Peacemaker has been a hit for DC Comics and HBO Max, with John Cena shining as the titular character. While the series has been focused more on comedy, this episode has a lot of dark turns. Things do not look good, as the team deals with the butterfly situation, and Murn’s secret causes rifts in the team. Peacemaker’s mission and his quest for self-discovery seem to be leading towards a head-on collision against his father.
Murn’s Backstory
At the end of the previous episode, Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) discovers that Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) is a butterfly. However, it is soon revealed that both Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and Economos (Steve Agee) are already aware of this. Murn reveals that he is a deserter of his race as they plan to take over the Earth by taking over the bodies of powerful individuals.
It is interesting to see the butterflies not all be painted in a bad light, as Murn admits that he feels awful regret about killing the real Murn to control his body. Adebayo is very conflicted by this, and having to lie to Peacemaker later on and not tell Amanda Waller about it makes her want to quit the team. While this is unlikely to happen, Adebayo has been conflicted about her allegiance to the mission throughout the series and we may see her take a break from the mission.
It will be interesting to see Murn’s role as the series continues, and how his relationship will be with the other butterflies. There may be other butterflies he can convince to join his crusade or he may have a complicated history with the leader, especially since the rest of the species think he is too emotional.
Peacemaker’s Turmoil
Peacemaker is still struggling with his feelings about himself, which is evident through an entertaining show-and-tell sequence. Cena’s character blames himself for his brother’s death, but it may be revealed soon that he is not as responsible as he once thought. He also has masculinity issues, hence why he keeps the butterfly dubbed Goff as a pet.
As Vigilante (Freddie Stroma) and Peacemaker question Goff, the pair are caught in the middle of a raid conducted by the Evergreen Police Department. This is led by Detective Sophie Song (Annie Chang), who worked against her Captain’s (who is working with Murn) wishes to arrest Peacemaker. While it seems like the group of Vigilinate, Peacemaker, Eagly, and Goff may escape, Goff’s glass jar is broken and the butterfly kills Song and takes control of her body.
Peacemaker and Vigilante are hunted through the woods until Captain Locke (Chris Heyerdahl) helps them escape and kills some surrendering police officers. This leaves Peacemaker questioning the violence he has committed further, with the character later admitting to Harcourt that he does not want to kill people, which is a major step for the anti-hero.
It seems unlikely Peacemaker will be able to get away without killing anyone else, however, he will have no objections to killing aliens, which he has already mentioned. It seems this turmoil will play into a conflict with his father, who is now out of prison.
Major Revelations
As the group prepares to head out and take down a “cow” to stop the supply of the butterflies’ food supply, Goff controlled Detective Song wastes little time putting their plan into motion, as she takes a swarm of butterflies to take over the Evergreen Police Department. This results in the entire department and prisoners, including Captain Locke, being controlled by butterflies.
This will have major implications for Peacemaker, as shown at the end of the episode, where Captain Locke announces a nationwide manhunt to take down the anti-hero. It seems that the butterflies are viewing Peacemaker and the team as a major threat and want to take them down swiftly as they continue their takeover.
The problems for the team do not stop there, as Auggie Smith aka The White Dragon (Robert Patrick) seems to be preparing for war. He has vowed to kill his son and has a group of followers behind him. The supremacist suits up in his White Dragon costume and it seems only a matter of time before Peacemaker is forced to fight his own father.
This episode is one of the more dire episodes and has some nice themes of horror to it. While being an episode filled with dread, mistrust, and drama, the series still finds time for the comedic aspects. Vigilante and Peacemaker’s banter is still the highlight of the series, while the rest of the cast all chip in to make this another well-rounded episode of a surprisingly consistent and engaging series.
Peacemaker is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes releasing every Thursday.
