Cast: Daniel Dae-Kim, Reina Hardesty, Piper Perabo, Louis Landau, Kim Tae-Hee

Length: 6 episodes

Streaming Service: Amazon Prime video

Audio Description Provided By:

Written By:

Narrated By:

What is it?: A former spy (DAE-Kim) has spent his life on the run, but must come out of hiding to protect and reclaim his now adult daughter, who is working for the very same person who tried to have him killed in the first place.

What Works: A fairly decent spy thriller with a nice lead performance from Daniel Dae-Kim, who has really managed to stay the course in his career rather impressively. The story around his disappearance provides nice context, but his daughter Rebecca turning into an equally formidable assassin is whaat makes the story interesting. She’s never quite sure which side she’s on, having feelings about being abandoned by her father, despite his reasons, and finding herself at odds with the surrogate parent who raised her, BUT AT WHAT COST?

Considering Amazon has no idea how to continue the Mr and Mrs Smith series, which did manage to be an Emmy nominee, Butterfly ends with the kind of reckless abandon that only a show so deeply confident in being able to finish the story would pull. Butterfly, as it ends, is so unsatisfying if it never is reestablished. If we can’t see the next step, it is just an explosive mic drop, but at a point in te concert where you are pretty sure there is stil more actual concert. It’d be like going to a Taylor Swift concert, paying a couple grand to see her, and she performs six songs and walks off stage. the flex can be powerful, if it leads somewhere, but if it doesn’t, then it is a really unsatisfying experience.

So, I find it hard to grade this season, because of the audacity. Amazon hasn’t necessarily been kind to their shows, having already had several shows it promised another season to (Etoile, The Peripheral, A League Of Their Own), which it decided to later revoke.

if butterfly was promised something, and they left it where they do, because Amazon gave them a handshake deal, I would call them naive. Amazon hasn’t done anything to earn the trust of shows creators. You have to tie up as many loose ends in your season, and leave a thread, or a notion of what may come next. Leaving it feeling like I need to see Butterfly: For Good, doesn’t really work if it never comes.

What Doesn’t Work: Piper Perabo is a limited actress. Making her the head of some clandestine organization, and asking her to have the depth required, the nuance, is just an overreach of her abilities. Her USA show Covert Affairs had a very different lean, and wasn’t so damn serious. Here, she’s out of her depth. She’s rarely asked to do much, so I can understand why she thought this was a good choice for her, but the rest of the cast is giving a lot darker energy in their dramatic performances I’m afraid she’s not really capable of.

The Audio Description: Despite a mostly South Korean cast, it is mostly in English, so not a lot of translation exists in the audio description. Most of it is in the action, hand to hand combat, and thrilling espionage sequences. some of it is brutal, especially the final moments of the season. I didn’t catch the team behind it, as I didn’t believe that was actually the final episode of the season.

Why You Might Like it: Until the bombshell finale, it is an above average action drama with a strong lead performance and mostly good supporting cast. Amazon’s brand is a lot of this stuff, from The Boys, Reacher, the Terminal, Ballard, and other action/crime shows. they seem to like this style, and do it well.

Why You Might Not Like it: Thanks to binge watching, people have become accustomed to instant gratification on the resolution of cliffhangers. you will not get that here.

Final Thoughts: An audacious season finale could leave fans stranded if Amazon determines Butterfly has a short life cycle, but well choreographed action sequences, and a strong performance from Daniel Dae-Kim make it a gamble mostly worth taking.

Fresh: Final Grade: 6.9/10