Dark Matter Episode 9 finally brought some closure to the saga of the many Jasons, though not all of them got what they wanted by the season's finale.
The Apple TV+ series follows Joel Edgerton's Jason Dessen on a mind-bending sci-fi adventure as he tries to make his way back to the universe that he was banished from, largely adapting the novel of the same name (read more about the Dark Matter book here) while making a few tweaks to the story here and there.
Episode 8's story concluded with the original Jason finding his way back to Daniela and Charlie, albeit with the impending horde of doppelgangers ready to descend upon him at any moment.
Dark Matter Episode 9 Spoilers: 5 Biggest Plot Points From the Finale Explained
Dark Matter Episode 9, "Entanglement," deals with the fallout of multiple Jasons returning to their home universe after the events of the prior installment.
With even more Jasons to keep track of, the handy designation returns once again to differentiate each version of Joel Edgerton's characters.
Jason 1A is the original Jason, who was expelled from his home universe and clawed his way back to Jennifer Connelly's Daniela and Oakes Fegley's Charlie. The '1A' designation refers to him being from the home universe, and him being the primary version of the one that left.
This is because other Jasons splintered off from him after entering the Box, so these other Jasons are still from the home universe but went through vastly different experiences during their multiversal travels. As a result, they will have different letters affixed to them, like '1B,' '1C,' and so on.
Jason 2 is the abductor version of the character, who took Jason 1A's place at the start of the series. With that out of the way, let's dive into how the curious case of the multiple Jasons concludes.
Jason 2 Gets His Comeuppance
The Dark Matter finale opens with two familiar faces coming to blows once again. Jason 2 awakens at the bottom of the basement stairs and is greeted by Jason 1C, the variant with the scar on his forehead who Jason 1A encountered in a bar in Episode 8.
After Jason 2 admits that he doesn't know where Daniela and Charlie have escaped to, 1C mercilessly beats him and ties him up for good measure. The vengeful version of Joel Egderton's character tries to track purchases made by Jason 1A but is stumped when all he finds are gas at a station near Schaumburg and a $500 withdrawal from a nearby ATM.
Luckily for him, a new lead presents itself when he accesses Jason 2's phone and finds a text from Blair, who's now asking about the car that she lent to Jason 1A. After convincing her to come over, 1C has a little chat with the man who caused him all this hassle in the first place.
He explains how Jason 2's Daniela was murdered back in Episode 3, as well as revealing the fate of the Amanda that he escaped with. Fearful and confused, Amanda's emotions led them to a burnt forest with weakened trees. The wind picked up and caused the towering plants to topple, sending a falling branch straight through Amanda. To remember his fallen friend, Jason 1C now wears the necklace that once belonged to her.
Filled with guilt, Jason 2 finally admits the reason why he sent his doppelganger to his universe: he truly believed that Jason 1 would have loved the life that he was being given.
Daniela and Jason Finally Achieve Some Happiness
After a season filled with discontentment and gaslighting, Jason 1A and Daniela oddly get a bit of a reprieve with Episode 9 despite the impending Jasons on their tail.
Daniela and Charlie receive some unsettling texts from the other Jasons, so they turn off their phones and strategize on where to go next. As Jason 1A can't make the decision (due to the risk of other Jasons having the same thought), Charlie suggests they hide out in his friend, James' summer home.
And it is great! The boys are making potentially expired pancakes, Daniela and Jason 1A are having heart-to-hearts on the beach, the adults are getting, ahem, alone time. Who knew hiding out from your doppelgangers could be such a blast?
But not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Looking through his emails, Jason 1A finds a link to a ChatPlume message board filled with hundreds of other Jasons bickering over who's the most deserving among them. Thoughts are thrown around left and right, proposing ideas of joint custody between multiple Jasons or a lottery system that will fairly give one Jason his wife and son back.
The Jasons have even split into factions, with one group known as the Rambos seeming to be more inclined to commit violence and another subset taking a more pacifist approach. As he reads through in horror, Jason 1A gets approached separately by several variants asking to team up and sort the dispute themselves.
Daniela eventually sees the chat room for herself and sends a message informing the Jasons of her decision: she is not participating in any lottery and she's choosing Jason 1A.
Blaire Walks Into a Jason Faceoff
Amanda Brugel's Blaire finally arrives at the Dessen household, hoping to pick up her car. Little does she know, she's just signed up for something even more confusing.
Blaire finds Jason 2 tied up in a closet, while another Jason, 1C, confronts her. He asks her if he can use the tracking on her car to locate Jason 1A and Daniela, but is met with a swift clock to the face.
