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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
A familiar war is coming to our doorstep… The sixth episode of James Gunn’s DC Comics action comedy-drama superhero television series, Peacemaker Season 1 is titled, “Murn After Reading”. It is written and directed by Gunn.
In this review, I will be discussing Peacemaker Season 1 Episode 6. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible revelations.
Plot Synopsis
According to WarnerMedia, here is the synopsis for Peacemaker Season 1 Episode 6.
After Adebayo’s accidental discovery, Murn reveals his greatest secret, which runs so deep it must be kept from Waller at all costs. With Auggie free, the police turn their attention to Peacemaker — but their botched arrest sends Goff into an unlikely (and unfortunate) new host.
WarnerMedia
The Cast of This Week’s Peacemaker
As always, John Cena portrays the title character, Christopher Smith/ Peacemaker, while Robert Patrick portrays the character’s father, August “Auggie” Smith/ White Dragon.
Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Holland, and Steve Agee play respective members of Project Butterfly: Leota Adebayo, Emilia Harcourt, and John Economos, with Chukwudi Iwuji as the group leader, Clemson Murn.
Freddie Stroma portrays Adrian Chase/ Vigilante. Annie Chang and Lochlyn Munro portray respective Evergreen police partners — Detectives Sophie Song and Larry Fitzgibbon.
Elizabeth Faith Ludlow plays Keeya, while Rizwan Manji returns as Jamil, a janitor from the hospital where Peacemaker was admitted. Christopher Heyerdahl plays Evergreen police captain, Caspar Locke.
Maya Kooner Sarsthi plays Jamil’s daughter. Alexander Brophy, Billy Christos Jr., Alice Matheson, David Pavlov, Juliette Tidi, Christopher Maxen Loteyro, and Alice Comer play her classmates, while Marcia D. Bennett plays their teacher.
Quinn Bennett plays a young Christopher Smith. Liam Hughes plays Keith, while Bzhaun Rhoden plays a young man. Neil Webb, Ryan Jefferson Booth, Jen Znack, and Paul Tryl play “Cool Steve”, a racist thug, a skinhead girl, and a whitehood wanker, respectively.
Rochelle Greenwood returns as Peggy, while Kevin O’Grady plays Johnson. Zak Santiago plays a prison guard, while Dee Bradley Baker voices Eagly.
Discussion
“Murn After Reading” improves where Peacemaker‘s previous episode, “Monkey Dory”, exhibited flaws. Gunn shoots for a narrative that appears to be one whole act, which paces well. Alternatively, if you count the opening scene as the prologue as well as the twelve-minute epilogue as two other acts, then you can see that there seems to be a three-act structure going for the episode. The filmmaker combines comedy and drama, then tosses in thrillers and suspense to give viewers an intriguing sixth episode to his new television series.
There is more transpiring and being revealed in the narrative episode that switches between the different characters of the show. The title itself pokes fun at the Coen brothers’ 2008 black comedy crime film, Burn After Reading. In Peacemaker, the diary that Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) planted in the titular protagonist’s home is found. Eventually, it had to be. However, what makes it worse is it’s found by the wrong people and used to their advantage. Consequently, what we get is a tease at something far too common for Gunn. Without spoiling too much, it’s a storytelling device that we have seen in last year’s The Suicide Squad, or even as far back as Scooby-Doo (2002) and Slither (2006).
Gunn uses the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” trope in much of his written works. Although, this becomes a subtle accomplishment as we don’t discuss this well enough. He writes in the Butterflies as a Men in Black-type of invasion. Although, I could argue that the invasion has been here all along: racism. We have Robert Patrick’s Auggie Smith — the White Dragon — gathering his organization of white supremacists. Now, we’ve got Peacemaker’s team facing the Butterflies and White Power. Isn’t this three-way feud similar to HBO’s Watchmen (2019)?
Performances and Character Developments
There are several terrific performances in this week’s episode. We start with Iwuji and Brooks’ respective characters as Murn and Adebayo in the opening scene. He justifies why he is part of the team despite being a Butterfly. Both actors appeal to the mode of pathos, ultimately making them desperate and stressed as a result of where their characters’ paths have taken them. They prove that their roles are vital to the team and the mission overall, with Adebayo also secretly being Amanda Waller’s daughter.
Chang as Detective Song brings a chilling performance. The character has taken over the investigation for the past few episodes. In this week’s episode, she steps up the ladder and wraps her fingers around the situation. Her ability to take even more control of matters is admirable, but with sufficient screentime, such as in this episode, she can be quite scary.
Stroma and Cena seem to have decent chemistry, but their developing dynamic is worth watching. When fleeing the authorities, Vigilante says Peacemaker has developed as a character. I liked moments such as that. What they bring to the table is comedic, but for once, I appreciate one or two parts toward the end of their subplot that is rather dramatic. Their experiences in this episode’s specific predicament change the latter’s viewpoint about life and how it is to be treated.
Simply put, Peacemaker is to Auggie Smith what Adebayo is to Waller. They are both characters who realize that they do not want to be like their parents. Because of this, they also do not want history to repeat itself. This all starts with them, themselves, as human beings.
Heyerdahl’s performance as Locke in the episode, including its post-credits scene, is even creepier than Chang’s Song. There is a real mystery to him that everyone in Project Butterfly — with the exception of Murn — has not uncovered.
Final Thoughts on This Week’s Episode of Peacemaker
“Murn After Reading” sets up an intriguing final two episodes of Peacemaker Season 1 . With the Project Butterfly team about to cross paths with the Evergreen police department and the White Dragon’s organization, we are about to witness a truly wild event. Gunn presents a narrative for how we are to expect the series — or the first season if the show is renewed for a second one — to end. His storytelling can be predictable, although that does not make it a bad thing. Either you trust Gunn, or you don’t.
For example, the 4-minute montage towards the end of the episode is similar to what we get in Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed (2004) or Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Overall, this sixth episode of James Gunn’s Peacemaker is one of the better episodes of the show thus far, save for what happens next week. However, I will talk about that when we get there. You’re going to have a cow with this one…
James Gunn’s DC Comics television series, Peacemaker, are now on HBO Max!
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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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