Portolo half she calls in
like the entire agency, basically half the agency plus Red
Seed Wild.
Speaker 5 (30:41):
The world's foremost He's here, Yeah, Michael Croco, we love
to see him come here. This is such a classic
fun performance. I am also guessing that there's probably some
kind of like lea here of why he is so
(31:03):
good at eagle hunting. Is it a power? Does he
use magic? Like I'm very interested you will find that,
you will.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
And also, like I gotta say, I think The Sons
of Liberty was such a James Gunpaul if had like
ten issue appearances like ever created by Jerry Ordway Superman
notably so, I think this notion of vigilante groups vigilante
justice in both worlds, because remember that he's made his
(31:32):
dad was the White Dragon. He was the leader of
this like white supremacist anti government group, So there are
echoes of that here. I'm guessing that the powers that
be in the DCU are going to be very unstable
as we go forward and may seem more kind of testing,
and and that would make sense why potentially you may
(31:53):
even see Alex Clark lex Superman team up in that
Man of Tomorrow movie, maybe because things get so crazy.
But yeah, I love the way that James Gunn pulls
from the comics, and it's always something that kind of
scratches the itch of the back of your mind, where
you're like Sons of Liberty, Sons of Liberty, and you're
like that sons of Libberty.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Like it's really point.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
I think that I think that we're going to part
I think part of like the final form of whatever
this phase of the DCEU is is going to be
a to your point and kind of deep stabilizing of
like global political path exactly, and then eventually a acknowledgment
by the meta humans that Okay, we need to put
(32:34):
people at ease, and thus the formation of the j
LA not a private rather than like a privately owned
like meta human organization.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
It's going to be like, hey, we work for America,
we work for the world.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Yeah, I think you make it. I think that's a
really great point.
Speaker 5 (32:49):
I think setting up the political platforms and world is
really important, and TV is a great place to do
that because it's very easy to shorthand it into the movie.
But if you want a more expansive thing, there is
opportunities to explore it like here. So yeah, I just
think the way that this is being utilized to create
(33:13):
and shape Cannon is just even in this first hot
like three episodes of the season, is it such a
higher level than what Marvel has been able to do
for the most part because of COVID delays of you know,
obviously Wandervision one of the great examples of that, but
then stuff that happened in Wondervision, did we really see it?
(33:34):
The same with Doctor Strange and the what If episode.
They didn't end up using the Strange from the what
If episode. They ended up using someone who looked like him,
but they didn't connect it. I think the way that
James Gunn is just directly connecting these things because of
the creative freedom that he has and because he is
running both TV and movies, is really unlike anything we've
(33:55):
seen for a long time, and it's so interesting. I
mean that Rick Flag cameo at the beginning and then
seeing him reimagined, it's just so on something I wasn't expecting.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I think it's.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
What's gonna happen. Well, okay, well I'll save this for
this guy. Yeah, we're gonna basically where this episode, where
this episode leaves us is, Argus is preparing to assault
the house. They plan to kill Eagerly and capture Chris.
They all get put into little assault teams. Economists gets
paired with Rip Dragger aka Juda Master. Back in the
other dimension, the Perfect Dimension, it's very clear that Harcourt
(34:33):
really does want to get back together with Chris, like now,
like they put like a twenty like hey, let's think
about it, but really the way she's blowing up his
phone like she she wants to do it asap. He's
got Chris of courses, got a slow play it because
he's got to go home. Meanwhile, before he can do that,
Keith comes up and is like, you know, worried that
(34:55):
he's relapsed on pills, and they have this very beauti
full conversation honestly where Keith basically says like you know, listen,
whether you've relapsed or not, whether you're peacemaker or not.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
You're my brother. I love you no matter what's going on.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
He killed your real brother.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
That reveal is going to be heartbreaking when they find
out it's going.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
To but it's also heartbreaking, like I think the thing
that is so good here is, like you said, Jason,
that human aspect.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Like I can't imagine.
Speaker 5 (35:25):
How horrific that must be for Chris in that moment,
because this is all he's ever wanted is to have
that acceptance and that love.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
But he knows that it.
Speaker 5 (35:34):
Has come at the price. And he is currently lying
to person who if.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
He because he is, it would be only in a
situation like this. I can only imagine that he's gonna
he's gonna start tricking himself into oh yeah, I am.
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Well my you know, my eye worked. There's the same guy,
like he's happy to see me, Like it's fine.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
So as he goes back to his dimension, Argus is
moving in and at the end of the episode, bad timing.
Let's go to a break and let's discuss these episodes.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Okay, we're back.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
What I was gonna say is it feels inevitable to
me that regular universe Rick Flag Senior will encounter Perfect Universe,
Rick fleggsunor Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Well, I also wonder if chaos will ensue.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
I also, yeah, I wonder if what will happen is
my theory. Rick Flagg Junior, Perfect Universe nerdy. He is
obsessed with Chris, He's worried about hardcore, He's worried about
what could happen. He could very easily follow him back
through the portal. Also could see an unexpected team up
(37:01):
between Rick Flagg Senior and Peacemaker, because if Rick Flagg.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Senior wants sunback.
Speaker 5 (37:08):
He may keep the portal a secret. They may end
up kind of having to work together. I think there
is a lot of really interesting stuff here because it
starts with that classic James Gunn exploration of emotions and
grief and heartbreak and what is it really like to
be a superhero?
Speaker 3 (37:24):
What is the cost?
Speaker 5 (37:26):
You know? We often laugh because Spider Man has his
double life, right, he has Peter and he has Spider Man,
and he's really really bad at keeping them apart. And
that is always the ultimate thing is if you let
people know who you really are, they become endangered. You know,
then you're the green Goblin starts coming and like macking
on your mom or you're better your aunt then like
you're losing your girlfriend, Gwen Stacey's falling off a building
(37:48):
like there's so much, but often those are in an
issue or in one movie. So to really get to
see the kind of human cost and how much it
can in Chris's I mean, I feel comes with saying
this like it's driving him mad, Like you can't. This
is not the sane actions of a sane person. He
is essentially trying to replace someone. It's very in its
(38:09):
own way. It's like very general hospital, like that's my
evil twin, you know, but James Gunn manages to make
it emotional and feel like vital to the world that
he is building.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
So yeah, my biggest theory is.
Speaker 5 (38:20):
That Senior Junior will come through the portal and Senior
will see him, and then him and Chris will have
to work together to hide the portal and hide the
fact that Senior knows that Junior is that who knows.
Maybe I could imagine Verry James Gunn of them that
Senior just decides he's going to go to that universe
like once a week and like have coffee with his
son or.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
Something, you know, like not it doesn't have to be
a full Chris style takeover.
Speaker 5 (38:45):
But he when he knows he's there, he's not going
to be able to to stop.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Well, I keep thinking about like the reverse, Like Chris
has found what he considers the perfect universe, Like, so
who considers his universe the perfect universe? Maybe it's Rick
Flagg Junior, And we don't know the status of senior
in the perfect verse. But I do wonder if someone
will come through and be.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Like, actually this is perfect. It's much more chaotic, and.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
There you know, there's secretive government agencies that are doing
terrible things. Maybe they're not doing super terrible things in
that universe, and it certainly seems like there are different
restrictions in the perfect Universe.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
I'm I'm eager to see.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
How much more the universe has become intertwined in how
they eventually, if ever, shut the doors on them, because
I think it will be about I think whatever happens
at the end will be about.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Turning this off, turning off the portals. What do you
think Ian.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
I was gonna say, I need we got him. He's
the peacemaker love, He's looked in. Tell us your theories.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
I have two things. Yeah, So one one is a theory.
