James Gunn Reveals Peacemaker Finale Scene That Made John Cena Cry

By Charlie Ridgely

The highly anticipated Season 1 finale of Peacemaker arrived on HBO Max on Thursday, and fans were given an episode that was every bit as emotional as it was explosive. What did you expect from a James Gunn project? There was plenty of heart and humor packed in to the final hour of Peacemaker's debut season. Tears were shed — but not all of them on-camera. While live tweeting the finale on Thursday night, Gunn told fans that one of the episode's most emotional scenes had star John Cena crying, even though the cameras weren't focused on him.

WARNING: This story contains major spoilers for the Peacemaker season finale! Continue reading at your own risk...

During the takedown of the barn in the second half of the episode, Jennifer Holland's Harcourt takes a few serious hits and it looks for a bit like she may not make it out alive. She spends weeks in a hospital before she wakes up, only to learn that Chris (Cena) has been waiting by her side every day. After spending much of the season at odds with Peacemaker, Harcourt moves her hand over to take his. According to Gunn, that moment made Cena fall apart.

"In the hospital scene, [John Cena] broke out in tears when he took [Jennifer Holland]'s hand & she started crying," Gunn wrote. "The camera wasn't on him. Probably the most vulnerable moment in Harcourt's life."

Harcourt and Peacemaker hardly ever saw eye-to-eye throughout the first season, but all of that talk about family over the last few weeks clearly hit home with Cena and his character. Chris stuck around and made sure Harcourt was taken care of. But the moment hit Cena just as hard as it did his character. He wasn't in front of the camera for the moment Gunn is talking about, so he wouldn't have needed to fake or force a cry. There was clearly a lot of genuine emotions on that set.

Fortunately, Harcourt survived the finale, and these characters are going to get another chance to steal our hearts. Ahead of the season finale, HBO Max announced that Peacemaker would be back for a second season, with James Gunn writing and directing every episode.

What did you think of the Peacemaker finale? Let us know in the comments!

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