The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Jackpot

On the aptly titled The Peripheral Season 1 Episode 4, “Jackpot,” we learn what exactly the jackpot is, and while we knew it was bad, it’s worse than expected.

There’s a hope that with knowledge of what’s to come, people are able to enact change and avoid the dire outcome. It’s unclear if that’s going to happen here or not, but honestly, I’m more concerned with learning about why Aelita had that diorama of Flynne’s house. Let’s tackle that before saving the world, shall we?

Aside from the information we get on the jackpot, we also learn about how society functions in the future.

Right now, it’s mainly a bunch of names thrown at us. Nothing that is revealed leads to an immediate revelation. All that’s clear is that society is precarious, and one of the biscuits — I mean governing bodies — can cause the whole thing to collapse at any time.

It’s nice to hear more about how things work in the future, but aside from our run-ins with the Research Institute and knowing Lev is a klept, none of this currently impacts us or Flynne in any way. The various organizations need to become a bit more real or involved for us to care a bit more.

Flynne meeting someone involved with the metropolitan police (assuming they aren’t just robots) or learning more about the klept would help a lot. We can tie a face to the Research Institute, and we’ve seen what they’re like, but we can’t say the same for the other organizations.

The series is doing a wonderful job of developing Flynne and Burton’s relationship.

We have seen different facets of them, from bickering to caring for each other. It’s a very realistic sibling relationship, and it’s currently the heart of the series. Flynne and Burton are why we are tuning in week after week — ok, we’re also here for Wilf.

The highlights of “Jackpot” come from moments between Flynne and Burton — Flynne’s discussion of her wanderlust and her and Burton planning the to best approach to the future.

Flynne willingly going back in despite her injuries makes a lot more sense after she brings up how she’s never been anywhere. She’s been stuck in Clanton, and she’s desperate to explore.

It wouldn’t have made sense if she kept logging in and endure all the pain with it just because she’s that dedicated to finding Aelita, especially after everything Flynne experienced during her second trip to the future.

And while there was an attack on Flynne and Burton once, there hasn’t been another one since. The looming threat of danger is dissipating, so you can’t even really excuse her trips by saying she is doing it to protect her family.

The Peripheral wisely shares this tidbit about how badly Flynne wants to see the world outside of Clanton now when her symptoms are getting worse, so we can understand why she’s willingly putting herself in harm’s way again and again.

Flynne and Burton also discuss how to best tackle the future and all its issues, as if they were still playing a Sim and not traveling to the future.

It’s fun seeing them strategize, and honestly, they need to do something because their current plan of just Flynne logging in isn’t getting them anywhere.

However, there’s still not a clear mission objective. Why does Flynne need to keep logging on? The mystery of Aelita West is still there, as is uncovering what exactly Flynne “stole” from the Research Institute, but it’s more of a future problem.

Right now, it seems as if the only reason Flynne is logging on is that she enjoys being in the future, which is a valid reason, but the bigger mystery elements need to be brought more to the forefront.

Stray Thoughts

• Damn, Lev is a bit unhinged.
• I can’t wait for Burton and Conner to be able to join Flynne in the future in their own peripherals.
• Lots of info-dumping this episode but at least the jackpot features some creepy statues/visuals to accompany the information.

What did you think of this episode of The Peripheral? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

New episodes of The Peripheral premiere Fridays on Prime Video.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

10 TV Characters Whose Faces We’ve Never Seen (and 5 Whose Voices We’ve Never Heard)