I think I think at some point there's going to
be a big twist or reveal that the perfect universe
is actually not as I as it seems. I think
that's kind of inevitable. And so one theory I was
just thinking about as we're going through the discussions again,
I was thinking back to the third episode when Chris
and Harco are on that date and they're walking around
(40:13):
the town and he's driving around. Everybody's cheering for him,
and I was thinking, and I was like, I feel
like everybody was white, Like I don't feel like I
saw any people of color. Actually, now I think about it,
so I'm thinking, like, what if it's like a what
like white supremacist utopia that they've created there, and that's
like the idyllic world they're living in, or something like
there's gonna be some dark secret in this universe.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
You know, I think that's extremely real.
Speaker 5 (40:37):
I also had the feeling, especially because we know peace
Makers that is, and.
Speaker 4 (40:41):
Also exactly so it's like they have this like fun
loving relationship and they're all friends together, but it's because
like there's no black people or something, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
Like, yeah, I no, No.
Speaker 5 (40:52):
I think that's really interesting too, because also then Chris
will have to make the ultimate choice, which is like, right,
do you ignore and stay compared plicit in this horrific
situation because it makes you feel good, or do you
fight back against it or try and destroy it? I
think Ian if they did that, that would be so interesting. Also,
when they were doing the driving around people cheering, I
(41:13):
also wondered if there was an element of like fear,
because everyone looks like they're having a great time, but
but are they really do they always cheer for them
when they come out, because that's kind of what they
have to do to make there's I feel like you're right,
there's some kind of pleasant Ville aspects exactly.
Speaker 4 (41:29):
There's something under the surface, there's some dark secret or something.
But yeah, I think that's a good point, Rosie, because
like we we already know, just based on the other
characters conversations, that this alternate Peacemaker is still a dick.
He's like not a good guy, he has some issues.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Yeah, yeah, so fact.
Speaker 4 (41:46):
I could see that thing where everybody's like kind of
afraid of him and they're just pretending to worship him
because like he might kill them or something. So yeah,
that's interestactly. Okay.
Speaker 5 (41:55):
Also, Ian, let me ask you about Let me ask
you this, because I think something that we're really getting
to at this point is like the importance of the portals,
the existence of the portals. We know that Lex Luthor
created essentially his own pocket universe.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
This looks like it was way better built.
Speaker 5 (42:14):
How much do you think the portals and the notion
of these kind of multiple worlds are going to play
into the wider DCU because it feels like to me
that's gonna could be their version of like you know
what Marvel is calling incursions, right.
Speaker 4 (42:28):
I mean, yeah, I think it's going to play into
the larger you know world moving forward, especially considering like
you know, we well I don't want to I've watched ahead,
so I don't want to spoil too much. But yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think, you know, we find out a little bit
more of the origin of where they come from in
future episodes, and I think that opens up some questions
(42:49):
of you know, and it opens up the universe beyond
I'll say, just the immediate vicinity of the town of
Earth even so, I mean, we know Lanterns is coming.
That's gonna be an extraterrestrial threat, I think. So, I
think there's there could be a connection there, you know,
like this the new Superman movie or Man of Tomorrow
(43:11):
that got announced, you know, Brainiac might be a potential villain,
Like maybe there could be a connection there or something.
I can see this technology being related to Brainiac in
some way or something.
Speaker 6 (43:21):
Like.
Speaker 4 (43:21):
There's a lot of different ways it could go. So
I think that's that's a place they could take it.
Speaker 5 (43:28):
Also, I would kind of love and it feels like
it would be so James Gunnish if like Chris's selfishness
in this world causes some like kind of it all
goes back to him crisis that they then have to
fix in the wider universe that if you watch the movies,
you'll probably only ever like, oh, it was fucking Peacemaker
(43:48):
or whatever version, right, But here you actually get to
watch what drove it and.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Why he made these choices.
Speaker 5 (43:54):
I would really love to see that Jason going into
kind of heading into what is to be the second
half of the season and seeing where Peacemaker goes.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Who would be your most.
Speaker 5 (44:07):
Wanted cameo after this episode, because I think the doors
are open for anyone like they're essentially resurrecting people at
this point.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Listen to any of the big any of the big ones.
I think I would love to see supermandos.
Speaker 5 (44:22):
In David corn Sweat and this would be so good
of them.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Lois would be incredible, like a reference to a story
that she's written.
Speaker 5 (44:35):
Yeah, I mean, she does have a lot of contacts
within the government, within these organizations.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
I feel like, you know, these August flares.
Speaker 5 (44:42):
Are something she could definitely hear about, maybe be trying
to write a story about.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
I love that call.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
I think they could do some subtle extended not cameos,
but extended like bat family mentions.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
Oh that would be nice. That would be nice, just.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
Like on the news and stuff like oh such and
such was and whatever see a shadow or you hear
some sort of up there's like the head whatever the
headline says, you know, I would love I think I
almost think it is actually kind of likely that we
get some sort of green lanterns something I agree.
Speaker 5 (45:17):
I agree too, because we already had green, We already
had Guy Gardner, like you know, dragging him in the interview.
I think we could definitely see Okay, the greenlandin show
we've been told, starring Aaron Pierre and of course our
guy from Friday Night Lights. We are gonna see How Jordan. Yeah,
(45:39):
Kyle Chandler, We're gonna see How Jordan. We're gonna see
John Stewart. It's gonna be a grounded murder mystery that
is set on Earth, but it also has like intergalactic
ramifications that feels like it could so easily slip into this,
like if the Chris has already murdered somebody, the portals
are open, the world is, you know, not necessarily particularly stable.
(46:02):
So I think you're right. I think Greenlandin is a
great call. I also, James Gunn keeps saying we're going
to find out who's playing Harlequin soon. My dream is
for Margot Robbie to come back. I just think she's fantastic.
I think she works so well in this world. I
think we've seen that James Gunn and her have a
fantastic collaborative kind of spirit. But you know what she did, Barbie,
(46:22):
She's doing Wathering Heights. I don't think that's realistic. But
James Gunn does keep saying We're going to find out
who plays Harlequin soon, So I'm interested to see if
it's soon because she is going to be in the
show or mentioned or on a TV screen. You know,
she's been such a huge part of the connective tissue
between that VCEU to then James Gunn Superman and so
(46:43):
to have Harley here I think would be really interesting
how they're going to explain it. Maybe she comes from
perfect Universe, maybe she's a different actress. I think that
the opening of these portals allows them a lot of
creative freedom with what they're going to do next, And
clearly j Jiames Gunn has like full creative control over
this universe. There is no making TV by council here,
(47:06):
not like how the early days of the Marvel worked,
which obviously is fantastic, Like we love the Council of
creatives who shaped the MCU. That's like an incredible thing
that happened. But this is a very different version of
what we've seen before. So yeah, I'm I'm very intrigued.
The Rick Flag of it all just had me like
one hundred percent in because I, like I said, I've
said it in the past. First Piece Maker season, I
(47:27):
love how much everyone loved it.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
I thought it was fine.
Speaker 5 (47:29):
I thought it was really well made, but I'm not
a fan of just Peacemaker in general post suicide squad.
