Apple TV’s Smartest Sci-Fi Thriller Officially Returns in 3 Weeks

The multiverse is one of the most popular plot devices in science fiction and superhero stories these days. Shows like Loki and Rick and Morty, and movies like Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All at Once, use it to examine the identities of their characters, with infinite variations revealing a person’s best and worst qualities and the traits that are most core to their personality. It’s also a way of ramping up the stakes, telling stories where characters are more likely to die — since there are plenty of doppelgängers to replace them — and entire worlds can be destroyed. Fans of the genre will get a fresh blockbuster soon with Avengers: Doomsday. But before then, you should check out one of the most thoughtful multiverse shows, which returns to Apple TV in three weeks.

Dark Matter is an adaptation of Blake Crouch’s 2016 novel about a Chicago physicist whose life is stolen by a version of himself from another world. The first season of the show covered all the material from Crouch’s book, but the author is expanding on his story as showrunner of the series. Here’s everything you need to know to watch season 2.

What happened in Dark Matter season 1?

Image: Apple TV

Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) gave up his grand ambitions of being a world-renowned physicist to start a family, living a content if unremarkable life in Chicago with his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) and teenage son Charlie (Oakes Fegley). Another version of him continued to pursue cutting-edge science and invented a box that could be used for multiversal travel. Jason 2 became convinced that he would be happier with the path not taken, and used the technology to replace Jason. Jason 2 sent Jason back to his company, Velocity Labs, since he imagined Jason might enjoy being rich and successful.

Jason instead tried desperately to get back to his family. He got help from Jason 2’s girlfriend and coworker Amanda Lucas (Alice Braga), a psychiatrist who taught him how to use psychoactive drugs to navigate the multiverse. They’re pursued by Velocity Labs CEO Leighton Vance (Dayo Okeniyi), who realized that Jason was an imposter. All of the travelers encountered numerous apocalyptic versions of Chicago, including one infested by killer wasps brought back by Blair Caplan (Amanda Brugel), the first Velocity employee to use the box. After many harrowing adventures, Amanda and Jason found a particularly beautiful version of the Windy City. Amanda decided to stay there, leaving Jason to continue his quest on his own.

Meanwhile, Jason 2 faced suspicion from Jason’s friends and family as he acted out of character. He found his world’s version of Leighton and offered him the drugs used to travel through the box in exchange for money he could use to quit his unsatisfying teaching job. Daniela discovered the drugs and shared them with Jason’s friend and former colleague Ryan Holder (Jimmi Simpson), a highly accomplished chemist. Ryan recognized the chemicals as his own work — they were created by another version of Ryan for Velocity. Jason 2 stranded Ryan in another reality, unknowingly choosing the same one Amanda was living in. He then found a different Ryan to replace him.

Jason finally made it home, only to discover that many versions of him arrived at the same time – each slightly different because of the choices they made during their journeys using the box. Many of these Jasons killed each other trying to get to Daniela and Charlie. After learning the truth from Jason, Daniela incapacitated Jason 2 and fled. Once he recovered, Jason 2 apologized for his actions and gave Jason and his family a box of drugs so they could escape their world and find something resembling a normal life. In the alternate Chicago, Ryan connected with Amanda and revealed that he is trying to recreate the chemicals needed to get home. Meanwhile, Leighton began exploring the multiverse using the drugs he got from Jason 2.

What is Dark Matter season 2 about?

Blair Caplan (Amanda Brugel) stands next to a version of Leighton Vance (Dayo Okeniyi) in Velocity Labs in Dark Matter season 2.

The Dessen family tries to live a quiet life, but the multiverse catches up with them when another version of Jason shows up trying to reclaim Daniela. Jason becomes obsessed with understanding the box in hopes that he can stop multiversal travel, while Daniela grows increasingly paranoid. Amanda and Ryan try to find their way home, while the version of Leighton who helped create the box tries to use the technology to build a better world.