Abhiroop Das
The third and fourth episodes of Prime Video’s Butterfly, titled ‘Busan’ and ‘Pohang,’ continue the protagonist, David Jung’s, attempts to bring his family to safety. As an ex-operative who faked his own death, he has substantial emotional baggage to carry, and it only gets more complicated when Rebecca, an agent of Caddis, his former organization, turns out to be someone very close to him. In the previous episodes, we follow the protagonist’s reunion with his daughter after nine long years, and the friction that causes.
However, she ultimately chooses him over her life at Caddis, and together they pass through multiple hurdles to rescue David’s wife. When Rebecca realizes that her father has been keeping more secrets from her, their dynamic seemingly returns to square one. In the following episodes, the nuances of the conflict are fleshed out, and in the process, David and Rebecca find common ground. SPOILERS AHEAD.
David and His Family Make a Narrow Escape
The third episode begins where the previous one left off, with David Jung on a train to Busan with his family. Rebecca is surprised to see that her father has a daughter with his second wife, Eunju Kim. The duo has little time to discuss this, as David has to rush to the washroom and patch up his serious injuries. While there, he rings up Yong Shik Choi, and the duo speaks in code about the availability of new passports for the protagonist and his family to escape South Korea. David urges his friend to hasten the process, and they arrange a meeting for the following day. In the meantime, Rebecca quizzes the new members of the group and learns that Minhee, her half-sibling, is seven years old. When Rebecca confronts her father for holding back such a big detail from her, he explains that he was afraid of her rejection.
David tries to assure his daughter that things will be better after they make it to his safehouse, where he has stored all of his ammunition and medical supplies. Meanwhile, Juno’s intelligence network is hit when the commissioner of police cuts off her camera feed after identifying the fiasco as an internal issue that led to public panic. This buys the protagonist and his family extra time, and they put it to use by escaping the train mid-way and taking a bus for the rest of their journey. Once at the safehouse, they finally catch their breaths, and Eunju speaks out about how her husband’s actions have put her and her daughter in a dangerous situation, but at the same time, she also empathizes with the circumstances surrounding Rebecca.
David Loses a Close Ally
Senator Dawson meets with Juno once again, but this time, it’s not about the Karpov investigation. Instead, he brings up the murder of a covert CIA asset named Jay Hun-lee, which took place one week prior. He points to a picture of Hun-lee with Juno’s son, Oliver, standing right next to him, with the implication being that he had a part in these events. Although Juno puts up a brave front, she anticipates trouble knowing that her family is now a target of the CIA. She rushes to Oliver and asks him to be more aware of his surroundings, but he reminds her to prioritize David Jung, and in the same breath, requests to be a part of the upcoming manhunt. Meanwhile, tensions grow in David’s house when Eunju finds Rebecca teaching Minhee how to use a gun. Although the protagonist defuses the situation, the gap between father and daughter is apparent.
Elsewhere, Gun tracks Shik Choi down in his restaurant and ambushes him. While Shik Choi puts up a good fight, he ultimately loses and chooses to sacrifice his own life instead of giving up his friend. However, Gun still comes out with a lead, finding the passports for Rebecca and David, as well as a note mentioning the meeting point in Busan. He relays this information to Juno, who prepares a task force, including her son, to eliminate her targets. Things turn more positive at David’s home, with all of them getting together to celebrate Minhee’s birthday with a homemade cake. When Rebecca tries to distance herself, her half-sibling pulls her back into the process, making it a bonding moment for everyone. Juno plays her cards in front of Senator Dawson by pinning Karpov’s murder on Rebecca, who is labelled an agent gone rogue.
Gun and Caddis Launch a Two-Pronged Attack
David’s meeting with Shik Choi is supposed to take place in Busan’s Jagalchi Market, and the latter’s absence becomes a point of concern. The protagonist soon figures out that their operation has been compromised and navigates through a number of Caddis’s agents to flee the market. However, he is found by Gun, who, instead of attacking, chooses to follow his target to his home. David gathers his family together and urgently leaves the building moments before it is broken into. Together, they all flee to the bay and take shelter in a fishing boat, but the Caddis agents catch up soon after. Out of desperation, David hides his wife and younger daughter in the boat, while he and Rebecca take on the mantle of defeating their enemies. Gun isolates David and begins to fight him, while Oliver and his team exchange fire with Rebecca.