So to bring in Rick Flag, to bring in enchantrous mentions,
to do that and show how those characters have interacted
with these characters not just now but throughout the years,
that is so appealing to me.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Yeah, yeah, I think as well.
Speaker 5 (47:50):
I'm not surprised that Episode three just like popped off
and made everyone another.
Speaker 4 (47:54):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
One more thing that I think is really smart, and
it's a in contrast to the MCU, is the way
they use multidimensionality as like there's an actual government stance
towards it. Now it's a threat. It almost destroyed the world.
Lex almost killed the world with an unregulated dimensional portal,
(48:16):
and so now we have to like clamp down on
these things. Whereas so there's like a story driving point
that actual tension raising steak for them to exist or
for them to be a part of the action, Whereas
in other kinds of storytelling and kind of the way
they've been used in the MCU, it's more been like
(48:39):
a disx MAC in.
Speaker 5 (48:41):
A portal way to get to an end, to bring people.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
In, whereas these have repercussions in their stakes, and I
really enjoy that. Well, we're going to keep talking about
Peacemaker over the coming weeks. We're going to be following
it episode by episode. On the next episodes of X
ray Vision, we're diving into Foundation an Alienator. That's it
for this episode.
Speaker 5 (49:02):
Thanks for listening, Sci Fi Bye bye.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
X ray Vision is hosted by Jason Sepsion and Rosie
Knight and is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Speaker 5 (49:17):
Our executive producers are Joel Monique and Aaron Kaufman.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
Our supervising producer is Abu Zafar.
Speaker 5 (49:23):
Our producers are Common Laurent Dean Jonathan and Bai Wag.
Speaker 2 (49:27):
A theme song is by Brian Vasquez, with alternate theme
songs by Aaron Kaufman.
Speaker 5 (49:31):
Special thanks to Soul Rubin, Chris Lord, Kenny Goodman, and
Heidi our discord moderator.
Warning.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Today's episode contained spoilers for Peacemakers season two episodes two
and three.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Not spoilers.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Oh no, Hello, and it is Jason Concepcion and on
(00:30):
Mersey Night, and welcome back to x Reviews of the
podcast where.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
We dive you to your favorite shows.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Movies, comics of pop culture.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Company over by our podcast where we'll bring you three
episodes a week.
Speaker 4 (00:39):
Bless news on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
News on Saturdays.
Speaker 5 (00:41):
And this is Peacemaker's new home where we will be
releasing conversations about it every Monday. And it's going to
be great because you guys want it. The Internet is
talking about it, and we have Peacemaker lover Ian Toper
produced Ian in the house to join us.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Ian, Welcome to our Peacemak.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Welcome, thank you for having me back. I'm excited to
talk about these two episodes. They were very interesting and
I'm curious to see where the season goes from here.
So yeah, excited to dive in.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
I am intrigued to them. Let's go.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
The ties to the wider dc EU are strengthening and thickening. Yes,
let's dive in. We open with Peacemaker season two, episode two.
A Man is Only as good as his bird. We
open on the past Argus HQ Senior Richard Flagg Senior,
Dick Flagg. Rich Rick Flagg Senior has just been named
(01:36):
the new leader of Argus for the downfall of Amanda Waller.
Economists is showing him like all around the office. But
of course his first action item on the docket is
access to the full unredacted Quardo Maltese file, yes, from
Suicide Squad two, the events of Suicide Squad two which
(02:00):
resulted in the untimely demise of his son.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Rick Flagg Junior.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Economiss is like, really, I don't know, do you want
to see that important?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
And don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
And by the way, anything you might see in there,
it was all Amanda's fault, like we were just following
Waller wanted us to do some crazy stuff, so just
be wart. Rick gets access to the file and it's
clear from the file that what really happened is Peacemaker
killed Rick's son with a jagged piece of metal in
(02:37):
order to keep the operation secret. And Senior is of
course devastated and.
Speaker 5 (02:44):
Breaking because also I said this many times, guys, you
know I am now Joel Kinneman. Rick Flagg Junior Love
and he was doing the right thing. He was trying
to let the world know that America was the one
who had been doing it's on STARO.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
This is very cool that.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
They are bringing this into canon. I kind of love
that James Gunn's idea is just anything I say.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Is canon is canon.
Speaker 5 (03:09):
I mean that's the dream as a creator. So yeah,
I love this opening. I think the way they're building
this in leads to some really interesting and complicated conflicts.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
We go to the present, Chris is there with the
corpse of himself from the Perfect Dimension my guy, and
he's got to figure out, like where do I hide
this thing? So he calls somebody for some bone saws,
and eventually we find out that that's of course Vigilante,
who's the only person who.
Speaker 5 (03:41):
This season is really given. I love Vigilante. I think
a lot about that line where he's like, you didn't
invite me to the orgy and peace Makers like, uh,
you know, having sex is with you don't have sex,
and he said, I only have sex to bond with
my best friends. Isn't that how everyone has sex? I
was like, Yes, Vigilance is still my break out m
VP of this show.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
At A Bio breaks into her ex's home, uh to
you know, pick up some stuff. She's welcoming their former dogs.
Her ex Kia is like, what the fuck? You can't
just show up here like this is we're broken up?
And at A Bio thought it was temporary, but it's not.
And it's very clear that this is because of at
(04:24):
A Bio's basically tossing their entire life that they built
aside in order to like build this new life as
a spy and a very unsuccessful, basically unemployed spy.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
I thought it's very interesting that Kia was like, yeah,
like you blew up our life and now we can't
go back to Gotham. And I'm in my mind, I'm like,
why do you want to go back to Gotham so bad?
Like what's going on over there? A shithole? So like
what's going on? You know?
Speaker 5 (04:54):
Nah, dude, that's definitely that would definitely be me. I'm like,
that's my neighbor man. Now we can never go back.
I'm like I want to go see Batman like kick
the shelves and people and smash up a car happening
in this town. Yeah, She's like this is boring when
you've lived in Gotham.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Harcourt also going through it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
A very nice lady at the drug slash grocery store
slash convenience store thinks that she's been through a domestic
violence situation, offers her some help. Harcourt kind of in
classic hardcourt style, very kind of brusquely brushes her off,
and then really takes a long moment to consider applying
(05:34):
for the clerk position at this place, because she, like
everybody else, is like basically unemployed.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Outside Peacemaker's house a guy.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Who we will learn is named Flurry Agent Flury, he's
argust management, comes to Economist's surveillance truck and yes he's
our guests.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
He is really weird.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
He's very interested in strange things like how they will
greet each like what what's the official way we will
greet each other? He decides the economists is very cool,
and he therefore nicknames him Ginger Cool.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
I'm like, is this like a weird power play? Like
is he actually trying to be friends?
Speaker 5 (06:19):
Great weird addition to the evergram piece make it cost
very strange and unsettling.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Very and I love that. Like an ongoing theme is
like everybody giving economists like nicknames that he absolutely hates.
What was like die Beard the first season, now it's
ginger Pool this season. I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
He's a and and Flurry is like, as we will
see over this episode, this is what I love about
this show. He's like a basically a classic sitcom archetype,
the dumb middle manager kind of. He's Michael Scott's definitely
Michael Scott vibes.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
Yeah, yeah, and also played Pint legendary comedian.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yes, Pim Meadows, Well, I'm just now.
