Share this
This review was made possible by early screeners of Dark Matter. Dark Matter premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, May 8th with two episodes. New episodes will air every Wednesday.
Life boils down to the choices you make. Every single choice has it’s own specific outcome. Have you ever wondered how different your life would be if you made different choices in the past? If you could go back and have second chance at the life you might have missed out on, would you take it? The new Apple TV+ series Dark Matter gives you a glimpse of the power of choice and the power of the multiverse.
Based on the popular sci-fi book of the same name, this adaptation stars Joel Edgerton as Jason Dessen. Jason is a physicist, college professor and a family man who lives a simple and happy life. That is until he is kidnapped and thrust into an alternate reality where his life played out very differently. A life where he is not married to his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) and instead is with Amanda (Alice Braga). A life where is his son Charlie (Oakes Fegley) was never born. Who is this mysterious foe that stole Jason’s life? Himself.
UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES
That’s right himself. Jason 2 wanted a simple happy life with Daniela and Charlie, a life that the choices in his reality resulted in a very different outcome. While Jason struggles to come to grips of his new reality, he discovers Jason 2 invented a box that is a gateway to every possible version of his life that he could have lived. A gateway to the multiverse.
Determined to make his way back to his family, Jason and Amanda journey through countless realities. Utopias, post apocalyptic futures, the world overtaken by the elements and worlds that are only slightly different from the one he is searching for. Amanda claims “The world you’re looking for is a grain of sand on an infinite beach,” but Jason is determined to get his life back.
SOMETHING IS OFF
While Jason 2 settles into the life he always dreamed of, Daniela senses something isn’t quite the same. While technically they are the same person, the different choices they made in life resulted in living different experiences. When you’re married to someone that long, you know when something is off. The way the series explores how one little choice can change everything is such an interesting multiverse concept that hasn’t really been explored in this lens.
While Jason 1 attempts to get back home, the traversal throughout realities at first is fascinating. But as it goes on the magic starts to wear off a little bit. What remains consistent throughout is Edgerton’s nuanced performance playing two very distinct versions of himself. Braga and Connelly are the heart of the series, both being major driving forces in Jason’s quest to take the life he built back.
Just when you think the series might be getting stagnant, it takes a turn. In pure sci-fi fashion the unexplainable occurs and I love it all the more for it. Apple TV+ has truly cultivated a niche for all different kinds of intriguing sci-fi stories and Dark Matter is a solid addition to it.
Dark Matter is a refreshing and grounded take on the multiverse that unearths the endless possibilities of life. While the story may tread a little water at times, a man’s will to fight for what he loves carries a series full of heady scientific concepts. While you might love the life you live, it doesn’t mean every version of yourself does. Never take what you have for granted. Every choice has it’s consequences.
