Pilot

Pilot is the first episode of the first season of The Peripheral and the first episode of the show overall. It aired on October 21, 2022.

Synopsis

Stuck in a small town without many prospects, Flynne Fisher is a brilliant gamer who works a dead end job to support her veteran brother and ailing mother. When her brother enlists her help playing an advanced video game known as a SIM , Flynne sees something she shouldn’t, bringing real life danger to the family’s doorstep.

Plot

The year is 2099, London. Aelita West approaches a man sat on a bench in downtown London. The man asks her what mess she has gotten herself into this time, but Aelita rebukes the man, citing that he got her into the mess. The two talk about how Aelita once saved the man, and further remarks that she is saving a world this time, but not this one. Aelita bids farewell to the man, who she names Wolf.

The year shifts, it's 2032 in the Blue Ridge Mountains, USA. Flynne Fisher is seen doing chores and jobs around the house, her mother, Ella Fisher is revealed to have just lost her eyesight, as Flynne hadns her a cup of coffee and her medicines. When handing over the medication, however, Flynne notices that some are missing, and suspects that her brother, Burton is responsible for the missing pills. Flynne goes outside to talk to Burton about the missing medication, but finds him wearing a VR headset and immersed within a game. Burton tells her that he has something coming up later that night that will give them enough money for more medication for their mother. With this, Burton hands over the VR headset to Flynne and asks her to complete the mission for him.

Flynne puts on the VR headset and immediately takes control of Flynne's character within the game. She is easily able to win the game with little difficulty and as a result, tells Burton to send her the money from the level. She later cycles to the ATM machine downtown to withdraw the money from her account. Whilst at the ATM machine, she bumps into Tommy Constantine, the town sheriff. The two discuss Tommy's upcoming wedding, and Tommy tells her that he has asked for his decorations be made at the print shop where Flynne works.

When Flynne arrives at the print shop shortly after, she is teased by a co-worker, Billy Ann Baker, who chides Flynne, citing tht she still has a crush on Tommy, but Flynne denies this. Flynne is shown the decorations by two boys who also work at the store, but confusion arises when they find an extra groom figurine among the decorations. Flynne takes this and keeps it when one of the boys breaks it. Shortly before Flynne leaves to return home, the boys hand her a package that has been delivered for Burton — inside is a metal device that was paid for by a Colombian company going by the name of Milagros Coldiron.

Flynne tries on the headset.

Returning home, Burton tells Flynne that he was asked to beta test a sim, as a result of passing level 100 within the game; except, it was actually Flynne who completed the level, not Burton. Given the reward attatched to testing the sim, Flynne agrees that she should be the one to test the sim and puts on the VR headset with assistance from Burton.

When Flynne awakes in the sim, she finds herself in Burton's body and riding a motorbike. She hears a voice in her head who welcomes her to the sim as she rides throughout a towering city around her. The voice tells her that in the sim, she will be able to feel everything, including pain. She must adhere to the instructions of the mysterious voice in order to earn her share. Following the voice in her head, Flynne finds herself at a wealthy party at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Research Institute. Flynne is instructed to flirt with a woman named Mariel, and convince her that the two should go home together. Under the guise of Burton's sim, Flynne is successful in this endevour, and is later instructed to break a glass ampule under Mariel's nose, knocking her out.

Flynne's behaviour causes the Koid driving the car to attack Flynne in retaliation. She is able to overcome the Koid and disables it by smashing a hole in its head. Flynne is directed to a warehouse after this and upon uttering the words "I've arrived", the wall of the warehouse opens and Flynne drives inside. Here, she is met by a woman, Aelita West, who reveals herself to be the woman Flynne has been hearing throughout her stay in the sim. Aelita tells Flynne that they will resume the mission tomorrow and Flynne awakes from the sim momentarily.

Upon returning from the sim, Flynne raves about her experience to Burton, she feels dizzy, but decides to go and get her mothers medications. Flynne heads down to a local bar where she tries to procure the medication, presumably from illegal drug dealers. They tell her that the money isn't enough for the medication and try to harass her for more, but she is saved by Conner Penske, who arrives momentarily and threatens the men with his Tarantula automobile into giving her the remainder of the medication.

Returning home, Flynne notices Burton in pain in the trailer, he appears hunched over. He has visible marks engraved on the surface of his skin that appear to glow and seem to be the source of the pain.

The following morning, Flynne's mother confesses that Burton has been giving her his medication to help with her pain, and has not been stealing hers like she initially thought. Flynne later apoligises to Burton for accusing him of stealing the medication, and logs into the sim.

Flynne's exprience in the sim is not the same as the first time, however, and when she awakes in the sim, she finds herself tied to a surgery room chair. Aelita tells her that she cannot leave the sim without her permission, and Flynne's eyeball is removed and replaced with one taken from Mariel. Aelita tells Flynne to control her mind and deal with the pain and as a result, Aelita allows her to sleep.

When Flynne opens her eyes once again, she finds herself in a car with Aelita. Aelita takes Flynne to a building and uses the new eyeball — which they took from Mariel — to gain access to the building. Delving deeper into the building, they come to a chamber with an inverted pyramid handing from the ceiling. Flynne is forced by the woman to put her eye to the pyramid, which shoots a laser into it. This is painful, but Flynne is forced to endure the pain by Aelita.

They're interrupted shortly by a man who appears in the corner of the chamber. Aelita tells her to take care of the man, but she is easily defeated and the man ties her hands behind her back. The man threatens Aelita with a gun capable of delivering sonic bursts, but Aelita is reluctant to reveal any information. Flynne is able to knock the man away from Aelita whilst she escapes but is consequently met with a blast from the gun which forces her to awaken in the real world. Flynne vows never to log into the sim again.

The following day, Billy tries to cheer Flynne up, but finds this difficult. Flynne tells Billy that she does have a crush on Tommy, but goes on to talk about the sim instead. Flynne recieves a call from Wilf at the print shop, who tells her that she is in danger, but Flynne is reluctant to listen and cuts the call short.

Conner sits around the fire with Burton and the others.

Meanwhile, a police man chases two suspicious cars down the highway. They dissapear moments later, however, and when he stops and exits his car, he is forced to stand in the middle of the road. Momentarily, one of the invisible cars knocks him down.

As Flynne is closing up the print shop for the night, all of the machines around her flicker and Wilf's voice can be heard. He tells her that her life is in great danger and a bounty of $9,000,000 has been placed on her head. Flynne tries to shut down the machines, but Wilf's voice keeps returning. Flynne later tells Burton and his ex-military friends about this, who are initially reluctant to believe her. They use a drone, however, and notice several people coming towards them through the woods.


Cast

Main Cast

Guest Starring

Trivia

  • When first introduced, Aelita West calls Wilf Netherton "Wolf", Wilf's name was changed after this and he is never referred to by this name again and the credits refer to him as Wilf.

Gallery

Promotional Videos

Promotional Images

References


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