Speaker 5 (07:02):
And also like, uh, you know Tim Robinson co collaborate
and we see him a lot now and I think
you should leave clips. Just fantastic addition. And also I
think the best thing is just like everyone who works
at August is so weird and clearly has their own agenda,
Like we know what Rick Bleke Seniors is, but Flury's.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
You're like, why are you working? What do you what
do you want? Like, what do you want out of this?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Inside the house, Chris is still trying to shrug off
the recent murders. He's like waking up the orgy people
who are still sleeping, trying to get them out of
the house. At a Bio arrives, Flurry objectifies her like
aggressively over the video cameras while massaging Economists's shoulders like
(07:47):
this is who.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
This guy is?
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Extremely weird.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
When Eagerly comes out, we get a very important.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Reveal that Fleuri has.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
What is medically referred to as bird blindness. He can't
recognize types of birds or even the sizes of birds.
They all look like, I guess the same bird as him.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Can't.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
Yeah, he can't tell the difference of best shape and
size or anything like that. Absolutely bonkers and hilarious. That
has been very divisive online, but I think is one.
Speaker 1 (08:22):
I loved it.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
Hious, it's so funny, and the way they use it
throughout the rest of the episode, yes, brilliant.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
It's so good.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
It's still one of the craziest scenes that we've gotten
in this show. Full stop.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Chris is, you know, very stressed about you know, what's happened,
and he's about to get more stressed. Idabio tells him
that he's under twenty four to seven artists surveillance and says,
every time you use the portal they know somehow, so
just like give it to them and stop. But he
can't do that because it's basically the last link that
(08:54):
he has to his dad and his family, and there's
also the Perfect Universe in there that he's going to
become obsessed with.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Anyway.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Vigilante of course, comes over with the saws. He gets,
as you mentioned it, be kind of like mad about
the orgy and not being invited, and then Chris takes
him to see the body, which is really what he said.
It was amazingly enough to Vigilante. Alarms go off in
that moment in the truck and at Argus and Bordeaux
(09:23):
like just sit and wait, we're gonna get like the backup.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
In the portal.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Chris explains the whole thing, and then they cut the
corpse up and the dead Peacemaker's phone drops.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Out of his pocket and you just know now.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Peacemaker picks it up. They burn the corpse and yell
at the alien and that's it. Later Chris goes through
the phone and he discovers that he and Hardcourt from
that Perfect Universe are, or were, at for a time,
a very very happy monogamous.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
It appears a.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Couple rare in the world of peace Maker.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Very devoted. They seem devoted from the photos.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
Yeah, I would also say I think this is such
an interesting ton for this to take because it also
tells us a lot about Chris, because like, yeah, in
that old universe world, like you and Hawkele are happy couple,
but your dad is a white supremacist is still alive.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I'm like, is he did he change? Like he's still
that guy?
Speaker 5 (10:28):
Right?
Speaker 1 (10:28):
We actually don't know, don't know yet, We don't know.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
We actually don't know.
Speaker 3 (10:32):
Yeah, I'm very interested.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
I have some questions about that when we get to
the discussion.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Meanwhile, Harcourt is trying to look presentable. She's hosting the
get together, the party for the entire group that they're
having at her place tonight because basically everybody's everyone else's
homes are like not appropriate for this. Economists comes over,
they head to the roof at a Bio comes over
with the tunes, Adrian comes with the beer, and it's
(11:01):
a wonderful party for all of them. Meanwhile, the Artist
Strike Team goes to Chris's house. Fleury is giving them
all nicknames like titties dude.
Speaker 5 (11:11):
I'm like, did Tim I need to know if like
Tim Meadows was texting Tim Robinson while he was doing
this and being like, hey man, I'm really gonna be
riffing on these weird like names.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
Can you help me?
Speaker 4 (11:22):
They're so good?
Speaker 5 (11:23):
Definitely and they I think Tom Meadows is so brilliant absurdism.
And the more absurd this show gets, the more I
am falling in love with it.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
For sure, I completely agree.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
So they go The strike team goes in. They find
the portal, but before they can really get in there
eagerly attacks and severely mames several members of the team
like I was getting pulled out like jugglers getting nicked,
like it's it's really, really, really bad and florid. He
(11:55):
can't shoot the bird even though he got to drop
on it, because he can't see it.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
He can't.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
I can't get a clean shot.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
I can't tell how big this fucking bird is.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
So good.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
At the party at Harcourts, there's like a thaw between
Chris and Harcourt.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
They you know, they start.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Talking a little at a Bio tells Economist how much
he misses this, the whole team and hanging out together,
and Conomist is like, don't worry. This argus is so stressful,
you'd hate being back there and Adam I was like, well,
why don't you quit and be like an independent spy
like me, which, of course we all know how that's going.
Chris says, hey, Harcourt, if you want to get in fights,
(12:41):
then you should join the team and then we could
go fight bad guys and Hardcourt's like, I don't want
to do that. That's really fucking lame and stupid. And
Chris begins to drink heavily.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Yeah, I think she She says to him, like, you know,
I'm not as fucked up as you are, Like she's
really ruthless, brutal. He's like, you know, trying to be
really vulnerable with her. He noticed he's seeing this destructive behavior,
and she's like, you would like love that when we
can just be super fucked up together, Like I'm not
as bad as you do. To brutal, She's really it
was very, very.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Mean, And I mean they're doing a great job with
He's maker really exploring his trauma.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I mean, he says correct.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
In one of these upcoming episodes. In the upcoming episode,
like he really talks about it. But when he gets home,
he's a mess, finds his place wrecked. He doesn't know why,
And so he sits on the edge of his bed
and he starts to go through the phone and he
finds Harcourt's name in there. He texts her, but of
course it doesn't work because he's in his universe. So
(13:39):
he goes to the portal, setting off alarm bells once again,
and he goes into the perfect Universe. He hears voices
the rest of the house. It's his this universe's debt,
you know, his dad from this universe, wondering where he
is because he's been like.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Not reachable for a little while because he's day.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
And then his phone gets serviced and he looks and
Harcourt has sent back a little broken heart of oogh, one.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Little quick note that like it's kind of if you
you could blink and miss it. But in the background,
when Chris first goes back into the library, and you
hear Augie in the background like where's Chris? Like what's
that blood in the library? Is it the pills again?
And I think that's good. Yeah, So he mentions that
and then we'll see where that goes. But I flagged
that when I first watched it, and I was like, oh,
(14:34):
that's interesting, Like I wonder where that's gonna go.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
It's very interesting.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Also, we don't peace make has only seen like a
smidgeon of the perfect universe. We don't know what he
is actually was like, or what his life was or Yeah,
I just I thought the text moment where he goes
into the portal and gets the text back that is
some true best of the best of what James Gunn
does because it's so relatable even in this crazy absurd
(15:00):
But it also represents the ultimate version of like, don't
text your acts.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
This is like a multi versal implication of.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
You're so right because you understand in that moment that
Chris is about to make a series of really really
bad decisions, and you're the same decisions that you would
probably make in that exact same scenario. Yeah, hopefully not
after having murdered yourself. Let's take a quick break, let's
come back. We'll talk about episode three, and then we'll
(15:29):
discuss these two episodes.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Okay, we're back.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Peacemaker Episode three, Season two, Rick up my sleeve.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Absolutely crazy, guys, this is James Gunn playing Wait.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
This is fun and also just.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
The opening it opens up so many cannon questions.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
And us movies like Way Far Back.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
It's d.
