Entertainment NOW

Entertainment Now | February 12 - 18, 2022 By Kyla Brewer TV Media L ooks can be deceiving. Upon first glance, TV's lat- est superpower has all the hallmarks of a hero: a chis- eled jaw, bulging muscles, a fan- cy suit and even a sidekick. Yet on the inside, he's a bit of a hot mess — though that's exactly why audiences seem to relate to him. John Cena ("Bumblebee," 2018) stars as Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker, in the season finale of "Peacemaker," airing Thurs- day, Feb. 17, on HBO Max. The se- ries is a spinoff of the hit 2021 action flick "The Suicide Squad," in which Cena was first seen as the titular character. Peacemaker believes in peace at any cost, even if it means killing people to get it. The show picks up months af- ter the movie left off. Peacemaker has recovered from the injuries he sustained in the film only to be pulled back into a life of con - flict when he's recruited to a mysterious black-ops squad by intelligence officer Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, "How to Get Away with Murder"), head of Task Force X, aka the Suicide Squad. Given a choice between re- turning to jail or tackling an alien threat in a mission known as Project Butterfly, Peacemaker re- luctantly agrees to the mission. While traditional superheroes would jump at the chance to save the world, Peacemaker is less than enthusiastic. In a Janu- ary interview with Fandom.com's Eric Goldman, Cena explained what his character is going through. "Peacemaker is a dude who has had a series of events, which has made him question his entire life," Cena said. "And I think that's very relevant to a lot of us." Creator and director James Gunn ("Guardians of the Gal- axy," 2014) obviously agrees. He was reportedly inspired by Ce- na's portrayal of Peacemaker while filming "The Suicide Squad" and wrote the spinoff during the 2020 COVID-19 lock- down. It was ordered straight to series by HBO Max in September 2020 and filmed in Vancouver between January and July 2021. Gunn has brought his trade- mark tongue-in-cheek vibe to the new series, as evidenced from the very beginning in the goofy opening credits dance scene. It immediately tells viewers the show is not taking itself too seri- ously as the characters show off their moves to Wig Wam's "Do Ya Wanna Taste It." As each of the main cast members joins the fun, viewers meet the characters who bring the story to life. First up after Cena is Danielle Brooks ("Orange Is the New Black"), who plays Leota Ade- bayo, a new member of the Proj- ect Butterfly team who happens to be Waller's daughter. Although she and Peacemaker have very different views, they quickly strike up a genuine friendship. Unlike many of the others in the series, her character does not ex- ist in the original comics. Freddie Stroma ("Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," 2009) is the next to show off his moves as the crime-fighter Vigi- lante, aka Adrian Chase. Unlike other iterations of the comic book character, "Peacemaker's" Vigilante is more sociopath than hero, albeit one who looks up to the title character. Stroma, a late addition to the cast after actor Chris Conrad ("Young Hercules") dropped out of the role, had to reshoot five and a half episodes' worth of Vigilante scenes upon his arrival. Jennifer Holland ("Bright- burn," 2019) appears as A.R.G.U.S. Agent Emilia Harcourt, a role she originated in the film. Harcourt quickly attracts Peace- maker's attention, but she doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with him in the beginning. While Gunn has hint- ed that their relationship will de- velop throughout the series, that doesn't necessarily mean they will become romantically entan- gled. Fellow "The Suicide Squad" alum Steve Agee ("New Girl") reprises his role as John Econo- mos, an A.R.G.U.S. agent who provides tactical support to the team, while Mercenary Clemson Murn is played by Nigerian-Brit- ish actor Chukwudi Iwuji ("Des- ignated Survivor"). Murn serves as the leader of Project Butterfly and reports directly to Waller. Much like Adebayo, Iwuji's char- acter was created specifically for the "Peacemaker" series. The opening sequence also features recurring characters played by Elizabeth Ludlow ("The Walking Dead"), Annie Chang ("Shades of Blue"), Loch- lyn Munro ("Riverdale") and Riz- wan Manji ("Schitt's Creek"). While "Peacemaker" is Gunn's first series, he's no stranger to the superhero genre. As one of the creative brains behind Mar- vel's Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise, Gunn has a good idea of what comic book fans ap- preciate in a large-scale produc- tion. And given his decision to hide the details of the finale, one of those appreciated aspects ap- pears to be anticipation. While Gunn insists episode "eight is the best," it remains hard to believe that the show could score much higher than its current 8.4/10 rating on IMDb and a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, Gunn and the team remain optimistic that the finale will be some of their best work yet. "It's amazing, some huge stuff we didn't want to spoil," Agee said of the silence surrounding the Season 1 finale. "When peo- ple see it, they're gonna have a hard time being quiet about it." See what all the fuss is about as Peacemaker shares one last adventure this season with his friends and frenemies. The sea- son finale of "Peacemaker" airs Thursday, Feb. 17, on HBO Max. Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Holland star in "Peacemaker" Power up: 'Peacemaker' wraps up first season 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2"

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