I did it again, pausing two #series on Prime Video, right in the middle, halfway through my viewing: #ThePeripheral and #TheExorcist.
"Middle" and "halfway" here doesn't mean running time but number of episodes, so that's 4 out of 8 episodes of The Peripheral and 5 out of 10 episodes of The Exorcist.
I'm a long-time fan of William Gibson, including his published work and his "social media persona," but The Peripheral is one of the few novels of his I haven't read yet.
Oddly, although I'm really enjoying the series, it's also making me want to postpone reading the book, just so I don't end up comparing one to the other unfavourably.
The Peripheral took some effort getting into. Episode lengths especially are challenging, with the first three episodes running for more than an hour each. Characters have depth (though not the "villains," but more on them later), relationship dynamics are complicated, and tech is presented with little context. These are such effective worldbuilding techniques though that careful attention meant that I became accustomed to its storytelling rhythm and mode by episode 2. It's such a shock when episode 4 happens and explanations are given about a world-altering event and the "realpolitik" (word actually used) that emerged after.
Most characters in the show are complicated but eventually likeable. Unlike previous work by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy on Westworld (which to me has one of the best first seasons and one of the worst second seasons), my focus is directed on characters first before world and plot. Although there won't be a second season of The Peripheral, I think this would have fared better than the other series.
(One hiccup I encountered was the opening of Episode 1, which seemed like gestures at world-building without yet the characterisation needed to provide the real substance. Thankfully, it's brief and has good special effects, but it's not really very enticing until we meet the Fishers.)
One final remark, and this may seem like a back-handed compliment, although I don't intend it to be: the villains here seem irredeemably evil, almost mustache-twirling. It's a bit off-putting, given how seriously flawed protagonists grow in likeability, that the villains are so obviously villainous with far less nuance. However, they have so much charm. I mentioned one character using the word "realpolitik," and the way they say it sooooo beautiful. 😅 Two other villains I'm thinking of also function that way: written like canned meat but performed like a steak. (Sorry, stupid metaphor.)
Thankfully, the protagonists are richly written and beautifully portrayed, warts and all. I hear this series ends in a cliffhanger, but I don't mind, as long as it maintains the same level of storytelling quality. I do think a season 2 could be just as good, unlike Westworld, but if it's safer as an incomplete story in one season, I'll gladly take it.