Speaker 5 (16:03):
Yeah, so so well done, and also like Hawk has
got to have one of the most impressive supero body
counts of like anyone du like she is, she's racking
up the hat's man, I.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Mean every like Sea level Hattie.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
She is, She's done, She's in there. It's three years ago,
Hardcourt from uh.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Where we I? I had problems.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
I wasn't sure from where at first, but then it
becomes clear that this is current, this is the regular dimensions,
the real. So three years ago, Harcourt wakes up next
to Rick Flagg Junior.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
I was just so happy here and he's so good.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Excuse me, Oh my.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
God, this is what I was wishing for.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Guys, you know, I was shoulders.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Oh my god, this.
Speaker 5 (17:00):
Man is that? Like, come on, I think they did
a really good job because, like you said, as soon
as you realize this flagularly, oh, but the bigness, you're like, oh.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Is this okay?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
This is we're talking about a father and son Junior
and senior.
Speaker 5 (17:13):
Like that's a hot genetic line that just like you know,
contrarasual ads recently.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Okay, So it's a beautiful sunny day, Junior obviously is cheating.
He's with the chantress, but he does not more lore
for the sixteen squad.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Absolutely crazy lore.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
So of course he doesn't want the Chantress, who could
do all sorts of things with dark magical powers, to
know about this. And you know, they wish they could
leave this at a better place, but unfortunately Rick needs
to leave for Quarter Maltese and his imminent death in
only like two hours. I love the spending his last
(18:00):
two hours with his side. He's not his gallery actual.
Speaker 3 (18:04):
Girl read I'm not gonna lie like one. That seems
like something people would do.
Speaker 5 (18:09):
But also to like post the fust to his lub movie, like,
I feel like, yeah, him and June are like very
deeply connected, but that was some crazy ship that went down.
Speaker 3 (18:18):
So I he's like the Entrances.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
I mean, come on, I mean dating the Entrantress is
gonna be.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
A crazy ride. But also talk to just just just
tell her it's over. Man, you've got feelings for hardcore.
Speaker 5 (18:30):
I get it, but you know, yeah, she might do
that and guess what he's going to die.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Yeah, that's he's off the Culto Maltese. So like ripza
that man.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
So Chris wakes up in the wrong dimension, his brother,
Captain Triaf, waking him up. Where's the blood from?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
He asks?
Speaker 2 (18:50):
And then it, as you mentioned, Ian, it becomes clear
that Chris of this dimension is an addicting.
Speaker 4 (18:57):
There's some seltons in that closet. There's something going on there.
Sure yea.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
Also, did you get the vibe from like that that
maybe there's some kind of you know, I now, I
will say this may have been just may have been
influenced by my current binge watch that I am watching,
which is gen V and the upcoming season, which is
as amazing as the first.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I was a huge fan. But the pills, the relapsing.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
Do you think in this world like Chris is taking
drugs to be a superhero? You know? That was definitely
my first kind of thought was like he couldn't keep
up with his dad.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
And there's some kind of thing like that. I also
could just be addiction, you know.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
I think it's just I think it's just addiction.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Because they're talking about it with the relapsing, you know,
they're talking about, you know, the drinking being a trigger.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I think that.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
Regular.
Speaker 4 (19:52):
I think it's Yes, also as.
Speaker 5 (19:53):
Well, I would say I would also say I think
something that, you know, the boys gen V did really
interesting that we could definitely I feel like James Gum
would explore here. Same with Underrated but Huge when it
ended up on HBO Max Titans. These plot lines about
like superheroes who become addicts because of how hard it
is to be a superhero in your body. Chris definitely
(20:16):
seems like, you know, for sure, takes a lot to
be in that shape.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
So I think this is a very interesting plot line.
Speaker 5 (20:23):
I'm really intrigued to see where they go and what
they do with it.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
So Chris manages to put his fake brother at ease
for the moment, and then he pulls up the phone
and he's been texting Harcourt. He's been texting her a
lot in this dimension in this short time that he's
been there, and it's clear that they're broken up.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Something happened, and.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
They made a date to have lunch today, and Chris,
in a panic realize as much like me this morning,
that he is late. He's gonna be late, like he
has twenty five minutes to get to this place, so
he rushes out. We discover that the Kardashians don't exist
in this.
Speaker 6 (21:04):
Universe, which is which is pretty great, pretty great reveal,
and then he then furthermore realizes, wait, I don't know where.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Harcourt works, so where are we having lunch? And two
I don't know like what my vehicle is. He gets
that all sorted out by basically running this fake quiz
on his brother, who then reveals all this stuff, but
does think that this is very strange. As he's driving
down the streets, people are cheering. This dimension loves him,
(21:38):
and of course they are. He and his brother and
dad are the top trio in this dimension. In the
normal dimension, Harcourt is making coffee as Adebayo is waking
up from the party at a Bio is kind of
quizzing her on Chris what went on. Seems like something
was happening. He guess we're hanging out out now. It's
like you're not You're not even speaking. Hardcore is very
(22:01):
insistent that nothing happened in the other dimension. Chris arrives
at Arguess. He passes the retinal scan. So, okay, this
is so bad, Like this is basically an identical peacemaker
like you would surmise like there aren't enough.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
It's not like a Bizarro type or even like twitch. Yeah,
this is like he's the guy.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yes, and by the way, I mean all sorts of
I don't know, interesting. Are we sure that it leads
you to believe like have ever have any of these
people ever switched before?
Speaker 1 (22:39):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 5 (22:40):
It's giving you remember that well yes, for you know,
a six six year old movie. But it's definitely inspiring
those conversations like the End of Us where it's kind
of like, you know, who gets out and who's trapped inside?
And I think that the notion that people have been
able to do that in James Gunn's DCU is absolutely
(23:02):
going to come into play in the Why to DC
because this cannot be the first time, Like Peacemaker is
a dumb cough Like he's definitely not the first person
who stumbled onto this, but he is probably the first
one to just like be like, okay, well killed my
alternative self just going to take over his life, like
right now. I think it's that there's not going to
be any issues like my guy, come on.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
So I don't I guess. Chris arrives on Hardcourt's floor.
SE's strict Flag Junior there. He's alive and apparently he
and Harcourt are dating now.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
You like, he's like not the sex. He's not like sexy,
badass Soult.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
He's like unconfident, kind of.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
Nicky, like very stressed, weird, yeah, very stressed by the
sudden arrival of his girlfriend's ex, the Peacemaker on the scene.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
It's no confidence, no rizz.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Which is like very hard to believe.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
But he did a watching very nervously, like as they hug,
he's like spying on them every conversation they have. That.
So then Hardcourt and christ are like, let's step outside.
Back in the other dimension, Bordeaux calls economists, reams him
out over the eagle. Why didn't you warn us about
the eagle? Fleury thought it was a duck because it
was a duck, and YadA, YadA, YadA. In the altmension,
(24:19):
Chris and Harcourt have a full on rom com level
date with hot dogs, and.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
It's very happening. How good this could be. Look at us,
look at this cute situation.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
And it's very clear, not that even they need to
show us anymore, but it's very quick.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Chris is going to try to live here.
Speaker 5 (24:42):
Oh, like no question because also he probably might I
think in his mind. He's like, well, I can come here,
I can have this relationship with Hardcourt, and then I
can go back to my universe.
Speaker 3 (24:52):
We do what I need to do. But it is
not because also every time you.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
Go through that bloody door, the alarms are flaring, like
you are getting Yes.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
We learned that Chris had been fucking around on Harcourt.
