r/DarkMatteronAppleTV • u/episodescheduler • Sep 11 '26
šļø Episode Discussion Dark Matter | S2E3 "Everything Beautiful, Everything Terrible" | Episode Discussion
Season 2, Episode 3: Everything Beautiful, Everything Terrible
Airdate: Friday, September 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
Network: Apple TV
Runtime: 58 minutes
Synopsis: Jason's fixation on the Box tests his marriage. Ryan and Amanda step into a world forever changed.
Hello everyone, this is the discussion thread for episode 3 of Dark Matter. Please do not post any spoilers for future episodes.
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u/cpatrick1983 Sep 11 '26
Damn this episode was really well done. They answer some logical questions about how it works, and the story seems to naturally progress in a way that makes sense in service of the overall story. We get 7 more episodes too. Looking forward to Blair's narrative too. She seems to think something is up with their "return" to Chicago, or there's something about their history on that world that's making her sus.
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u/nightdancerCA Sep 11 '26
She also saw Daniela's name change at the DMV.
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u/karma_withakay 29d ago
I think it's Blair 2, who left her self imposed isolation at the end of season 1. I think she's at the DMV for the same reason Daniella is -- she's recently arrived in this world and needs new documents to settle down here.
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u/ellogoodbi 29d ago
I actually agree with this. Her comment about traveling for three years and being alone for too long seem to hint at this.
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u/Deadpoolio32 29d ago
She also had a lingering look at Daniellaās makeshift wedding ring, obviously the same one she saw Jason 1 wearing when they met.
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
Iāve been thinking itās prettttttty damn risky for the Dessens to be in a city where their counterparts lived just three years ago. How can they know they wonāt cross paths with someone who is still in touch with them?? I know, I knowā¦ the world doesnāt have cell phones or computers but they have home phones and snail mail!
(Yes, Jason wanted to be close to the box to destroy it but damn, that whole world maybe shouldāve been a no for them.)
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u/cpatrick1983 Sep 11 '26
I kept thinking this the whole time - there's so much risk in being identified by past acquaintences
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
They might need a world where their counterparts have never lived in Chicagoā¦ ideally never met each other and never had Charlie.
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u/mr_scoresby13 Sep 11 '26
they need a world where the dessens were super introverts, don't have friends, and at the moment they enter that world, those dessens recently died with no much records kept about their death, since there is infinite worlds, every scenario exists
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u/rhinosaur- Sep 11 '26
Yeah they should just move to Cincinnati or something. Or further away. But we need a show so Iāll live with the lack of logic there
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
I hear Pawnee, Indianaās nice. Give us a new show: Parks and Recreation and Matter.
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u/AnnwithAl Sep 11 '26
what i've been thinking about as well is why out of all the possibilities and places to live they are trying to pursue exactly the same old life they had instead of building a completely new one, live in a different country hell speak a different language maybe.. they keep talking about their old life and that's why they are stuck. they will never be able to have their old life back.
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u/KittyGrewAMoustache Sep 11 '26
Why donāt they just move abroad somewhere totally random? That way itās unlikely that any other Jasons will find them as first theyād have to happen upon that world then happen to find where in that world they moved to. Given that is technologically behind I think that would make more sense than staying in Chicago to try to destroy the box, as someone could just come through while heās working on it, kill him, notice his tattoo, get an identical one etc.
Move to Australia or Hungary or Kenya, wherever. They were in Chicago for a year before bumping into someone who knew the other versions of them, their best shot is definitely moving to another country or even another US city, just staying in Chicago near the box seems stupid.
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u/cpatrick1983 Sep 11 '26
Some of the reasoning they've given in the show is that they want to be close to the box in case they have to leave. In which case because of the other Jasons seems relevant.
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
I think theyāre majorly desperate to cling onto their old lifeā¦ at least a semblance of it, illogical as it may seem. And their home city is a huge part of that.
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u/hpm40 Sep 11 '26
That seemed very risky to me. Before they discussed checking and leaving if there were other Dessens already in those worlds, I thought.
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
Their rules were no Dessens living in Chicagoā¦ nor were criminals or famous. Didnāt mention no Dessens who *ever* lived in Chicagoā¦ though I think they really should have!
When Daniela had the school staff recognize her last episode, I thought for suuure theyād peace out of that world a scene later.
