‘Peacemaker’ – ‘Murn After Reading’ – Review

The truth was laid bare for Peacemaker’s Danielle Brooks in last weeks episode ‘Monkey Dory’ and now in ‘Murn After Reading’ we get what is possibly the most intense episode of Peacemaker YET. And trust me when I say you’re not ready for the crazy and the carnage this is about to arrive in this episode.

The secret is out about Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) being a ‘butterfly’ and now he reveals exactly what these extra-terrestrial alien species are doing on this planet and what their leader Goff, who by the way is being kept as a pet by Christopher Smith/Peacemaker, has in store for humanity. While the truth is coming out Evergreen Police Detective Sophie Song (Annie Chang) narrows in on Smith, while his father Auggie (Robert Patrick) swears revenge on his son and prepares for war as the White Dragon.

Things are about to go mental in Peacemaker’s sixth episode ‘Murn After Reading’ and series creator James Gunn really cranks up the volume with the series most thrilling episode yet. Both in terms of narrative and action, things are raised to an all-time high and Gunn adds in a severe layer of suspense as the police encircle Christopher Smith/Peacemaker (John Cena) as he tries to deduce just exactly what the butterflies are here to do on earth through his own one-on-one interrogation with the captured Goff. Gunn keeps the narrative flowing and from one scene to the next you’re kept on the edge of your seat as an audience member and things go bad quickly for Peacemaker and Project Butterfly as the intentions of these extraterrestrial invaders are made known.

Over the course of Peacemaker, we have seen the titular character move to shed his visage of the man who ‘wants world peace at any cost and who doesn’t care how many men, women and children he needs to kill to get it’. This has been the code that Peacemaker has been living his whole life and it has torn apart his soul. His new level of supposed passivism has really made him question things and we see Cena go deep on the drama in ‘Murn After Reading’. Questioning his superhero ‘origin’ in a hilarious show and tell cut him up and he’s beginning to tire of the notion that he’s a dumbass and can’t be trusted with high-level secrets. The fact that he’s also kept Goff as a pet also leads to some unwanted strive, and this has serious ramifications for him in this episode.

What we get to see in ‘Murn After Reading‘ is Peacemaker making it clear that he’s no longer the savage killer that everyone thinks he is, but instead is a hero who wants to stand up for what’s right and who actually wants to solve the case of the ‘Butterflies’. This episode is packed out with dramatic tension for Peacemaker and Cena rises to the occasion showing off his considerable acting chops. ‘Murn After Reading’ is also important as we see his father Auggie Smith declare that he’s ready to take out his idiotic son once and for all and drawing his neo-nazi followers around him he dons the mantle of the White Dragon once again and is ready to strike out against Peacemaker and Project Butterfly.

While we’ve been granted a good dose of gore in Peacemaker so far, ‘Murn After Reading’ is where the horror takes over. Gunn returns to his roots with this film and after Goff is able to escape from Peacemaker’s grasp she sets about raising an army and it’s one of the most truly disturbing and horrific moments of the entire series. This is pure zombie horror at its freakiest, and with her new army of possessed human shells, Goff leads Peacemaker fully into the horror genre. Set against the rock of Reckless Love, this scene in Peacemaker is utterly chilling to watch and is sure to freak you the hell out, and it’s a wildcard moment from Gunn. It certainly hypes up the intensity of the series as a whole and it’s clear that Peacemaker is about to get a lot more petrifying.

The stage is set for one hell of a showdown in Peacemaker and it’s about to get explosive as we move into the final chapters of this crazy superhero saga.

Peacemaker is available on Neon and Sky Go

Image: SKY TV