Rick Flagg junior would never do that ever, And it's clear,
you know, a great acting by the way, from Joel Kinman, I'm.
Speaker 5 (25:11):
Saying the way that you can like turn it from
you see that original the sexy, thick neck like fucking
around with Harcourt before he goes on his mission, Like
that is so different than the senior, the junior that
we get here, And I just think it's so interesting
and it makes a lot of sense that this junior
would not have gone to Quarto Maltese. Like he's not
(25:32):
the same guy, and if he was, he probably wouldn't
have betrayed Amanda Ola. Like that's not who this guy is.
He's not the big brave hero. I mean, yeah, Joe Kinneman,
I'm a huge fan. I think he's an unbelievably underrated
actor and I just think this episode, James Gunn is
pulling out all the stops and people and you know what,
He's right.
Speaker 3 (25:52):
People should be watching this if they care about what
happens in the DC. Yes, and you love the DCEU.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Chris tell us how our court because she's like you
you do seem different, and he's like, well, you know,
I'm really trying to work on my arrogance, so I'm
trying to be less of a dick. I'm trying to
engage with my vulnerability and try to understand like how
I'm a product of trauma. I don't want to be
that guy anymore. Ps like I murdered your X and
taking his place.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Here, I.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Lie take right out.
Speaker 5 (26:25):
I think this is like the saddest thing about Chris,
and I think I hope and think that James Gunna
is going to explore this, but like he doesn't understand
that this is like incredibly wrong, Like he doesn't understand
to him, this is just hardcore and he loves her
and he can make it work, but he doesn't realize
that she doesn't have any consent in this.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
She doesn't understand who he really is.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
I feel like I think he does know what's wrong,
But the temptation is too great for him, Like he's like,
this is the chance to.
Speaker 3 (26:52):
Have everything that he shouldn't.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
Right, right, Yeah, but I think he knows it's fucked up.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
Yeah he does. And I think what's very human about
the situation to me is that you know, when people
do try to change often, you know, it's not a
binary it's a process. You don't change overnight, and part
of that process is like you're more cognizant, you're trying
to be better, you're trying to be more present and aware,
but you still when you see a short cut, still
(27:22):
take it because you're like, oh, this will get me,
this will get me there quicker. I can just immediately
be the good person, because this person that I killed
was the good person. Everybody thinks I'm him. So now
I just have the perfect opportunity to hit the reset
when no, you're just taking a shortcut. It's a very
human it really is thing to do.
Speaker 5 (27:43):
Also, who wouldn't want to have a fresh start with
this person? You know everyone has dreamed of, like, well,
imagine if all my mistakes that I made didn't I
didn't make them, and I don't have to make up
for them, and I don't have to do the work.
Like you said, Jason, you can just exist in this
world where it's essentially a short cut. It is deeply relatable,
and I think it's part of the reason why this
season is hitting so hard for people, because I think
(28:07):
it's another step in James Gunn's You know what, I
felt like was an almost impossible effort to make Peacemaker empathetic.
Speaker 3 (28:14):
But somehow you are still understanding why Chris is doing it,
even though you, along with him, know it's wrong.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Before they can take this conversation any further, there's an explosion.
The Sons of Liberty are attacking the town. They've seized
the DMV. They're looking to attack any government building in town,
and they demand they have certain demands and they're gonna
kill all the hostages unless their demands are met.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
And inside they're just planning explosives.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Harcourt gets an update on the situation where Chris just
leaps into action without his suit, which from let me
ask you this, from the exchange that the cop and
Harcourt had, it seemed as if going in without a
suit was maybe not a thing that happens in this
year universe exactly Like from the reaction, it seemed like,
(29:05):
I don't know, did you sense anything there?
Speaker 5 (29:07):
I definitely felt like maybe the Chris of this universe
is not the like you know, just like all out badass,
like can beat the shout of somebody without that his
helmets or his suit. That was definitely something I was
interested in also as well. Then they just know who
(29:27):
you are, you know, So there's that aspect too, But
obviously here that the family is celebrities, So yeah, intriguing.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Chris goes in there kills everybody, yep, kind of with ease.
Helicopter arrives to whisk away the rest of the Sons
of Liberty.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
They set the explosives to leave.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Chris kills you know, everybody finds the explosives, diffuses them,
and then somebody like launches an RPG at the helicopter
and they win. And the person they did that was
Captain Triumph. Chris gives the thumbs up to the crowd.
The crowd goes fucking crazy, and it's clear that this
is the best dimension, like of all time.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
He is never leaving.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Here, I'm sorry, where it's giving homeland a killing that
guy and everything.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
The acceptance he has desired for his entire life.
Speaker 3 (30:15):
His brother woman, He loves that.
Speaker 1 (30:18):
A loving, supportive family. They are all here.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Why would he leave Bordeau and Fleury in the other
in the other dimension are still reaming out economist about
Bordo only cares about the Portolo half she calls in
like the entire agency, basically half the agency plus Red
Seed Wild.
Speaker 5 (30:41):
The world's foremost He's here, Yeah, Michael Croco, we love
to see him come here. This is such a classic
fun performance. I am also guessing that there's probably some
kind of like lea here of why he is so
(31:03):
good at eagle hunting. Is it a power? Does he
use magic? Like I'm very interested you will find that,
you will.
Speaker 3 (31:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
And also, like I gotta say, I think The Sons
of Liberty was such a James Gunpaul if had like
ten issue appearances like ever created by Jerry Ordway Superman
notably so, I think this notion of vigilante groups vigilante
justice in both worlds, because remember that he's made his
(31:32):
dad was the White Dragon. He was the leader of
this like white supremacist anti government group, So there are
echoes of that here. I'm guessing that the powers that
be in the DCU are going to be very unstable
as we go forward and may seem more kind of testing,
and and that would make sense why potentially you may
(31:53):
even see Alex Clark lex Superman team up in that
Man of Tomorrow movie, maybe because things get so crazy.
But yeah, I love the way that James Gunn pulls
from the comics, and it's always something that kind of
scratches the itch of the back of your mind, where
you're like Sons of Liberty, Sons of Liberty, and you're
like that sons of Libberty.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Like it's really point.
Speaker 2 (32:13):
I think that I think that we're going to part
I think part of like the final form of whatever
this phase of the DCEU is is going to be
a to your point and kind of deep stabilizing of
like global political path exactly, and then eventually a acknowledgment
by the meta humans that Okay, we need to put
(32:34):
people at ease, and thus the formation of the j
LA not a private rather than like a privately owned
like meta human organization.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
It's going to be like, hey, we work for America,
we work for the world.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Yeah, I think you make it. I think that's a
really great point.
Speaker 5 (32:49):
I think setting up the political platforms and world is
really important, and TV is a great place to do
that because it's very easy to shorthand it into the movie.
But if you want a more expansive thing, there is
opportunities to explore it like here. So yeah, I just
think the way that this is being utilized to create
(33:13):
and shape Cannon is just even in this first hot
like three episodes of the season, is it such a
higher level than what Marvel has been able to do
for the most part because of COVID delays of you know,
obviously Wandervision one of the great examples of that, but
then stuff that happened in Wondervision, did we really see it?
(33:34):
The same with Doctor Strange and the what If episode.
