Peacemaker Season 2 Fumbles One of Its Most Promising Storylines
This piece contains spoilers for Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 8, “Full Nelson.”
Peacemaker Season 2 continues James Gunn’s tradition of mixing absurdity with surprising emotional depth. The show takes us across multiple dimensions — including some wild ones ruled by Nazis and even universes where candy monsters devour the living — yet, at its heart, it remains a personal story about the members of Team Peacemaker learning to trust, forgive, and understand one another. These bizarre settings only push the characters closer together. For instance, it’s on Earth-X where Judomaster (Nhut Le) and Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) share a moment of vulnerability that finally puts Judomaster on the right side. And would anyone have guessed that Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) and Langston Fleury (Tim Meadows) bonded over random animal trivia while exploring a bizarre quantum storage chamber? Gunn’s genius lies in using chaos to highlight character growth.
But here’s where it gets controversial — one major subplot gets dropped completely, and fans can’t stop talking about it.
After the wild “Eagly fight,” A.R.G.U.S. recruits eagle tracker Red St. Wild (Michael Rooker) to capture Peacemaker’s loyal but unpredictable companion. This sets up a hilarious yet strangely compelling chase sequence that stretches across several episodes. Red becomes increasingly obsessed, convinced that Eagly isn’t just any bird but the legendary Prime Eagle, a mythical being said to lead all eagles. It’s a ridiculous premise — until it’s suddenly not.
In episode 6, “Ignorance is Chris,” we discover that Red was right all along. Eagly really is the Prime Eagle — which technically makes him the most powerful entity on Team Peacemaker. But here’s the kicker: in the following episode, the entire storyline vanishes. Eagly goes back to his goofy antics — chomping on sandwich meat and napping in cars — as if the revelation never happened. So why did the writers decide to abandon this arc?
Eagly’s Powers Work Better as Comedy, Not Canon
While dropping the “Prime Eagle” thread might feel like a missed opportunity, it actually fits the show’s tone. Red’s conspiracy-laden ramblings about Eagly’s divine powers were meant to sound absurd. That made his eventual vindication — and the reveal of his own strange abilities — all the more shocking and funny. Once Red meets his end, though, the joke feels complete. Continuing it might have distracted from the series’ emotional focus and primary storylines. Yes, watching Eagly summon a flaming aura or lead a flock of glowing birds into battle would’ve been awesome, but would it have added anything meaningful to Peacemaker’s journey? Probably not.
Eagly thrives as a comic relief character, following whatever course of action sparks laughter or tenderness. The fact that the audience knows about his immense powers, while Peacemaker (John Cena) and the rest of the 11th Street Kids remain blissfully ignorant, actually makes him more endearing. There’s something hilarious about knowing that this seemingly clueless bird could unleash divine fury at any moment — yet he’d rather beg for bologna or joyride with his head out the window like a golden retriever.
And here’s the most intriguing part: this hidden power redefines some earlier moments. Eagly’s uncanny combat efficiency and his heartfelt affection for Peacemaker or John Economos (Steve Agee) make much more sense in light of his “Prime Eagle” identity. Maybe Gunn left the door open on purpose. After all, isn’t it sometimes more entertaining when mysteries stay unsolved — even in a world as outrageously weird as this one?
Peacemaker Season 2 is now streaming in full on HBO Max.
But what do you think? Should the series have explored Eagly’s “Prime Eagle” powers in more depth — or was it smarter to leave that thread as a running gag? Drop your thoughts in the comments — this debate is far from over.
