The Peripheral: Season 1

  

Based on: 2014 book of the same name by William Gibson

Created by: Scott B. Smith

Executive Produced by: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Athena Wickham, Steve Hoban, and Vincenzo Natali

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz (Flynne), Gary Carr (Wilf), Jack Reynor (Burton), JJ Feild (Lev), T'Nia Miller (Cherise), Louis Herthum (Corbell), Katie Leung (Ash), Chris Coy (Jasper), Eli Goree (Conner), Charlotte Riley (Aelita), Alexandra Billings (Inspector Ainsley)

What do I enjoy more than a show with future sci-fi? A show involving travel between two separate timelines of future sci-fi! 

Set in both a future that is close to present-day and one that's further down the road, The Peripheral is about a woman (Flynne) in the near future who's contacted by the far-future. Although the intentions of the far-future people are more on the selfish side, Flynne takes the situation into her own hands in an attempt to save her timeline and her family. 

My favorite aspect of this show was probably Flynne's ability to take command of a situation through her quick intelligence and assertive personality. The very premise depended on this, in fact. When her brother, Burton, recruits her to help him through a mission in a virtual reality simulation to earn some cash, she not only succeeds with flying colors, but the client responds by sending more missions. 

Flynne wearing the headset that later transports her mind into the future

As Flynne continues to enter the virtual reality world, she learns there's more going on than she bargained for and finds her family targeted by dangerous organizations--in the future--who either want to punish her or protect her. Flynne is a vastly entertaining character to follow both in her present day and when she's visiting her future; her ability to quickly analyze and command a situation makes her a force to be reckoned with among those attempting to manipulate her in the future--and surprisingly out of depth in her present day. Toward the end of the season, her interactions with both the season's primary antagonist, Cherise, and a powerful ally who shows up only near the end, Inspector Ainsley, make for exciting and tense scenes as these strong, confident, witty, and powerful characters all play off each other in attempts to gain the upper hand or coordinate resistance. 

Flynne in the future with Wilf, who becomes her love interest

Another component to the show was the ex-military presence brought by Burton, Conner, and their squad, who live near Flynne and frequent her and Burton's house. Their formidable tactical expertise provide very necessary defense and support to Flynne's family as agents from the future who don't appreciate her success hire assassins to take them out. The season also dives necessarily into ex-military related issues like PTSD and amputee experiences,  especially as they are made to relive their traumas through these new attacks. This mainly accomplished through Burton and Conner, who provide important support for Flynne over the whole season. 

"Peripherals," or robots in the future into which Flynne's mind is projected (and all others who travel)

Ainsley watches as Conner, Flynne, and Burton enter a test she has arranged to judge each of their abilities in their respective peripherals

Finally, I cannot downplay the timeline excitement of the show! Even as Flynne jumps back and forth a healthy amount, we're also given plenty of far-future moments without her by watching Cherise, Ainsley, and other important members of the future who are in charge of Flynne's travel all navigate the ever-changing timeline situation. We're treated to quite a lot of VR technology in Flynne's own time, and in her future, we get much more, including advanced robotics, communications, and holographics. This was all really exciting for me to watch and its very realistic approach, based on our own current technology, made it all the more. 

The season finale ends on a dramatic and reality-altering action Flynne takes that will have major implications on all timelines and characters. I was thrilled to see the series renewed for a second season, so I can't wait to see how the show handles these implications!