The Peripheral Episode 4 review: “Jackpot”

There’s always another mystery on The Peripheral, but Episode 4, “Jackpot,” is about finally getting some answers. Based on the 2014 novel by William Gibson, Prime Video’s new science fiction show has had a strong run out of the gate, with layered storytelling and a steady stream of fascinating ideas. “Jackpot” keeps the hot streak running while taking a bit more time to flesh out the many plot elements and characters the show has already established.

As always, there will be SPOILERS below.

The Peripheral Episode 4 review: “Jackpot”

“Jackpot” opens with a glimpse at the past of Wilf Netheron and his sister Aelita…and at Flynne’s future. The scene begins in 2075 in London, which is a decimated wasteland. Young Wilf (who goes by his actual name, Wolfgang, at this point in time), is bullied into going out and getting food from a group of seemingly innocuous good samaritans. Aelita is sure it’s a trap, and she’s right. As soon as Wilf gets closer, he realizes that the line of hungry children and relief tent are a hologram. A chase ensues and both he and Aelita are captured.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how The Peripheral has taken its time developing not just Flynne, but all the other characters surrounding her. This scene with Wilf and Aelita is a great example; presumably, it shows how they ended up in the adoption program we saw in Episode 3, where Wolfgang is forced to change his name to Wilfred in order to be picked for adoption and stay with his sister.

Of course, the opening also gives us another very important clue about to the overarching story: it lets us see what the world looked like in the midst of the Jackpot. We’ll come to that shortly.

Back in 2032, Flynne’s (Chloë Grace Moretz) physical issues from using the peripheral headset are getting worse. She hallucinates her eye being shot through with blood before realizing her hand has seized up. The Peripheral does an uncomfortably good job of illustrating how sudden and terrifying Flynne’s physical side effects from the headset are, and never is that more clear than when her brother Burton (Jack Reynor) accuses her of not being able to think clearly about her police officer crush. The stress of the moment sends Flynne spiraling into a full-blown seizure. Props to the acting and sound design for really amplifying the moment.

For a while now, Burton has been asserting more command and generally acting like he’s in charge of the situation even though Flynne is the one risking herself by going into the future with the headset. But in “Jackpot,” we get a clearer idea of one of his limits: Flynne’s health. After her seizure, Burton contradicts his own rules about laying low by insisting that she needs to go see a doctor. The argument between him and Flynne where she tries to get out of the doctor’s visit is yet another example of the compelling relationship dynamics in this show. Flynne and Burton are totally believable as siblings, and their conversation illustrates both Flynne’s willingness to overlook her own wellbeing as well as Burton’s line in the sand about the very same thing.

It all leads to Flynne taking a bit of a timeout this episode, revisiting old home videos of her and Burton’s youth. Burton, however, has other plans. He pushes to use the headset himself, but it’s ultimately decided that his squadmate Connor (Eli Goree) will go in instead. Connor is a triple amputee, and the moment where he wakes up in Flynne’s peripheral body and realizes he can suddenly run and jump is a great part of the episode that recalls a similar moment in James Cameron’s Avatar.

This begins the push and pull of the episode. After getting booted out of the peripheral body for trying to escape the far future compound of Lev Zubov (JJ Feild), Connor is sent back in to deliver the news about Flynne’s seizures. Wilf then visits Flynne in her home video sim, leading to a great scene where the two actually get to know one another a little better. It’s decided she won’t put the headset back on until after getting a CT scan to make sure it’s not messing up her brain too much.

Of course, that’s not really a compromise Flynne is willing to make. After being coached by Burton to think of these trips to the future in the same way that she thinks of sims, Flynne puts the headset back on determined to figure out what exactly is going on in the other timeline. The back and forth as she wanders the nearby city with a helpless Ash (Katie Leung) in toe is one of the episode’s more exciting moments, with Flynne’s friends in 2032 helping hack her headset in order to keep her from being booted out for breaking the rules.

Eventually, Ash caves and decides to show Flynne why there are so few people in her time. The explanation of the apocalypse is another example of how interesting The Peripheral can be; instead of one stereotypical apocalypse, the world suffered from something called “the Jackpot,” where a cascade of calamities pushed humanity over the brink. It started more innocuously than you might think: with a hack of the North American power grid that led a months-long blackout. After that came a pandemic, then an ecological collapse that killed billions, and finally a terrorist attack on a nuclear reactor in the very town that Flynne lives in, decades after her supposed death.

What does it all mean? The Peripheral leaves us hanging; we’ll have to wait until next week to see how Flynne processes this massive bit of information.

The other big storyline in “Jackpot” revolves around the villains. We get to spend a bit more time with Cherise Nuland, played with delightfully menace by T’Nia Miller. Cherise brings the henchman Wilf killed in Episode 3 back as a robotic avatar before going to pay a visit to Lev Zubov.

The ensuing conversation both clues us in to the politics of the far future regime as well gives us a great bit of development for both Cherise and Lev. As intimidating as Cherise may be, we learn in “Jackpot” that there’s quite a bit more to Lev than meets the eye.

During Wilf’s visit to Flynne’s time, she reveals that the Lev Zubov in her time had been murdered along with his entire family. Out of concern, Wilf shares this with Lev…only for the other man to laugh. It turns out that Lev has plans to use alternate timelines, or “stubs,” as a way to make lots of money by doing things like unethically testing pharmaceuticals. However, the one thing that doesn’t quite sit well with him is the idea of other versions of himself existing in other realities…so he paid assassins to wipe out his family in Flynne’s time.

It’s arguably the most chilling scene of the episode. Wilf and Lev’s relationship changes as we learn just how terrifying Lev can be. Flynne and her brother’s squad may be getting the hang of the whole peripheral thing, but the show has also established that there are some serious villains in the future awaiting them.

The Bullet Points

• Lev mentions that Aelita might not last long without the immunity booster from her implant. So presumably there are still some lingering contagion problems on Earth from the Jackpot.
• Flynne gets booked for “a CT scan at the Hefty Mart” next episode. That sounds like yet another example of The Peripheral deftly weaving in dystopian science fiction ideas that strike so close to home it brings a grimace to your face.
• Flynne also demands that peripheral bodies be made for Connor and Burton; this way they can spread out who uses the headset to potentially lessen the physical strain on her. I’m curious to see how that plays out in future episodes, and to see all the actors take on multiple versions of their characters.
• Cherise threatens Lev with a super weapon that hones in on a person’s DNA, eradicating their entire lineage. It’s something kept under wraps, but since she swiped Lev’s teacup, she could feasibly sic it on him at any point.

Verdict

The Peripheral continues to be a fantastic new sci-fi show. “Jackpot” added more mysteries into an already packed story while simultaneously answering a few of our lingering questions. The ultimate reveal of how a cascade of apocalyptic events nearly wiped out humanity sets the stage for an even more complicated story moving forward, and we finally have a good grip on the show’s villains in Cherise and Lev Zubov. I will be counting down the days until the next episode.

Episode Grade: A-

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