Season 1 - 9 episodes
Buy Dark Matter on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Created by: Blake Crouch (based on the novel by)
Starring: Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo Okeniyi
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer
Plot
A man is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Amid the mind-bending landscape of lives he could've lived, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from a most terrifying foe: himself.
Verdict
It's a fun, twisting sci-fi adventure that keeps building on the premise. One man has to fight another version of himself while getting lost in alternate realities. While this takes a while to get started, the last half of the season is fun and intriguing, and it's also an interesting take on how you access other worlds. At first this is two men in opposition, but we soon realize that every choice creates an alternate reality. Nearing the end of the season there are several dozen Jasons as this explores how simple choices can create a vast array of outcomes.
Watch It.
Review
Physics professor Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) attends a night out to celebrate his friend Ryan's (Jimmi Simpson) prestigious science award. On the way back home Jason is mugged and kidnapped. We quickly realize there are two Jasons. The question is how and why. Jason 2 wants to take Jason 1's place. Jason 2 was a famed physicist in his world, but it came at sacrificing a family. Jason 2 has found a way to have that family by stealing Jason 1's. While Jason 2 claims he's giving Jason 1 a chance at fame, it's clear this is an ends justify the means situation and Jason 2 wants to have it all.
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| Jennifer Connelly, Joel Edgerton play Daniela, Jason #01 |
The audience is aware of the situation much earlier than Jason 1. He's trying to find his bearing in a Jason 2's world where everything is familiar but not quit the same. Jason 2 figures out the lay of the land in 1's world while Jason 1's wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) grows suspicious at all of these new characteristics he suddenly has. By the end of episode two, Jason 1 has finally caught up to the audience.
The people in Jason 2's world hold Jason 1 in captivity, thinking he's a disoriented Jason 2. Meanwhile Jason 2 is living it up, having assumed Jason 1's life. We learn that Jason 2 was the fourth person to try this, entering the box Jason 2 created that can take you to alternate realities. No one else ever made it back except for Jason 2. It's not until episode four we get a glimpse of the box. It's a long time to get into the story proper. We're nearly half way in before we get to the actual plot. Of course the question becomes, where does this show and box go?
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| Joel Edgerton, Alice Braga play Jason #01, Amanda |
The user has to take psychotropic drugs before entering the box to access other worlds. Your mental state affects the worlds you find. Jason 1 is aided by Amanda (Alice Braga) who believes his story. Trying to escape, they enter the box and encounter various worlds. I don't understand why, when the drugs wear off, they don't end up back in their original world. They find a reality where Blair 2 ended up. It's too convenient this is yet another character we've already seen. This Blair is a stark reminder of what can go wrong.
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| Joel Edgerton plays Jason #01, Jason #03 |
Meanwhile Jason 2 is looking for funding. He's going to create his box in this world too. He wants the best of both worlds; he stole the girl and now will invent the box all over again. He's not Jason 1 and he keeps making mistakes that cause his family to wonder. Jason 2 makes decisions because only he knows best. He's not the same person that chose Daniela over his scientific pursuits. His ego is much bigger, and his family is merely a prop.
Every choice creates a new world which means the chance of Jason 1 finding his world becomes more difficult. It seems unlikely that he'll ever find his world. Since this is a television series, we have to suspend the disbelief that he made it back despite the odds. Because of the box and the choices made in the box, there are now multiple Jasons that think they are Jason 1. That's because they are all Jason 1, but they don't have a home. All of them fought to return to their world and made it. We can guess that many more died along the way.
Jason 2 also entered the box. Why aren't there several Jason 2s that enter Jason 1's world? Each choice in the box creates an additional Jason. Did Jason 2 make only one choice in the box? We know he didn't.
The mind bender is that we don't know which Jason 1 is the real Jason 1. Season 2 has already started filming, and it could upend our thinking in several different ways, from looking at several Jason plights to exploring the ramifications of the box. There's at least one version of Jason and his family in a box and that could unfurl in many different ways, but this time they're not looking for a specific world.
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