{"id":70118,"date":"2025-08-14T22:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T22:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/70118\/"},"modified":"2025-08-14T22:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T22:40:11","slug":"butterfly-season-1-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/70118\/","title":{"rendered":"BUTTERFLY – Season 1 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Allegedly based on Marguerite Bennett and Arash Amel\u2019s 2015 graphic novel of the same name,\u00a0Butterfly\u00a0stars Daniel Dae Kim<\/a> and Reina Hardesty as David and Rebecca, an unlikely duo trained in a particular set of skills. As described by Prime Video, \u201cButterfly is a character-driven spy thriller that explores complex family dynamics within the treacherous world of global espionage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forced to contend with Juno (Piper Perabo), David\u2019s ex-business partner and Rebecca\u2019s employer and stand-in mother figure, her entire organization, and her contracted hitman, Gun (Kim Ji-hoon), David and Rebecca spend the six-episode first season on the run when they can and fighting when they have to. Complications abound.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: The following review contains spoilers for Butterfly Season 1.<\/p>\n

\"ReinaButterfly Season 1 \u2013 Image Credit: Courtesy of Prime VideoPrime Video\u2019s Butterfly<\/p>\n

Butterfly\u00a0borrows the bones of its narrative from the Bennett and Amel four-issue comic series, but beyond a similarity between the opening operation and the David-Rebecca connection, the plot, setting, and characters are pretty much original to the series. Even the title\u2019s meaning is lost to the adaptation process. In the graphic novel, it\u2019s Rebecca\u2019s codename, just as David is known as Nightingale. In the series, the term \u201cButterfly\u201d refers to a game they played together when she was little.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Prime Video Sets Premiere Date for\u00a0Hazbin Hotel Season 2<\/a><\/p>\n

Yeah, when she was a child. The key element retained from the source material is that David is Rebecca\u2019s father, presumed dead nine years previously, because he let everyone think he\u2019d been killed. Everyone. Including Rebecca, whose mother died when she was even younger. So she\u2019s understandably confused and upset to discover that he\u2019s alive. And married. And has a new daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"DavidButterfly Season 1 \u2013 Image Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video<\/p>\n

The other key understanding is that before he \u201cdied,\u201d David ran a covert ops company, Caddis, with Juno (Piper Perabo). His skills are legendary. In his absence, Juno raised Rebecca alongside her own son, Oliver (Louis Landau). By the time David comes for Rebecca, she\u2019s Caddis\u2019s top asset. Oliver, not so much. And now that Caddis\u2019s role in selling American military secrets to the highest bidder is coming to light, there are many bridges to burn.<\/p>\n

Sting Like a Bee<\/p>\n

Butterfly Season 1 does the action-thriller thing really well. Its fight and pursuit scenes are paced and shot to maximum effect. There\u2019s breakneck intensity and a high baseline anxiety level throughout. Rebecca, David, and Gun leave an impressive body count in their wake. There are several satisfying explosions, timed to perfection.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Steven Universe\u00a0Gets Prime Video Sequel\u00a0Lars of the Stars<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the \u201ccharacter-driven\u201d piece that never sits quite right. There are many relationship threads intersecting throughout the plot. David and Juno\u2019s history twists Rebecca up between them. Oliver and Rebecca have a deep-rooted animosity borne of rivalry for Juno\u2019s respect. David and Rebecca\u2019s reunion is confounded by his wife, Eunju (Kim Tae-Hee), and child, Minhee (Nayoon Kim). Juno and Oliver can\u2019t figure out what they need from each other as mother and son who also work together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"OliverButterfly Season 1 \u2013 Image Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video<\/p>\n

The central tension of the series lies in Rebecca\u2019s potential mental instability, borne of the trauma of losing her parents and nurtured by Juno\u2019s training. In less than subtle hints planted throughout the first two episodes, her unparalleled proficiency is tied to probable psychopathy. Prime Video\u2019s series synopsis describes her as a \u201cdeadly, sociopathic young agent.\u201d Her instinct to kill first, find a reason to later, is significantly disturbing. Enough so that anytime she spends time with her new little sister, Minhee, the apprehension for the child\u2019s safety is palpable.<\/p>\n

Family Feels<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re talking about her, Minhee is a blatant emotional ploy. Rebecca isn\u2019t the only danger David brings into his eight-year-old child\u2019s life. This begs the question of why he\u2019d try to bring Eunju and Minhee along with him and Rebecca as they flee Juno, Gun, and Caddis. As we learn in Episode 4, \u201cPohang,\u201d Eunju\u2019s family is more than capable of keeping her and Minhee safe until he and Rebecca have settled things. Keeping Minhee literally and constantly in the line of fire is a deliberate plot choice that I personally came to resent by the series finale.<\/p>\n

\"EunjuButterfly Season 1 \u2013 Image Credit: Courtesy of Prime Video<\/p>\n

There are clever moments threaded through\u00a0Butterfly Season 1. Rebecca and David bond a bit over their \u201ccooking\u201d lesson. Hitman Gun\u2019s weapon of choice is a blade. There\u2019s a brilliant running visual joke involving Juno and what appears to be a self-imposed diet. The punchline moment is quite glorious.<\/p>\n

RELATED: School Is Back in Session in Gen V Season 2 Trailer<\/a><\/p>\n

However, the series fails to stick the landing in its final moments. Rather than respecting the groundwork laid over six episodes, it chooses to pull an ambiguous and horrifying plot twist out of thin air. David\u2019s faith in the good in people and the world \u2014 a flaw Juno specifically refers to \u2014 is paid back with tragedy. One can only assume a second season would show what David \u201cliving in reality\u201d looks like.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Butterfly\u00a0Season 1 is now streaming on\u00a0<\/a>Prime Video.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Time to Shut Down Evil for Good in UPLOAD Season 4 Trailer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Diana lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she invests her time and energy in teaching, writing, parenting, and indulging her love of all Trek and a myriad of other fandoms. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond ’til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. You can also find her writing at The Televixen, Women at Warp, TV Fanatic, and TV Goodness.<\/p>\n

Latest posts by Diana Keng (see all<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Allegedly based on Marguerite Bennett and Arash Amel\u2019s 2015 graphic novel of the same name,\u00a0Butterfly\u00a0stars Daniel Dae Kim…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70119,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[38673,49,48,43936,75,33174,6707,1912,348],"class_list":["post-70118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-butterfly","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-daniel-dae-kim","tag-entertainment","tag-featured-post","tag-most-popular","tag-prime-video","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}