Development

In July 2021, it was announced that Brad Anderson would direct an episode of the series.^[1]

Writing

The episode featured the death of Clemson Murn.^[2] As Murn's death scene was shot out of order in the episode, Chukwudi Iwuji didn't approach the scene as his last scene, explaining "When we were doing it, it sort of choked out of me, which is always fun as an actor. You always want to be surprised by yourself and by what happens."^[3]

Jennifer Holland commented on the role that Harcourt would play for the episode, "I don't know that Emilia feels yet like she's a team leader, but she's definitely in a place now where she's been stepping up and becoming a more integral part of the team. She's also been accepting the fact that she's not a lone wolf, that she has a team and that’s better than working alone, because I think that for the longest time she just thought, 'Oh my God, these people are slowing me down'. But throughout the course of the series so far, she has really embraced being a part of a team — and she likes it."^[4]

Critical reviews

"Stop Dragon My Heart Around" received extremely positive reviews from critics. Samantha Nelson of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8 out of 10 rating and wrote in his verdict, "Peacemaker finally confronts his father in a dramatic, prolonged battle that mixes zany comedy and big emotional stakes. Episode 7 shows how the characters have grown individually and as a team, developing into a group that just might be capable of saving the world."^[5]

Jarrod Jones of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "'Stop Dragon My Heart' is an all-business episode that racks up a dramatic body count, the bleakest installment of Peacemaker yet, but it is not without a touch of sweetness. There's the moment where we find Peacemaker praying over Eagly, who lunged at the White Dragon and paid a price for it, the only one besides Keith who ever loved Chris for real."^[6] Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Stop Dragon My Heart Around' is a little strange as far as penultimate episodes go. Part of it is spent wrapping up Chris Smith's struggles with his father in spectacular fashion while the other part deals with setting up the climactic battle against the Butterflies in the finale to come. As such, the episode is a bit tonally confused and relegates what should be a series highlight to a miniboss battle on the way to the big one. Still, that miniboss battle is so thrilling and so rich that this ultimately feels like 40 minutes (the show's shortest episode runtime yet) well spent."^[7]

Accolades

TVLine named John Cena as an honorable mention as the "Performer of the Week" for the week of February 12, 2022, for his performance in the episode. The site wrote, "When Peacemaker was announced to be the focus of his own HBO Max series, few looked forward to spending more time with the foul-mouthed killer of The Suicide Squad's [Spoiler]. And yet here we are, enjoying every weekly installment — in large part due to John Cena's all-in, winning performance in the title role. Throughout the season, we've been nudged to feel bad for Chris Smith, or at least sympathize with the son of a white supremacist. But in this week's penultimate hour, Cena dove into his most powerful moments, as Chris — in the midst being whaled upon by the White Dragon, and in the wake of remembering the circumstances of his brother's death — found himself with no option but to pummel his pop in return and, ultimately, kill him. Add in a sweet vigil at Eagly's hospital bedside, followed by his joy at his sidekick's revival, and what can we say? Cena rocks."^[8]