In the ensuing clash, Gun nearly manages to gain the upper hand on David, but the latter makes a surprise comeback, shooting at Gun multiple times. On the other end, Rebecca makes quick work of her opponents and drives Oliver into a corner. Eunju is forced to take a gun and even kills one of the assailants with a lucky shot. With Oliver on his knees and his entire team wiped out, the group is safe once again. As Rebecca prepares to finish him off, Oliver begins divulging many of his mother’s secrets, the most damning of them being that she was the one who engineered the terrorist attempt on David’s life, forcing him to fake his exit. Hearing this, David calls Juno, aggressively asking whether it’s true. When she confirms it, he states that he will be taking his own revenge and captures Oliver to take him on their journey to Fukoka. Miraculously, Gum survives his injuries and prepares to take revenge against his foe.
David Finds Juno’s Weakness
The following day, David and his family have lunch with Eunju’s parents, who manage a wealthy export and import business. David plans to have Eunju and Minhee stay with them till he sorts things out, as their wealth and power grant them immunity in the region. Meanwhile, Oliver is tied down and kept behind closed doors, with Juno desperately trying to bargain for his freedom. Undeterred, David and Rebecca interrogate him about Karpov, and by doctoring a fake voice message from his mother, they bring Oliver to divulge that he is the one who murdered Jay Hun-lee. Additionally, he tells them about Caddis’s role in revealing Ukrainian military intel, giving the protagonist the upper edge he needed. Elsewhere, Dawson, too, refuses to be satisfied with Rebecca as a scapegoat and continues his investigation into Caddis’s shady side.
With Eunju and Minhee protected, David and Rebecca head back to Seoul to connect with Dawson and bring Juno down for good. They quickly locate his secretary and tap into his phone, getting access to the senator’s entire timetable. With one of the meetings taking place in the Anyong Market, the duo hatches a plan. While David phones Dawson and arranges a sixty-second meeting without any of his security details, Rebecca distracts the other meeting attendee, creating all the conditions for her father to bring the senator to his side. Additionally, they use Oliver’s phone to trick Caddis into thinking that he is the one meeting with Dawson, all the while David lays out the plan to bring a live witness against Juno, in return for complete immunity for both him and his daughter. Although reluctant, Dawson agrees to the deal.
David and Dawson Team Up Against a Common Enemy
With Eunju and Minhee protected, David and Rebecca head back to Seoul to connect with Dawson and bring Juno down for good. They quickly locate his secretary and tap into his phone, getting access to the senator’s entire timetable. With one of the meetings taking place in Anyang Market, the duo hatches a plan. While David phones Dawson and arranges a sixty-second meeting without any of his security details, Rebecca distracts the other meeting attendee, creating all the conditions for her father to bring the senator to his side. Additionally, they use Oliver’s phone to trick Caddis into thinking that he is the present in the market, all the while David lays out the plan to bring a live witness against Juno, in return for complete immunity for both him and his daughter. Although reluctant, Dawson agrees to the deal.
With Oliver’s role in the plan over, David releases him with nothing but his phone. He also warns the young operative of his mother’s nature, as she is not one to be keen on apologies. With the amount of information he has revealed, Oliver has gone from being an asset to a liability, which instills fear in his mind, while also sparking questions in Juno’s mind. This is further substantiated by Juno’s learning of the brief period of Dawson’s absence. This, coupled with Oliver’s phone coming online, presents an overlap that is too suspicious to be a coincidence. Although the mother and son duo have a heartfelt reunion, the seeds of doubt are evident. The episode ends with the protagonist determined to bring Juno to justice, expressing how all these years of questioning himself as a father and as an assassin will finally reach an end.
