The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Empathy Bonus
The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 2, “Empathy Bonus,” is a slow hour where not a ton happens. It’s clear that the point of the episode is to set the groundwork for the rest of the season, but that doesn’t mean it’s entertaining.
In the future, Flynne’s learning the truth of her situation in this “Sim” and meeting a host of new people. As of right now, they are more cryptic than captivating. There is something about Wilf that makes you feel like you can trust him, at least more than the others.
It makes sense that we see Flynne try to figure out these new people. She’s testing them, and they are very clearly holding things back.
The issue is that compared to her time in the future on The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot,” her time in the future on “Empathy Bonus” is far less thrilling. There’s no rush of elation or danger during her chats with Wilf and company.
If we could’ve learned more about Aelita and why they are desperate to find her, then maybe that could’ve made things a bit more captivating. There’s clearly some espionage or something else riveting happening in the future that we simply haven’t been told about yet.
This is not to say that we don’t learn anything during Flynne’s time with them, but it’s all small tidbits. This would be fine if we could immediately start the next episode, but instead, we’re stuck waiting a week. There’s nothing from this episode that’s making us eager to see what comes next.
Flynne’s conversations with Wilf and company in the future also feature a lot of information dumping. If you’ve watched other sci-fi shows, then the concept of parallel universes isn’t completely new or difficult to wrap your mind around, but there’s still a lot to be learned about the technology in this world.
The Peripheral is smart to show us Flynne’s robot body once she’s back in her own.
It helps us understand better how she’s able to be in the future, and it doesn’t involve us trying to understand a new set of terminology. If the series can continue to have these small moments that help us better visualize what’s going on, it’ll go a long way.
Based on the first two episodes, it seems like we’re going to be spending a decent amount of time in present-day Clanton, which isn’t the best news.
So far, that has been where the episodes tend to lag. There’s nothing all that interesting going on in Clanton aside from a gunfight and getting Mr. Pickett involved in the plot to kill Flynne and Burton probably won’t help.
Maybe the show will surprise me, but as of right now, I’m more intrigued by the future and however it connects to Flynne and Burton.
Stray Thoughts
- Something’s telling me that the future won’t have any treatment for whatever painful side effects Flynne is experiencing.
- Burton and his military buddies’ tech is curious.
- I’m still fascinated by the future’s giant sculptures.
- I still don’t care about anyone in Clanton other than Flynne, Burton, and sometimes Conner.
- Hopefully, we get an answer as to why there’s almost no one walking around in future London.
What did you think of this episode of The Peripheral? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of The Peripheral premiere Fridays on Prime Video.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).
One thought on “The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Empathy Bonus”
Had to revise this draft from scratch, frankly, one of the least-damaging — if somehow not the one-&-only, instance of what-I-refer-to-as my ‘perennial misfortune’: Colour me oh-so-shocked! Shocked that there is dearth of such masscomm-output in the here-&-now.
For instance, Flynne was actually and unpromptly consulted by Burton over what they should do with the bodies of those elite hitmen, with 3 options[ and only 1 one of them is supposedly lawful in 2032 North Carolina] — and without any hesitancy and cocksure-confidence, she exclaims “bury ’em!” before sauntering off to receive that futuristic 3D-printed IV drug-vial with syringe kit, without a slightest of hint to him. Hours later, there’s only a little bit of hint towards her own decisionmaking ineptitude owing to her sheer-inexperience when she winces at the execution of her command in regards to those dead-bodies.
Otherwise..
This show is a glorified “Mary Sue” fanfic in all its hues-&-colour as one has repeatedly lost count of the number of times Burton has pushed back against Flynne’s recklessness as the artistically-unintentional ‘the voice of reason’ but alas.. It’s supposed to be a “Mary Sue” writing so the artistic-intent possibly can’t be Flynne ever paying the steep price of being( to use the word I heard from “the name” EPs’ flagship “TV-MA” rated show, a yet-another adapted-teleplay show, for HBO®) impetuous. Even though that should be embraced as all the more natural, given she’s the young[er] one. But virtually every single time.. Her response is argumentum ad hominem, and in this episode, the heated back-&-forth over Burton being rightfully angry over injecting their mother with an IV drug provided by some unaccountable, rando stranger who they never-ever had prior connection to anybody remotely in their combined social-circle less than a week ago[ at the very maximum] and yet.. She yells some non sequitur laced with vulgarism, an argumentum ad odium at Best — to be very magnanimous: And we, the audiences, are supposed to root for her? Why? ‘Cus she’s a “SHero” who aplogises for mistakes at rare instances whenever proven wrong[ and importantly, can’t think of a better contravention of the Laws of the Scientific-Reasoning for the sake of, also naturally, doubling-down]( the magic mantra of “3rd time’s a charm” has long been crossed)? What good is an apology, no matter how less or more — from a hot-headed person who refuses to learn from her mistakes and yet, the audiences must root for her “because Feminism?.! D’oh.”?
On the other hand.. While the scene with “Uncle Corbell” came across as bizarrely comical, especially the part of his reaction upon hearing the names of bounty targets. One thought he got angry ‘cus he really cared for those 2 as one of those mob-bosses who have their own worldview of being their community’s legitimate “Authority”, aka “the judge, jury & executioner,” in a manner-of-speaking. But it immediately turned out to be his very stereotypically-Southerner distrust of US federal government that he didn’t need to think through why the nAtIoNaL sEcUrItY Establishment somehow took enough interest in him to the extent of baiting him during [one of ]his VR[ pastime] session[s]. In other words: Same school-of-thought, but, different vantage-points. I would wager that ultimately, just like adult[e/-]rated “Westworld®” — his role would be a glorified let-down. In that, yet-another waste of veritably Southerner Mr Herthum’s talents.
Last but not the least: Can’t wait for the moment when Flynne “Mary Sue” Fisher blames her [elder-]brother as the reason why she still holds a crush on the incumbent Deputy Sheriff.( A hardly arguable the Achilles Heel of the character for this “feminist” show, i.e. the one which the show’s ATL folks would’ve no qualms in oh-so-begrudgingly conceding). And no, not that viciously-intended Southerner stereotype! She’s a “SHero”, remember? Why would they dare go anywhere remotely near that? Burton, on the other hand.. Is a glorified cardboard/punching-bag who is created to validate Flynne’s volatile abstracts “at the end of the day,” an overstatement — given he wastes no time in following-through the idiosyncracies of “the Mighty Flynne” after supposedly butting-heads with “Her” on such ideas with reason every. single. time. I can even predict what kinda oh-so-sensical™ explanation she would give to blame him for her unrequited-love, as well. Yay…! #GirlPowerFTW
And the gobbledygook from “Wilf” was not that hard to parse. And I deliberately invoked that term, since it is basically: Think “Star Wars®”.
To be precise, it’s a genre of sci-fa, or hypothetical science blended in with fantasy( to be respectful: “spiritualism”; even as Wilf’s explanation renders it very dehumanising).
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