They didn't end up using the Strange from the what
If episode. They ended up using someone who looked like him,
but they didn't connect it. I think the way that
James Gunn is just directly connecting these things because of
the creative freedom that he has and because he is
running both TV and movies, is really unlike anything we've
(33:55):
seen for a long time, and it's so interesting. I
mean that Rick Flag cameo at the beginning and then
seeing him reimagined, it's just so on something I wasn't expecting.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
I think it's.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
What's gonna happen. Well, okay, well I'll save this for
this guy. Yeah, we're gonna basically where this episode, where
this episode leaves us is, Argus is preparing to assault
the house. They plan to kill Eagerly and capture Chris.
They all get put into little assault teams. Economists gets
paired with Rip Dragger aka Juda Master. Back in the
other dimension, the Perfect Dimension, it's very clear that Harcourt
(34:33):
really does want to get back together with Chris, like now,
like they put like a twenty like hey, let's think
about it, but really the way she's blowing up his
phone like she she wants to do it asap. He's
got Chris of courses, got a slow play it because
he's got to go home. Meanwhile, before he can do that,
Keith comes up and is like, you know, worried that
(34:55):
he's relapsed on pills, and they have this very beauti
full conversation honestly where Keith basically says like you know, listen,
whether you've relapsed or not, whether you're peacemaker or not.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
You're my brother. I love you no matter what's going on.
Speaker 3 (35:11):
He killed your real brother.
Speaker 4 (35:15):
That reveal is going to be heartbreaking when they find
out it's going.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
To but it's also heartbreaking, like I think the thing
that is so good here is, like you said, Jason,
that human aspect.
Speaker 3 (35:23):
Like I can't imagine.
Speaker 5 (35:25):
How horrific that must be for Chris in that moment,
because this is all he's ever wanted is to have
that acceptance and that love.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
But he knows that it.
Speaker 5 (35:34):
Has come at the price. And he is currently lying
to person who if.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
He because he is, it would be only in a
situation like this. I can only imagine that he's gonna
he's gonna start tricking himself into oh yeah, I am.
Speaker 5 (35:56):
Well my you know, my eye worked. There's the same guy,
like he's happy to see me, Like it's fine.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
So as he goes back to his dimension, Argus is
moving in and at the end of the episode, bad timing.
Let's go to a break and let's discuss these episodes.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
Okay, we're back.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
What I was gonna say is it feels inevitable to
me that regular universe Rick Flag Senior will encounter Perfect Universe,
Rick fleggsunor Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Well, I also wonder if chaos will ensue.
Speaker 5 (36:39):
I also, yeah, I wonder if what will happen is
my theory. Rick Flagg Junior, Perfect Universe nerdy. He is
obsessed with Chris, He's worried about hardcore, He's worried about
what could happen. He could very easily follow him back
through the portal. Also could see an unexpected team up
(37:01):
between Rick Flagg Senior and Peacemaker, because if Rick Flagg.
Speaker 3 (37:06):
Senior wants sunback.
Speaker 5 (37:08):
He may keep the portal a secret. They may end
up kind of having to work together. I think there
is a lot of really interesting stuff here because it
starts with that classic James Gunn exploration of emotions and
grief and heartbreak and what is it really like to
be a superhero?
Speaker 3 (37:24):
What is the cost?
Speaker 5 (37:26):
You know? We often laugh because Spider Man has his
double life, right, he has Peter and he has Spider Man,
and he's really really bad at keeping them apart. And
that is always the ultimate thing is if you let
people know who you really are, they become endangered. You know,
then you're the green Goblin starts coming and like macking
on your mom or you're better your aunt then like
you're losing your girlfriend, Gwen Stacey's falling off a building
(37:48):
like there's so much, but often those are in an
issue or in one movie. So to really get to
see the kind of human cost and how much it
can in Chris's I mean, I feel comes with saying
this like it's driving him mad, Like you can't. This
is not the sane actions of a sane person. He
is essentially trying to replace someone. It's very in its
(38:09):
own way. It's like very general hospital, like that's my
evil twin, you know, but James Gunn manages to make
it emotional and feel like vital to the world that
he is building.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
So yeah, my biggest theory is.
Speaker 5 (38:20):
That Senior Junior will come through the portal and Senior
will see him, and then him and Chris will have
to work together to hide the portal and hide the
fact that Senior knows that Junior is that who knows.
Maybe I could imagine Verry James Gunn of them that
Senior just decides he's going to go to that universe
like once a week and like have coffee with his
son or.
Speaker 3 (38:40):
Something, you know, like not it doesn't have to be
a full Chris style takeover.
Speaker 5 (38:45):
But he when he knows he's there, he's not going
to be able to to stop.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
Well, I keep thinking about like the reverse, Like Chris
has found what he considers the perfect universe, Like, so
who considers his universe the perfect universe? Maybe it's Rick
Flagg Junior, And we don't know the status of senior
in the perfect verse. But I do wonder if someone
will come through and be.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Like, actually this is perfect. It's much more chaotic, and.
Speaker 2 (39:13):
There you know, there's secretive government agencies that are doing
terrible things. Maybe they're not doing super terrible things in
that universe, and it certainly seems like there are different
restrictions in the perfect Universe.
Speaker 3 (39:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
I'm I'm eager to see.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
How much more the universe has become intertwined in how
they eventually, if ever, shut the doors on them, because
I think it will be about I think whatever happens
at the end will be about.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
Turning this off, turning off the portals. What do you
think Ian.
Speaker 5 (39:47):
I was gonna say, I need we got him. He's
the peacemaker love, He's looked in. Tell us your theories.
Speaker 4 (39:51):
I have two things. Yeah, So one one is a theory.
I think I think at some point there's going to
be a big twist or reveal that the perfect universe
is actually not as I as it seems. I think
that's kind of inevitable. And so one theory I was
just thinking about as we're going through the discussions again,
I was thinking back to the third episode when Chris
and Harco are on that date and they're walking around
(40:13):
the town and he's driving around. Everybody's cheering for him,
and I was thinking, and I was like, I feel
like everybody was white, Like I don't feel like I
saw any people of color. Actually, now I think about it,
so I'm thinking, like, what if it's like a what
like white supremacist utopia that they've created there, and that's
like the idyllic world they're living in, or something like
there's gonna be some dark secret in this universe.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
You know, I think that's extremely real.
Speaker 5 (40:37):
I also had the feeling, especially because we know peace
Makers that is, and.
Speaker 4 (40:41):
Also exactly so it's like they have this like fun
loving relationship and they're all friends together, but it's because
like there's no black people or something, you know.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
Like, yeah, I no, No.
Speaker 5 (40:52):
I think that's really interesting too, because also then Chris
will have to make the ultimate choice, which is like, right,
do you ignore and stay compared plicit in this horrific
situation because it makes you feel good, or do you
fight back against it or try and destroy it? I
think Ian if they did that, that would be so interesting. Also,
when they were doing the driving around people cheering, I
(41:13):
also wondered if there was an element of like fear,
because everyone looks like they're having a great time, but
but are they really do they always cheer for them
when they come out, because that's kind of what they
have to do to make there's I feel like you're right,
there's some kind of pleasant Ville aspects exactly.
Speaker 4 (41:29):
There's something under the surface, there's some dark secret or something.
But yeah, I think that's a good point, Rosie, because
like we we already know, just based on the other
characters conversations, that this alternate Peacemaker is still a dick.
He's like not a good guy, he has some issues.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Yeah, yeah, so fact.
Speaker 4 (41:46):
I could see that thing where everybody's like kind of
afraid of him and they're just pretending to worship him
because like he might kill them or something. So yeah,
that's interestactly. Okay.