Before she can make it far through the house though, a warning shot is fired from Jason 1C's pistol. He repeats his request, but Blaire isn't so quick to relent. She pepper sprays her attacker and manages to turn 1C's firearm against him. Removing Jason 2's muzzle, she rightfully asks just what the hell is going on.
Jason 2 Atones For His Mistakes
On his second night on watch duty, Jason 1A notices a figure running outside the house. Upon investigation, he finds a dying Jason out on the lawn. Jason 1B asks to see Charlie again, but that is not something that 1A can risk. As gunshots start to fly thick and fast, another Jason (we will call him 1D for death) goes down.
The Dessens have been made.
Running back to the house, Jason 1A tells an awoken Daniela to grab Charlie and meet him downstairs. As she leaves to get their son, Jason 1E arrives on the scene, shotgun in hand.
1E tells Jason 1A to remove his clothing and asks for the safeword Daniela decided upon so that he can masquerade as her chosen husband. But before 1A can remove his pantaloons, Jason 1E is slain by another of his kind.
But this Jason does not want trouble. Why? Just as it seems that we have to designate a Jason 1F, it turns out it is Jason 2, the one responsible for this whole mess. And he's aware of that now, remorseful for the pain he is caused and the hundreds of Jasons that have spawned.
He found his way to the hideout through Blaire finally handing over her car's tracking information. Unbeknownst to him though, Jason 2's Honda was bugged by the other doppelgangers, allowing them to find the house too. In an attempt to atone for his many, many, many sins this past season, Jason 2 provides the Dessens with a getaway car in addition to a few extra goodies within.
Jason 2 watches his former family leave as he clutches Amanda's gold necklace, clearly regretful that he couldn't be satisfied with the life he had with her in his universe.
Dark Matter Might've Just Set Up Season 2
And if you will look under your chair, you will find 40 ampules of Lavender Fairy! Yes, Jason 2 did not skimp out, leaving the Dessens with a way out of their unfortunate sitch: The Box. It turns out Jason 2 is a bit of a softie too as he remembers to give them the ashes of Charlie's brother, Max, as well, so the family won't feel as bad leaving their home behind.
The Dessens have been beaten to the punch by a group of Jasons, who arrived at the Box first. They are not here to cause too much of a fuss though and are going to honor the first come, first served rule that got Jason 1A back to his family.
Jason and Daniela hold hands as they walk into the Box and Charlie opens the way to a new world for them to explore, allowing them to finally be free.
But that is not the only ending we get to see.
The finale's closing moments also follow up on how Alice Braga's Amanda 2 is doing after she chooses to stay in a technologically advanced universe in Episode 7. Fans speculated that this was the same reality as the one that Jimmi Simpson's Ryan 1 got thrown into by Jason 2 and it turns out these hunches were onto something.
Ryan 1 approaches Amanda 2, admitting that he's been searching for her. We also see a few shots of Ryan 1 experimenting with some Lavender Fairy. Could the two of them team up to produce more ampules to continue exploring the Box? Amanda 2 had a couple of vials snuck into her back by Jason 1A, so perhaps these could come in handy in getting Ryan 1 home.
Dayo Okeniyi's Leighton Vance also makes a reappearance at the end of the finale, though it's unclear which version of the character it is. It could be the Leighton that chased after Jason 1A into the Box, making him Leighton 2. Alternatively, it could be the playboy millionaire Leighton who gave all his funds to Jason 2 in exchange for ampules to explore the Box, making him Leighton 1.
Either way, this Leighton has gone through some changes since last viewers saw him, now outfitted in a cyberpunk-style costume with gaudy sunglasses and epaulets attached to his shoulders. Could he have ventured to the Mad Max-sounding world that Jason 2 mentioned in a prior episode?
We also get a glimpse at the version of Blaire that originated from Jason 2's world and was marooned in one of the Box's many worlds out of fear. She previously said that she would venture back into the Box when she felt ready, and, well, she looks pretty ready at the end of Season 1.
Perhaps she could try to venture back to her universe or look for the other two unnamed test subjects that went missing in the Box's many realities.
Ultimately though, all these questions getting answered depends on whether Dark Matter gets renewed for a second season or not. The show is only based on one book, which does not have any sequel novels or spin-offs.
That is not to say that the show cannot explore its own story though, with there being plenty of hanging plot threads and compelling concepts still yet to be fully explored. With the show seeing great success on Apple TV+'s top chart week-to-week, it is only a matter of time before fans find out the fate of Dark Matter's renewal status.
All episodes of Dark Matter are streaming now on Apple TV+.
