It's no understatement to say that Christopher Smith has had it rough these past few weeks. The DC Universe character has had a tough life as it is, but this season of his show hasn't been particularly kind to him. Peacemaker season 2 has seen the leading man subjected to a hunt from A.R.G.U.S. after its new director Rick Flag Sr. is determined to bring him in for the murder of his son Rick Jr. (as seen in The Suicide Squad) and he's also uncertain of where he stands with the woman he loves Emilia Harcourt.
Through it all, Chris has been presented with an unlikely opportunity: Move to a parallel dimension and live a more ideal version of his life. A life where Peacemaker is a celebrated hero, where his father loves him and where his brother Keith is still alive. And a world where he and Harcourt can be together.
Chris made the choice to go there in the fifth episode of the season, bringing Eagly with him. However, Judomaster followed him into it, and now Peacemaker's own friends are on their way after him - to save him and show him how much he is loved. But things get much, much bigger than anyone could have anticipated in the sixth episode.
Be warned: SPOILERS ahead.
Welcome to Earth-X, Peacemaker
Christopher Smith is living the life he always wanted: A hero with his family by his side and in a happy relationship with Emilia Harcourt. But, as the sixth episode - titled "Ignorance Is Chris" - proved: There are dark secrets hidden beneath the surface of this "best dimension ever".
From the moment that Chris' friends arrived in the alternate dimension, it became clear that things weren't right. Harcourt noticed this when Keith drove her to A.R.G.U.S. However, when she was taken away by the organization because of the drug residue that ended up on her jacket (due to the gang opening the inter-dimensional door in Adrian Chase's drug-filled basement), Chris was left without a choice but to step in. He did and the two shared a heart-to-heart, with Harcourt finally opening up a little about her feelings. However, in the end, Chris tells her that he has to stay here as everything he ever wanted is there, and those people need him.
Meanwhile, Adrian wanted to meet his alternate self and the two of them were as goofy as each other. However, once the other Adrian realized that our earth's version was friends with Peacemaker, things turned sour - as he revealed that Chris was the reason he joined the Sons of Liberty. And that understandably raises some questions about this world's version of Peacemaker.
Why? Well, all is revealed when Adebayo decides to go out for a walk and a woman looks at her with anger. In that moment, the whole neighborhood begins to run towards her in a threatening manner - including Keith! - screaming at her because she's a Woman of Color. And, as our earth's version of Emilia Harcourt pointed out that she noticed there were no people of Color on this earth, it became pretty clear that this ideal world wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Yep, Welcome to Earth-X!
Earth-X in DC Comics, explained
It was made clear ahead of the sixth episode of season 2 that this one would be a game-changer. It's safe to say that it lived up to that... and so much more! There were a lot of theories over the past few weeks that the world in which Peacemaker had arrived in was actually Earth-X - the earth in DC Comics which reimagined what life would like if the Nazis won World War II. Well, that's exactly what it turned out to be.
From its horrible treatment of Adebayo to the Nazi symbol on the alternate version of the American flag, the world that Christopher Smith thought was an ideal one turned out to be worse in every way imaginable. Emilia Harcourt told him the same thing right as the other earth's Harcourt called for her arrest.
In the comics, Earth-X was a world that was led by the Nazis after their World War II victory until a group known as the Freedom Fighters stood up to stop them. Could Peacemaker and his crew become the Freedom Fighters of this world? It's certainly needed in order to overcome the odds and ensure that Adebayo is safe from the threats of this horrid world.
This isn't the first time that Earth-X has appeared in a DC TV show. The 2017 Arrowverse crossover on The CW Crisis On Earth-X brought The Flash, Arrow, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl all together to take on Nazis from the alternate world. Now, Peacemaker's team are going to have to face the same threat.
But that's not the only threat that looms in the DCU...
Lex Luthor cameos in Peacemaker season 2
As Peacemaker's friends were hopping across the multiverse to find him, Rick Flag Sr. was attempting to figure out where they went. That led him to Belle Reve, where he arranged a chat with none other than Lex Luthor himself, with Nicholas Hoult reprising his Superman role.
Flag makes a deal with Lex that threatens to change the DC Universe forever. The villain was able to provide A.R.G.U.S. with a device that could track the interdimensional energy to wherever it is that Chris and his friends have gone, and in return he gets to work with the government for his "redemption". We don't know what that means, but given that Flag said that they "work for Lex Luthor" now, that can only mean bad things.
Regardless, this will likely play into the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, as we know that both Hoult and the Man of Steel himself David Corenswet will star in that 2027 film. Superman and Lex Luthor are expected to have something of an unlikely team-up in that one, and this appears to have engineered his inevitable release from prison.
Needless to say, it was awesome to see Hoult back as Lex. We can't wait to see what kind of role he continues to play in the DCU going forward.
Peacemaker season 2 streams on HBO Max on Thursdays.