In last week's episode of Peacemaker, it was revealed that the show's alternate reality is really Earth-X. While its biggest secrets have yet to be revealed, it's a world where the Nazis won World War II.
This all-white America has seemingly put all minorities into camps, which is evident when Leota Adebayo is chased down because, as Peacemaker's brother, Keith, puts it, "One got out."
Talking to GQ, James Gunn explained why Earth-X isn't necessarily the clear-cut "evil" Earth it seems to be on the surface. Yes, everyone who resides there is a Nazi, but it's the world that many of them have been born into, meaning they don't know any better.
"People think now it's cut and dried and [Chris’s father] Augie's a Nazi and this and that, and I mean you're going to get the next episode—it's not cut and dried," he shared. "People are complex, people are people, and I probably shouldn't have even said that sentence, but you're going to get to the next episode and it's not so cut and dried."
Gunn added, "I mean, a lot of shoes about Earth-X drop, and then the season sums up in eight, which is the other episode that I really, really am proud of, and a lot of the emotional center—the relationship between Peacemaker and the 11th Street Kids and the relationship between Peacemaker and Harcourt, that all comes together in episode eight."
The DC Studios co-CEO elaborated on that point by making it clear that the Peacemaker season 2 finale won't be as simple as unleashing Creature Commandos' G.I. Robot to lay waste to a world full of the Nazis he enjoys killing so much.
"People are like, 'Oh, they all should die. They're all Nazis. GI Robot should go kill ‘em.' I'm like, 'Yeah—if I was born in 1966 in a world where the Nazis won World War II, who would I be? How would I look at the world? And what grace or not grace, do you give someone like that?' I don't know."
Gunn teased, "I'm not giving answers out. I'm just saying things are complicated and we have a lot of things in our own world which people are putting up with every day, and by necessity because we can't fix everything all at once."
More big twists are likely coming before Peacemaker season 2 concludes, and it clearly isn't going to be as simple as the show's heroes laying waste to a bunch of evil Nazis.
As for G.I. Robot, the character is set to make his live-action debut in a future DCU project. We just don't know which one (Sgt. Rock once seemed likely, but it's been shelved following apparent creative differences with filmmaker Guadagnino).
Peacemaker episode 7, "Like a Keith in the Night," premieres on HBO Max this Thursday. You can see some stills from that here.