‘Dark Matter’ Finale Recap & Review: The Multiverse of Jasons Collide

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Dark Matter finale, “Entanglement.”

As quickly as it began, it is now officially already over. The Dark Matter finale is now streaming on Apple TV+, and makes several changes from Blake Crouch‘s novel to keep viewers on their toes.

While the reception for the series has been mixed thus far, the strong performances from leads Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly are impossible to deny. Surprising to no one, Episode 9 is chock-full of important details that are easy to miss — make sure you absorbed all of them in our Dark Matter finale recap.

Jason, Daniela, and Charlie Seek Shelter in the ‘Dark Matter’ Finale

Dark Matter Episode 9 opens with another Jason (Edgerton) interrogating Jason 2 after he got pushed down the steps. Jason 2 lies and says he’s here looking for his family, but Jason recognizes the scar he left on his arm in Episode 1. The other Jason asks where Charlie and Daniela are, but he doesn’t know so he hits Jason 2 with a pipe. He says he doesn’t know anything, so the other Jason says he’s useless and beats him mercilessly.

After the credits, Jason 1 rides in the car with Daniela (Connelly) and Charlie (Oakes Fegley). Her phone rings, and it’s countless other Jasons texting her they love her. Charlie also gets texts from other Jasons saying the same thing, so they turn off their phones. Jason says he thought he would only have Jason 2 to deal with, but he should’ve known there would be more. He doesn’t know where they can go because they can be tracked everywhere.

Charlie says he has an idea and takes them to his friend James’ family house in the middle of the woods. The alarm goes off on their way inside but Charlie knows the security codes to shut it off. Charlie then sits in his bedroom looking at photos of his friends when Jason comes in. Charlie admits he’s upset he didn’t protect Daniela, but Jason says it’s his fault. He asks if the other Jasons are actually his dad, and he responds “Yes and no.”

Jason Finds the Chat Room With the Other Versions of Himself

Jason says they need to get some sleep and goes to the bedroom with Daniela. He asks if she wants to be alone, and she shakes her head no. She says she can’t imagine the things he had to do to get back to them. Daniela says she wants to go back to the way things were before, but she knows the other Jasons won’t allow that. She says she doesn’t know how to start and Jason says just like they did after Max died.

Jason tucks Daniela in and goes to the computer room. He checks his email and sees a folder labeled “Entanglement.” There’s a link to a chat room with 44 active participants, all Jasons, and at least 71 members in total. They’re all talking about Daniela and sending clips saying they deserve her. One of the Jasons suggest joint custody, another suggests a lottery system, then several others message Jason 1 and offer to team up and take out the others.

He walks back into the other room and thinks he heard something so he grabs a fire poker. He falls asleep in the chair downstairs and wakes up to a note from Daniela saying she made coffee and is down at the beach. Jason walks down with his cup of coffee and sits beside her. She admits to liking the other Jason at first, but she could tell he wasn’t her husband. He apologizes and says he loved their life, but he did occasionally wonder, “What if?”

Jason 2 Is Tied Up, Bloody, and Beaten in the ‘Dark Matter’ Finale

He tells her the other Jason also had what if’s and those are what led him to this world, but Daniela reminds him it isn’t his fault. He says he met a version of Daniela who never married him and tells her about her. Daniela asks if this other version of her was happy, and he says she wondered the same about her. Back inside the Dessen house, the other Jason who beat Jason 2 is tracking the family bank info, but can’t get a lock on their location.

He gets Jason 2 to tell him where his phone is, and he opens it to see that Blair (Amanda Brugel) has been texting him. Back at James’ house, Jason and Daniela say they should go check on Charlie and walk up to the house. He tells her about the message board and the lottery system idea, and she jokes “Whoever had that idea just lost the lottery.” He also tells her about the shared custody idea and she scoffs “Holidays would be a nightmare.”

Back at home, Jason 2 asks the other Jason what happened and he says his Daniela, Amanda (Alice Braga), and Ryan (Jimmi Simpson) are all dead because of him. He tells her that Amanda died in another world after she was impaled by a large tree branch. The other Jason then shows Jason 2 the chat room and he says he thought he was doing Jason 1 a favor and that he’d love his life. Jason checks the phone and sees a message from Blair saying she’ll be there in 10 minutes.

Blair Finds Jason 2 Tied Up in the ‘Dark Matter’ Finale

Dark Matter Episode 9 continues at James’ house with Charlie making breakfast and catching his dad up on all that happened while he was gone, including the allergy mishap. After breakfast, Charlie asks what the plan is, and they say they need to leave tomorrow. At the Dessen house, Blair walks in and calls for Daniela and Charlie but no one answers. She then sees blood on the steps and goes upstairs.