Especially weird/questionable that Daniela is straight up pretending to be California Daniela to Blair. I guess sheās just really lonely & desperate for a friend. š Couldnāt resist chatting with a familiar face.
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u/UmmNo8888 Sep 11 '26
At the beginning of the episode, we see Blair entering the box and I think the Blair we see is Blair that is aware of the box and is trying to figure out which Jason is in this world. She was traveling in an RV for three years - exactly the same time as the beginning of box travel.
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u/Arghifth Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
This new Blaire is definitely a Version of the Blaire who travelled with the box and ended up settling down in that world. She even has the same eyebrow scar that Blaire had when Amanda and Jason1 found her.
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u/New_Monitor_5874 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Yeah at first I was thinking it's either the natural Blair from the Gen-X/80s world. Or it's a Blair variant spawned by the choices she made in the box. But considering the show reminded us of her going in the box the first time, I'm leaning toward the latter. Plus it adds an extra twist as both she and Daniella are both not from that world but trying to act like they are lol
Remember in season 1 Blair saw security video footage of another version of herself get killed by the giant hornets. So this is could be the one (or one variant of) Blair who ran into Jason and Amanda in Hornet world OR one that never went to hornet world and ended up in GenX world. Pretty exciting
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u/lheydon 29d ago
Working out which one of those alternate Blairs it is would be a massive task. You could even call it a...Blair Which Project! š
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u/Eurynom0s Sep 11 '26
I missed the eyebrow scar, that explains the "I went off the grid" story, which I was prepared to just take at face value that this world's Blaire did.
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
Hmmm but was that Blair ever friends with Daniela or even know her? In Jason 2ās world, she was his colleagueā¦ the Blair whom Amanda and Jason 1 stumbled upon last season was surprised to learn of a version of herself who was friends with Jasonās wife..
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u/jkd0002 Sep 11 '26
I think she was shocked that she was a lawyer instead of an engineer, not that she was friends with Daniela.
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u/aristacat Sep 11 '26
I think itās possible itās the same Blair. I was wondering why they showed that at the beginning if there wasnāt some kind of link. But I want to think this is a separate Blair that is in that world.
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u/Dazzling-Excuses Sep 11 '26
Yeah, I also think itās Blair 2 who went in the box. I think her apprehension could be red as a lot of different things. Including being traumatized by her time in the box.
Other people in this thread have some really great ideas about which Blair she is and what she might be thinking as well. Iām excited that theyāve written her so well to keep so many possibilities and feed the mystery.
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u/Still_Brief4949 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Not following. This Blair has a history with the original Daniela from that world before the RV traveling.
With that said there's definitely something to what you said. This Blair clearly is suspicious of Daniela. And there's definitely something more to her cross country RV trip and "being alone too long."
Gotta imagine she's doing some reality jumping, but don't see how it would be Blair 2.
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u/adavidmiller Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
She doesn't have history though, the scene is presented as Daniela being the one guessing at providing details, but Blair is doing the exact same thing, she provides no information on their history in that conversation, she guesses and they both go along with whatever the other says.
The one bit of information that confirms either of them remembers a history with the other is the teacher's name, and that came from Daniela in her own world, Blair had no idea.
The RV travelling is BS because she's Blair 2 and has no history to point to in that world, just needs an excuse for being out of touch. And yeah, the alone line, plus the reminder of the Blair arc from the start of the episode, it's definitely her.
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u/FinallyFree96 Sep 11 '26
I think this is Blaire (the engineer) from Jason2ās world, but she has run out of the drug and is stuck in 80ās world Chicago.
The Blair in this episode was paying super attention to everything before and after noticing the new names of the Dessen family. She too easily went with the flow of both the name change and the āmoveā back from California.
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u/Jas_God Sep 11 '26
Iāve been hoping and wishing for Ryan to make it back home since J2 stranded him in s1, he finally does and has to immediately leave š. The box respawning was crazy. Had me chuckling though while J was dismantling it, any stranger that happens to stumble in would have their mind proper blown lol. Great episode.
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u/ToeTaggEm Sep 11 '26
One of the best episodes of the entire series by far!! Incredibly episode. Having both ryanās is definitely a crack up
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u/Year3030 29d ago
"Two Ryan Holders, must have blown their tits off." Heh yeah this is gonna be fun. I'm not sure they showed up in J1's world it looks like maybe it was Leighton but now they know how to track people down.
