Dark Matter (2024) – Season 1 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Entanglement

Episode 9 of Dark Matter begins back home, with a new Jason (we’ll call him Jason3) confronting Jason2. He demands to know where Daniela is, but despite mentioning being pushed down the stairs, Jason3 knows that Jason2 is useless to him, so he beats him down.

We then catch up with Our Jason on the run with Daniela and Charlie. Both of their phones blow up completely with messages from other versions of Jason desperate to be with them. They both turn their phones off and Charlie comes up with an idea. As day turns to night, they rock up at his friend James’ place. This is their holiday pad, so there’s no danger of James’ parents rocking up. With the action subsiding, it allows Daniela and Jason to talk.

Daniela knows this isn’t going to be simple, despite what she wanted, but Jason attributes this situation akin to Max’s death. Their world was turned upside down when that happened, and they managed to survive. This is just one more step along the road.

That night, Jason checks out his inbox and finds a link to a chatroom. There are 103 users online and all of them different versions of Jason. The chat is full of those desperate to find out what happened, some badly hurt and leaving video messages, and one even suggesting joint custody! The fact is, there are a lot and each have different ideas. It unnerves Jason enough that he decides to stand watch downstairs. Inevitably, he falls asleep and when he awakens, a note is left for him.

Does Jason3 figure out where the group are?

Daniela is down by the beach and whilst there, Jason reveals the chatroom and all the wacky ideas to get her back. She jests at the idea of joint custody, but less funny is what’s happening back at the house. Jason2 and Jason3 discuss the journey up to this point. Jason2 is tied up and beaten down, while Jason3 points out the hellacious ordeal he’s been through. The big difference here comes from Amanda’s fate. Apparently, she died in the sixth world.

As they talk, Jason2 points out he thought our Jason would have liked his world. Jason3 scoffs at this, but he already has his own plan – and this version seems way more unhinged and clever than Jason2.

Now, given Daniela took Blair’s car to get out of town, Jason3 figures this out and invites her over to his place. She sees both Jasons first-hand when she shows up and actually manages to outsmart both of them, refusing to hand her phone over. We don’t see what happens next, as we cut back to our Jason hanging with his family. Daniela messages the chatroom that night as a guest and speaks up that she’s made her choice. This is her Jason and nobody else will compare.

She echoes this sentiment to our Jason later that night, but unfortunately, it also seems to bring all the Jasons descending over to this house.

What does Jason2 decide to do?

Jason3 and our Jason come face to face, and it’s clear that this one is way smarter than the others given he knows about the safe word. He demands our Jason strip and give that up. Just as he’s complying, Jason2 shows and kills Jason3.

He hands the gun over to Daniela when she appears with Charlie, and he atones for his sins. Jason2 admits he’s the one solely responsible for everything. He throws his car keys over to our Jason and decides to do the right thing and help them. He gives them a safe way out the house, covering for them while all the other Jasons descend on their position. Before they part ways, he hands over the wedding ring he took and lets them escape.

Now, in the car happens to be a present from Jason2. It’s the box full of ampoules we saw in the storage facility. There’s around 40 of them and he’s even packed the remains of Max too. This was a big part of the middle episodes of course, given Jason2 had no idea and missed the anniversary. This is a good bit of character growth and definitely a nice touch.

There’s also a phone here too, with a voice recording from Jason 2, which the family listen to. Jason2 reveals his choice and how envy burned up inside him for not taking a leap of faith and deciding to be with Daniela. He’s been afraid of risking love but this Jason broke free from it and blessed himself with a messy but beautiful life. He knows he can’t begin to apologize for upending and ruining their life but similarly, he knows that this world isn’t safe for them anymore.

How does Dark Matter end?

The trio make their choice and head for the box. There’s a whole bunch of Jasons there waiting, but they’re not here to stop them or become violent. After the chatroom and Daniela’s message, these Jasons decide to do what’s right and honour Daniela’s wish. There are a couple of dissenting voices, but they largely comply and let them leave.

As the episode closes out, we take a look at the other characters we’ve met along the way. Amanda ends up meeting Ryan in that utopian world (which we theorized was the same one several episodes back), while Leighton finds what he’s been looking for. As for Blair, she finally seems to pluck up some courage and leaves that monstrous world full of creatures. As for our main characters, Charlie opens up a door and the trio marvel at what’s inside. They all step in, and close the door behind them, which also closes out season 1 of Dark Matter.

The Episode Review

Although ambiguous, the ending closes out this story in a satisfying manner, with Charlie, Daniela and Jason seemingly now off in their utopian world. And even if it’s not, they have enough ampoules to at least try multiple times until they get it right.

It’s nice that we got a shot of Ryan, Leighton and Amanda at the end too, seeing them off in their respective worlds and the distinct visual palette for each definitely doesn’t go unnoticed. The music has been good too throughout this season, with the familiar piano motif suitably eerie and mysterious, capturing the vibe of the book.

I’ve said it before but the pacing in this show has definitely been the weakest part. This easily could have been 6 episodes tops, although the finale’s slower pacing is actually welcome here, especially the slow build-up to the end and the addition of Jason3, who is arguably the smartest and most dangerous Jason, given he thinks almost identically to our own, albeit a little more unhinged.

All in all, this has been a good watch and although a bit rocky in the middle, the series ends with a satisfying conclusion.