Dark Matter Continues To Be One Of The Best Shows On The Multiverse And Its Devastating Impact

After two long years since its premiere in 2024, "Dark Matter" has finally returned on Apple TV+ with its sophomore season. A lot has happened in both film and television since, and it seems like the multiverse fever in mainstream superhero blockbusters like "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and their small-screen iterations like "Invincible" has been winding down. That's a good thing for Blake Crouch's ambitious series in terms of competing for eyeballs since "Dark Matter" only gets deeper and more existential about travelling between alternate worlds in this follow-up.

Even with its terrifying premise in its captivating freshman season, Crouch was more interested in the emotional toll that journeying between universes has taken on Jason Dessen (Joel Edgerton) and his family, as well as their immediate social circle, than the thrilling twists that such a bold narrative can provide. That aspect of the show only intensifies in season 2, where the audience catches up with the Dessens as they're trying to find a world that isn't overpopulated with dozens of Jasons to settle down. A task that proves harder to achieve in practice than in theory.

As the season kicks off, it seems Jason, Daniela (Jennifer Connelly), and Charlie (Oakes Fegley) have found that quiet place where they can continue a relatively normal life up until one of his alternate versions invades their new home, trying to take Daniela back, only to get killed in an altercation. She and Jason attempt to get rid of the body as quickly as possible, but when a local cop shows up to investigate what happened, everything spirals, and the Dessens are forced to go on the run and back in the box to find another world where they're not wanted for murder.

One of the most fascinating aspects "Dark Matter" continues to revel in is the practicalities of starting a new life in an alternate world. Finding a new home, job, or a school your teenage kid can attend with no legal documents and the constant threat of meeting your alternate self is a daunting challenge, not to mention the people who might be after you from the previous worlds you escaped. It's a state of incessant worry and paranoia that gradually eats at your mental well-being, eventually seeping into your relationships with people you most care about. Crouch navigates this emotional rollercoaster better than most, managing a handful of characters with an unwavering hand.

Although the Dessens are his main focus, he carefully balances old and new players, too, who are just getting in the weeds of discovering the endless possibilities the box can give them. The side plots of Ryan (Jimmi Simpson), Amanda (Alice Braga), Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi), Blair (Amanda Brugel), and their numerous alter egos provide the more suspenseful and exciting bits of the season. That includes high-octane chases, deadly viruses, shootouts, and betrayals in addition to an overarching obsession (and increasing God-complex) with the science and the power the box intoxicates virtually everyone it comes into contact with. Those are the bits that will continually whet every sci-fi fan's appetite, brimming with mind-blowing prospects of where the story might go.

After watching the entire season in advance, I can confidently say that Crouch's vast imagination satisfies frequently in terms of where the main characters end up and how. Yet the most compelling moments come from the rich and profoundly moving emotional layers the writer-creator carefully backs every one of his characters with.

The science of "Dark Matter" — even the parts that you can barely understand on an academic level — is unquestionably alluring to virtually anyone, but the profoundly relatable emotions behind it that Crouch deals in are the secret recipe to the show's success. The chance to meet a loved one who's no longer alive in your world, someone who lost you in their reality, or the opportunity to catch up with a friend who knew your alternate self, whom you share a lot of traits with, is the reason to create a drama revolving around the multiverse.

One of the best episodes this season is a virtually standalone story that will catch many viewers off-guard. It's devastatingly tragic, quietly heart-breaking, yet subtly hopeful about a character you were told to despise from the get-go. That episode shows the kind of emotional depth and intelligence that Crouch is unwilling to give up for a flashier, more sensational narrative to cater to a wider and/or younger audience. Simply put: this multiverse isn't for those who expect a lighter, more comic book-y approach, but for a likely older audience who appreciates nuance and subtlety.

That isn't to say season 2 doesn't get bigger and bolder in terms of scale and stakes. The visual style of the series is still top-notch, the mystery deeper, and the action is frequent and riveting enough to bring every fan back to the screen each week. And that goes for the top-tier acting, whether it's for the terrific duo of Egerton and Connelly or the newcomers smoothly integrated into the plot to become vital cogs in the structure of the story. Which is to say: "Dark Matter" is still a home run.