After two superb episodes in the burner, Dark Matter Season 1 Finale, i.e., episode 9, drops the show to a disappointing ending to its first chapter. It’s not a flat-out betrayal that the show offers, but after the highs it showed in the previous episodes, the chaos that was expected wasn’t rightly planned out. The result is a finale that succumbs to tying up loose ends in a perfect bow while leaving plot threads open for a possible Season 2.
One of the reasons why I feel this is an underwhelming Chapter 1 is because the show never truly dives into anyone’s character arc. For instance, it keeps teasing us to help us know Daniela better, but even after 9 hours of walking with and past her, we barely know why Jason would be so hell-bent on coming to this version of Daniela only. By saying this, I mean that the show is not able to double down on its motif, apart from love being a catalyst for the protagonist.
As far as performances are concerned, Joel Edgerton does a phenomenal job balancing between the two Jasons and the many Jasons that have come up in the last couple of episodes. Alice Braga, as Amanda, is also fairly good, and it would be interesting to see where the show takes her in the upcoming season. The only major disappointment that I had with the creators was not utilizing Jennifer Connelly in a better way. For a large part of the show, she feels like a prop to which Edgerton’s Jason would come to.
That said, let’s dive deep into the final episode of season 1, discussing what happens and what that ending means. We will also briefly discuss the possibilities of plot points in the second season. Please be aware that the article will be full of spoilers; please proceed at your own discretion.
Dark Matter (Season 1 Finale), Episode 9 “Entanglement” Recap:
The episode opens with one of the versions of Jason 1 (possibly the one the real Jason met at the bar) reaching the basement of their house. He intimidates Jason 2 in order to know where Jason and the family are. This version of Jason 1 is pissed off, and since Jason 2 is of no help, he beats the shit out of him.
Meanwhile, the real Jason, Daniela, and Charlie have been driving all night. Both Daniela and Charlie start receiving notifications from different versions of Jason, trying to persuade them about coming back to them. This prompts Daniela to disable the locations of their phone in case the other Jasons try to trace them.
Jason realizes that he can’t be the one making any of the decisions for the Desson because all the other Jasons will also be thinking about the same things as him, and it would be easy for them to cause trouble. So, both Daniela and Jason allow Charlie to navigate them as he takes them to James’ (his friend from the skatepark) parents’ vacation home.
The family settles into the house, which they have sort of broken into. The real Jason gets some much-needed time with his child and his wife as they come to terms with what has happened in their lives after Jason was abducted and replaced.
The Jasons have a chatroom to stake their claims
Jason is really anxious and scared of losing his family again, so he goes downstairs and locks everything up. This is where he goes into his email and finds a new tab titled ‘Entanglement’ that leads him to a chatgroup that one of the Jasons has created. The chatgroup was created so that the different Jasons could stake their claims on Daniela and Charlie and who would get to be with them.
The real Jason receives a personal invite from one of them requesting him to team up and take the others down. However, since all of them think the same thing, he receives multiple messages saying the same thing. This further distresses him, and he goes out to the living room to guard the main door.
The next morning, Jason and Daniela sit on the beach to discuss what has truly happened to them and how Daniela sort of liked the idea of a change in Jason when Jason 2 arrived. Even Jason confesses that there was a time in his life when he wanted to choose a different path but eventually chose to be with Daniela. He tells her that this is the only decision that Jason 2 regrets in spite of having everything, leading him to use the Box to do all this.
He is also pretty honest to her about the message board and the lottery system the other Jasons have suggested. Daniela jokes about it with him, signifying that his honesty is one of the reasons why she started doubting Jason 2.
On the other hand, Jason from the bar has kept Jason 2 captive and is anxiously looking for a sign to trace Dessen’s current location. He asks Jason 2 to hand over his phone back and then replies to Blair, who has messaged him to get her car back.
