Warning: Spoilers for Peacemaker episodes 4 and 5.
Peacemaker revealed that Clemson Murn (Chuckwudi Iwuji) is a Butterfly, something that Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) may or may not know. Murn heads A.R.G.U.S.'s black-ops mission known as Project Butterfly, which also involves John Cena's Christopher Smith, a.k.a Peacemaker. Picking up after The Suicide Squad's post-credit scene, the show's first episode starts with Peacemaker leaving the hospital to avoid the rest of his prison sentence. The narrative then predominantly focuses on the mysterious Butterflies themselves – however, despite her undoubted power and influence, it's unclear just how much team-leader Waller knows about the creatures and Murn's own affiliation.
Piece-by-piece, Peacemaker reveals more about the Butterflies. For example, what Peacemaker's Butterflies even eat wasn't fully explained until episode 5, "Monkey Dory." Peacemaker goes so far with its mission to eradicate the Butterflies that its main characters have to even shoot Butterfly-infected children without hesitation. This makes the revelation that Murn himself is a Butterfly at the end of episode 4, "The Choad Less Traveled," all the more shocking as a plot twist. Murn's violent Butterfly outburst in episode 5 towards Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) when Peacemaker's X-Ray helmet reveals Murn's secret to her confirms that, despite his stoic demeanor and unwavering commitment to the mission, Murn is still a threat to the team.
On the surface, episode 4's plot twist seems like a Peacemaker Murn-Butterfly plot hole, but there's still much to speculate about the Butterflies overall. One key element of this twist that will reveal a lot about the show's characters and Project Butterfly is whether Amanda Waller knows about Murn's situation. The show still needs to reveal this information, but there are sound arguments for both sides. She may know, and she put Murn on Project Butterfly because of his intimate knowledge on the subject. However, she may not know, and Murn is manipulating her in order to potentially sabotage the mission to save his kind. Both possibilities potentially have substantial ramifications for the rest of the series.
As a rule, not much gets by Amanda Waller. Assuming that she would have to know a considerable amount about the Butterflies to enable the mission, surely she would recognize any signs that Murn is one at some point. Exactly when Peacemaker's Murn became a Butterfly will therefore be incredibly indicative of whether Waller knows or not. The people that Waller put on Project Butterfly also give hints about whether or not she knows Murn's secret. Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) and John Economos (Steve Agee) both betrayed Waller during The Suicide Squad's Project Starfish, and it wouldn't entirely be out of Waller's character to put them on a doomed project as revenge.
However, Waller putting both Peacemaker - the only member of the Suicide Squad to fully follow her orders - and her daughter Adebayo on the team is questionable and risky if she thought Murn would harm them. Adebayo's role, in particular, seems instrumental in Amanda Waller's secret Peacemaker plan, so Waller putting Adebayo in close proximity to a Butterfly is an uncharacteristic move because it seriously risks sabotaging Waller's mission. With that said, Project Butterfly puts Adebayo in danger anyway, and Waller seems to trust her daughter enough to handle major threats.
It'll probably be revealed whether Waller knows Murn's secret or not in Peacemaker's episode 6, because Adebayo will likely tell her about Murn's outburst. Murn being a Butterfly who can act relatively normally would seem like a great asset to Waller for Project Butterfly. After all, if Waller gathers criminals to enact dangerous missions, she might use a Butterfly who's on her side. However, this move creates risks for Waller. Regardless, she likely knows his secret unless he became a Butterfly after Project Butterfly started. Either way, Peacemaker will reveal the answer soon.
Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO.
