If It Were Up To Me, Dark Matter Would Be Even Darker
When it came out in 2024, Apple TV+'s Dark Matter series was a surprise hit for the streamer. However, this was only a surprise to people who might be unfamiliar with the 2016 source novel by Blake Crouch, one of America's better speculative fiction authors. Crouch specializes in fantasy and sci-fi, and much of his work is smartly written, always dark and contemplative of society in general. When Apple TV+ adapted his Dark Matter novel into a series, it kept those themes, which is unsurprising for what has become the most prestigious mainstream streaming service.
Dark Matter joins excellent AppleTV+ titles like Severance and Silo, science fiction shows that are not afraid to show humanity's darkness. However, Apple TV+ also has some of the most optimistic series on television, with shows like Ted Lasso being a good example. For fans who love positivity, shows like Dark Matter might come as a shock to the system. The series has an 81% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and audiences alike, but the biggest complaint is that it is too dark. However, anyone who has read the book knows it can get much darker — and it should.
Dark Matter Author Blake Crouch Also Created The AppleTV+ Series
Crouch Gets To Explore Concepts He Couldn't In The Novel
One important thing to note is that author Blake Crouch not only serves as the lead writer on the Dark Matter Apple TV+ series, but he is also the showrunner. Apple TV+ has always shown great respect for creators, as Hugh Howey remained hands-on, but in a smaller role in the adaptation of his Silo book series. Having the author running the series ensures that his vision remains clear, and the story maintains the themes he envisioned when writing the book. Crouch also said he is happy to make changes when needed (via Variety):
"The book is a single point of view, single player experience of Jason Prime. About a year after I finished the book, I realized there’s a better version of this where 100 pages are devoted to questions like: What is it like for Daniela to be living with this imposter?... So, when the opportunity came to me to make this as a show, I thought it was like I get to do a do-over on the book. I get to keep all the things that I love, and I don’t have to kill my darlings. Like you said, we’re going to have more darlings!
This also means making things even darker than they were in the novel, because viewers can see the other characters — the ones that Jason's predicament was hurting — and see the pain they are going through. In a dark dystopian TV series like this, that is a very important thing, and the more pain the characters go through, the better the final resolution will be.
Dark Matter Makes The Multiverse Terrifying & That Is A Good Thing
Dark Matter Is Changing The Rules Of Multiverse Stories
If there is one complaint about the novel for Dark Matter, it is that the story doesn't go in too many unexpected directions with the parallel worlds part of the tale. There are plenty of twists and turns and a shocking ending, but traveling through alternate worlds is mostly a checklist of what each alternate world would look like based on small decisions made differently. There is a world infected by a deadly plague, one where the atmosphere has dissolved, and one where restaurants have moved to different locations.
Dark Matter Season 2 Is About To Be Very Different From The Apple TV+ Sci-Fi Show's First Season
Dark Matter season 1 was a mostly-faithful adaptation of Blake Crouch's 2016 novel, but season 2 can't possibly replicate that approach.
With everyone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Spider-Verse to Everything, Everywhere, All At Once showing how immersive and astonishing the multiverse could be, this is going to be hard to beat when it comes to a streaming series in 2024. While the novel came out years before any of those properties took their shot at the multiverse, reading it now does not provide anything new. However, with Crouch running the show, he can take his mostly light ideas from the book and make them better — and darker.
Blake Crouch's Novel Shows The Importance Of True Darkness
Blake Crouch's Heroes Never Get The Easy Way Out
The Dark Matter novel is written in the first person, so readers see things as Jason sees them in the story. That is not what is happening in the Apple TV+ series, and Crouch has a chance to show how dangerous things are for characters even when Jason Prime is not around. This also ups the stakes, which is very important in a series such as this. It is also important for the ending of the season, where multiple Jasons were created based on Jason Prime's actions in trying to get back home to start with.
The fact that there is such a sheer volume of Jasons, and the idea that Dark Matter has many of them (based on a character the audience chose to follow) end up murderous, is a bold choice. However, this is how Crouch writes. His heroes don't get to defeat villains triumphantly. They walk into danger face first and take a beating before they finally eke out a way to save themselves.
Dark Matter Should Have Been Darker
The Changes From The Book Could Have Been Much More Horrifying
While plenty of critics have complained about the grim and very dark storytelling that Blake Crouch implemented in Dark Matter, the story should have been much darker. As great as the first season was, it almost seemed at times like Crouch wanted to show off the scientific explanations of what was happening and why, and he did it almost at the expense of the story's emotional core. There was so much that wasn't shown in the book that Crouch could have approached but didn't.
