Peacemaker Already Sets Up A Huge Butterfly Betrayal

Warning: Contains spoilers for Peacemaker episode 7.

Ahead of the villains, with White Dragon, the Butterflies, and potentially Amanda Waller all serving in the role to some degree. While all of the white supremacists were undeniably evil, there’s a hint that some of the Butterflies might turn on their leader in the ending showdown.

In Peacemaker episode 6, “Murn After Reading,” the fact that Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) was a Butterfly was finally addressed amongst the team. Murn reveals to Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) that the Butterflies that ARGUS suspects are all over the world were originally just planning to live out their lives on Earth. However, the Butterfly leader started to plan world domination and the majority of the Butterflies followed her lead. After Murn’s death, the ARGUS team now only has five as they head to take down the Butterflies’ cow, which is guarded by an entire army of Butterfly-possessed humans.

It is unclear how the ARGUS team will be able to take down the Butterfly army and kill the cow in the Peacemaker finale by themselves. However, the leader of the Butterflies might be betrayed, creating an opening for Peacemaker and the team to resolve the situation. Here’s why the Butterflies might betray each other and how that would pay off some important Peacemaker character narratives.

Murn Was The Sole Traitor To The Butterflies

When Peacemaker first revealed the nature of the Butterflies in Peacemaker episode 3, the show also demonstrated that there were suspected Butterflies all across the globe. Shortly thereafter, in episode 4, when Murn was first revealed to be a Butterfly it was unclear where his allegiances lay. Yet, when Murn is confronted by Leota and Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) helps to explain that she knew Murn was a Butterfly and on their side, he is quick to explain that he has turned against the rest of his species because they wish to dominate the planet. Crucially, he points out that he is the only person who spoke out against their leader’s plan.

While it is not clear what Murn’s previous place was in the Butterfly hierarchy, it is demonstrated that his objections to their plans were voiced. When the leader, now in Sophie Song’s (Annie Chang) body, kills Murn, she does not know who he is, but when she sees the Butterfly emerge from Murn’s body she recognizes him and knows his name. This makes it clear that Murn’s Butterfly must have spoken out publicly and that both the leader of the Butterflies and the general populace of the Butterflies must have known who he was. While nobody publicly took his side against the plan, they were at least aware of his platform.

The Butterfly Leader Murders Murn And Makes Him A Martyr

Once the Butterflies have claimed Locke (Christopher Heyerdahl) as a host in Peacemaker episode 6, they have his memories and know that Murn has a team that is plotting against them and where Murn is located. The Butterfly possessing Song does not hesitate to shoot Murn’s host body, but appears surprised when a Butterfly emerges from Murn, suggesting that she only knew that Murn was leading a team and not that he was a Butterfly host himself (which makes sense as Locke did not know that Murn was a Butterfly host). However, the Song-Butterfly recognizes the Murn-Butterfly and addresses him by name before immediately killing him by crushing his body in her hand.

The leader of the Butterflies has no qualms about killing the dissenter in Peacemaker episode 7, stating that he was a warrior and that without him Murn’s team won’t stand a chance. However, the Butterfly that now inhabits the body of Detective Larry Fitzgibbon (Lochlyn Munro) appears shocked and appalled that the Song-Butterfly summarily killed the Murn-Butterfly. This simple action could help Murn’s name to become a rallying cry amongst Butterflies who previously heard the Murn-Butterfly’s concerns and are not entirely convinced by the world domination plan. He could become a martyr and help to create a separatist group that turns against the Butterfly leader.

A Butterfly Civil War Would Provide Payoff For The Song & Fitzgibbon Characters

Throughout the Peacemaker DCEU TV series, the characters of Sophie Song and Larry Fitzgibbon have been built up to be fun characters. The two of them represent the struggle of trying to keep the peace in a world full of supers and capes, and the interplay between the two makes them a cute pairing. They are regularly in the position of facing off against White Dragon (Robert Patrick) and his racist nonsense, which helps to make the duo more endearing for the audience, and in Peacemaker episode 6 it is revealed that Fitzgibbon does indeed harbor secret feelings for Song.

It is a jarring moment for the audience when Peacemaker episode 6 first sees Sophie Song taken over by a Butterfly, and then later Fitzgibbon is as well (along with the rest of the police department and the jail’s inmates). Peacemaker previously established that once someone is taken over by a Butterfly, that human is effectively dead and purely being piloted by the Butterfly, so these characters are definitely not coming back. After developing the two characters as much as Peacemaker has, it is important that the pair get some sort of closure and their sacrifice is paid off in some way.

An ideal way for Song and Fitzgibbon’s characters to pay off in Peacemaker would be for them to be instrumental in brewing a civil war among the Butterflies. The Butterfly-Fitzgibbon has been set up to lead a revolt against the actions of the Butterfly-Song after the death of Murn. However, more than that Butterfly-Song has acknowledged that she can tell that Song was fond of Fitzgibbon before being taken over. Through a civil war among the Butterflies, Song and Fitzgibbon, with their Butterflies influenced by their memories, can destabilize the Butterflies’ mission, either allowing the ARGUS Peacemaker team a window to kill the cow, or potentially helping Peacemaker to reach a more peaceful resolution.

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Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO.