Abhiroop Das
While Prime Video’s ‘Butterfly‘ is primarily the story of David Jung and his reunion with his daughter, Rebecca, there is a larger conflict at play with his former organization, Caddis, at the heart of it. The protagonist returns to the spotlight after over nine years of faking his death to protect Rebecca from a life of darkness and bloodshed, but in the process finds himself at odds with Juno Lund and her son, Oliver Barnes. In the ensuing clash, several years of insecurities and trauma begin to affect both parties’ actions, with Oliver seemingly having the worst time with it. Although he starts as a mere cog in the system, he soon stands out as a unique presence, with a cocktail of emotions driving him to take drastic steps. Ultimately, his position in the narrative turns out to be more important than anyone could have anticipated, and his actions begin to dominate the flow of events. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Oliver Barnes is a Caddis Operative With a Dark Past
Oliver Barnes is an intelligence operative at Caddis and the son of the organization’s leader, Juno Lund. Relatively new to the profession, Oliver spends the first few episodes tailing Juno and learning the craft, but seemingly always falls short of impressing his mother. She describes him as someone who is clever but weak, and not suitable for this profession of espionage and violence, much to his dissatisfaction. This constant yearning for her affection begins to deeply affect Oliver’s actions, culminating in him becoming a part of the task force sent to intercept David Jung in Busan. Here, he is quickly defeated by Rebecca, his mother’s favorite assassin turned foe. Worse, Oliver is kidnapped by the protagonists and has to endure psychological torture, which ultimately compels him to divulge all the secrets about Caddis’s shady operations, with Juno at the center of it all.
During Oliver’s interrogation at the hands of David and Rebecca, another dark detail comes to light, this time about the mysterious death of Jae-hun. Prior to this, we learn that Jae-hun was a CIA asset secretly spying on Caddis, and his close relationship with Oliver was a part of that. However, their exchange got heated when Jae-hun tried to have access to Oliver’s laptop, following which the latter killed him. Juno comes to her son’s rescue and covers up the crime, but this incident nonetheless puts a target on their back, planting seeds of doubt in every action the mother-son duo makes. Things get worse when David releases Oliver after framing him to have conversed with Senator Dawson, who is leading the investigation into Caddis. This makes Oliver an unintentional suspect for Juno, and a twisted game of secrets begins.
David uses Juno and Oliver’s growing mistrust to his advantage and blows up one of Oliver’s cars, making it look like the work of his mother. Fearing for his life, the young man escapes and ultimately allies with the senator, giving him everything he needs to bring Juno down in return for immunity. In the final sequence, a fray between Oliver and his mother takes center stage, with Juno comforting her son despite his being partially responsible for her empire falling apart. She tries to convince him that her love goes beyond his successes or failures in life, but due to a communication gap, her words fail to reach him. However, Oliver now knows that he has been played, and more importantly, his mother is in danger. This charts out a potential path of revenge for the former operative, making him Juno’s possible ally within the system.
Budding Actor Louis Landau Steps Into the Role of Oliver Barnes
As a character, Oliver goes through many ebbs and flows, from having to live up to his mother’s expectations and enduring the trauma of taking a life, to ultimately betraying his mother’s trust and being reminded that he is still being manipulated by others. Actor Louis Landau confidently brings every nuance to life in his portrayal of the troubled operative. Still new to the industry, Landau went toe-to-toe with his veteran co-stars in nailing down the performance through his emotional range or tiny vocal mannerisms. Prior to ‘Butterfly,’ Landau starred in series such as ‘The Serpent Queen‘ and ‘Concordia,’ where he plays Dauphin Francois and Oliver Miller, respectively. The actor can also be found in ‘Rivals‘ as Archie Baddingham, and in the animated series ‘Wolf King’ as the voice actor Trent Ferran.
In an interview with Where Is The Buzz, Landau expressed his excitement about the role and the massive impact it has had on his life. He stated, “It was only my second audition with my new American reps. Within a week, I was in L.A. and then Korea. It all happened so fast. And it was easily the biggest thing I’ve done.” Additionally, he spoke about his creative process, which involved practicing lines with his co-star Piper Perabo for hours on end and absorbing all the finer intricacies. The actor also talked about his love for a challenging screenplay, and how “people think emotional scenes are tough or depressing. But we live for those moments. Give me a death scene, and I’m stretching that baby out for hours.” This approach to storytelling came in handy during Oliver’s most complex scenes, with Landau using all his skills to do them justice.
Read More: Butterfly Ending Explained: Is Eunju Dead?
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