Peacemaker – Full Nelson review S2 E8

Full Nelson was the victim of being overly hyped by director/writer James Gunn who made Peacemaker’s season finale seem like it was going to be a major game changer for DC Studios.

Gunn stated “I am the one who’s keeping the three episodes away from everybody because there’s too many surprises in those last three episodes. Especially 6 and 8, they are just crazy, my favorite things I’ve ever done of anything.”

If by crazy surprises, having extended concert sequences for a season finale definitely would qualify. But in terms of shocking moments DC Studios films will be going on about for the next few months? Full Nelson failed to deliver on all fronts.

The shame of this underwhelming season finale is that Full Nelson played out more like an epilogue of extended teaser for Season 3 than a conclusion to so much that’s occurred previously.

Full Nelson begins with a flashback to Chris and Harcourt hanging out at Big Belly Burger and getting drunker by the moment. Small appreciated note — when Chris starts serenading Harcourt in the booth — the other patrons actually look at him like this guy has lost it. Some shows act like the main characters are in an isolation chamber and no one reacts to them, but that wasn’t the case here.

They’re having a good time and Chris gets geeked out seeing that the band Nelson is playing at the dock of a cruise liner. This song plays out for far too long when the point is simply that Harcourt and Chris get overcome by the moment and make out before she runs off. So, the “boat incident” was just over a drunken kiss. No wonder Harcourt has been so annoyed with him asking about it.

Present day, Chris is in prison and doesn’t want to see any of the 11th Street Kids. This leaves Eagly dejected and hiding in closets prompting Ads to convince Adrian to use some of his “blood money” to bail Chris out.

Meanwhile, Rick Flag is sending ARGUS agents into the Quantum Unfolding Chamber to explore different portals. Fleury is keeping Harcourt amused as he’s relating a story about Kline and a stripper. It’s all jokes until they enter a Candy Lane looking world run by demonic little pixie beasts intent on killing them. They crack into Kline’s hazmat suit and eat his face away. That was a pretty gruesome fate for a likeable supporting character.

After a series of portal jumps leads to an increasingly higher death toll on ARGUS agents, Fleury, Harcourt and Sasha are starting to wonder what they’re doing. Especially as Flag seems to be palling around and having a blast with Luthor’s crew, which has expanded from Sydney to Otis and Amanda Marie McCoy.

Finally, the exploration finds a potential site that works. It’s peaceful, calm and there’s no zombies, pixie beasts or skull headed death machines popping up. Flag calls it Salvation and explains to General Mori (James Hiroyuki Liao) this is an ideal spot to send all the meta-humans. His line of thinking isn’t completely off since Arkham Asylum proves criminals can’t be contained. Note, that Flag didn’t specify villains or heroes.

In the comics, Salvation Run (read the trade paperback on Amazon) was a story about the villains of the DC Universe being sent to a planet where they could be far away from causing harm to others.

Sasha is not thrilled with this plan especially since she is also a meta-human and gives Harcourt and Ads the lowdown. This recap is more exciting than the execution, which is tied to more musical numbers. Gunn’s major weakness as a creative is his overreliance on music to tell a story instead of telling the story.

Ads talks to her wife and says they won’t ever be happy together and they agree to split. This didn’t feel like news since this season hasn’t spent much time on Ads trying to get Keeya back. Of all the storyline loops left to be closed in Full Nelson, this one probably shouldn’t have been a priority.

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Maybe the biggest twist in Full Nelson was there was no scene devoted to anything with Earth-X. True, Keith was likely recovering from the mauling he received from the 11th Street Kids, but just a glimpse of him during one of those extended montage segments would have suggested that story isn’t over.

The Kids confront Chris with their plan to do their own thing and leave ARGUS behind. He agrees, but as they all walk out, he asks Harcourt if the boat incident meant anything. She tells him it meant everything. Chris and Harcourt coming together at the end of the season actually felt well-earned, so this development made sense.

Back together, the Kids start using Adrian’s blood money for good setting up shop with a fancy office building, new furniture, gear and purpose — as Checkmate. Eagly even gives Economos a hug. That’s a small moment but given their arc this season that was a fun payoff. The Kids aren’t alone as they’re joined by some new friends in Sasha, Fleury and even Judomaster. Rick’s actions and Ads just being Ads will rally folks around her.

Gunn opts for another concert scene at the pier, this time with Foxy Shazam — the band who does the opening number for this season — performing. Harcourt and Chris are in the crowd, happy to be there and happier to be there with each other. It’s a big victory lap for everyone. Until it isn’t.

Chris goes back to his hole in the wall apartment and gets nabbed by ARGUS agents on Flag’s orders. He sends him to Salvation, stating “This is for Ricky.” Flag making a full heel turn, getting in bed with Luthor and his crew all in the name of revenge for his son’s death makes perfectly justifiable sense. And it makes for a fantastic cliffhanger if most of Full Nelson didn’t feel like so much filler.

This is where the pacing for Peacemaker’s second season gets called into question. Maybe Gunn should have had Flag get caught in Luthor’s web earlier so his casual disregard for the ARGUS agents dying for his mission wouldn’t seem so cold. The Earth-X twist also could have been revealed sooner so the quest for Salvation could have played out earlier while Chris toils in prison. Or at least longer than 20 minutes.

Perhaps the 11th Street Kids could have had to do some digging to learn about Flag’s plans instead of Sasha just telling them could have led to a greater sense of urgency instead of the laid-back, let’s spend the season finale with a concert series.

As much fun as this season has been, Full Nelson was equally disappointing. With no confirmation of Season 3 yet, this very much was a lackluster finale.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Photo Credit: HBO Max

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