It’s Peacemaker season 2 finale week. That’s right, the eighth and last episode of the popular HBO Max TV show airs later this week, so we’ll be bidding farewell to the titular anti-hero and the 11th Street Kids again in the near future.
With Peacemaker season 2’s final episode set to be the longest one of the lot – it’ll clock in at 57 minutes – there’s a lot that could happen. Here, then, are four predictions I’ve got for this episode, titled ‘The Full Nelson’ ahead of its airdate.
1. Someone important will die
This may be an obvious prediction to make. However, given DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn’s penchant for killing off characters in previous projects, DC Universe (DCU) or otherwise, it’s safe to assume somebody might not be long for this world.
So, who’ll be up for the chopping block? Everyone is fair game as far as I’m concerned. But, if Gunn wants Peacemaker‘s season 2 finale to be as emotionally devastating as possible, three candidates stand out more than most.
Of that trio, Chris Smith/Peacemaker would be the most heart-wrenching.
For a character whose entire life has been defined by tragedy, it would be a welcome change if he earned some form of happy ending in the DCU Chapter One project’s second season. Equally, it would be bittersweet if Smith, who wants to be viewed as an actual hero, not a joke, by metahumans and the general populace alike, sacrificed his life to save his friends and/or the world itself.
The next most likely candidate is Emilia Harcourt. Like Smith, she’s not had many heroic moments to speak of. Watching Harcourt go out in a blaze of glory, then, would make for a similarly tear-jerking moment. It’d also make whatever romantic moment that happened between her and Smith between seasons (which Gunn has confirmed we’ll finally see in a flashback in ‘The Full Nelson’) an even tougher watch.
That said, it’d be nice if, like Smith, something positive happened to Harcourt. Whether that’s her and Smith finally getting together, Harcourt getting her job back at ARGUS, or joining a new spy-based agency (more on this later), it’s high time the sun shone on her.
If the aforementioned duo live to fight another day, the possible demise of Adrian Chase/Vigilante would arguably be the next most heart-breaking.
An incredibly popular character who’s been underused in season 2, his death would not only be a dagger in our collective hearts, but also make Smith realize how much he took Vigilante for granted. Considering Smith has dealt with enough trauma in his life, though, killing of his male bestie might not be the narrative move to make.
2. There’ll be a major cameo
Again, this might be an easy guess to make. If Peacemaker is as crucial to the DCU’s long-term future as Gunn has suggested, though, it’d be a missed opportunity if its season 2 finale bypassed us with a guest appearance.
Who could show up, then? With Lex Luthor making a crowd-pleasing cameo in season 2 episode 6, it’s not a stretch to assume Superman could appear. I think that’s a distinct possibility when you consider Gunn’s next DCU project will be Man of Tomorrow, aka the sequel to this year’s Superman film. The fact that the latter movie and Peacemaker 2 were shot around the same time on nearby sound stages adds further weight to this theory.
There are other candidates, too. Rumors abound that Blue Beetle might pop up in some capacity and, with a June 2025 report from Deadline indicating that a Blue Beetle animated series is in the works at DC Studios, a cameo from Jaime Reyes isn’t out of the question. As work reportedly ramps up the DCU’s Booster Gold TV show, and amid speculation that Kumail Nanjiani has secretly been hired for that production’s titular role, the same could be true here as well.
And, whisper it quietly, what about a cameo from Robert Pattinson’s Batman? I hypothesized about this in my Peacemaker season 2 finale trailer fan theory piece last week and, while I admit it’s incredibly unlikely, it would be amazing if some form of crossover between The Batman universe and the DCU happened.
3. We’ll learn what Peacemaker’s TV sequel is called
Another theory I discussed in my season 2 episode 8 teaser piece, which I linked to in the above paragraph, this prediction is based on comments that Gunn has made about Peacemaker‘s future.
Discussing the prospect of one of the best HBO Max shows getting a third season, Gunn said Peacemaker season 2 isn’t likely to get a sequel. However, he added this wasn’t the last we’ll see of the series’ eclectic cast of characters, saying: “Some of these characters will continue. But, also, it’s not exactly Peacemaker 3. I’m not ruling it out. You’ll see (episode) 8 and maybe you’ll find out a little bit more.”
To me, that sounds like a new DCU TV series will be spun out of Peacemaker. Will it be a live-action take on ‘Checkmate’, a DC comic book series that’s featured individuals who’ve appeared in Peacemaker, including the titular character, Vigilante, Amanda Waller, Sasha Bordeaux, and Maxwell Lord, among its roster? Could it be an ARGUS-based program along the lines of Marvel‘s Agents of SHIELD? Or will be a completely left-field thing? I hope we find out in the days ahead.
4. It’ll set up the plot of Man of Tomorrow
I briefly touched upon this earlier, but Peacemaker 2 seems like it’ll act as a jumping off point for Man of Tomorrow‘s story.
Some narrative breadcrumbs have been laid by Luthor’s cameo in this season’s sixth episode. Depending on how ‘The Full Nelson’ ends, with a possible cameo from Supes himself, and/or even a teaser of Superman 2‘s primary villain, ties between the two projects could be further strengthened.
Now, I’d be very surprised if we learn anything significant about the story of Gunn’s next DCU project in Peacemaker season 2’s finale. After all, while we don’t know when Gunn started writing Man of Tomorrow‘s screenplay, filming wrapped on Superman and Peacemaker 2 in July and November 2024 respectively. If Gunn didn’t commence work on his Superman sequel’s script until the start of this year, ‘The Full Nelson’ won’t actively establish Man of Tomorrow‘s actual story.
Nonetheless, I fully expect that something will be teased at some point before Peacemaker season 2 episode 8 ends. In the meantime, read everything we know so far about Man of Tomorrow.
What do you think is going to happen in ‘The Full Nelson’? Do you agree with any of my predictions or do you have some of your own? Let me know in the comments.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
