Warning! This article contains spoilers for Butterfly.
Prime Video’sButterflyalmost seems to end on a positive note before it introduces a massive cliffhanger that paves the way for another installment. Before thePrime Video spy drama’s final credits start rolling, viewers are left with many questions about David’s wife’s fate and his daughter Rebecca’s whereabouts.
In its opening moments,Butterflyintroduces Daniel Dae Kim(of theLostfame) as David Jung, who sets out to save his assassin daughter, Rebecca, from a woman named Juno. Juno, who had long believed that her father was dead, is surprised to discover that she had been lied to about his fate all her life.
With this, David attempts to rescue Rebecca from Juno, who forced him to fake his death and trained Rebecca to become an assassin. At the same time, he also tries to fix his tainted relationship with his daughter, hoping she will understand that he faked his death to protect her. All eventually seems to end well for David and his family inButterfly’s ending moments before things take a dark turn.
What Happened To Rebecca In Butterfly’s Ending Explained
Butterfly’s Ending Hints At Rebecca’s Betrayal
With Rebecca’s help, David manages to overpower Juno, and all seems to end well for him and his family. Before the show ends, he relaxes with his wife, younger daughter, and Rebecca at a restaurant, planning to move to the US to start a new life. However, he realizes something is off when Rebecca and his wife visit the washroom but never return.
When he goes to investigate, he finds his wife on the floor with a deep cut below her shoulder blade. He soon notices that Rebecca is nowhere to be found, which makes him wonder whether she betrayed him and killed his wife. Given how Rebecca went through significant catharsis inButterfly, it seems unlikely she betrayed her father.
Butterflyis based on the Boom! Studios graphic novel series created by Arash Amel and Marguerite Bennett.
Before she heads to the washroom with Eunju, she seemingly notices that something about a waiter at the restaurant is off. This prompts her to follow Eunju to the washroom. Although the show does not reveal what happened next, Rebecca seemingly tried to save Eunju from the waiter who attacked her.
Rebecca’s absence in the final scene suggests that the attacker either managed to overpower and abduct Rebecca, or she went out to chase them after they attacked Eunju. Regardless of what happened, her absence will make David question his trust in her.
Who Attacked Eunju In Butterfly’s Ending?
It Seems Unlikely That Rebecca Killed Her
Given how Rebecca went to the washroom with Eunju inButterfly’s ending moments, it is hard not to suspect that she might have attacked her. In a previous sequence, Rebecca even showed mercy towards Juno, claiming that she had been a major part of her life. These sequences raise many questions about her motives.
However, it seems unlikely that she might have tried to kill David’s wife after everything they went through in the entire season. It seems likely that, after being spared, Juno hired someone to attack David and his family. Rebecca tried to protect Eunju from the attacker but failed to do so.
She probably realized that the confrontation could easily be misinterpreted by her father. Therefore, she tried to catch the attacker to prove her innocence. This would explain why she is not around in the final scene. If Eunju miraculously survives, she might be able to provide answers to David.
Why Rebecca Spares Juno In Butterfly
Rebecca Realizes Killing Juno Will Cause More Harm Than Good
David believes he has a good reason to kill Juno because she not only betrayed him and forced him to fake his death but also took his daughter under her wing and corrupted her. However, when he points his gun at her, Rebecca asks him to spare her, recalling how she has been a major part of her life.
Rebecca’s defensive statements reveal how she still sees Juno as a mother figure, even though her actions harmed her family and ruined her childhood. She also cannot empathize with her despite knowing how she turned her into a weapon instead of giving her a normal upbringing.
After spending enough time with her father, Juno also seems to understand the importance of retaining her humanity. She realizes that Juno would succeed if she allowed herself to become consumed by vengeance, losing the last bits of her humanity. Therefore, to have a moral victory over Juno, Rebecca asks her father to spare her.
David & Rebecca’s Plan To Take Juno Down Explained
The Father-Daughter Duo Target Juno’s Son
TheAmazon Prime Video detective seriesalso establishes that the FBI had its eyes set on Juno and her Caddis empire. They grew suspicious of her when she started selling intelligence to Russia via Karpov, Russia’s Ambassador to South Korea. Since her actions were harming Ukraine, the United States seemingly wanted to intervene to avoid further geopolitical damage.
The FBI first hired Jae-hoon to get concrete evidence about Caddis' dealings by asking him to get information from Juno’s son, Oliver. Although Jae-hoon managed to get his hands on information that proved Caddis had crossed paths with the Russians, Oliver killed him before he could deliver concrete proof.
David and Rebecca join forces to convince Oliver that his mother wants him dead for snitching on her. Oliver falls for their trap and joins the FBI’s witness protection program after confessing the truth about Caddis' operations to Senator George Dawson. This gives Dawson and his team a solid reason to investigate Caddis and its activities.
Why Juno Betrayed David In Butterfly
Juno & David Did Not See Eye To Eye
Butterflynever explicitly mentions why, after starting Caddis, Juno decided to betray David and get him killed. The show only reveals how, after David went to the Philippines for a mission, Juno could not help but see it as an opportunity to get him out of the way. It seems like David was always well-intended when he started Caddis with Juno.
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Juno, in contrast, was more fixated on using the company to drive profits instead of serving the greater good. This conflict of interest between the two characters led to their fallout, prompting Juno to kill David to be able to take Caddis to new heights. To her dismay, David realized what she was doing and faked his death to stay one step ahead of her.
How Butterfly Season 1’s Ending Sets Up Season 2
The Cliffhanger Paves The Way For Another Father-Son Conflict
Butterflyseason 1’s final arc suggests that both David and Rebecca make the morally right choice by sparing Juno. However, the ending hints that they might have made a mistake by not killing her. Juno seems to walk away with renewed determination and seemingly targets David’s family in the show’s final moments.
IfButterflyseason 2 sees the light of day, David will set out on a journey to find the truth about who attacked his wife and learn whether Rebecca has something to do with it. After his wife’s death, he might even face a significant threat from his father-in-law, Doo Tae, whose criminal connections were hinted at inButterflyseason 1.