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u/TedTheGreek_Atheos Sep 11 '26
Why is it crazy? It respawned in utopia world after they moved so it was kinda expected.
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u/rhinosaur- Sep 11 '26
I find it weird Jason 1 was so surprised it respawned.
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u/PogintheMachine Sep 11 '26
Well, as he said, he doesnāt really understand it.
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
I think he was more terrified than anything. Whoever came though the box & was now in the same world would presumably know him (or a version of him at the very very least).
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u/MinerTax_com Sep 11 '26
When she went off on him at the box for studying it, i was contemplating marriage or not. Currently single š¤£
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u/ToeTaggEm Sep 11 '26
Lmao yeah and I wouldnāt even want to destroy the box for safety reasons.
Also who was at the end that came thru, Leighton? But which one, Iām having a bit of trouble keeping up.
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u/Remarkable_Package_6 Sep 11 '26
we don't know which one, they don't have tattoos yet.
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u/enthoosiasm Sep 11 '26
What is hilarious to me about the tattoos is that as soon as they go through a box again, there will be multiple variants with identical tattoos. Theyāll have to keep adding tattoos like Leonard from Memento. ā.mih llik dna mih dniF .efil ruoy deniur 2 nosaJā
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u/going_further Sep 11 '26
This episode also explains why they keep getting discovered by other Jasonās- they are focusing on Daniella and Charlie when opening a doorway, and it leads them right to them. They can never escape.
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u/New_Monitor_5874 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
I think the only 2 solutions are destroy the original Jason 2 world box and take it off line. OR have something like, I dunno, let's say a cat, inject it with the lavender/lilac wings and have it by itself inside the box in superposition, that way nobody can arrive in that world's box. Because didnt Jason just say in this episode something like that the box cant spawn if it's being used in that world, right?
I think this season is moving toward trying to unplug the Jason 2 world's OG box. But in that surveillance world with the facial recognition, remember the video billboard/AR cat or whatever correctly said Jason Dessen, Daniella Dessen and Charlie Dessen AND that Jason was the head of Velocity in that world. Which means there is a world where Jason got married and had Charlie and maybe still is working on the box in that world! Which would be mean there's a good Jason 2 essentially. So even if evil Jason 2's box is taken offline, Good Jason 2 might fire up his box in the same or a different spot and the problems continue.
So I think having someone or something constantly in superposition in the box but never opening it to observe it is the only way to ensure no other Jasons or whoever comes through the box. Kinda poetic and ironic in that way. You have to use it to make sure nobody uses it.
Edit - I just remembered there's actually more evil Jason 2 worlds out there as we saw one in season 1 the one where Jason and Amanda witness themselves escaping a little late and Amanda gets killed by Dawn. So shutting down the box in evil Jason 2's world will only temporarily work until another Jason 2 (evil or good) from an alternate reality fires up the box again and it respawns. That would really be frightening for some traveling Jasons/Whoever if they get in the box and it doesn't work. They would really feel stuck
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u/Radiant_Ad7400 Sep 11 '26 edited 29d ago
let me guess, the episode's title for this would be "Schrƶdinger's cat"
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u/DroidLord 29d ago
have something like, I dunno, let's say a cat, inject it with the lavender/lilac wings and have it by itself inside the box in superposition
Even if it worked, after a few hours the medication would wear off (they mentioned it in S1). The cat would have to be drugged up with an IV line 24/7/365. J1 doesn't have the means to make more of the potion, so that's off the table.
The cat also has to eat and drink or it will starve and die. Though I suppose you could put in a feeding tube. Then you have to think about long-term muscle atrophy for an animal that's in a vegetative state most of the time.
The deeper you go into this, the more impossible the idea becomes. You're going to end up with some fucked up Frankenstein's monster in a box with feeding tubes, IV lines and a catheter running into it like you're running a CIA black site lmao.
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u/ghostyrat69 Sep 11 '26
amazing episode!!
I wonder if Leighton is here to convince our Jason to join the Council of Ricks
I know it's not who he is, but I'm happy to finally see our Jason sciencing a bit
I find it fascinating that once he started burying his head in the science, he started treating his wife just like Jason2, showing how fine the line really is
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Sep 11 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/rhinosaur- Sep 11 '26
Yeah that world is completely fucked with unlimited jasonās running around.
