After three high-adrenaline ‘Peacemaker’ episodes, the fourth episode turns out to be a build-up episode that glimpses at the past events while setting up conflict for the upcoming episodes. ‘Peacemaker’ Episode 4 majorly delves into Chris’ past and reveals his childhood trauma, which evidently plays an important role in shaping his superhero ideology. It also sparks an enmity between Chris and his father, which will probably end up in a clash between the two where Chris’ will find his true transformation.
In Episode Four, there are references to Matter-Eater Lad, Batman, Charlie the Gorilla (an endangered species of Silverback Gorilla), and Chris’ brother, Keith, who died in his childhood. In the episode, Chris recalls his awkward team-up with Matter-Eater Lad, whose superpower allows him to consume all forms of matter. Let’s explore what happened in the episode and where it will lead to.
Vigilante Tries To Kill Auggie Smith, aka White Dragon
Auggie hates his son, which has apparently resulted in a communication gap between them. In Episode 2, Auggie was arrested for the murder of Annie Sturphausen. Still, he didn’t bother to inform Chris, because it would have made him look like a father who needed help, and begging for help was against his supremacist beliefs.
After a battle with the infected Senator Royland Goff, Chris goes back to his father’s house to pick up some helmets, where the Nosy Neighbor informs him about his father’s arrest. At this point, Chris also tells Vigilante about his father’s genius mind and a quantum unfolding storage facility he has established in the house. Inside the hidden lab, Vigilante finally witnesses the White Dragon costume, which will probably be used by Auggie in the upcoming episode.
Despite Murn’s warning, Chris meets his father in prison and gets humiliated. Chris spills the beans and tells Auggie that his Black Ops new friends mistakenly framed him for the murder. Auggie swears to take revenge and decides to expose their acts to Detective Song.
In the meantime, Murn sends Leota to help Chris, who meets Adrian Chase (Vigilante) outside the prison and coaxes him to kill Auggie Smith. Leota informs Adrian that she has read Peacemaker’s file and that his strict father is the root of all evils in his life. The previous episodes have already established Adrian’s obsession with Peacemaker, and he will go to any lengths to protect his BFF. Thus, Adrian gets himself arrested and confronts Auggie in prison. But, before he can attack Chris’ old man, Murn uses his contacts and bails out Adrian.
This whole reckless revenge strategy makes Auggie believe that his son wants to kill him. And like the father he is, he won’t shy away from killing his own son to protect his life or image, the things he cherishes more than a family. Maybe, Auggie will finally slip into his White Dragon costume in upcoming episodes, leading to a final clash between father and son.
Peacemaker Had A Brother
In Episode 3, Chris choked while pulling the trigger because he didn’t want to kill the kids. Though Chris has made a vow to have peace at all costs, he also holds a childhood trauma that brings conflict to his character.
In his childhood, Chris used to listen to vinyl records with his brother, Keith, which establishes his attachment to these records and why he stole them in Episode 2 while escaping from Annie Sturphausen’s apartment. Another flashback sequence suggested that Keith was punched by someone, and soon later, he had a seizure, which probably became the reason for his death. In one sequence, Auggie made Chris stab a man, who could possibly be the man who attacked Keith.
Nevertheless, this particular childhood incident not only left a scar on Chris but also made Auggie unstable. The death of a son turned Auggie into a feeling-less creature who blamed his son, Chris, for not defending his brother when he had the chance. Maybe this is why Auggie hates Chris and constantly calls him a weakling. If this seems true, then, for this reason, Chris became a superhero to prove to his father that he is strong enough to bring peace to the world. The upcoming episodes will explore the conflict better.
‘Peacemaker’ Episode 4: Ending – Clemson Murn Is A Butterfly
The ending of ‘Peacemaker’ Episode 4 explicitly suggests that the head of Project Butterfly, Clemson Murn, is infected with a butterfly too. This is probably why Murn showed his interest in a shape-shifting spaceship that Chris found in Annie Sturphausen’s apartment. However, in Episode 4, there is no mention of it.
While the episode doesn’t provide any more information about the butterfly invasion, it does hint that these butterflies have come from space and may resemble the Men in Black villain, Edgar the Bug. While everything so far suggests that these butterflies have a sinister motive, Judomaster, the protector of Senator Royland Goff, briefly tells Chris that these butterflies are not what everyone thinks of. However, before he can reveal the mystery, Leota shoots him. Fortunately, Judomaster survives the attack, and if he remains alive, then he will probably help in connecting the missing dots.
At the opening of the episode, Chris lies to his teammates that he shot the butterfly that came out of Goff’s head. However, in the end, it is revealed that Chris locked the creature in a jar and took it home. He even smoked in the glass jar to make the butterfly fly higher.
In the closing sequence, Leota finds a visiting card that belongs to a bottling company, Glan Tai. It is the same person whom Goff mentioned in Episode 3 and who sent Judomaster to inform him about the Black Ops attack. Leota discovers that Annie Sturphausen, who was a butterfly too, used to work as an employee at Glan Tai Bottling Company. Hence, it seems that the threads of Butterfly Invasion are connected to Glan Tai, which will be further explored in upcoming episodes.
‘Peacemaker’ Episode 4 is streaming on HBO Max.
