Warning: SPOILERS for the Peacemaker episode “Like a Keith in the Night” are ahead!
What started out in Peacemaker Season 1 as a TARDIS-y room for John Cena’s Christopher Smith to store his superhero gear turned into a plot device in Season 2. One wrong turn in his late father’s Quantum Unfolding Chamber led Chris to discovering another universe, which we now know to be the Nazi-controlled Earth-X. While this plotline wrapped up last week with a shocking death, the Peacemaker Season 2 finale will ramp things up with its exploration of the multiverse this Thursday on the 2025 TV schedule. However, I think Rick Flag Sr. has an ulterior agenda for the QUC.
What’s Been Teased For The Peacemaker Season 2 Finale
At the end of “Like a Keith in the Night,” Chris, Emilia Harcourt, John Economos, Leota Adebayo and Judomaster returned to the DCU, and Chris surrendered both himself and the QUC device to Rick Flag Sr. The alien technology had been in the Smith family for 35 years, and now it belongs to the United States government. Also, unlike the portal Lex Luthor created to access his pocket universe in Superman, the QUC has a stable connection, so there’s no risk of it collapsing after just a few minutes.
Rick Flag Sr. isn’t wasting any time putting this technology to use, as we see in the preview for the finale, titled “Full Nelson,” that he’s sending various people in containment suits, including Emilia Harcourt, to explore other universes. Unlike Earth-X, however, these realties are vastly different from our Earth.
There’s one with a literal candy landscape, and another with horrific, giant spider-like creatures with human skulls wandering around in a hellscape. It’s some really freaky stuff. As for why A.R.G.U.S. is so keen on exploring the multiverse, Flag is heard saying this:
We’re gonna find what we need in there, and everything we talked about is gonna come to fruition.
Harcourt speculates to Economos that A.R.G.U.S. is looking for resources and new ground for overpopulation, which certainly works as the official reason for these missions. That said, I’m also convinced Rick Flag Sr. intends to use the QUC for personal reasons. Namely, he’s looking to reunite with his son… sort of.
I Suspect Rick Flag Sr. Wants His Son “Back”
Rick Flag Jr. being murdered by Peacemaker remains canon in the DCU, and like any good father would feel, Sr. was devastated by his son’s death. We saw him take out his fury on Christopher Smith in “Back to the Suture,” though he claimed to Sasha Bordeaux that this was part of his long game to acquire the gateway device. I have no doubt that Flag would try to kill Chris again if given the opportunity, but for now, I think he’s more focused on looking for another version of Rick Flag Jr. to bring into his life.
I don’t believe the “original” Rick Flag Jr. will ever be resurrected, so if Rick Flag Sr. is as consumed with grief as I think he is, it’s not a stretch to think he’d want the QUC to find a world where a different version of his son is alive. He probably already knows to avoid the Earth-X Rick Flag Jr. if Chris told him about it being packed with Nazis, but the multiverse is infinite. If A.R.G.U.S. can find a world that’s also similar to the DCU, then I’m sure he’ll try his hardest to find that reality’s Rick Jr.
Of course, even if he finds another version of his son, that doesn’t mean this Rick Jr. will want anything to do with Rick Sr., especially if he’s unfamiliar with other Earths. There’s only a couple more days to go until my theory is confirmed or debunked, but if it’s the former, I don’t see this ending well.