Following a breathless finale, The Peripheral season 1 drops a post-credits scene that completely redefines the narrative’s future. The Peripheral’s season 1 finale breaks down into a tug-of-war between Flynne Fisher from 2032 and Dr. Cherise Nuland from futuristic London. Cherise is looking to eliminate the Research Institute’s secret data by destroying Flynne’s timeline. Flynne, understandably, is less keen on that idea, and hatches a plan to save her world without sacrificing the precious R.I. data that could prevent the apocalypse. Aligning with the well-spoken Met officer Ainsley Lowbeer, Flynne achieves her goal by creating a new stub before sacrificing herself in the original stub, protecting her world, but surviving.
The main story of Amazon Prime Video’s The Peripheral season 1 finale concludes with Flynne and Inspector Lowbeer reuniting in the future, but their team-up soon bleeds into a post-credits sequence focused on JJ Feild’s Lev Zubov, who remains suspiciously missing throughout the remainder of the episode. Zubov is unexpectedly visited by higher-ranking members of the Klept mafia he belongs to. Showing their macabre sense of humor, the Klept feigns displeasure with Zubov’s infiltration of the Research Institute, making him beg for forgiveness. Dropping the act, the Klept is actually pleased with Zubov’s audacity, but wants him to ensure no loose ends remain by any means necessary.
The Klept Will Be More Important In The Peripheral Season 2
The Klept has stayed largely invisible throughout The Peripheral season 1. Lurking in the background, only Lev Zubov and his associates have represented the future timeline’s criminal fraternity thus far, but The Peripheral’s post-credits scene promises to redress that deficit in season 2. From the shadows, the shady gangsters are evidently keeping tabs on the situation surrounding Flynne Fisher’s 2032 stub, and are now primed to take a more active role in The Peripheral’s narrative. All of their pranks aside, Zubov looks to be on delicate ground with the Klept, and more members could descend upon him unless the organization’s “loose end” concerns are addressed.
The Peripheral’s post-credits sequence also creates a veil of mystery around Lev Zubov’s father. As yet unseen in The Peripheral, Lev’s dad is mentioned by Aelita West as the man responsible for murdering her and Wilf’s families alongside countless others, and The Peripheral’s season finale post-credits then confirms Zubov Sr. is still alive. Curiously, the three Klept visitors tell Lev that his father is unable to attend due to being “not in the best health.” Such phrases inevitably sound more ominous when spoken by organized criminals, and The Peripheral tacitly suggests Lev Zubov’s father may have fallen from grace among other members of the Klept.
What The Peripheral Season 1 Finale Post-Credits Means For Flynne & Wilf
The Klept higher-ups do not appear in The Peripheral just to share a drink and tease Lev Zubov. Instead, the Klept wants Zubov to cut all ties to the Research Institute and 2032 stub timeline, giving itself plausible deniability for Lev’s recent meddling with the past. In practice, this means killing everyone who could tie Zubov to his crimes, and while no names are mentioned, that list includes Wilf Netherton, Flynne Fisher, Burton Fisher, Conner Penske, Aelita West, and Ash and Ossian. The complexion of The Peripheral season 2 is now completely altered. Lev and Flynne cooperated awkwardly before; now, the villain will be looking to “cauterize” former assets.
The Klept could now become the main antagonistic force of The Peripheral season 2, assuming the role previously held by the Research Institute. With the Klept threatening his wife and children, Lev Zubov is left with no choice but to send assassins after the aforementioned conspirators, if he can find them. While this poses a problem for Flynne and her friends, the timing is more fortuitous than appears at first glance. Flynne’s mother’s illness coming back means she no longer holds an agreement with the arrogant oligarch, and Wilf recently discovered the Klept was responsible for massacring his family. All bets are off between both sides.
At the same time, however, Ash has forged an agreement of her own with the Research Institute’s Cherise Nuland, the goal of which is to subtly assassinate Lev Zubov without inciting Klept suspicion. A fascinating three-way battle emerges thanks to The Peripheral’s season 1 finale. Lev Zubov is targeting Flynne’s protagonists, Flynne’s protagonists are targeting the R.I., and the R.I. is targeting Lev Zubov. That cycle of violence looks unlikely to end happily for any party in The Peripheral season 2.
Lev Zubov Doesn’t Want To Kill Wilf
A ruthless murderer Lev Zubov may be, but his relationship with Wilf Netherton is a strange beast in The Peripheral. Zubov has shown open disdain for Wilf throughout their scenes together, referring to him as a “family pet.” Conversely, Zubov has also demonstrated a strange kinship with Wilf, standing by his man when most crime lords might cut him loose. Aelita may explain this strange dynamic in The Peripheral’s season 1 finale. If Lev’s father was responsible for killing Wilf’s family and leaving him an orphan, Lev may be trying to atone by making Wilf his right-hand man, giving him well-paid work, and letting him dance intimately with his wife.
When the Klept elders order Lev Zubov to kill all assets in Amazon Prime Video’s The Peripheral, Lev replies, “All of them?” The villain is almost certainly referring to Wilf here, showing a hesitancy to put down someone he considers a friend. Loathe though he clearly is to kill the ever-faithful Wilf, Lev Zubov has shown uncanny survival instincts and a massive selfish streak throughout The Peripheral, and these traits extend to the Klept as an organization. Just because Zubov feels more guilt about killing Wilf than he would Flynne or Ossian, the prospect of Klept leaders killing his entire family should he fail to comply is a powerful motivator.
The Peripheral Season 1’s Post Credits Teases A Bigger Villain For S2
As far as The Peripheral has shown, the Research Institute buck stops with Cherise Nuland, leaving no authority larger than hers in the company hierarchy. The Peripheral season 1’s post-credits scene proves this is absolutely not the case with Lev Zubov and the Klept, portraying JJ Feild’s character as a minor cog in a much larger criminal machine. Zubov’s evident fear when he spies three Klept seniors sitting where his father should be is testament enough to their influence, but the subsequent groveling apology and the way Dominika tells Lev she loves him before departing confirms these men far outrank Lev, the single Klept member The Peripheral had shown beforehand.
Even more ominously, The Peripheral offers no suggestion that the trio of men who accost Lev Zubov are the highest authority of the Klept family tree. Indeed, one might assume that a single overarching leader exists somewhere in The Peripheral’s future, and the three post-credits scene elders report directly to them. If Lev Zubov fails to carry out his orders in The Peripheral season 2, leaving the likes of Flynne Fisher and Wilf Netherton running freely, this elusive leader may finally reveal themselves.
