The Peripheral

The series feels like it knows where it's going and doesn't mind taking some time to get there.

Suffice to say that it is a bravura rendition of Gibson’s tale, told with confidence by people I suspect will keep the plotting tight and the internal logic – whatever that may be – consistent. Those who can follow it at the deeper levels will no doubt find it immensely satisfying. The rest of us can enjoy the ride, and the distraction from the decidedly untightly plotted present.

The Peripheral is a cut above everyday sci-fi with cool futuristic effects, but it starts meandering after a stellar pilot.

There are enough interesting things going on in the season’s first six episodes (some of which are spoilers we’re not allowed to talk about) that I’m curious how the final two episodes of the season will play out, as well as how/if a second season will work.

The Peripheral does a good job at setting up two future worlds that are relatable to a wide audience, and Moretz is great as Flynne.

Despite the changes made to the original, the story remains, if not convoluted, at least one with an enormous number of interconnected and moving parts. And a comparable number of provocative thrills.

It has a lot of promise, and when it works, it's one of the most exciting new series on television, but there are quite a bit of issues holding it back from being the next genre hit.

The core ideas are interesting, long as you can keep them straight in your head, the cast is game, and the action is reasonably exciting. Let’s see whether patches in future seasons can upgrade this show from good to great.

A jargon-heavy sci-fi with not one but two future worlds to digest isn’t going to be to everyone’s tastes, and the occasionally lurid violence (episode one features a scene of ocular trauma that’s not for the faint-hearted) might further give pause. ... Still, despite its Cassandra-like tendencies, The Peripheral is a compelling enough window into another reality that utilises its central premise well.

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. Still, there’s something to be said for a version of Westworld that is simpler and therefore less ambitious and less reliably frustrating.

At this point the hard part is not imagining such a world, but peopling it with carefully developed characters and giving them convincing motives and arcs. “The Peripheral” does this only sporadically. It mistakes concept and spectacle for story.

“The Peripheral” has nothing new to offer its target demo of sci-fi, action, and drama fans, but if more of the same is an itch that needs scratching, it will satiate the unadventurous viewer.

Bright spots in “The Peripheral” include excellent performances by Moretz and Eli Goree as Conner Penske. ... Unfortunately, these strengths, much like “Westworld’s,” are too often lost in a commitment to mysteries that crowds out coherence, mistaking the challenge of deciphering what’s happening for the joys of solving the puzzle of why.

“The Peripheral” feels like a mashup of sci-fi ideas put to better use elsewhere, from “Avatar” to “Free Guy,” with a lot in between. Mostly, other than the sometimes-striking set design, there’s nothing particularly distinctive about the villains or the scenario, which feels more convoluted than engaging.

It is ironic that a show wanting us to question reality is populated entirely by characters who feel flimsy and bloodless. Intermittently, The Peripheral might look quite cool but it’s both hard to follow and hard to care about.

The series, based on a novel by cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson, boasts competently directed action that rubs up uneasily against deeply indulgent running times; no matter how good the chase scenes, we need a break as individual installments plod past the hour mark. This insistence on keeping audiences on the hook doesn’t consistently grant insight; despite how much time we spend with her, and despite Moretz’s best efforts, Flynne is little more than an archetype.

The Peripheral is indeed a bit whack. In fact it’s chock full of premium-grade whackness, from a script that clunks its way through the manual of robo-cliches to a story that just doesn’t add up.

It’s all so cluttered, and so laborious by the writing and therefore even more laborious to keep up with. Worst yet, the emotional stakes are lost in the mess, despite the focus of a brother and sister relationship.