Jason 2’s Redemption Arc:
Jason from the bar and Jason 2 briefly discuss what had happened to Jason when he was in the Box. He tells him about Jason 2’s Daniela, Ryan, and Amanda being dead. This is when, for the first time, we see some kind of remorse on Jason 2’s face. He tells Jason that he abducted him, thinking that he was giving him a better life. Later, Jason replies to Blair and tries to put her off his scent, but Blair shows up at the house, leading to an altercation between her and Jason from the bar.
At the house, Charlie, Daniela, and Jason have a good time, and the semblance of a family finally sets in. Post dinner, Daniela and Jason make love as she tells him that she went up to the message board with all of Jason and has instructed them that she has chosen him.
Later that night, Jason senses something suspicious happening outside the house, so he goes out to check it. He finds one of the Jason bleeding to death, and when he gets back inside, he finds another with a shotgun threatening him to take his clothes off so that he can take his place and go to Daniela and Charlie, who are currently upstairs. The two of them get into a fight, and just when the other Jason is about to overpower the real Jason, Jason 2 shoots him in the head.
Dark Matter (Season 1 Finale), Episode 9 “Entanglement” Ending, Explained:
Why does Jason 2 help the Dessens escape, and what is his plan for them?
Unexpectedly, Jason 2 hands his gun over to Daniela and confesses about the mess he has created by building the box. He genuinely apologizes for his mistake, telling him how all the others had arrived at the place because Blair’s car had a tracker. He asks them to leave immediately because other Jasons who are now in this universe will start showing up, trying to take Jason away from the equation. He hands the real Jason his car keys and his ring back, helping them escape.
In the car, they find a whole case of ampules and a phone with a recording of Jason 2. In the recording, Jason 2 confesses that he did what he did because he was envious of Jason’s choice of being with Daniela and Charlie. His confession allows us to understand his motive a little better while also making us develop a sort of sympathetic stance for him. Jason 2’s reasons feel correct if you put yourself in his shoes because, at the end of the day, choosing love is bigger than everything else in life.
Basically, Jason 2 has sorted out an escape plan for the Dessens, which involves going into the box and choosing a different universe in which they can restart their lives from scratch. So, since the family doesn’t want to live in constant fear, they unanimously make a decision to step into the box. As they reach the location of the box, they find a lot of other Jasons waiting for them. However, most of these Jasons have amicably decided not to fight with the real Jason and let Daniela and Charlie be with him.
The season 1 finale of Dark Matter, i.e., episode 9, ends with the Dessens stepping into the box without any resistance from the group of Jasons who have come there to say goodbye. The final moments of the episode show us a brief glimpse of all the other characters, including Ryan, who Jason 2 abducted from the real Jason’s world. He is successful in making the drug in the universe, where he was left abandoned. Dawn is still waiting for Leighton of Jason 2’s world to return, while Blair, who had helped the real Jason and Amanda in one of the episodes, is ready to get back in the box again.
The Leighton of Jason’s world is still enjoying his dosage of visiting universes, while Amanda, who is the perfect world, has a chance encounter with Ryan, who claims to have been looking for her.
In the final moments of the episode, the Dessens open the door to a world with their faces lit up.
Will there be a Dark Matter Season 2?: Theories & Possibilities
Dark Matter Season 1 closes a chapter for good. However, the final moments leave a lot of open ends that a possible season 2 can explore.
If I were to make a wild guess, the Dessens would have opened the door to the perfect world that Jason left Amanda in. Now, since Ryan has discovered the drug there as well, it’s possible that Amanda and Ryan might team up to send Amanda back to her world. I mean, I am sure Amanda is happy in the perfect world, but she would want to be herself in a world of her knowing rather than make a new life here. It’s also possible that since most of them are now jumping to the perfect world, the empathy and good nature of the world will start deteriorating changing it into a world full of envy, jealousy, and malice.
The conflicts might arise when Legithton (either the version we saw in the ending or the one that got lost in the corridor) also somehow lands in the perfect world. It’s also possible that Dawn will be tired of waiting for Leighton to return, so she will take the plunge and go into the box herself, further causing chaos. Blaire’s return will also clue into all of this, setting up an interesting narrative thread that can explored.
For now, we can only wait and see if Apple TV+ decides to renew Dark Matter or not.
