The Peacemaker Episode 7 Moment That Went Too Far
The following article contains spoilers for "Peacemaker" Episode 7.
For the penultimate episode of "Peacemaker" Season 1, things get cranked up to 11 as the titular anti-hero, played by John Cena, goes head-to-head with his father, Auggie a.k.a. White Dragon (Robert Patrick), and his battalion of white supremacists. Fortunately, Peacemaker has back-up in the form of Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), John Economos (Steve Agee), and Eagly. Meanwhile, the rest of the team has to deal with the butterflies, who are quickly approaching on their tail and getting ready to move the Cow, which supplies their food source, to a location where Peacemaker can't find it.
It all leads up to what's bound to be a thrilling finale where the 11st Street Kids make one final stand to destroy the butterflies' food once and for all. Combine all of that with jokes and a touching center about finding your family, and you have one excellent episode of television. However, even amidst all of James Gunn's eccentricities, there was still probably one moment that made viewers a little queasy to watch.
The opening fight would be tough for anyone to watch
We've gotten glimpses of Peacemaker's past before, but we finally see what truly went down between him and his brother all those years ago. Apparently, their father, Auggie, liked to make the boys fight for the amusement of his trailer park buddies. Making two kids battle one another is pretty messed up on its own, but as we see in the flashback, Chris accidentally hit his brother a little too hard, resulting in his death. It's a horrific moment for any child to experience, but things get even worse when Auggie goes down into the pit and blames his death on Chris. It's no wonder he turned out so terrible.
Online, fans agree there were many emotional beats in Episode 7, but none hit quite as hard as this accidental death. On one Reddit thread, u/Broken_Orange wrote, "Gunn really doesn't pull his punches with the tear jerker scenes. Peacemaker killing his brother in a child fighting ring is right up there, also." Another fan, u/itsnotthattypeofmovi, noticed this little Easter egg that makes both Episode 7 and the previous one even more depressing: "Man that opening sequence made [Peacemaker's] song on the piano last episode so much sadder seeing how it was the same song it was listening to right before he inadvertently killed his brother."
It's easy to overlook the sadness perpetually present in "Peacemaker." Among all the jokes and DC references, it's ultimately a series about a broken man finally trying to do something right in his life.