Yahoo News Jennifer Connelly and ‘Dark Matter’ Writers Answer Finale Questions, Talk Easter Eggs and a Potential Second Season
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from Episode 9, “Entanglement,” the Season 1 finale of “Dark Matter,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
The finale of “Dark Matter,” based on the bestselling novel by Blake Crouch, has hit Apple TV+, and while it answers many questions, it also poses a new ones. We spoke to Jennifer Connelly, who pays Daniela Dessen, who has to make an unthinkable choice. In addition, we talked to Crouch, who adapted his own book for television, as well as his co-writer of the final episode, Jacquelyn Ben-Zekry. And we couldn’t help but ask about a potential second season.
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For purposes of this story, characters with multiple selves are referred to by the universe they were first seen in. So JasonPrime is from “our” world, while Jason2 and Amanda2 come from the second world shown.
The penultimate episode of “Dark Matter” saw JasonPrime (Joel Edgerton) reunited with Daniela and their son Charlie (Oakes Fegley.) But their happily ever after is deferred upon learning about the existence of other Jasons. And over the course of the episode, we watch Daniela struggle with the guilt she feels over abandoning the other Jasons. But we also see JasonPrime prove himself to be the same man she knew, unlike some of the Jasons who have clearly been damaged by their experiences. In a way, the pair have to fall back in love with each other.
That’s challenging, however, as it means the other Jasons have come home to their own world without a family. Connelly says there is a moment Daniela actively chooses to stay with JasonPrime, and not even hear other possibilities: “I don’t think that it comes easily or quickly,” Connelly says. “And I think that’s what this chapter of the story is about.”
She adds that the two can’t just rush into each other’s arms. “After all that time we’ve spent with Jason trying to get home, we realize it can’t be an easy homecoming because of the ramifications of what’s happened,” Connelly continues. “The journey they take together where they run away and hide out is her finding that feeling that he is the one.”
The length of that journey was so important that it made the series go from eight to nine episodes. As they were going into production, Crouch realized he wanted to go deeper with several of the relationships. “I went and said, ‘Hey, I think we need one more episode.’ And we were told to do it — and it truly makes all the difference,” Crouch says.
Connelly agrees. “It didn’t seem like it could be plausible that with so much to sift through it could be an immediate, ‘OK, I get it — I know absolutely that you are the one,’” she says. “There’s so much to digest and process. So I was really happy we had those last two episodes to explore that, and watch them find each other again.”
Connelly wishes it had been easier for them. “After everything, I want to have it be a big moment where they embrace and everything is OK,” she says. “But I just believe this more.”
The Dessens do reconcile, and then have to survive a group of Jasons attacking their hideout and make it back to The Box to start a new life in an alternate world. But when they arrive at The Box, another group of Jasons is there. One Jason says, “We came to say goodbye.” The Dessens enter The Box, and we see Charlie open the door to an unknown universe with hope on their faces. We also see the fates of other characters – we spot Blaire2 (Amanda Brugel) in the Insect World finally heading home . We also see LeightonPrime (Dayo Okeniyi) embarking on a new adventure. He appears exhausted, but Crouch assures us he’s happy. “He’s having the time of his life,” he says, noting that he feels the billionaire is perhaps the most misunderstood character on the show.
But what about Leighton2 from Jason2’s world, who followed JasonPrime into The Box and was last seen bleeding in the corridor? The producers won’t say that he’s gone for good. “We’ll see,” Ben-Zekry says teasingly, before adding, “Does anyone really die in the multiverse?”
Which leads to the question of whether the series will continue, since the season ends where Crouch’s book does. Connelly, for one, says she’d be open to a return. “I don’t know if they’ve made any decisions about that, but I had a great time working on it, and would be happy to be involved,” she says. According to Crouch, nothing is currently planned, and the first season is still making its way to people. Still, he says, “It’s hard to do a whole first season with these characters and not think about what could come next. But I think we’re trying to just enjoy this moment right now.”
There are certainly crumbs left for the audience — such as the intertwined fates of RyanPrime (Jimmi Simpson) and Amanda2 (Alice Braga.) When last spotted, they seemed to meet in what the writers call World 26. Explains Ben-Zekry: “Every world has its nickname: There’s Ash World and Water World, and people refer to this as Utopia World. But I didn’t want to call it that, because there is no such thing as a utopia — every place has its downside.”
While Amanda2 chose to stay in World26, RyanPrime was abandoned there without knowing how The Box works or the necessary ampules to inject himself with in order to travel. RyanPrime approaches Amanda2; she asks if she knows him. RyanPrime responds, “No, but I’ve been looking for you.”
Crouch says that there is more to explore there. “He knows who she is — I won’t say how, because it could be a spoiler for future things. But he located her in a really cool way,” he reveals. “He was stranded in this world with no ampules to get him home. But he knows she might be his lifeline back.”
Ben-Zekry adds that World26 was the one she was most involved in creating and shaping. “That world is super important to us, because Ryan and Amanda are there. So if there’s a Season 2, you’ll see more of it.”
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