“Peacemaker” Episode 6 Review
Not the butterflies! They’re everywhere!
The butterflies took over the most recent episode of “Peacemaker.”
In James Gunn’s most recent episode, Robert Patrick’s The White Dragon is finally seen, Chukwudi Iwuji’s Murn’s backstory is revealed and most importantly the audience learns that even aliens use cows for food.
The episode kicks off with the cliff-hanger confrontation between Danielle Brooks’ Adebayo and Murn. It is discovered that Murn doesn’t kill Adebayo and that Steve Agee’s Economos, and Jennifer Holland’s Agent Harcourt have known after Murn survived an explosion to the face in a previous episode.
Murn explains the backstory of the butterflies. The butterfly species was dying so they headed down to Earth to survive and live peacefully. Goff’s butterfly, the one Peacemaker secretly still has alive in his trailer, is the butterfly’s leader and couldn’t settle on peace anymore so he started an alien invasion.
Murn’s butterfly disagreed so it took over “the worst human he could find” (Murn) to try to end the invasion. Murn also feels the moral consequences of taking over a human and hopes the end justifies the means. This discovery builds an uncomfortable relationship between Murn and Adebayo.
The episode transitions to Peacemaker in the school helping the janitor Jamil, played by Rizwan Manji, look cool for his child. Besides the funny exchange between Peacemaker and the students, it is also learned a little more about Peacemaker’s backstory where Peacemaker killed his brother by the looks of an accident and his father Auggie, or the White Dragon, hates him for the killing for it.
Peacemaker then returns to his trailer and shortly after Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante shows up as well. The two discover that Goff’s butterfly, who they now refer to as just Goff, can communicate too after it wrote a peace symbol on the jar.
Meanwhile, Detective Song (Annie Chang) and Detective Fitzgibbon (Lochlyn Monroe) lead a police raid to Peacemaker’s trailer despite Murn’s inside man, Captain Locke, (Christopher Heyerdahl) opposing them.
The raid gets to Peacemaker’s before he and Vigilante can get any useful information out of Goff, but to avoid capture they climb out of the trailer through their roof and then onto trees.
Detective Song catches notice of movements in the trees and heads there to investigate. While jumping tree to tree to avoid capture, Vigilante missteps and falls which results in him accidentally letting Goff free.
Goff immediately heads in and takes over Detective Song.
Detective Fitzgibbons and a group of the cops start rushing to Detective Song after hearing her scream from the takeover. While back there the cops start chasing Peacemaker and Vigilante while Fitzgibbons tries to comfort Song not realizing she’s been taken over by a butterfly.
In their escape, Peacemaker and Vigilante are cornered by three cops, but Captain Locke out of nowhere comes in, killing the cops and providing a clear escape for the two.
Detective Song, now controlled by butterfly Goff, for the remainder of the episode acts very unusual and sets up the groundwork for more butterflies to get into town while Detective Fitzgibbons tries to help Song without realizing what’s happening.
During the raid, Captain Locke manages to get ahold and hides Peacemaker’s Diary that Adebayo hid in Peacemaker’s home.
At HQ, it is found that Adebayo has planted the diary there and creates tension between her and the group that will cause her to want to leave the entire team. Also, more distrust breaks out because Peacemaker is tired of being left in the dark and just wants to feel like a team.
There is a major reveal that there is a cow that is feeding all the butterflies and most likely in the next episode the team will have to go kill it.
Meanwhile, two armies are forming. One side is Peacemaker’s dad, Auggie, who puts on his White Dragon suit and gathers his white supremist army to go kill Peacemaker for being a disappointment and getting him locked in jail.
On the other side, Detective Song and an army of butterflies take over and infect every person in the jail including Captain Locke and, sadly, detective Fitzgibbons. Now creating a butterfly infected cop army.
Back at HQ once more, Harcourt is seen, in an act of kindness, putting Peacemaker’s signature dove on a gun for him.
Peacemaker, struggling morally, tells her that he doesn’t want to kill humans anymore. She replies by telling him that he’s not as bad of a person as he thinks he is and even goes to reveal her name is Emilia to show that she cares for him.
Then the news interrupts the heartfelt moment by the butterflies showing off Peacemaker’s diary and makes him most wanted.
That’s where the episode ends.
“Peacemaker” tends to continually get better and better with each episode.
Somehow James Gunn manages to perfectly balance each episode with humor, emotional depth, action,and suspense. It is an impressive feat that makes the show so unique and great to watch.
This episode in particular feels like a set up episode for the two main conflicts between the group partially falling apart - confrontation with the White Supremacists group and most importantly the battle between the crew and the Butterflies.
The best part is even though it was a set-up episode it didn’t feel bland or boring which is normally how it goes for episodes like these.
The acting also continues to hold strong throughout the series.
But what will happen next? How will Peacemaker fend off the White Dragon and butterflies? Will Adebayo leave the team?
Find out in the next two episodes of “Peacemaker.”
Ethan Hetrick is a first-year communications major. To contact him, email eth5186@psu.edu
