Peacemaker Episode 8 Recap: Finale Explained

The final episode of season 1 of Peacemaker has just arrived, and it was an explosive ending to one of the best DC superhero series we have seen in a long while. Of course, we are here to recap the events that happened during the episode. So, if you haven’t seen it, we recommend that you don’t read on because there will be spoilers.

Planning Ahead

The episode starts with the entire team heading towards the location of the cow, as Adebayo was trying to apologize to Peacemaker for betraying him. But the childish duo of Peacemaker and Vigilante kept on making fart noises whenever Adebayo started explaining her side. This continued on until Peacemaker lashed out at her while telling her that he felt betrayed because she was his friend.

They began planning their approach, as Adebayo even went on to call Amanda Waller to tell her that they were planning to stop the butterflies from teleporting the cow to a location they didn’t know. She even went on to tell her mother to call the Justice League. But because time was not on their side, Harcourt said that they needed to act fast.

On their way to the barn, they discussed the different helmets that Peacemaker brought with him. The first was activated the same sonic boom he used in the first episode, while the second helmet allowed him to levitate. And the third was, in Peacemaker’s own words, useless because it can turn him into a human torpedo. But Adebayo once again got into Peacemaker’s nerves when she accidentally activated the levitation helmet as it flew away from them.

Without the levitation helmet, they couldn’t find a way to plant the sonic boom helmet in the barn to serve as a distraction and as a way to open up the opportunity for them to go underground where the cow was. Peacemaker came up with a plan to use Eagly to plant the helmet. But the eagle ended up dropping it elsewhere.

As the team went looking for the helmet, Peacemaker hallucinated about his father, who was telling him that he was in his head.

It was clear that he was still bothered about killing his own dad in the previous episode.

Planting The Helmet

The team found the helmet and tried to come up with a plan to plant it inside the barn. That was when they decided to have Economos pretend to be a butterfly so that he could sneak in and plant the helmet.

As Economos was slowly heading to the barn with no butterfly noticing him, butterfly Fitzgibbon confronted him and asked where he was going. When Economos answered that he was going to put the bag (with the helmets) in the barn, the butterfly policeman left him alone as he successfully planted the helmets. But, on his way back, Fitzgibbon once again confronted him.

This time, Fitzgibbon asked him why he made his beard look that way. Economos had a moment and answered honestly by telling the butterfly that he dyed his beard so that girls would notice him. But the beard ended up looking that way because he was too busy with his job to maintain it and due to the fact that he always went for the cheap brand.

Fitzgibbon let him be while telling him how weird humans are. That was when the butterfly white supremacist appeared to warn everyone about the helmet. As the butterflies went on to gang up on Economos, Adebayo activated the sonic boom helmet to create an opening for him to escape and for the team to rush in while the butterflies were still recovering.

The Action

The trio of Peacemaker, Vigilante, and Harcourt headed towards the frontlines while Adebayo and Economos stayed behind. At first, the trio performed really well against the butterflies and ended up taking out most of them. This created an opening for the Peacemaker to enter the underground facility where the cow was but ended up falling due to the damage caused by the sonic booms.

Meanwhile, the butterflies gained momentum when they were able to shoot both Vigilante and Harcourt. It was Harcourt who was at the worst end of it as she suffered gunshots that could’ve been fatal.

Not willing to leave her dying, Adebayo rushed into the battlefield with two handguns while telling Economos that she was made for those moments. Economos tried going after her but broke his leg when he tripped on the fence.

Adebayo ended up killing all of the remaining butterflies, as Harcourt told her to go after Peacemaker to back him up. Economos crawled his way over to them while carrying the human torpedo helmet to give it to Adebayo.

The Surprising Climax

As Adebayo was finding her way to Peacemaker, the titular character was in the middle of a fight with Goff in the body of Detective Song. Goff was able to overpower Peacemaker but did not kill him. Adebayo found her way to them but hit the wall instead after missing when she activated the human torpedo helmet.

Goff told Peacemaker that he wanted his help in saving the cow while also telling him the true purpose of the butterflies. She told him that they never wanted war with the humans but only wanted to make sure that humanity was doing the right thing because the butterflies saw how humanity was steadily destroying their own planet, just like how the butterflies did back in their own home.

She went on to tell Peacemaker that they were the same in the sense that they were willing to do anything for peace, and that was why Murn betrayed them. 

But as Goff thought that she had already convinced Peacemaker to help them, the hero said, “activate human torpedo,” as we saw Adebayo still recovering from crashing and burning. Just as she was recovering, the human torpedo helmet activated and turned her into a bullet that pierced and killed the cow.

While the remaining butterflies were still shocked from what had just happened, Peacemaker took Goff’s gun and shot them. 

Another Surprise, The Justice League Appears!

The mission was a success, as Peacemaker, while carrying Harcourt, and the group was seen walking away from the battlefield until a flash of electricity appeared to reveal four figures in the dark. This was obviously the Justice League composed of Superman, Aquaman, The Flash, and Wonder Woman. However, we could not see their faces.

As Peacemaker and his group walked past them, he told them that they were late and that Aquaman that he could go f*ck some fish, one of the running jokes in the entire series. This was when Aquaman’s face was revealed, as we saw Jason Momoa himself making an appearance. He said that he was tired of that joke, but The Flash, who was revealed to be Ezra Miller, told him that it wasn’t a rumor.

While we only saw Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller, the appearance of the Justice League proves that Peacemaker belongs in the same DCEU as they do. And it could be possible that a movie or series involving Peacemaker and the rest of the league will happen.

Adebayo Clears Peacemaker’s Name

The team got to a hospital where both Harcourt and Economos got treated for their injuries. Meanwhile, Vigilante collapsed and got treated as well. This left Peacemaker and Adebayo having a moment of their own so that they could make up and let the past be the past.

Adebayo asked Peacemaker why he decided to go against the butterflies. He simply told her that he didn’t want her and the others to get sad if he decided to help the butterflies instead. This was what convinced Adebayo to do the right thing.

Moments later, she was seen in a press conference clearing Peacemaker’s name and saying that they were working for a covert group run by Amanda Waller. Adebayo basically exposed Task Force X to the world.

After Adebayo’s press conference, we were taken back to the hospital, where Vigilante was seen jumping out of the window. Meanwhile, Peacemaker was seen talking to Harcourt, who had just woken up. This meant that both Vigilante and Harcourt were fine.

Days or weeks after the events, the characters went on with the rest of their lives. Adebayo went back to her wife. Economos went back to work in Belle Reve, where he was seen putting a framed photo of the team on his desk. Meanwhile, Peacemaker and Vigilante did their own thing and their antics.

Peacemaker And His Demons

The final scene of the episode showed Peacemaker waking up from bed and walking outside to have a moment with butterfly Goff and Eagly. As Eagly flew over to the forest to hunt his prey, we saw Peacemaker sitting on his porch with his father.

It was clear that he was yet to come to terms with the fact that he killed his own father. This could be an angle that James Gunn and the writers could take, as it was confirmed that Peacemaker was renewed for a second season.