Warning! Spoilers ahead for Peacemaker episode 6!
DC's Peacemaker has featured August Smith's White Dragon (Robert Patrick) as a despicable uber-racist and father to Chris Smith's Peacemaker (John Cena), and the perfect ending has now been set up for the truly evil supervillain. While Peacemaker has been unwilling to go against his father and has become uncomfortable with killing, it certainly seems as though defeating the White Dragon and his followers will be quite the challenge. However, Chris' dad isn't the only threat Peacemaker and his team is facing, and they may hold the key as the HBO Max series reaches its final episodes.
A splinter team from Amanda Waller's Task Force X, Peacemaker and the self-dubbed "11th Street Kids" have been tracking down the Butterflies, a race of alien insects capable of burrowing into an unwilling host's brain to take control. This includes having access to all the host's memories, as confirmed in Peacemaker episode 6. However, the team has also clashed with Chris Smith's father August seeing as how they used him to distract the authorities from Peacemaker, getting him arrested and sent to jail before he was eventually cleared of all charges. However, Peacemaker's team had been debating whether to kill the white supremacist supervillain while he was still behind bars, despite Chris' anger that his dad was in jail in the first place. While the White Dragon may be terrible, Chris still sees him as family.
Combined with Peacemaker growing distaste with killing anyone beyond the Butterflies, something truly drastic needs to happen for him to be convinced to kill his father, even with Peacemaker episode 6 ending with White Dragon suiting up and gathering his followers to kill his son after Vigilante tried to murder him in prison. Additionally, the Butterflies are gathering forces as well, seen taking over an entire police precinct. With both threats preparing to go up against Peacemaker and company, the White Dragon is possibly being set up to become a Butterfly against his will. Not only would this make things easier for Chris once he inevitably faces his father, but the Butterfly still having August's memories would still allow for a personal confrontation to still be had.
White Dragon becoming a Butterfly would combine both threats in Peacemaker into one greater danger. However, it does run the risk of being giving August's character an "out" by becoming an alien rather than his status as a white supremacist and racism being confronted directly (let alone the personal conflict between White Dragon and Peacemaker). However, the fact that the Butterflies retain the memories of their hosts could be the balance between the two, where Peacemaker will finally be able to see his father and his darkness for what it is and the detriment he's had on his life.
Regardless of what happens with White Dragon, a battle between the father and son is inevitable as Peacemaker enters its final episodes. While becoming a Butterfly would give Peacemaker more freedom to go after his father, the disillusionment that they're still family will likely still be an obstacle that Chris will need to overcome. In any case, the 11th Street Kids will be fighting a battle on two fronts, though Peacemaker is possibly setting up the danger to be combined into one bigger threat.
Peacemaker releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.
