The Peacemaker Season 2 finale has come under fire amid the 2025 TV schedule, with some fans all-in on the send-off. Others, not so much. From the show's final twist to how it teed up the slate of upcoming DCU projects and the remainder of the first chapter of the DC Universe, debate broke out faster than Eagly snatching up deli meats. Naturally, someone threw the question at series creator and DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, and he has a pretty refreshing response.
A fan recently took to Threads to ask Gunn directly if he’d seen any of the criticism aimed at the final episode of Season 2. His reply, as you can see below, is the rare kind of non-defensive response, which is a reminder to me why I like the filmmaker so much. To me, he is so authentic:
Definitely! Not everyone can love everything. I love the episode but I understand not everyone does which is completely fair.
That’s a pretty grown-up take in a medium that’s often allergic to nuance. That said, even if the finale didn’t hit for everyone, there’s no denying it pushed the DCU forward in some big, ambitious ways.
The Peacemaker Season 2 finale, “Full Nelson,” crammed in just about everything it could from some true absurdity, like mini pixie-like aliens in a candy world, to the heartbreaking Adebayo speech, and a ton of setup that reshapes the DCU. By the end, the titular hero’s fate was more uncertain than ever, trading closure for cosmic expansion and sparking the very fan debate that’s now circling the episode.
Recently, Gunn confirmed that major elements from Peacemaker Season 2, specifically the discovery of the world called Salvation and the formation of Checkmate, will ripple across other DC projects. That includes the upcoming DC TV show Lanterns, the Green Lantern-centric series set to premiere in early 2026. For anyone wondering how a hyper-violent comedy about a foul-mouthed antihero connects to cosmic ring-slingers, well, welcome to the DCU.
It’s a bold choice to turn your season, and possibly series finale, into a setup for future plot threads. As it turns out, Salvation isn’t just another planet; it’s a dimensional prison. The finale ends with Christopher Smith stranded there, and no clear resolution in sight. Gunn has already said a third season of Peacemaker is unlikely anytime soon, if at all. That open-endedness may be precisely why some fans walked away from the finale feeling frustrated—it doesn’t close the book, it just hands it off to a future story.
That said, even if the finale didn’t hit for everyone, Gunn likes it and, in some ways, I guess that has to count for something. So, yeah, the former Guardians of the Galaxy helmer isn’t losing sleep over the finale discourse. And, honestly, why should he? Whether or not the finale sticks the landing for you, it clearly lays groundwork that’s going to matter for the future.
If you haven’t yet, you can check out the finale and the complete two seasons of Peacemaker with an HBO Max subscription.