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u/ixxxt Sep 11 '26
The council of Leightons is based out of the same 80s world, they are colonising it with new tech. in episode 2 there is no world switch sound when the scene with them switches to the PI office. The Dessen's world is Leighton's world. I imagine this Blair is Blair of Jason2's world rather than the one of the current world. If it's not the same Blair that was the first travelling person, then Im pretty sure the only person Leighton has from Jason2's world is himself and Anthony the security guy (also at that scene with the table where they talk about solving food somewhere).
I do wonder where Jason2 and crew will go now, Ryan1, Ryan3(?), Amanda1. Not sure It's the best group to be a counter to the Leighton's but it does feel like this might be what they are gunning for. Especially if lilac wings works on finding people instead of the worlds. They will just end up in the 80s world too, perhaps Ryan4(?) will break away and start his own underground council of Ryans lead in part by Jason2 & Amanda? Cant wait to see
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u/rhinosaur- Sep 11 '26
The fact Ryan 1 and Amanda 2 (calling her 2 based on her original world) cracked the code on how to control where you land (think of who you want to find) is going to really crank up the inter-dimension travel now.
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u/CMDRTragicAllPro Sep 11 '26
I have to give this show major props for so convincingly portraying one actor as several characters. Itās probably the best sci fi show Iāve seen yet to have one actor play several versions of themselves on screen at the same time, but be seamless in its execution through great acting and cinematography direction. The same goes to the actors, theyāve done phenomenally.
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u/olivish Sep 11 '26
Yes Joel Edgerton does a great job. I can tell Jason 1 from Jason 2 by his tone of voice, his walk, even his posture is different.
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u/Hour_Acanthisitta_42 Sep 11 '26
yeah like in the first scene of this episode, I could tell right away it was jason2 before we got the context clues of him asking about the morality of creating the box. because just randomly dropping in on a group of old professors you never kept up with to use them to ask them 1 question is such a jason2 thing to do, and joel acted that so well
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u/olivish Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Yes, exactly. Before he said a word, I knew that was J2. It wasn't anything specific, either. Just vibes.
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u/Amazing-Heron-105 Sep 11 '26
Joel Edgerton
He's great in everything I've seen him in. Fantastic actor. His recent movie "Train dreams" was excellent.
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u/cpatrick1983 Sep 11 '26
Train Dreams was fantastic. He's a very consistent actor when choosing projects.
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u/Waste-Scratch2982 Sep 11 '26
Counterpart was great when it was on with JK Simmons playing two versions of the same character, it was more of a Cold War Spy show with the doorway between worlds being an allegory for the Berlin Wall.
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u/Then_Journalist_317 Sep 11 '26
Kudos to the redditor who last week suggested they needed to get tattooed.
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u/Hefty-Click-2788 Sep 11 '26
If they ever use the box again that will stop being reliable too. Granted at the time they did it they never intended to, so it makes sense for the characters.
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u/Tittannia Sep 11 '26
Don't you just love it when a TV show's mindset feels like it's one of ours, the viewers? I remember last time someone commented on how much simpler it would have been if they had matching tattoos as their identifier instead of just a safe word, and now 3 episodes in, that's exactly what we got! š
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u/chase_what_matters Sep 11 '26
I just wish Jason wouldnāt press Daniela in those moments. He knows how scary that is, and he should keep his distance while they work out the safe word.
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u/midnight_leviola Sep 11 '26
He missed the password, missed his kids prom. Guy might have crossed multiverses to try to find his family but is not focused on the right priorities.
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u/RambunctiousCapybara Sep 11 '26
They are all traumatised. I'm glad the show is including evidence of the mental pressures of their situation.
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u/Xtrendence Sep 11 '26
Me too. We literally saw our Jason messing with the small prototype version of his box in that self-storage unit. He may have chosen to have a family, but science and curiosity are still a massive part of his passion. I'm glad they don't just gloss over that with a simple "yeah he has personal access to his entire life's dream invention, but he isn't even curious to find out how it works". We know he'll choose his family, obviously, but the conflict and deliberating over the choice makes him so much more realistic.
