The Peripheral – Masterpiece of a Thriller Set in the Near Future 

By Miclpea

Prime Video premieres a brand-new science fiction thriller on October 21. The series is based on the eponymous novel by William Gibson called The Peripheral.  The story centers around Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her brother Burton Fisher (Jack Reynor) who live in the rural American South in the near future. Flynne works in the local 3D printing shop but has a side hustle earning much needed extra money (to support her invalid mother) playing VR games for rich people. 

One night, Flynne dons a new and special headset sent mysteriously to Burton and finds herself in a futuristic London—a sleek and mysterious world, alluringly different from her own hardscrabble existence.  But this is not like any game that she has ever played before as it feels real. Eventually, Flynne realizes that this is not a virtual reality but a future London.  Someone in London, seventy years in her future, has found a way to open a door to Flynne’s world.

The future London is visually stunning and the streets eerily free of a multitude of inhabitants that one expects to see in a thriving metropolis. The architecture is futuristic with elements of ancient statutes incorporated within the cityscape. The city appears to be beautiful, clean, and safe. 

For Flynne, this future London is exciting but very dangerous.  Here she meets Wilf (Gary Carr), her enigmatic handler and his very wealthy patron, Lev Zubov (J.J. Feild) who with the assistance of Aelita West (Charlotte Riley) have brought Flynne to the future for their own purposes. Flynne helps to steal information from Cherise Nuland (T’Nia Miller), a very powerful and mysterious figure. This theft sets dangerous forces into motion that are intent on destroying Flynne and family.  As Flynne desperately searches to discover the real reason she has been brought to this future world, she is aided by her brother and his former Marine comrades-Connor Penske (Eli Goree), Leon (Austin Rising), and Macon (Miles Barrow). 

The series is produced by Amazon Studios and Warner Bros Television, in association with Kilter Films. The executive producers are creator and showrunner Scott B. Smith (A Simple Plan), director Vincenzo Natali (In the Tall Grass), Greg Plageman (Person of Interest), Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (Westworld), Athena Wickham (Westworld), and Steven Hoban (In the Tall Grass).

The Peripheral is an exciting thriller where nothing is what it seems. The writing and direction are masterful with almost no filler. From the first episode, the action is non-stop as the audience is introduced to the key characters and their backstories.  The story does not fall victim to the typical traps which can occur when novels or comics are adapted to a different medium. But most importantly, the characters do not commit the same tired trope of lying to protect those that they mistakenly believe to be weaker than themselves. Each character in the series is an adult making smart, adult decisions with the information that they have. Credit must be given to the source material from master storyteller William Gibson and to the creative team. 

After watching the first few episodes I recommend The Peripheral as an addition to your watch list.

Amazon plans to follow a weekly release schedule for the eight episode first season starting with the two episode premiere on October 21st (Midnight ET/ 9 PM PT) and with the season finale on December 9th.

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