‘Dispatches from Elsewhere’ Recap: ‘Peter’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

When it comes to storytelling in general, audiences have a pretty solid criterion in mind as to what they expect when they settle in to enjoy a tale. For instance, it needs to move at a brisk pace, the kind that keeps our attention. And it also needs to provide the main characters with some serious challenges to work with, the kind that inspire us as we watch them conquer their problems and grow, and really, this checklist exists simply because audiences want stories to serve as a grand escape from the boring routines of everyday life. Because our regular lives can be quite mundane from time to time and no one likes to be reminded of the simple moments that bore us to tears.
 
In fact, our disdain for the mundane is so powerful that our desire to escape it goes beyond mere entertainment, and this is why we work hard to get out of the house to create wonderful memories with our friends, so the joy of those moments can break up the dread over tomorrow’s workload. Plus, this is also why we work hard to find our place in the world, so that our niche can fill us with purpose and direction, allowing for us to leave the blasé behind. If anything, the power of the mundane happens to be supremely relevant to this particular discussion, simply because it just so happens to serve as the focal point of the series premiere of AMC’s brand-new television series, Dispatches from Elsewhere.
 
Because this particular tale more or less bathes in the mundane, but not for quirky or meta or ironic reasons. No instead, ‘Peter’ is a story that embraces the mundane to speak to those of us out there, who are genuinely stuck within its grasp. All in the hopes of teaching us a valuable lesson about how finding the beauty of the world, is more valuable than our more traditional hollow pursuits. Because grasping onto that beauty is what allows for us to shed the mundane and that overall feeling that we are stuck, and that notion, makes this opening chapter a fascinating one for certain. One that grabs you and holds on tight by way of its unique message and storytelling style, and the strange circumstances and situations that Peter experiences throughout the course of the story.

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But truthfully speaking, that part of the plot really doesn’t matter at this point because this is the beginning of the journey and there will be plenty of time to unravel it later. But what does matter is how relatable this story is, especially the earlier segments that involve Peter’s fight with the mundane. Because we have been or will be Peter at some point in our lives; desperately stuck in that rut that we feel we cannot escape. Where everything at work is routine to the point where anything our bosses have to say doesn’t matter and where even the quiet, we think we crave, brings us nothing but angst since there is nothing in the silence but a yearning to experience something special. And truly, the most powerful moment in this story for me is when Peter outright admits that he feels nothing, because we’ve been in that sour place. Where it seems that life is nothing more than lather, rinse, and repeat for the rest of our days.
 
But while all of that makes for some powerful moments for certain, the true magic of this story is when Peter begins to take a moment to explore the world, he has purposely shied away from. For this is when the show dives deep into how the beauty of the world can cure the funk that surrounds our soul, because once Peter begins to appreciate the little things and the people who share in his quest he is suddenly free and energized by the endless majesty that surrounds him. And it really is quite wonderful to see Peter transform before our very eyes as he tries to soak up every wonderful experience that comes his way and see him share in the wonder of life with others, and there is something quite powerful about how the moments he once associated with boredom now serve as rest areas while he waits for his next adventure with people who are equally as energized.
 
Which makes his interactions with Simone, Janice and Fredwynn all the more delightful and Peter’s awakening makes the story uplifting and inspirational. For it reminds us to take a moment and open our eyes as well when we feel as though we’re sinking into the quicksand that life sometimes creates, and really, in the end, this was quite the brilliant series premiere. Because it is unconventional, and raw and that’s thanks in large part to Jason Segel’s masterfully crafted script and his sublime direction and truly, it should be interesting to see where this story is going to take us in the weeks to come. Because in this moment, there’s no discernable formula present here, just an unfettered look at life and the power of embracing what it has to offer, and you really cannot go wrong with a series that is going to offer a quirky and unique look at the world and a potential solution to the one of the more difficult aspects of everyday life. Until next time.

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