Dark Matter Season 1 Ending Explained: Which Parallel World Is That?
While perfectly concluding some of its primary story arcs, Dark Matter season 1's ending also intentionally leaves some major questions unanswered.
It was nice to see Amanda, Jason 2's girlfriend, get more screen time, as the book didn't give her nearly enough, thanks to the first-person point of view. Even Crouch admitted to that. "I get more emails saying, 'You did Amanda wrong!' than anything else because she just kind of vanishes in the book," Crouch said in the Variety interview. "So part of this show is a mea culpa, and a makeup to my readers for what I did to Amanda in the book. And honestly, the show now feels more canon to me than the book."
However, one of the things left unsaid is the fact that Jason 2 is pretending to be Jason Prime, and he is sleeping with that man's wife (Daniela). That is sexual assault, and that is a horrifying thought. As dark as Dark Matter became, especially when it came to Jason Prime trying to find his way home, and the final scenes with his son Charlie having to make the ultimate gamble, the show could have become a darker and more disturbing sci-fi story if it hadn't been weighed down by so much science jargon.
Apple TV+ Has Mastered Balance Of Optimistic & Dark Material
The Streamer Is Home To Shows Like Ted Lasso & Severance Series
One thing that might have caused Apple TV+ subscribers to reject Dark Matter as too dark is the fact that the streaming service has become home to some of television's most optimistic shows. Take one look at Ted Lasso to see the other end of the spectrum. That show is a fish-out-of-water tale that sees an American football coach hired to manage a European football team — with no idea what he is doing. However, along the way, he finds himself able to use his own optimism to win over his team and inspire others.
Apple TV+ found a way to tell the dark and light stories in life in masterful ways.
On the other end is the show Severance. Just as beloved as Ted Lasso, and also as funny — in a dark way — it shows people trapped in a world they don't understand with a very dark undercurrent. Severance is science fiction that shows that the grass is not always greener on the other side, and it shows that when some people try to force a better life, they end up in a horror story. The same thing happened in Dark Matter with Jason 2, and Apple TV+ found a way to tell the dark and light stories in life in masterful ways without missing a beat.
What's Next For Dark Matter
Dark Matter Season 2 Is Coming Very Soon
It seems strange to know there will be a Dark Matter season 2. For one thing, the first season ended where the book ended. However, there was a huge change in the way the two concluded. In the novel, Jason 2 lives and saves Jason Prime's life before allowing him to escape into a new parallel universe with his wife and son. Charlie, the son, chooses the door, and this should prevent any other Jason from following them. This also makes it unclear as to what story Dark Matter season 2 will tell.
Dark Matter Season 2: Cast, Story & Everything We Know
The ending Apple TV+'s mind-bending sci-fi series Dark Matter was anything but conclusive, and that opens the door for even more in season 2.
Probably the biggest idea is to move the story completely away from Jason and his family. Instead, it could focus on Jason 2 or Ryan Holder, who are both now stranded in a universe where they don't really feel like they belong. Leighton Vance and Amanda Lucas are other characters who received a lot more attention on the TV show than in the books, and their story could prove interesting as long as Blake Crouch doesn't just repeat the same story.
However, Joel Edgerton will be back, so this means the original Jason and his family will return, or he will be back as Jason 2 (or several of the other variants). Edgerton told us here at Screen Rant:
"We start shooting really soon. Look, it's a great new world. The great challenge with Dark Matter is, because of the science fiction element and the conceit of it, it creates obviously an infinite and abundant array of choices. It's about putting the lens on the right choices, the most exciting ones, and I think Blake [Crouch] is just such a supremely intelligent man. So, I'm excited to get back."
Blake Crouch also said filming was underway, but there is no word on the timeline and when the second season of Dark Matter will eventually arrive on Apple TV+. Hopefully, when it does land on the streamer, it will be with a healthy dose of darkness.
Dark Matter
- Release Date
- May 7, 2024
- Network
- Apple TV+
- Directors
- Jakob Verbruggen, Alik Sakharov, Roxann Dawson, Logan George
- Writers
- Blake Crouch
Cast
Daniela Dessen
Joel EdgertonJason Dessen / Jason2
- Creator(s)
- Blake Crouch
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