Apple TV+ has some of the best shows on streaming right now, including the new series Dark Matter, based on the novel by Blake Crouch. Dark Matter gives fans a glimpse of multiple universes, mind-blowing science, and a man’s determination to get home.
After being attacked on the street Jason (Joel Edgerton) doesn’t wake up in a hospital but is instead thrust into another universe where he isn’t married to his wife Daniela (Jennifer Connelly), and their son, Charlie (Oakes Fegley), was never born. Slowly, Jason begins to learn why this reality was created and how he ended up there, as he tries to find a way back home. This new reality’s version of Jason created a box that allows him to jump to different realities, and our Jason’s world just happens to be the one that has all of his dreams in it.
It would be easy to get confused throughout Dark Matter’s 9 episodes, but instead, the story manages to keep you engaged in every variation thrown at you. For all of its twists, the show itself is one of the more straightforward takes on a multiverse. Edgerton plays the Jason we meet first (the one who is happily a father, husband, and professor) with such an earnest energy that it makes the Jason determined to take over his life stick out. His actions feel sinister because this man is, despite the collective Jasons’ better judgement, taking over another man’s life because of his own mistakes.
Unlike other sci-fi/thrillers, Dark Matter doesn’t bog you down that much with the science behind it all. You know there is a box that exists, and that’s enough. Still, the twists get you.
The soul of a man
Without our first Jason, I don’t think that this show would work. We spend time in the first episode with Jason 1 and get to see how much he loves his family. So, when a second Jason swoops in to steal his life, we care more about Jason 1 getting back to his family and taking back what is his.
Maybe it is Edgerton’s performance or how strong those first scenes are, but there is a pull back to that first reality for the audience throughout the series. Dark, mysterious, and determined to leave you on the edge of your seat, Dark Matter manages to shock you as you watch Jason fight to get home and that’s why you’ll keep coming back.
While you might say that sci-fi stories in the 21st century aren’t saying a lot of new things, I wouldn’t say that about Dark Matter. It is about a man forced to face his follies and deciding that he’d rather have it all and that is what makes Dark Matter stand apart. The series is set to premiere on May 8 with a two-episode premiere, and it is honestly one of the more addicting shows I have watched recently.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
