Its interesting the choice of tittles for the first two Dark Matter Season 2 episodes, going from A Quiet Life to A Perfect World on the second episode, finding a safer reality does not mean Jason, Daniela and Charlie actually get to feel safe again. They get to go into a world where modern digital technology never really took off, so there is way less tracking that could put them in danger and on paper it looks like exactly what Jason wants, new names, papers, a job, Charlie back in school, eventually burning the box once they know they can stay but during the episodes there are some other disadvtanges to this lack of tech, is that at the same time is harder to get info from their doubles on this new world and why they get recognize without even knowing. Even though it loos "safer or perfect" the episodes never treat any of that as enough though to be either of the two. Daniela is still dealing with what happened with the Jason she killed and something as simple as a quiet night with her husband can turn uncomfortable fast because she cannot separate the man in front of her from everything she has already seen from his other versions, in multiple ocations I thought she was going to snap ending up not trusting even the real Jason. Its not easy to make things feel normal for any of them but you can tell Jason try his best as the head of this family, but normal is not something they have anymore, changing their names and moving somewhere with barely any tech does not erase what already happened to them. Charlie is not just getting dragged along either, he wants school and some version of a normal teenage life. Jason and Daniela need safety first, Charlie needs an actual life instead of permanent hiding and there are times this two overlap and the episode does a great job at showing just that, which makes finding a real home feel harder than picking the right door.
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19231492/
- Platform: Apple TV
Daniela Cannot Treat This World Like a Reset
Daniela is the reason the family side is still very relevant adding more drama into the entire situation and this episodes does the heavy lifting based on that fact, seen her push hard not necesarly when Jason and Charlie relax but because she knows everyone needs to help, her reaction keeps this new world from feeling like an easy reset button. She is trying to move forward but she is not pretending the worst part is behind her and the fake wedding ring moment is a good example because Jason means it as a sweet gesture, and Daniela does feel sad as anyone else going through a similar situation although they ahve gone through so much that she knows this is just another necessary temporary sacrifice until they figure things out. I do not think this is about her doubting he is really her Jason but I wont like there were moments thats exactly what I thought at first, after all she killed a version of the man she loves, and thats not easy to forget specially not over 24 hours of running away and almost getting caught, this is a moment that is going to keep hunting her for a few episodes. Jason notices something is off with her but he cannot fix it by being patient for one night, and I like that the episode lets that discomfort develop more and more instead of rushing to a neat conversation about it to simply pass the page. Daniela telling him she is fine when she clearly is not creates a problem beyond the marriage too, burying that much fear and guilt changes how much she can show up for Jason and for Charlie. Jason can find her a world with less surveillance and fewer ways to get tracked down, but he cannot hand her back the version of their old life before any of this started, and that is why this safer world feels useful without feeling like the actual answer.
Ryan and Amanda Choose the Box Again
Ryan and Amanda do get more screen time on A Perfect World, and what interests me more is that they are going the opposite direction from Jason, Jason wants his family to stop using the box for good, while Ryan and Amanda decide they need to go back into it. Ryan manages to rebuild a version of the drug to connect with the box with help from the local Leighton in the world he has been stuck in, and Amanda realizes the differences in this new formula could make navigating between worlds easier. I like that the show does not treat this like a clean scientific win, Ryan wants his real life back, Amanda is still messed up over what happened to Blair and everything she has lived through jumping around in the box, and both of them know another jump could go horribly wrong, so we end up with two characters with individual goals and you can tell that they havent really meassure the risks of been untrained and all of the sudden start using the box. Amanda originally plans to just train Ryan and stay behind, but that does not last because she cannot bring herself to send someone else into the box without being there. This two characters have a real connection that just work and it would be strange if they become a real couple, I just like that the episode does not rush it, they are both carrying too much for romance to be the point right now. Their trip gives the episode one of its more frustrating moments as they end up at the same low tech world, staying at the same hotel, missing Jason by only a few seconds, timing like that usually feels cheap but here it works because throwing them together this early would shrink the season right when it is starting to open up.
Leighton’s Bigger Plan and MacNamara’s Investigation
Then there is the Leighton plot part thta I am still not totally sold on, even though I like the idea behind it. The flashback shows his whole goal was learning from other realities to help build a better world but if you have watch Loki, by now you know this doesnt work that way just as it happen on Season 1 where there were a few versions of Jason in favor of leaving him alone while others were more chaotic and Leighton plan has grown way bigger, his group is now tracking different worlds looking for solutions they can move from one reality to another, including using knowledge from one place to help a different world dealing with crop problems after some kind of eruption. That is a smart use for the box, but my problem with this is that they trying to make this plan seems way bigger than the Desen's, yes its feels important but its failin at that same level. MacNamara interests me more right now because his part stays close to the family, a private investigator on this almost perfect world who eventually is going to investigate, none of this private investigator just let things go and stay quiet. Jason hires the private investigator version of him to help build new identities and check what information exists on the local Dessen family, which seems reasonable until MacNamara turns up records showing an entire second version of the Dessen family already living in San Francisco. Jason is trying to disappear and ends up accidentally giving a curious investigator a reason to dig deeper into him and I like that this mistake comes from Jason trying to be careful instead of the show making him act stupid for no reason. At the end MacNamara has also seen Ryan and Amanda walk into the box and vanish, so the safe world they picked is already getting harder for everyone who is trying to control their "new destiny" in them.
A Perfect World Feels Less Crowded, but Still Busy
My main concern with Dark Matter Season 2 is still how many directions this past two episodes wants me to care about all at once, but A Perfect World feels less crowded that the first one, probably because this time its Jason who carries most of the drama. Jason and his family are trying to stop running, Ryan and Amanda are choosing to go back out there, Leighton is building something that reaches across realities, and MacNamara is getting close to figuring out something impossible is happening, that is a lot for one episode. This show could get silly fast if every answer ends up being another copy, another world or another person walking into the box, but so far it stays under control because the best parts are still built on simple decisions, Daniela cannot pretend she is okay, Charlie wants an actual life instead of another temporary hideout, Ryan wants to go home, Amanda cannot let him go alone, and Jason wants one world where his family can finally stop moving. Those choices give the episode something solid to stand on even while the science and the number of realities keep stacking up. The hotel near miss is also a good sign for pacing, letting Ryan and Amanda get that close to Jason without cashing it in right away keeps their paths connected without rushing everyone together too soon. A Perfect World is not really about finding one perfect place and think all problems are going to be gone, is mostly about them finding their way into this world without giving any red flags to the rest of the people on this world. This one was a bit less entertaining that the first one so Im giving it a 7/10 although its the drama that is building up rather than action, keeping things very interesting.
Rating: 70/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/tv.
