Haptic Drift
In the third episode of The Peripheral, we see a flashback to 2015 when Clanton, Alabama, was hit hard by the heatwave. A biker gang came to Corbell Pickett’s garage to buy cars and when they got in to test drive them, Corbell locked them in from the outside so they would die in the scorching heat. Nearby were several giant wooden crosses and a bucket of nails. His son, Jasper, watched. ..
Billy Ann’s husband, Jasper, offers to help Flynne find out more about the Fishers. He tells her that he knows more about what they’re up to than anyone else and that he can help get them off the hook.
Flynne sees her mother reading a newspaper and smiles. She tells Billy Ann about everything, while Burton and his friends’ drones hover around them. ..
In the print shop, Burton is using printers to make more guns. He reveals to Flynne that he bought the place with the money they received. Flynne is surprised and further annoyed when she realises he rented a car. She tells him they need to be a team and make decisions together. Conner arrives, ready to help them out.
Burton is furious when he realises Flynne told Billy Ann everything. Flynne says she is her only friend, but Burton counters that Jasper’s uncle is Corbell Pickett. ..
In the future, Lev and Wilf discuss Wilf’s past. Lev says there is no shame in it and he should embrace it. They wake up Flynne’s peripheral, who is kept in a box while not in use. ..
Flynne logs into the peripheral and tells them everything that happened with Aelita. They reveal Mariel Raphael was an assistant security manager at the R.I. In return, they tell her about Corbell Pickett being recruited to harm them.
Wilf sits in a car looking at a house. We get a flashback of the time when he and Aelita were adopted by their parents. They wanted Aelita but she refused to go without Wilf, who was then known as Wolfgang. Once he agrees to change his name to Wilfred, the couple decides to adopt him too. Wilfred is sitting in a car looking at a house. We get a flashback of the time when he and Aelita were adopted by their parents. They wanted Aelita but she refused to go without Wilf, who was then known as Wolfgang. Once he agrees to change his name to Wilfred, the couple decides to adopt him too. ..
Wilf enters the house and hears Aelita singing but it’s only a robot with her face and voice. He meets his adoptive mother who tells him she last saw Aelita a month ago in St.James. In her usual cryptic manner, Aelita said she was staying “where snow last fell in London”. As Wilf and his mother talk, it’s clear that there is some animosity between them.
Burton argued with Flynne about whether or not they should kill Corbell. Flynne insisted on finding another way, even if that meant going against Burton’s wishes. ..
Flynne logs back in to the chat room and sees that Wilf has been added as a friend. She types, “Hey, I’m in a car with Wilf. We’re driving around Buckingham Palace and retracing Flynne’s steps from that night.” ..
Tommy watches as Burton makes his offer to Corbell. He tells the man that he knows about the hit and offers him a choice: either leave them alone or be killed. Corbell tells Burton that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but Burton makes it clear that he will kill anyone who gets in his way. As they shake hands, Tommy can see the fear in Corbell’s eyes.
Cherise Nuland tells her hitman Daniel that she’s taking too long to get rid of Flynne. She threatens him to be more efficient. He tells her that Aelita went to school with one of the RI’s other employees, Grace Hogart. Cherise says she will handle it.
As Wilf and Flynne walk, she asks him why Aelita called her a polt. He says it’s short for poltergeist which is the term they use for people from a different time who use peripherals. A police robot begins following Flynne and Wilf realises that the peripheral isn’t properly registered. When confronted by the police robot, Wilf makes up a story about the peripheral being used by a woman from Canada. He then makes up an impromptu love confession to avoid the question of the woman’s visa. Flynne asks if she can go home and is logged out of the ‘peri’.
Grace Hogart is visited by Cherise Nuland, a data researcher with the Stub Research Department. Cherise tells Grace that her work on the stub is important, and asks about Aelita. Grace admits that she introduced Aelita to the Stub Research Department, and as bees begin to converge on the glass enclosure, Cherise reveals that there was a chemical in the tea that makes her sweat mimic a pheromone released by hornets. Ignoring Grace’s pleas, she opens the door and the bees attack Grace.
Jasper drops Billy Ann at home and tells her he needs to drop off a bag at his uncle’s, given by Burton Fisher. She opens it to see numerous bundles of cash and tells him to find out what it’s all about.
Jasper agrees to help Corbell find out where Burton is getting all this money from. Jasper tells Corbell that he has been able to track down the source of the money and that it is coming from a man named, “Burton.” Jasper also tells Corbell that he knows where Burton is hiding the money.
Flynne talks to Burton about the feeling of being linked up with someone. He describes that it can often feel like love, but it isn’t. This feeling of getting lost in someone else’s senses is known as a haptic drift. ..
When Flynne next logs in, Wilf tells her about Aelita’s clue. She suggests that ‘snow’ could be a person. Wilf figures out that it was one of Aelita’s inspirational heroes and they find the place she was staying.
In Aelita’s apartment, everything is a mess as if ransacked by someone. They find a non-working grandfather clock that looks exactly like the broken one at Flynne’s house. Wilf asks what time her clock is stuck on. When they shift the clock’s hands to that time, a secret door opens. They find the surgery room where Flynne had her eye replaced. There are also two broken-down peripherals. Flynne also finds the white model of her own house and its surrounding area.
They are about to leave when the main door blasts open. Daniel and a robot attack them, Daniel using his sonic gun which seems to have an effect on Flynne’s real body too. They manage to overpower both of them. Daniel reveals that Cherise is after Flynne because she took something. Before he can say anything more, Cherise remotely controls the robot and kills Daniel.
The Episode Review
While The Peripheral continues to be a little longer and slower than needed, this episode goes into relationship dynamics quite well. We see the struggle for control between Flynne and her brother as well as the resentment between Wilf and his adoptive mother. There are also some interesting insights into Wilf and his background — the coerced name change and Aelita’s disappointment at his decision. It will be interesting to see how the show tackles racism in a future world.
In this episode, Cherise gets more intriguing with her comparisons of her actions to those of a protective mother. One can’t help but be impressed by her cool and effortless manner of murder, while T’Nia Miller portrays her smiles and threats with truly chilling energy. A commendable antagonist.
The episode was interesting, though not particularly exciting.