Speaker 5 (41:55):
Also, Ian, let me ask you about Let me ask
you this, because I think something that we're really getting
to at this point is like the importance of the portals,
the existence of the portals. We know that Lex Luthor
created essentially his own pocket universe.
Speaker 3 (42:11):
This looks like it was way better built.
Speaker 5 (42:14):
How much do you think the portals and the notion
of these kind of multiple worlds are going to play
into the wider DCU because it feels like to me
that's gonna could be their version of like you know
what Marvel is calling incursions, right.
Speaker 4 (42:28):
I mean, yeah, I think it's going to play into
the larger you know world moving forward, especially considering like
you know, we well I don't want to I've watched ahead,
so I don't want to spoil too much. But yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think, you know, we find out a little bit
more of the origin of where they come from in
future episodes, and I think that opens up some questions
(42:49):
of you know, and it opens up the universe beyond
I'll say, just the immediate vicinity of the town of
Earth even so, I mean, we know Lanterns is coming.
That's gonna be an extraterrestrial threat, I think. So, I
think there's there could be a connection there, you know,
like this the new Superman movie or Man of Tomorrow
(43:11):
that got announced, you know, Brainiac might be a potential villain,
Like maybe there could be a connection there or something.
I can see this technology being related to Brainiac in
some way or something.
Speaker 6 (43:21):
Like.
Speaker 4 (43:21):
There's a lot of different ways it could go. So
I think that's that's a place they could take it.
Speaker 5 (43:28):
Also, I would kind of love and it feels like
it would be so James Gunnish if like Chris's selfishness
in this world causes some like kind of it all
goes back to him crisis that they then have to
fix in the wider universe that if you watch the movies,
you'll probably only ever like, oh, it was fucking Peacemaker
(43:48):
or whatever version, right, But here you actually get to
watch what drove it and.
Speaker 3 (43:53):
Why he made these choices.
Speaker 5 (43:54):
I would really love to see that Jason going into
kind of heading into what is to be the second
half of the season and seeing where Peacemaker goes.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Who would be your most.
Speaker 5 (44:07):
Wanted cameo after this episode, because I think the doors
are open for anyone like they're essentially resurrecting people at
this point.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Listen to any of the big any of the big ones.
I think I would love to see supermandos.
Speaker 5 (44:22):
In David corn Sweat and this would be so good
of them.
Speaker 2 (44:29):
Lois would be incredible, like a reference to a story
that she's written.
Speaker 5 (44:35):
Yeah, I mean, she does have a lot of contacts
within the government, within these organizations.
Speaker 3 (44:40):
I feel like, you know, these August flares.
Speaker 5 (44:42):
Are something she could definitely hear about, maybe be trying
to write a story about.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
I love that call.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
I think they could do some subtle extended not cameos,
but extended like bat family mentions.
Speaker 3 (44:55):
Oh that would be nice. That would be nice, just.
Speaker 2 (44:58):
Like on the news and stuff like oh such and
such was and whatever see a shadow or you hear
some sort of up there's like the head whatever the
headline says, you know, I would love I think I
almost think it is actually kind of likely that we
get some sort of green lanterns something I agree.
Speaker 5 (45:17):
I agree too, because we already had green, We already
had Guy Gardner, like you know, dragging him in the interview.
I think we could definitely see Okay, the greenlandin show
we've been told, starring Aaron Pierre and of course our
guy from Friday Night Lights. We are gonna see How Jordan. Yeah,
(45:39):
Kyle Chandler, We're gonna see How Jordan. We're gonna see
John Stewart. It's gonna be a grounded murder mystery that
is set on Earth, but it also has like intergalactic
ramifications that feels like it could so easily slip into this,
like if the Chris has already murdered somebody, the portals
are open, the world is, you know, not necessarily particularly stable.
(46:02):
So I think you're right. I think Greenlandin is a
great call. I also, James Gunn keeps saying we're going
to find out who's playing Harlequin soon. My dream is
for Margot Robbie to come back. I just think she's fantastic.
I think she works so well in this world. I
think we've seen that James Gunn and her have a
fantastic collaborative kind of spirit. But you know what she did, Barbie,
(46:22):
She's doing Wathering Heights. I don't think that's realistic. But
James Gunn does keep saying We're going to find out
who plays Harlequin soon, So I'm interested to see if
it's soon because she is going to be in the
show or mentioned or on a TV screen. You know,
she's been such a huge part of the connective tissue
between that VCEU to then James Gunn Superman and so
(46:43):
to have Harley here I think would be really interesting
how they're going to explain it. Maybe she comes from
perfect Universe, maybe she's a different actress. I think that
the opening of these portals allows them a lot of
creative freedom with what they're going to do next, And
clearly j Jiames Gunn has like full creative control over
this universe. There is no making TV by council here,
(47:06):
not like how the early days of the Marvel worked,
which obviously is fantastic, Like we love the Council of
creatives who shaped the MCU. That's like an incredible thing
that happened. But this is a very different version of
what we've seen before. So yeah, I'm I'm very intrigued.
The Rick Flag of it all just had me like
one hundred percent in because I, like I said, I've
said it in the past. First Piece Maker season, I
(47:27):
love how much everyone loved it.
Speaker 3 (47:28):
I thought it was fine.
Speaker 5 (47:29):
I thought it was really well made, but I'm not
a fan of just Peacemaker in general post suicide squad.
So to bring in Rick Flag, to bring in enchantrous mentions,
to do that and show how those characters have interacted
with these characters not just now but throughout the years,
that is so appealing to me.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Yeah, yeah, I think as well.
Speaker 5 (47:50):
I'm not surprised that Episode three just like popped off
and made everyone another.
Speaker 4 (47:54):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (47:54):
One more thing that I think is really smart, and
it's a in contrast to the MCU, is the way
they use multidimensionality as like there's an actual government stance
towards it. Now it's a threat. It almost destroyed the world.
Lex almost killed the world with an unregulated dimensional portal,
(48:16):
and so now we have to like clamp down on
these things. Whereas so there's like a story driving point
that actual tension raising steak for them to exist or
for them to be a part of the action, Whereas
in other kinds of storytelling and kind of the way
they've been used in the MCU, it's more been like
(48:39):
a disx MAC in.
Speaker 5 (48:41):
A portal way to get to an end, to bring people.
Speaker 2 (48:45):
In, whereas these have repercussions in their stakes, and I
really enjoy that. Well, we're going to keep talking about
Peacemaker over the coming weeks. We're going to be following
it episode by episode. On the next episodes of X
ray Vision, we're diving into Foundation an Alienator. That's it
for this episode.
Speaker 5 (49:02):
Thanks for listening, Sci Fi Bye bye.
Speaker 2 (49:12):
X ray Vision is hosted by Jason Sepsion and Rosie
Knight and is a production of iHeart Podcasts.
Speaker 5 (49:17):
Our executive producers are Joel Monique and Aaron Kaufman.
Speaker 1 (49:21):
Our supervising producer is Abu Zafar.
Speaker 5 (49:23):
Our producers are Common Laurent Dean Jonathan and Bai Wag.
Speaker 2 (49:27):
A theme song is by Brian Vasquez, with alternate theme
songs by Aaron Kaufman.
Speaker 5 (49:31):
Special thanks to Soul Rubin, Chris Lord, Kenny Goodman, and
Heidi our discord moderator.
Hosts And Creators
Jason Concepcion
Rosie Knight
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.