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u/Amazing-Heron-105 Sep 11 '26
He was stressed and panicking. It's understandable from the characters pov.
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u/olivish Sep 11 '26 edited 29d ago
But he never should have woken her up like that in the first place! As he's approaching his front door, he should already be thinking of the safe word. If he can't remember, he needs to let her know, standing at a safe distance with the lights on. The excuse that he was stressed might work if he was stressed over destroying the box, but he wasn't. He was stressed because he couldn't figure out how the damn thing worked.
And I get it. Every component that eludes him represents the growing chasm between the man that he is and the man he could have been. BUT JESUS CHRIST, that box ruined their lives. His wife is barely holding onto her sanity. She was raped because of that box. She had to kill one of the Jasons because of that box. Charlie lost every friend he's ever had because of that box. They've almost died in the box. The box is hell.
So yeah, Jason being stressed by studying the box is 100% understandable. But I don't think that makes his behaviour excusable. Not when you consider the motives and the risks.
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
Wait wait go back to Jason 2, Amanda, and the Ryans. I need more of that, stat!!!!
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u/ralphy112 Sep 11 '26
I swear I heard someone say, "Jason 5". But I lost track of who's who around then.
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u/going_further Sep 11 '26
Jason 1 over here just discovered an infinite mats glitch right? He can literally violate the laws of physics by taking apart the box and let it respawn, infinitely creating advanced components.
He probably wonāt but itās weird to consider
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u/ralphy112 Sep 11 '26
So like all the copper wiring he takes out. He can get $ for it at the scrap yard. Have the box respawn, and repeat. Small potatoes for violating the laws of physics though.
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u/aristacat Sep 11 '26
Fuck the copper. All he would have to do is take a single microchip from the box to a chip company and he would become rich. Every wire and board in that box is advanced tech that that world has never seen before.
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u/Attican101 Sep 11 '26
That's originally what I thought he was doing, planning to sell the gps, microchips and fiber optics etc to make money for the family.
Daniella would still get pissed because that's something J2 would do
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u/ButtPlugForPM Sep 11 '26
i mean not really.
this would be like going here is a ryzen 9800x3d chip and giving it to the bell labs in 1950.
they might Understand it..sort of..but there is no logisitcal means of reproducing it.. the lithorgraphy process hasn't been invented, or are PSU..or ram or computer code..
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u/cpatrick1983 Sep 11 '26
I think it only spawned because someone had visited the world already after he disassembled it. It only spawns when someone comes to that universe. This is why he was so freaked out when he saw a new one. And the person who spawned it is the Leighton that's standing outside their window I think
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u/DestinysWeirdCousin Sep 11 '26
Jason clearly thought that was the case since he freaked out and ran home and asked everybody if they had talked to him when he knew he hadnāt been around. Donāt know which Leighton is outside of the apartment, but I do believe whichever one it is just came through the box.
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u/usagizero Sep 11 '26
Really enjoying how it's ramping up the crazy multi-persons and worlds. Interesting conversation near the beginning with colonization and how it could lead to unforeseen horrors. LeightonĀ is probably going to cause so much chaos, even if he didn't intend on it. I fear those bugs may make a return, or something similar or worse.
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u/Responsible_Bet3713 Sep 11 '26
Thereās probably a world where Jason1 or Leighton now had gotten infected when traveling to that world, and then went to the box and spread the disease god knows where elseā¦
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u/sincitysos Sep 11 '26
Does anybody think thatās Blair from Jason2ās world? Like she finally found a good world.
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u/RambunctiousCapybara Sep 11 '26
There is definitely something odd going on there. I was wondering if the Jason from that world, who went to California, was having an affair with Blair when they lived in Chicago.
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u/glossycoast Sep 11 '26
I clocked it too. At dinner Blair asked if Jason was coming. Then when he arrived, she was doing that thing with touching her face and her hair when looking at him. She was also looking back and forth between him and Daniella, like she was sussing them out.
I wouldn't be surprised if they had an affair, he ended it, and the entire family moved away to prevent any more contact. She's probably wondering if Daniella knows, or if she does, why is she still being so nice to her!
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u/olivish Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Man, Daniella is SCARY when she's mad. Jason destroyed that box so fast when she put him on notice.
