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Mo’ stubs, mo’ problems.
The Peripheral season one spoilers included.
If you’ve gone to the trouble of seeking out all the juicy info on The Peripheral’s season two status, congratulations! That means you’ve made it to the end of the intense, thought-provoking sci-fi thriller and are jonesing for another hit.
Though admittedly a head-scratcher of a show that must be followed carefully, The Peripheral is an intriguing, enjoyable watch and it lands with an epic twisty finale that does exactly what it was designed to do: leave you desperate for more.
What happened to Flynne (Chloë Grace Moretz)? Is she still alive? Can Burton (Jack Reynor) forgive Conner (Eli Goree) for his actions and will Wilf (Gary Carr) accept the truth of Aelita’s findings?
So much to dig into and we’ve not even begun to scratch the surface of what unravelled in the final episode of the show. With that set up, a season two is definitely on the minds of the show’s creators Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan – but will we be getting one?
Here’s everything we know about The Peripheral season two.
As of December 2022, there has been no official confirmation of a season two but the finale has only just aired so that’s not necessarily a bad sign.
We know that the appetite is there from the creators’ side of the fence as executive producer Joy expressed:
“I would love to have season two and season three and all the seasons in the world to explore this amazing, amazing novel.
“I know we’ve already started brainstorming about season two in the hopes that we get a season two, and the world only gets more vast and complicated.”
Moretz seems to be up for the challenge. In exclusive interview with Digital Spy, the actress behind titular character Flynne Fisher relayed her excitement saying:
“I think that there’s a really large possibility for the idea of these stubs and what does it look like to be able to use them?
“What if they could be in different stubs at different times? What does that really look like? I think there’s just a huge way to build out the world, and to, I think, get them out of just London and get us into other cities. I really think that would be a fun thing to see, too. What does the rest of the future world look like?”
Let’s hope fans get the chance to find out! Come on greenlight.
Well we can tell you who’s not coming back and that’s poor ol’ Reece (Moe Bar-El). Reece was stabbed to death by hitman Bob (Ned Dennehy) who also took a bullet to pay for his actions, so those players are well and truly off the board.
Also off the board is the corrupt Sheriff Jackman (Ben Dickey) who was slain by Tommy (Alex Hernandez) – more on that below.
Tommy also made an attempt on Corbel Pickett’s life but Pickett (Louis Herthum) managed to survive. The repercussions of that will undoubtedly spiral.
Number one on our survivors list, one we’d actually like to keep there, is Flynne. She technically died in the season finale but escaped into a new stub, which acts as a new branch in the timeline. So while the old Flynne Fisher from the timeline we have been following has gone, another version exists on a separate timeline… more on that in our explainer of the ending.
This ‘new’ Flynne is sure to be joined by the following in a possible season two:
• Jack Reynor as Burton Fisher
• Eli Goree as Conner
• Gary Carr as Wilf Netherton
• Charlotte Riley as Aelita
• JJ Feild as Lev Zubov
• T’Nia Miller as Cherise Nuland
• Alexandra Billings as Inspector Ainsley
• Katie Leung as Ash
• Julian Moore-Cook as Ossain
• Alex Hernandez as Tommy
• Louis Herthum as Corbell Pickett
• Adelind Horan as Billy Ann Baker
• Chris Coy as Jasper Baker
Boy will Burton be pissed when he finds out that Conner killed Flynne. Albeit under her instruction to save the world from the impending dooms-day known as the Jackpot, but still he will not be happy. Considering Flynne orchestrated her death to look as though it were the action of the Met Police, there’s a chance he won’t find out, but secrets and lies always find a way of reaching the surface so we wouldn’t bank on it.
Flynne’s attempts to stop head of the Research Institute Cherise from destroying the data implanted into her mind earlier on in the season may have stopped the Jackpot, but for how long?
Cherise may still be desperate to ensure she’s fully stomped out the data (which morphed into bacterial DNA within Flynne) and so may still be intent on decimating that timeline anyway: a cut-throat ‘just in case’ measure.
On the other hand, Cherise may very well have her hands full trying to hunt down the new-timeline’s version of Flynne, who still has this precious data in her DNA.
Flynne destroyed the device that would have allowed Cherise to locate this new stub but we have every faith that she will find a way.
Thankfully, Flynne is working with the powerful Inspector Ainsley so she won’t be completely outmatched.
Speaking of new timelines, things could get a bit hectic with two 2032 stubs in existence. The original 2032 may have lost their Flynne but there will still be two Burtons, two Conners, two Tommys, etc, all working under different circumstances, one group grieving the loss of Flynne and navigating the chaos without her. It’s about to get real trippy.
Whatever 2032 stub sets of the Fisher brigade (including Wilf and Aelita) both will have to deal with Lev, who in the post-credits scene was instructed to wipe them all out to cover his tracks. When it rains, it freaking pours in their world.
Meanwhile, Tommy has made a mess of trying to protect the Fishers. Tommy murdered Jackman and Pickett in an attempt to prevent Flynne and Burton from being set up and jailed for being linked (loosely) to the murder of Pickett’s wife.
Or at least he thought he killed Pickett, unfortunately he’s just comatose. Tommy will have some tough decisions to make next season. Will he let Pickett live and risk damning both himself and the Fishers in the process, or will the good cop follow through with his murderous intent?
In Pickett’s brief absence, a power struggle ensued amongst his lawless crew of lackeys, among them his nephew Jasper Baker.
As the group debated who should take charge in the event of Pickett’s death, Jasper was pushed aside and ridiculed. Tired of being snubbed and seen as the weak one, a drunk Jasper drugged the men and left them to die on a railway track.
One emotional call to his wife later and Jasper soon comes to regret this decision but it’s too late, the events are already in motion. Guess he’ll be busy covering up his tracks too. Maybe he and Tommy should confer.
Aelita’s return revealed some shocking news for Wilf. He has been lied to his whole life (what he can remember of it) but the truth can be unearthed with the removal of his implant. It turns out the implants suppress memories which Aelita discovered when she removed hers. For Wilf, that means the quashing of the massacre of his whole family along with five million other people all over England. All killed by the Klept.
They were culled after a contagion grew among them. Aelita means to seek retribution for the Klept’s actions and has gathered others like her and Wilf to join the cause. All she needs is the data in Flynne’s head to destroy them.
A season two could see Wilfe join sides with his sister but the effect that could have on the blossoming romance between him and Flynne is potentially damning.
Not for a long while yet but to be fair, most of us are still probably digesting the events of season one, so we’ve popped that trailer above just to aid that process.
We will, however, keep our nose to the ground for any further updates on a trailer and as soon as we get wind, we’ll let you know.
All episodes of The Peripheral are available on Prime Video.
