Warning: Contains spoilers for Peacemaker episode 5.

The end of Peacemaker episode 4 revealed that Clemson Murn is a Butterfly and episode 5 gave a little more insight into his backstory, but it's still unclear exactly how long has Murn actually been a Butterfly. So far, the Butterflies have been set up as the main antagonists for the Peacemaker TV series. While it is possible that Amanda Waller or White Dragon might become the main villain, Murn’s role and history as a Butterfly are sure to be important.

Throughout the early Peacemaker episodes, Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) appeared particularly stoic and emotionless with episode 3, “Better Goff Dead,” including a discussion of how he is trying to get better at showing his feelings. When Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) calls Murn at the end of episode 4, he hangs up and then is shown to have a proboscis and to eat the same food as the other Butterflies. In episode 5, he enlists Locke (Christopher Heyerdahl) to replace the Evergreen police captain and help to keep Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick) locked up, engaging in reminiscence about a conflict they were both part of in the jungles of Nyasir, a fictional northeastern African country in the DC comics.

Related: Peacemaker: What The Real Butterfly Secret Plan Is

There is a lot about how Peacemaker’s Butterflies work that has not been explored yet. It seems safe to assume that the Butterflies keep the memories of the hosts that they inhabit, enabling them to blend in more easily when they have taken over senators and their families. This would mean that Murn wouldn’t have been a Butterfly since he was a child as he has knowledge of references to The Berenstain Bears and The Apple Dumpling Gang. Murn notes to Locke in their conversation that he has “changed” since their time in Nyasir, suggesting that he became a host for the Butterfly sometime after that conflict.

Clemson Murn sitting in his apartment in Peacemaker

When Murn is first introduced, he is extremely closed off. Nobody seems to think that this is strange as it fits with the stories that they have heard about them. Therefore, it is implied that it is the Butterfly in Murn that is making him want to be more emotionally open, perhaps in part to be able to blend in with humanity better. If this is the case, then it seems Murn is still very early in this journey based on his conversation with John in episode 3 and probably became a host not all that long before the events of the Peacemaker TV series.

While most Butterfly hosts seem to lose control entirely to the Butterfly and become animalistic, this side of Murn isn’t seen until Leota is at risk of exposing him. This suggests that Murn is able to retain more of himself and that might be what makes him useful to Waller as part of an ARGUS team. It is even possible that prior to the Peacemaker mission Murn deliberately became a host to be able to better combat the Butterflies.

It is worth noting that this war that is alluded to by Murn and Locke is likely key to the Butterfly’s current mission and is ongoing. Despite being a Butterfly, Murn does nothing to prevent the assassination of the Goff Butterflies and is fully on board with his team’s attack on the Glan Tai bottling plant that supplies the Butterfly’s food. As Clemson Murn has clearly been inhabited by a Butterfly since before the events of the Peacemaker TV series, his choice to allow these missions to go ahead makes it clear that he is opposed to the Butterflies taking over the planet and is working with Amanda Waller to stop it.

Next: Why James Gunn Changed Peacemaker's Origin - Brother Death Explained

Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO.

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