Daniel Dae Kim Breaks Down the Ambiguous Ending of Spy Thriller Butterfly

Time​ Magazine

2 days ago

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Butterfly.
Butterfly, a tense spy thriller dropping all six episodes on Prime Video on Aug. 13, follows David Jung (Daniel Dae Kim), a mysterious and unpredictable former U.S. intelligence operative living in South Korea. Over the course of the show, the story gradually reveals the dangerous consequences of a past decision that now puts David's life at risk. The series blends intense espionage, complex family dynamics, and moral ambiguity, revealing how loyalty and betrayal intersect in the high-stakes world of global intelligence.
Throughout Butterfly, viewers are drawn into a tense chase as David is pursued by Rebecca (Reina Hardesty), a cold young agent who also happens to be his daughter. Rebecca works for the secretive and sinister spy organization known as Caddis, which has its own dark agenda. The narrative explores the devastating impact of family secrets and fractured loyalties, while building toward a gripping conclusion that ties together the personal and political threads—yet leaves room for lingering questions.
David Jung's past and the long tail of betrayal
Central to Butterfly is David's history working alongside Juno (Piper Perabo), a high-ranking operative within Caddis. David and Juno were once close colleagues within the agency. However, tensions arose when Juno betrayed David by leaking classified information to a terrorist network led by Hugo Maldonado. This betrayal directly led to a fatal ambush in the Philippines where David's entire U.S. intelligence team was wiped out, except for him.
Among the information leaked were personal details about David's daughter Rebecca, then a teenager, including photographs, birth records, and daily routines, putting her in immediate danger. To protect Rebecca, David faked his own death, cutting all ties and disappearing from her life. This decision resulted in nearly a decade of estrangement and set the stage for the complicated reunion that drives the series' plot.
'It's really the trigger event to the series itself. It's the event that changes David's life and also changes Rebecca's life irrevocably. David at that moment thinks he's making the right decision for his family, but as is so often the case when you're a parent, the decision you think is right for your child is often the one that is exactly wrong. So it sets up the entire relationship conflict for season one,' executive producer and star Daniel Dae Kim tells TIME.
The dangerous reunion between father and daughter
The series begins with Rebecca, now a skilled assassin working for Caddis, sent to take out David, whom she has learned is actually alive. She believes her father abandoned her and is conflicted about her mission. When they reunite, their fraught relationship is laid bare: Rebecca's anger and resentment clash with David's desire to protect and reconnect with her.
Their encounter triggers a chase across South Korea as they flee relentless Caddis operatives. David reveals plans to escape to Vietnam, chosen for its lack of extradition agreements, where he hopes to create a safe space for Rebecca and his new family, which includes his wife Eunju (Kim Tae-hee) and their young daughter Minhee.
'The most important thing about the storytelling was getting the relationships right. If we understand the dynamics of Rebecca and David's relationship, the action flows as an extension of the relationship dynamics. There are some action shows where they just go from fight to fight to fight, and you can see that the connective tissue between them isn't very strong. But for us, the emphasis was on making sure the relationships were complex and interesting, and that the fights were an expression of their own emotional conflict,' says Kim.
The growing threat and complex family dynamics
As David, Rebecca, Eunju, and Minhee settle in Busan while plotting the next phase of their escape, the blended family unit struggles to achieve equilibrium. Rebecca struggles to accept Eunju and Minhee, feeling displaced by the new family dynamic. Eunju urges unity, stressing that they must face threats as one family.
Meanwhile, Caddis, led by Juno and supported by her son Oliver (Louis Landau), intensifies efforts to capture David and Rebecca. Oliver, torn between loyalty to his mother and his own survival, plays a pivotal role in the ongoing power struggle within Caddis.
The conflict escalates into a series of violent encounters and strategic moves, with David and Rebecca adopting increasingly desperate tactics to evade capture.
Turning Oliver against Juno
In a decisive shift, David and Rebecca capture Oliver and begin a psychological operations campaign designed to destabilize Juno's control over Caddis. Their objective is to sow distrust between Juno and Oliver, undermining the agency from within.
They plant surveillance devices, stage false communications, and manipulate events to make Oliver suspicious of his mother's intentions. This internal disruption weakens Juno's grip on power and exposes fractures in her leadership.
This phase of the series illustrates the intricate psychological tactics used in espionage, where family bonds and loyalty become tools for manipulation and control.
The final confrontation and ambiguous ending
Rebecca is eventually captured and taken to an abandoned factory by Juno and Caddis operatives. David initiates a high-stakes rescue, which includes a high-speed chase and a brutal fight with Gun (Kim Ji-hoon), Juno's lethal assassin.
Despite sustaining serious injuries, David manages to rescue Rebecca. During the confrontation, Rebecca stops David from killing Juno, insisting they spare her life but demanding that she never threaten their family again.
Following this, Juno and her ally Hollis (Sean Dulake) escape South Korea by private jet. Oliver calls Juno, who denies any attempt on his life, blaming David and apologizing for her failings as a mother, indicating ongoing fractures within the family and organization.
The series closes with David, Rebecca, Eunju, and Minhee trying to rebuild their lives and planning to move to the United States. However, tension returns in the final scene when Eunju is discovered to be gravely injured and bleeding at a restaurant where they were having dinner, while Rebecca is nowhere to be found. David desperately asks Eunju if Rebecca was the one who harmed her, but she is too weak to respond. Calling out for Rebecca, David is left with uncertainty, underscoring that the family's danger is far from over.
Will Butterfly return for a second season?
The series finale leaves several crucial questions unanswered, including the fragile and complicated relationship between David and Rebecca, the true extent of the secretive Caddis organization, and most importantly, the unresolved mystery of who harmed Eunju. The ambiguous and tense ending clearly signals that the story was crafted with a continuation in mind.
Adding to this anticipation, Kim himself has expressed hope for a renewal. 'We hope that there's a second season. We wanted to end on an event that called into question all of the bonds that had been built over season one. David is trying to bring his family back together and we want to see him succeed in that attempt. And the end of Season 1 shows us that it's not as easy as he thinks it's going to be.'