She hears grunting coming from the bedroom and sees Jason 2 tied up in the closet. As she opens the closet door, the other Jason walks in and asks if she can track her car’s location. Jason tries to take her phone from her so she hits him and runs out the door, but he fires the gun straight up, and she stops in her tracks. She turns around to give the other Jason her phone and sprays him in the face with pepper spray and takes the gun from him.

Blair then loosens Jason 2’s gag and asks him what is going on. Back at James’ house, Daniela asks where the other realities are and Jason 1 likens it to a fish swimming in a lake that’s been pulled out of the water. He says if their consciousness were more fluid, they could literally reach out and touch these other worlds. Daniela asks if there were any worlds where he was tempted to stay, and he says he almost lost hope of making it home.

Jason and Daniela Finally Enjoy Some Time Together in ‘Dark Matter’ Episode 9 “Entanglement”

The Dark Matter finale continues when Jason tells Daniela there was one world where he thought he could be happy, but he doesn’t regret coming home. Daniela puts on some music and they dance together. She then goes to the computer and checks into the chat room while Jason is talking to Charlie in his room. She comes into Charlie’s room and Jason says he’s proud of him for being so brave, and they tell him goodnight.

Jason and Daniela kiss as the camera fades to black and fades back in with them lying in bed together. She asks if he remembered the night they met and says it could’ve been any other Jason who made it back to her, but it was him. She tells him she went on the message board and told the other Jasons she chose him. Meanwhile, Jason goes to the sink to get some water and sees someone running outside.

He goes outside to see the tires on the car have been slashed, and he hears another Jason scream in the distance. He goes out into the woods to find a different Jason almost dead, who reveals a separate Jason did this to him. Jason looks up and sees another Jason who is running towards them get shot. He goes back inside and is confronted by the other Jason who was at the Dessen house earlier in the episode with Blair and Jason 2 (also the same Jason he had the beer with last episode).

Jason 2 Saves the Day in the ‘Dark Matter’ Finale

The other Jason points a shotgun at Jason 1 and asks him to take off his clothes. He asks if they have a safe word, and Jason 1 asks how many people he’s killed, but he just keeps pointing the gun at him. Jason 1 attacks, and they get into a fight until Jason 2 shoots and kills the other Jason. He gives his gun to Daniela and they both point their guns at Jason 2. He admits he’s the one responsible and apologizes to both of them.

Charlie hits him in the face; Jason 2 gives Jason 1 wedding ring back and the key to his Honda, and tells him to leave. On their way out the driveway, another Jason walks in front of them and shoots at the car but Jason runs them over. Charlie notices a box full of ampoules in the back seat and also Max’s ashes. Charlie hands Daniela a phone with a recording of Jason 2 explaining his choice. He says he stole their family because he was burning with envy.

Jason 1, Daniela, and Charlie drive through the city and Jason 2 sits on the beach bloody and beaten. Jason 1 and his family arrive at the warehouse with the box. They walk down and see hundreds of other Jasons standing around the box. One Jason steps up and says they aren’t here to stop them, they just need to say goodbye. Daniela apologizes and the other Jason says he just wants them to be safe.

Jason, Daniela, and Charlie Embrace a New World in ‘Dark Matter’ Episode 9

The Jasons begin to part ways in the Dark Matter finale and another Jason steps up and asks why Jason 1 should get them. Another Jason says it’s not about him, it’s about what Daniela and Charlie want. The other Jason demands they let them through, and they clear a path towards the box. The three of them enter the box, close the door, and each takes an ampoule.

The camera then cuts to Ryan, Blair, and Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi) in the other worlds, before finally cutting to Amanda who is happy in her utopian Chicago. Ryan approaches Amanda in the other world and says he’s been looking for her. Jason, Daniela, and Charlie then wander the corridor before choosing a door that opens to a bright world. They step through and close the door behind them.

‘Dark Matter’ Season Finale Ending Explained: Jason 2 Has a Change of Heart From the Novel

The ending of the Dark Matter TV show differs from that of Crouch’s sci-fi novel. In the book, Jason kills Jason 2 after Charlie distracts him, but in the series, Jason 2 kills another Jason and is the one to save the day.

Everything between the other Jason, Jason 2, and Blair at the Dessen household is also new material. Roughly halfway through the season, Dark Matter began deviating further from Crouch’s novel, but it held together and tied things up in a way that serves the story well.

In the end, Jason Dessen got his happy ending. It took him going through countless worlds, but he made it home, reunited with Daniela and Charlie, and used that box to find another world where they could be safe.

The series has been a riveting ride for book readers and newcomers alike, and while a second season is highly unlikely, Dark Matter fans have a faithful but innovative adaptation to cling on to forever.

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