Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 3 Features The Return Of A Surprise DCEU Character

Spoilers for "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 3, "Another Rick up my Sleeve," to follow.

James Gunn's DC Universe is confusing sometimes, especially in regard to its relationship with the DC Extended Universe. Gunn, for example, has confirmed that the DCEU's Blue Beetle is officially canon in his new cinematic universe (albeit with a few tweaks), as he believes the character occupies a unique spot in the timeline. "Peacemaker" is similarly unpredictable, with its season 1 finale having featured the DCEU's Justice League only for season 2 to pull off a wild retcon by replacing the aforementioned heroes with the Justice Gang. What's more, the confusion doesn't end there, as "Peacemaker" season 2, episode 3, "Another Rick up my Sleeve," mentions Enchantress (Carla Delevingne) from David Ayer's ill-reputed DCEU film "Suicide Squad."

The scene — which takes place hours before the events of Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" — occurs at the beginning of the episode with a flashback sequence involving Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Rick Flag Jr. (Joel Kinnaman) waking up following a night of passion and pondering a future together. Rick makes a case for them being together in a more meaningful capacity than simply friends with benefits, but he is still in a relationship with Enchantress (Cara Delevingne in "Suicide Squad") — and he's wary of the sorceress burning a hole through the planet if they break up.

The thing is, though, Sorceress dies in Ayer's "Suicide Squad," so unless Gunn and co. have an explainable reason for her being in a relationship with Rick prior to the events of Gunn's 2021 standalone sequel/reboot, we can chalk this up as another "Peacemaker" retcon. With that in mind, what has Gunn had to say about the show's place in DC's on-screen lore?

The aforementioned "Blue Beetle" announcement and "Peacemaker" retcons suggest that James Gunn wants to create more synergy between the DCEU and DC Universe — or, at the least, acknowledge that they can co-exist and mingle as he sees fit. The DC Studios boss previously stated that both franchises take place in different timelines, and "Peacemaker" is like a world unto itself. Here's what Gunn previously wrote on Threads regarding "Peacemaker" and its place in the greater DC puzzle, presumably in an attempt to clear up some of the confusion:

"[You] could say there are [an] infinite amount of timelines and the DCU timeline is almost exactly the same as the ['Peacemaker'] season 1 timeline with very, very minor differences. I mean, I think it's fair to say a lot of aspects of season 1 fit in even less with the DCEU than the DCU, so season 1 is kind of an outlier to begin with."

Fortunately, "Peacemaker" season 2 is so stellar that it's easy enough to overlook the plot holes and resist the urge to perform mental gymnastics to make sense of it all. Besides, let's not forget that it's still early days for the DCU, and there will be plenty of opportunities to coherently connect it to the franchises that came before. Alternatively, Gunn may continue to retcon certain DCEU stories and move on accordingly, but at least that could lead to some more blasts from the past returning.

New episodes of "Peacemaker" season 2 drop Thursdays on HBO Max.