Warning: Spoilers for Dark Matter season 1, episode 9!

Jason Dessen has gone through it. From being kidnapped by an alternate version of himself to fighting through a universe-hopping box that gives him access to a myriad of worlds, the college professor has fought hard to make it back to his original world to reunite with his wife Daniela and son Charlie. Apple TV+’s latest sci-fi hit Dark Matter is based on the novel by Blake Crouch, hailed by many as one of the best science-fiction novels of the decade, and through the series, Crouch has expanded the world of his story, following Joel Edgerton’s Jason and many alternate versions of him and the rest of the Dark Matter cast.

It’s this expanded world that drew Edgerton to the project originally. “Blake had written this really interesting science fiction novel that, at its core, really was just speaking about really resonant, human themes about regret and gratitude but through this cool conceit,” Edgerton says. “Then to be talking about expanding that novel, staying true to what it is, but then finding ways to expand things for each character” is what ultimately sold the actor on the project, which comes full circle in its mind-bending ending.

In the Dark Matter finale, Jason1 (the original Jason audiences began the story with) manages to escape his world with Daniela and Charlie in tow, embarking on a new journey inside the box and away from the hundreds of versions of himself that seek to live a happy life with his family. Jason2 (the one who kidnapped the series protagonist) helps Jason1 and his family escape, but after what he did, Edgerton doesn’t think full redemption is in the cards.

Joel Edgerton Dives Deep On Jason2’s Ending & Origins

Dark Matter changes one big thing about Jason2’s final scene

In the climax of the novel, Jason1 and Jason2 battle it out, resulting in Jason1 mortally wounding his kidnapper before escaping with his family. This change from the Dark Matter novel is integral to the ending of the series and one that Edgerton found to be a much more “complicated resolution” over the “cut-and-dry, heroes and villains” climax of the book. “His shift comes maybe a bit too late to truly make amends for what he’s done,” Edgerton says, “But at least if he tries in some way to help restore Jason with his family, then we could at least say that there’s still a humanity in him.”

This major change from the book is something that Crouch and Edgerton discussed at length, ultimately landing on the decision to give Jason2 more emotional depth. “I think that my argument always was Jason2 is, at his core, as good a person as Jason1,” Edgerton says, discussing the differences between the two Jasons and how, ultimately, who they are at the core remains the same:

Is there not also a humanity within Jason2 that may cause him to make certain choices that are not just about “I’m going to continue to be a douche bag”? And where’s the guilt that exists in the choices he’s made? How’s that journey of having taken over that family not taught him something about being blind to what he’s done? And to see it from his own other point of view? So, we had a lot of discussions about how that showdown should change a bit.

However, despite being the same at their core, Jason2’s proclivity for violence calls into question their diverging paths and what exactly Jason2 went through in the box before he switched lives with Jason1. “We did [discuss what happened to Jason2],” Edgerton says, and he confesses that “the scope of what’s possible to explore in terms of what Jason2 went through in order to get there” is an enticing story. How that led to the change in the ending, though, is something that Crouch and Edgerton had many discussions about and Edgerton is proud of how it reflects the current moment:

It came out of conversations we had as the screenplays were being developed. I think we just got really excited about the idea that there was a more complicated resolution between the two of them. The whole time, what we want is for Jason1 to come find [Jason2] and beat him or kill him. But I think that’s all too easy and I think it’s also reflective of the world we live in right now — we just don’t see each other. We don’t consider each other.

And it’s interesting that the show deals with one guy making assumptions about himself, to think, “If I give you my life, you’ll think it’s a gift. And I’m going to take what’s the best part of your life, but I’m giving you a career [that] you never had, so you’ll probably be happy.” And of course, none of that is true. Good stories always reflect things that are going on in the real world. I think on an individual human level, it does, but on a bigger level, our assumption about other people, and our presumption to do unto them things that we wouldn’t want to do unto ourselves resonates here as well.

Joel Edgerton Is Keen To Do Dark Matter Season 2

The ending of episode 9 leaves plenty of doors open

All nine episodes cover the events of Crouch’s novel, but Dark Matter leaves the door open when it comes to the possibility of more episodes. The idea of a sequel is practically baked into the show’s premise — with so many worlds to explore and so many alternate versions of each character, there’s a plethora of routes to take with a follow-up season. “There’s almost too many possibilities,” says Edgerton, “When you’re dealing with a contraption like the box… the question is what’s the best direction to move in?” Despite these various possibilities, Edgerton is keen to return to the role of Jason Dessen and a season is something that Crouch is already thinking about:

The great thing is, Blake is not somebody who just had one novel in him. He’s written many, many great speculative science fiction novels. He’s got an incredible, creative, elastic brain. And I know that he’s already thinking about it. So the moment there’s any word to say, let’s do it, he’ll be in the science lab, tinkering away, working out what it is, and I guarantee he’ll be inviting people like myself into that process. And it’s a whole undiscovered land now, because obviously, the first season he was working off the novel, and there’s the terror and the excitement of looking into an open space of blank page as to what could be next. So I mean, the short answer is, I think everyone had such a great time that we’ll absolutely do more if the appetite is there, and it seems like the show’s done very well.

But what about that final scene? In Dark Matter‘s final moments, Charlie brings Daniela and Jason1 into another world and, although we don’t see the skyline, the lighting certainly seems to hint that they may be entering the same world that Amanda was left in. It’s also the world where Jason2 left Ryan and where the pair of world-less exiles have recently reunited. So are Jason, Daniela, Ryan, and Amanda in the same world when the credits roll? Edgerton plays coy, but says, “You got to keep the gang together, you know, what I mean? Who knows?”

Either way, Edgerton is eager to find out. From the potential for a Jason2 return to the idea of whether Daniela really has the right Jason with her, there are so many ways things could play out in Dark Matter season 2:

What is also exciting actually, is hearing what other people think. Everybody’s wired to think differently. I remember someone saying, but how do we know, even at the end, that Daniela has got the right Jason and that question breaks your brain. I think the wonderful thing is that season one was really about Jason getting his life back from himself. We’ve now gotten to know more characters through the process and particularly gotten to know and love Daniela and Amanda, and Charlie and Leighton and Ryan. There’s sort of a smorgasbord of characters now that I think there’s any number of ways that it can go, and I’m excited for what happens as soon as anyone’s willing to pull the trigger.

About Dark Matter

Hailed as one of the best sci-fi novels of the decade, “Dark Matter” is a story about the road not taken. The series will follow Jason Dessen (played by Edgerton), a physicist, professor, and family man who — one night while walking home on the streets of Chicago — is abducted into an alternate version of his life. Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his reality amid the mind-bending landscape of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of realities, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.

Check out our interview about the Dark Matter finale with author and show creator Blake Crouch.