Through the magic of data transfer, Flynne is actually going to a very real - or apparently real - post-apocalyptic London circa 2100, and she’s accidentally seen something that makes her very valuable. It turns out, though, that the game feels immersive because… it’s not a game. She finds herself in an immersive version of London engaged in a harrowing mission involving seduction, espionage, impromptu facial surgery and a mysterious woman named Aelita (Charlotte Riley). Burton and his military buddies spend a lot of time playing virtual reality video games and he’s good enough to make money from it, with the catch: When it comes to the most difficult of tasks, Burton enlists Flynne, who’s the family’s real gaming genius - though for under-explained reasons, her participation has to be secretive.īased on Flynne’s performance on a particularly daunting game, Burton is sent a fancy new VR headset to demo, with the potential of a major financial windfall, which means Flynne has to strap in. Burton is a veteran of a special “haptic” Marine unit, struggling with pain and other PTSD symptoms.

Somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Flynne - shades of Tron - Fisher (Chloe Grace Moretz) lives in poverty, but not crushing poverty, with her brother Burton (Jack Reynor) and their ailing mother (Melinda Page Hamilton). You could rebrand The Peripheral as the fifth season of Westworld and audiences would probably just accept it, and while the cast isn’t nearly as good and the mythology isn’t nearly as convoluted, the chances of inevitable disappointment feel lower, at least through the six episodes sent to critics. Still, there’s something to be said for a version of Westworld that is simpler and therefore less ambitious and less reliably frustrating.

There are big ideas under the surface that The Peripheral can’t explore because of a greater investment in twisty plot, garbled jargon and complicated world-building. Airdate: Friday, October 21 ( Amazon Prime Video)Ĭast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Gary Carr, Jack Reynor, Eli Goree, Charlotte Riley, JJ Feild, Adelind Horan, T'Nia Miller, Alex Hernandez, Louis Herthum, Chris CoyĬreator: Scott Smith, from the book by William GibsonĪctually, it’s a slight over-correction.

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