Warning! This article contains major spoilers for Dark Matter episodes 1 & 2.

Apple TV+’s Dark Matter episodes 1 & 2 set the stage for a compelling multiversal drama by leaving viewers with many intriguing questions and mysteries. After introducing its main character, Jason (played by Joel Edgerton), in its opening episode, Dark Matter walks through a day in his life, highlighting how he is a university professor by day and a family man by night. However, Jason’s life turns upside down when a masked man threatens him at gunpoint and forces him to drive to a secluded place.

With what follows, the masked man injects him with an unknown drug, and, moments later, Jason wakes up in an alternate universe. The Apple TV+ show then reveals its first big twist: the masked man is Jason from a parallel universe (referred to as “Jason2” to avoid confusion) and has swapped places with the main Jason. As the Apple TV+ sci-fi show progresses, several details about Jason2’s life and his decision to switch universes emerge. Before episode 2’s credits start rolling, a character also seemingly dies, leaving viewers asking for more.

Why Dawn Kills Daniela 2 In Dark Matter Episode 2’s Ending

Dawn Wishes To Protect Her Company’s Secrets

After Jason arrives in Jason2’s universe and tries to convince Amanda and Jason2’s other co-workers that he has no clue where he is, they initially believe he is just disoriented after his multi-verse travels. However, Amanda later seems to understand that he may not be Jason she knew after he visits her place and looks for his family. Dawn is also one of the employees at the company, Velocity Labs, founded by Jason2. While the exact reason she killed Daniela will likely be revealed in episode 3, she seemed to have one of two possible motivations.

One possibility is that the people at Velocity Labs were finally convinced that the Jason who has returned belongs to a different universe. Since he knows nothing about what they have been trying to achieve at the Labs, his quest for truth could threaten their research and even cause disturbances in their timeline. Or, they probably still believe that Jason2 returned to his original universe after the experiment but is struggling to adapt to his old life, which also makes him a threat because he could potentially expose their secrets to the world.

Realizing that Jason might have told Daniela about his universe change, Dawn kills Daniela to hide the truth and protect Velocity Labs’ interests. Her action prevents any leaks of confidential information surrounding the lab’s future plans. Killing Daniela and abducting Jason also helps maintain the illusion that their universe’ Jason is still missing.

How Schrödinger’s Cat Explains Jason’s Duality In Dark Matter

Dark Matter Uses The Concept Of Quantum Superposition As A Narrative Device

In the Apple TV+ show’s opening moments, Jason explains the Schrödinger’s Cat thought-experiment to his university students. No one in his class seems interested in his lecture, but the scene perfectly explains Jason’s multiversal chaos. First devised by physicist Erwin Schrödinger, the thought experiment imagines a hypothetical box containing a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive particle. If the radioactive particle in the box decays, the flask shatters and kills the cat. Conversely, if the particle does not decay, the cat survives.

According to quantum mechanics, a particle can exist in multiple states simultaneously until it is observed. This phenomenon is called quantum superposition. Since the cat’s fate in Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment depends solely on the state of the radioactive particle, the cat, like the particle, exists in a state of superposition, where it is both alive and dead. However, when the box is finally opened, the mere act of observing the cat collapses the superposition, revealing the cat is either dead or alive. Like the cat in the thought experiment, Jason exists in two alternate states in two parallel universes simultaneously.

Why Jason 2 Switched Places With Jason 1 In Dark Matter

Jason 2 Regrets His Past Decisions

Dark Matter has not explicitly revealed why Jason2 jumped to another universe and swapped places with his alternate self. However, the first two episodes make it evident he was unhappy with his life in his original universe. The show reveals that while the main Jason did not achieve many highs in his professional career, he has a loving wife and son. Jason2, on the other hand, reached the epitome of his scientific career, but lost the love of his life, Daniela. Both Jasons represent each other’s proverbial “road not taken.”

The fact that Jason2 even asks Jason if he is happy with his life before sending him to his universe proves he is not content with the choices he made in his universe. Despite achieving everything in his professional career, he craves the presence of his former partner, Daniela. Therefore, after arriving in the main Jason’s universe, Jason2 goes to his home and attempts to reconnect with Daniela.

How The Main Jason Can Return To His Original Universe

He Must Find Jason2’s Device

Although Dark Matter‘s first two episodes do not reveal the complete modus operandi used by Jason2 to jump universes, it hints that he first drugged the main Jason and then used a cube-like device to send him to the alternate universe. Jason2’s partner, Amanda, and his co-workers from Velocity Lab seem to know about the multiverse travel device. Therefore, Amanda can help Jason find the device and return to his universe. However, it seems likely that Jason will have to walk through several other universes before he finds his original universe.

How “The Box” Ended Up In Both Dark Matter Universes

The Box’s Inner Workings Are Still Confusing

There is still an air of ambiguity surrounding the inner workings of “The Box” Jason2 uses to jump universes. However, the show’s early reference to Schrödinger’s Cat and Jason’s brief explanation of what it could be suggests it allows one to exist in a state of superposition. The show will likely delve into the details of this in future episodes. It is hard not to notice, though, that the box creates somewhat of a plot hole in the show’s multiversal story: when only Jason2 invented or found the device in his respective universe, how did the box end up in the main Jason’s universe as well?

Why Jasons From Other Parallel Worlds Haven’t Traveled To The Main Jason’s Universe

Will The Show Only Focus On Two Alternate Lives Of The Same Character?

Another possible plot hole — or rather, plot contrivance — in Dark Matter lies in its explanation for why the parallel universes exist. As the show’s initial episodes suggest, every choice that Jason did not make and every opportunity he missed in his timeline forked several realities where he either took a different path or experienced different outcomes. This suggests that Jason’s decision to focus on his family may have also triggered several other alternate realities where he pursued different priorities or faced diverse circumstances.

In the realm of infinite possibilities, why did only one alternate Jason travel to the main Jason’s universe? While these complex paradoxes and flaws in the show’s storyline demand viewers to slightly stretch their suspension of disbelief, they can be ignored because the show is not supposed to be scientifically sound. Apple TV+’s Dark Matter is less of a rigorous exploration of quantum mechanics and more of a philosophical meditation on the cause and effect of one’s choices.