Dark Matter on Apple TV+ has many aspects that need to be explained: in this step-by-step recap, we walk you through its plot.
From the first trailer, you could already recognize what was going to happen: Dark Matter, the new sci-fi series that landed on Apple TV+ in May 2024, has everything in place to become one of the most exciting releases of the year. Starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly, the series is based on Blake Crouch’s novel of the same name, and the plot shows all its complexity already in the beginning. Since episode 1, many things need to be explained, viewers were puzzled, and a guide would definitely help: in this full plot recap, we will drive you through the parallel universes of Dark Matter.
The premise
When Dark Matter begins, we follow the life of Professor Jason Dessen’s life: he’s married to Daniela, they have a teenage son, and he teaches physics at the university. His friend Ryan just won a prestigious prize, and one night, while they celebrate together at the pub close to Jason’s home, Ryan offers him a job at the new futuristic company he’s going to found. However, while on his way home, he’s abducted by a mysterious man with a white mask.
This man seems to know Jason very well, even knowing his phone’s passcode. He asks some generic questions about his life, then he steals his wedding ring, injects a psychoactive compound in his body, and tells him that “he’s doing this for both of them.” Jason Dessen goes unconscious: when he wakes up, the world around him is entirely different.
Apparently, “in this world,” Jason Dessen is a single, world-famous scientist who founded a successful company. Conversely, Ryan is pretty unknown, and Daniela is a popular painter with no husband. Nobody recognizes him at the pub, and if he goes home, he finds different furniture and another woman who seems to live with him.
After the initial shock, Jason is sure he didn’t lose his mind: the sign of the wedding ring on his finger proves he had a long life as a married man. Therefore, slowly, he tries to understand how things can be explained, and he finds the solution in Episode 2, which becomes the central milestone in this plot recap, at least regarding the first part of Dark Matter.
Dark Matter explained, the full plot recap: what happened to Jason Dessen?
Following Jason’s explanation in Episode 2, we discover a new dimension based on parallel universes and quantum physics (from this point of view, viewers will probably remember other similar sci-fi productions like Constellation or Coherence). According to this perspective, every time we make a big life decision, two alternative realities are born. Each version of ourselves will keep living in its world. Years before, Jason had to make one of those decisions: he had to decide if he wanted to give up his career in science and build a family with Daniela, who was pregnant, or if he wasn’t ready for it. At that moment, two alternative universes take off in Jason’s life.
In the dimension where Jason leaves Daniela and continues his career, he becomes a famous scientist. However, he is not happy: he will regret that decision for the rest of his life. Therefore, he will focus part of his studies on a new project, discovering a way to jump from his reality to another one. His plan is clear: he wants to switch his life, move to the dimension where he chose Daniela, and live that existence on behalf of the other version of himself.
As the plot unfolds, the mystery of Dark Matter is fully explained. The enigmatic figure who abducted Jason in the beginning is revealed to be a version of himself from another dimension, the one where he chose to part ways with Daniela. This alternate Jason entered the box 14 months before, jumping into the other dimension. After the kidnapping, the original Jason wakes up in a reality where he’s a renowned scientist but devoid of family: he is left to grapple with this shocking turn of events.
From that moment on, the first Jason will do his best to return to his original world. Amanda will follow him, and together, they’ll jump from one dimension to another, looking for the one where he was before everything happened. In Episode 7, Amanda decides to enter a dimension with Jason and stay there: he will leave, determined to find the world where the other Jason stole his identity. And he will succeed: at the end of Episode 7, Jason finally returns to his original world.
That’s when we have the biggest plot twist in Apple TV+ Dark Matter: in episode 8, the original Jason discovers many other versions of himself that recently landed in that dimension. During a conversation with another alter ego, we have a better understanding: “Jason One” is the first protagonist we followed in the plot, whereas “Jason Two” is the antagonist who kidnapped him. After the kidnapping, every different choice he made created another parallel universe, “another Jason One,” determined to return to Daniela. So, all these are versions of Jason that took shape after the kidnapping. We explained this in the dedicated article you find below: head there for a complete overview of this matter.
In the last episode, Dark Matter evolves into a sad ending. The existence of many good Jason in the same dimension makes a solution impossible. Meanwhile, Jason Two, the one who kidnapped the other version of himself in the first place, realizes his plan was a disaster and does his best to fix things, making Daniela and Charlie happy. Daniela finds her own solution: he accesses Jason’s laptop, writes on the board where all other versions are exchanging plans, and tells them that she has made her decision and she wants to live her life with the version she chose. With these premises, Jason Two helps Jason One (the one we followed since the beginning) to escape this dimension with Daniela and Charlie, giving them the last ampoules existing in that universe.
There is no chance to live in peace in this world full of Jason competing to be “the one,” so the only option for Daniela and Charlie is to leave this dimension. This is what they will do at the ending of Apple TV+’s Dark Matter, with all other Jasons realizing the plan and being present when they enter the box. The series ends by showing all the alternative lives the main protagonists are living, but we will never know what world was waiting for Jason, Daniela, and Charlie. Unless Season 2 comes, of course.
