Peacemaker: Ep 4

'Peacemaker' (HBO max series) continues in the same fashion established in the first few episodes; with humorous content, great action, good character work and including very 'woke approved' themes. Unfortunately (in my opinion) it continues to maintain the reliance that Peacemaker has on his handlers - he is definitely more focused on his personal struggles, which is highlighted & compounded by his recurring stupidity. Not enough for me to cease watching (yet), but enough to ensure that I'm regularly considering whether it's consistent for his character definition & development and/or just there to push others into the limelight.

In addition to his general dumb guy vibe, Peacemaker's rematch with Judomaster is interrupted by Leota taking her first shot at a person. It's a passable action given her character's progression. She has started to grow fond of Peacemaker and views his less desirable features as owing much to the prejudices of his racist father. Therefore she was willing to help him and shoot his opponent. Unfortunately this solely pushed the plot further, as the fight was reaching a stalemate where Judomaster was about to reveal something to Peacemaker. He was promptly cut off, both to further the unknown element as well as showcase her character "growth". Meh; this could have gone a number of alternative directions, however they decided to dangle the carrot of plot intrigue, whilst playing to comedy in the moment. This is partnered with Leota, who is essentially the eyes and ears of the audience, and second most pertinent character, after the titular Peacemaker; yet she encourages Vigilante to eliminate his best friend's father. That is, she plants the idea in a murderer’s head to kill a man, who is already in prison, because he is a bad influence on his own son. This is not heroic. Thankfully Leota recognises this, but it's such a clearly bad thing that I cannot help but be apprehensive that the 'woke' habit of glorifying terrorists, murder and other vile actions will continue as the season does, seemingly justified simply because the victim is bad. Batman was a hero because he didn't kill people casually (forget Zack Snyder’s edition please), as the neighbour points out to Peacemaker in another silly yet surprisingly mature scene and is something a lot of writers need to start remembering for their 'heroes' - they can't murder willy-nilly. It is needlessly immoral, and it lessens impact. They should also do heroic things.

The positive elements that I find throughout the show are indeed centered on how Peacemaker is addressing his own behaviour and interactions with people, what his dad is, and overcoming his own personal struggles. This is a good element of character study within the show when it isn’t propelled by acts of stupidity but instead is driven by logical introspection. Vigilante is also very much an introspective character who delivers much comedy while participating in some good emotionally resonant scenes. Though the idea that he is just a joke has been batted around my friendship group, and I must acknowledge he is so eccentric that many will overlook the charm I find present in his character. Murn, Judomaster and the rest of the cast are each striding forward in multiple positive tangents that I shall elaborate on at the end of the season, should it continue having as much positive as it does negative.

There were less gratuitous behaviour/scenes in episode 4 which is a relief to this prude! Ultimately the progression of all characters has been engaging enough that I look forward to the next instalment and I do want to know how 'Peacemaker' ends, as well as get a fuller picture of "Project Butterfly". I do, however, remain uncertain as to whether the quality will survive, as all it takes to consolidate that the show is not well focused would be for Peacemaker not to end the key conflicts, and only have a personal journey - good writing has these happen symbiotically, not a personal journey for the protagonist while other characters do the hard work for the storyline. Again, we shall see. Overall, I'm leaning now to a 6.75/10 after re-watching all four episodes yet remain optimistic for what's to come as it is far from over yet.