James Gunn is no stranger to gross cinema. He cut his teeth in the film world in the B movie heaven that is Troma Entertainment, and his early movies like Slither and Super get pretty gnarly. The guy clearly has a strong stomach and likes to push the buttons of the audience in that regard, which is why it's super funny that one particular scene in Peacemaker Season 2 was too disgusting even for him (though, I will say that I totally get it).
The most recent episode of Peacemaker, titled "Ignorance Is Chris" (written and directed by James Gunn and now available to stream with a HBO Max subscription), is one of the best of the season thus far and includes some major developments and surprises – but it also features a moment that proved to be way too much for the show's creator. At one point in the adventure, John Economos, played by Steve Agee, reveals that he has a strange quirk: when he encounters something too weird for his brain to handle, it triggers his gag reflex. It's a funny bit on the show, but Gunn revealed during a watch party on Threads that the actors work initially got too strong a reaction from him. He wrote,
So @steveagee gagged way more in the first cut but it was way too disgusting for me so I made our editor @fredraskin cut most of it out.
People like to point out the weirdness in yawning being contagious, but gagging can easily have the same effect. When you see someone retching, your brain naturally conjures the disgusting image of vomit and you can practically smell it... and before too long, you're gagging yourself. It's deeply unpleasant – so I suppose we can all be grateful to James Gunn for sparing us that nasty experience (I can only imagine what it was like on set – especially for Danielle Brooks and Freddie Stroma, with whom Steve Agee shares the scene).
In the episode, the 11th Street Kids make a trip to the alternate universe to try and get Chris to come back to their world, but things escalate and quickly go from bad to unholy levels of terrible. John Economos starts gagging simply when he learns that Peacemaker's brother is still alive, but that's nothing compared to the terrible secrets that are uncovered in the final minutes (I won't spoil the surprises for you here just in case you haven't watched the episode yet).
If you're not caught up, now is definitely the time to watch all of Peacemaker Season 2, as there are just two episodes left in the DC TV series and things are getting nuts. The penultimate chapter, "Like a Keith in the Night" will arrive for HBO Max subscribers this coming Thursday, October 2, and the grand finale, titled "Full Nelson" (also directed by James Gunn) will be arriving on October 9.
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