Peacemaker season 2 ending explained: who dies, what is Salvation, and what is Peacemaker's fate?

As Foxy Shazam's 'Oh Lord' attests to, Chris Smith has had some rough years – but the Peacemaker season 2 ending might make the rest of the helmeted vigilante's troubles look like a cakewalk.

With the DCU motoring towards a Superman sequel and James Gunn already being up front about Peacemaker season 2 acting as a "prequel" to Man of Tomorrow, it stands to reason that episode 8's ending sets up several important story threads and peels back the layers on Rick Flag's grand plans.

To help make sense of the sound and the fury in the Peacemaker season 2 ending (and those were just the imps), we're here to break down the finale, answer its biggest questions, and take a speculative look towards the DCU's future in the wake of that Chris twist. But, first, let's get everyone on the same page with a Peacemaker season 2 ending recap.

Peacemaker season 2 ending recap

The Peacemaker season 2 finale begins with a flashback to one month prior. There, Chris and Harcourt share a bubbly date – and several shots of vodka – at Big Belly Burger. They then head on to a boat (yes, that boat that has been brought up several times throughout the season) for a concert.

Back in the present, Chris is festering away in a jail cell after returning from Earth-X and is seemingly refusing visits from the 11th Street Kids.

ARGUS, led by Rick Flag Sr., are up to no good as Harcourt, Fleury, Kline, and several other agents investigate the various dimensions in the QUC. In one, behind door 22, the trio are attacked by imps and Kline is brutally killed.

Adebayo visits Vigilante and asks for his money to get Chris a better lawyer, though the cash is eventually used so Peacemaker can post bail. Instead of reuniting with his gang, Chris takes Eagly and gets ready to leave.

Rick finally finds a dimension with an Earth-like atmosphere and the planet, nicknamed Salvation, is going to be used to remove all metahumans from the planet.

Aghast at his plans, Sasha Bordeaux meets with Harcourt. We also get a flashback to Harcourt and Chris kissing on the boat, before Harcourt leaves.

In some loose end tying-up, Adebayo visits her wife and they break up, with 'Lee' declaring, "We ain't for each other."

The 11th Street Kids confront Chris and stage an intervention. The turning point comes when Chris asks Harcourt if their kiss meant anything. Her reply? "It meant everything". Chris then celebrates (thankfully behind closed doors, otherwise the relationship might have ended there if anyone saw his dance moves).

The 11th Street Kids (alongside Sasha/Judomaster/Fleury) then take Vigilante's money and set up a new agency, Checkmate.

But that's not the end of the story: ARGUS and Rick kidnap Chris and use him as a guinea pig for Salvation, with Rick finally getting his revenge over his son's death. In the distance on Salvation, Chris hears a monstrous screaming.

Who dies in the Peacemaker season 2 ending?

Despite James Gunn holding back the final three episodes of Peacemaker season 2 from critics, there wasn't an especially high body count in the finale – and only one (minor) named character perished.

That casualty was Kline, the ARGUS agent who met a grisly end in the imp dimension, getting his face bitten off. Multiple other ARGUS agents also died, including one who was shot after turning into a zombie. Ouch.

What is Checkmate?

One of the big surprises of the Peacemaker season 2 ending was the new agency set up by the 11th Street Kids and some surprising new allies.

Chris, Adebayo, Vigilante, Harcourt, Economos, Judomaster, Fleury, and Sasha Bordeaux use the money Vigilante has seized from various criminals and drug lords to set up a new office and their own business, called Checkmate.

Checkmate, as some might have surmised, finds its origins in DC's comics. There, the team is headed up by Amanda Waller and fights organized crime and more street-level threats. It remains to be seen whether the DCU's Checkmate will serve the same function, though it appears that any future appearance from these characters will revolve around the new agency – and they could soon be at loggerheads with ARGUS.

What is Salvation and what is Rick Flag's plan?

Salvation may be Rick Flag's salvation, but it's probably going to lead him into some bumpy territory if he comes up against Superman again.

As revealed during the finale, Salvation is an Earth-like dimension that will be used to house Earth's metahumans. Rick Flag wants them removed from the planet entirely, especially after the death of his son and the Metropolis Incident in Superman. Think of it as Rick Flag's very own Phantom Zone, where he can drop superheroes (and villains) into without having to worry about them escaping from prison or threatening the planet.

Why is Peacemaker in Salvation?

Revenge is a dish best served cold or, in Rick Flag's case, best served with lashings of spite. After all, he still blames Chris Smith for his son's death.

The punishment? Peacemaker is the first test subject for Salvation, the alternate dimension that will be used to imprison metahumans – despite not being one himself. Will he make it out? That's a story for another time, potentially in the events of Man of Tomorrow. We expect Checkmate to swoop in to save the day.

What happened on the boat between Chris and Harcourt?

The eternal Peacemaker question has been answered: what happened between Chris and Harcourt? As some might have theorized, there was nothing overly dramatic – except for an awkward kiss.

Despite spending much of the season on the outs, the pair reconcile in the finale, with Harcourt saying the kiss "meant everything" to her. The season 2 ending, then, sees the two pretty much officially become a couple, though there's the small matter of one half of them being stranded in another dimension. The things we do for love, eh?

How does the Peacemaker season 2 ending set up Man of Tomorrow?

For this answer, it's best to go to James Gunn himself. Replying on Threads to a post-finale question expressing confusion over how the Peacemaker season 2 sets up Man of Tomorrow, Gunn wrote, "Where Chris is at the end, what is happening between the government and the metahumans, Rick and Lex's new partnership, and all of their decision to do what they did is all a part of the future, [Man of Tomorrow], and more."

In short, Peacemaker season 2 directly sets up Man of Tomorrow. Superman will be on Rick Flag's radar once more, with maybe even a one-way trip to Salvation on the cards. But how will Lex react to Rick's plans? And could another entity entirely emerge from Salvation to threaten the planet? We'll find out in 2027…

Will there be a Peacemaker season 3?

James Gunn confirmed on the Peacemaker Podcast that Peacemaker will be back and we'll see this collective of characters again in "not too long." On Threads, the DC Studios co-CEO even went one further and said Chris Smith is "instrumental" to the DCU's future.

Having said that, Gunn – in a now-deleted article on Deadline – confirmed there are currently no plans for Peacemaker season 3.

For more on the DCU's grand plans, check out our guides to upcoming DC movies and DCU Chapter One.