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Critics can't make up their minds about new Prime Video series The Peripheral, the latest sci-fi offering from Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. In its first reviews, the show has been called everything from "dazzling" to "a slog" – so if you're intrigued by it, it might be one you'll have to check out for yourself to really know what you'll make of it.
Based on the 2014 novel of the same name by William Gibson, The Peripheral was adapted to screen by Scott B. Smith, while Nolan and Joy acted as executive producers. Released on the streaming platform today (October 21), it centers on Flynne Fisher (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young woman who stumbles across a secret connection to an alternate reality – and a dark future of her own, too. Katie Leung, JJ Feild, Gary Carr, Julian Moore-Cook, Louis Herthum, T'Nia Miller, and Jack Reynor also star.
As it stands, the outing has a 65% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score is slightly higher at 75%. Many verdicts celebrated Moretz's lead performance and the show's visuals, but criticized it for being cold and needlessly convoluted. (Should we have expected anything less from the Westworld team?)
The Guardian's Lucy Mangan gave it four stars in her review, describing the show as "a bravura rendition" of Gibson's original works. She went on to state that it's clearly "told with confidence by people I suspect will keep the plotting tight and the internal logic – whatever that may be – consistent."
"Propulsive, imaginative and visually dazzling without being overwhelming, this adaptation of a William Gibson novel by the Oscar-nominated writer Scott B. Smith is refreshingly clear and downright enjoyable," writes Detroit News' Tom Long.
Forbes' Paul Tassi was just as much of a fan, claiming: "The story is interesting, the tech is cool and Chloe Moretz is stellar here. No, perhaps it’s not as much of an instant hook as Westworld was, but even with two episodes totaling over two hours, I enjoyed my time and will be tuning in Fridays for more."
Variety's Daniel D'Addario seemed far less impressed, stating: "The moment I felt most connected to Flynne, a character whose traversing two realities barely ever registered as real to me, was a scene in which, in virtual-reality, she receives a prophecy about what lies ahead for her, and humankind. It's bad news, of every possible stripe, so much so that the mind boggles; as with the rest of The Peripheral, it exists more as information than narrative."
"There's a lot to like but not enough of it, and anyone who struggles to get on board with the conceit by the time the credits roll on the pilot is best giving up altogether, because things only get more impenetrable from there," says We Got You Covered journalist Scott Campbell, while SlashFilm's Sarah Bea Milner brands it "a swing and a miss."
Lastly, The Verge's Alexis Ong writes: "The Peripheral has chosen, for some reason, to nuke the book's most incisive social and cultural features and replace it with a tepid extension of the Westworld formula to presenting artificial life..."
The first two episodes of The Peripheral are streaming on Prime Video now. Episode 3 will be released on Friday, October 28. If sci-fi's not your thing, have a peruse of our guide to the best shows on Prime Video for some viewing inspiration.