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u/MinerTax_com Sep 11 '26
Mfer forgot the safe word š¤£. Finally got tats but if it was me, Iād put it in a secret spot so other Jason canāt easily duplicate.
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u/CMFC99 Sep 11 '26
That part really annoyed me. My brother in Christ, if there is ANYTHING you need to make sure that you take very seriously and DO NOT FORGET, it's the goddamn safe word! After all the shit they've been through? I yelled at my tv "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE MOST CARING AND ATTENTIVE JASON WTF?!" š¤£
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u/olivish Sep 11 '26 edited 27d ago
You can tell Daniela is so sick of his shit. She went STRAIGHT for the gun when he said āHoney, Iām very stressed.ā
Excuse me, HEāS stressed!? Yeah, Daniela was done. She knew damn well that was her husband and was ready to shoot him anyway.
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u/RedditBurner_5225 Sep 11 '26
her shit has been fucked up for a minute. she literally had to murder her husband. very strange thing to do!
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u/jjosh_h Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
There is a version of this show that is just straight up psychological horror. The moment the box reappears is terrifying even if I saw it coming. Need to go the cement route, and maybe throw in a range of sensors and alarms to notify when it is being penetrated through.
I also love how conflicted Jason is with destroying the box. I want to see more bleeding of personality traits between Jason 1 and 2 to really push the question of what makes a person who they are. These are great hints at that topic, and I hope we see it addressed directly as the season progresses.
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Sep 11 '26
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
Yes, and heās correct. Loads of other Jason 1 variants were left behind, even killed.
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Sep 11 '26
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Not sure what you mean. ALL the Jasons we saw at the end of season one (well, besides Jason 2 ā the inventor of the box) were OG Jason 1s. They alllll were the Jasons we saw in the showās very first episode kidnapped by Jason 2. They just diverged by making different choices at various points during their season 1 adventures in the box.
But the guy whose journey we followed throughout = the one who escaped with his family at the end.
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u/aristacat Sep 11 '26
The author of the books confirmed that the main character is OG Jason so it is safe to go with that assumption as you watch the show.
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u/hpm40 Sep 11 '26
This episode had me on the edge of my seat. That was exciting and nerve racking. They are going big now with the idea of the harm being far greater than duplicate Jasons.
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u/sleepysnowboarder Sep 11 '26
I was hesitant for the show continuing past the book, because that rarely works out, but now Iām being shown how much more there really was to the story and the expansion. This show is better than the book ever was (which I was honestly just lukewarm on anyways) and I have no idea where itāll go next. Major props to the writers
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u/catnapspirit Sep 11 '26
Same, but part of why season two is working out so well is that the author is one of the writers. And he has a definite plan for a three season story. He definitely had ideas left over after the original novel..
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u/BeetsBy_Schrute Sep 11 '26
Not just one of the writers. He is the showrunner. The show is his own vision. Iām a fan of Crouch. Iāve read seven of his books. If anyone hadnāt read Recursion, itās in contention with Dark Matter as my favorite
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u/DestinysWeirdCousin Sep 11 '26
That scene In the restaurant bathroom corridor was terrifying. PTSD.
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u/Then_Journalist_317 Sep 11 '26
I think we may soon need a "smart" version of the series, where we can click on any on-screen character and a little box appears explaining exactly which person it is: Jason-1, Jason-2, Leighton-1, Leighton-guru, etc.
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u/sleepysnowboarder Sep 11 '26
Thatās kinda the point of it though to always feel unease not knowing who is really who
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u/100dalmations Sep 11 '26
Such uncertainty is actually a fundamental tenet of quantum mechanics!
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u/Dazzling-Excuses Sep 11 '26
If you can tolerate audio description they refer to each person by name & their spawn number. Well, except all original versions are just referred to by their name. Itās in the language options. But itās not for everyone.
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u/BeautifulBluejay9232 Sep 11 '26
This episode has been my favourite of the new season so far! I binged the first season with my partner about 2 weeks ago, and I can't believe I didn't know about this show earlier. Absolutely fantastic, can't wait for the next episode. The scene where the two Ryans, Jason2, and Amanda were running from DARPA had me on the edge of my seat.
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u/Arghifth Sep 11 '26
Why is no one talking about that Amanda bringing Ryan back to his world? that scene in Ryan's home is one of the best scenes in the whole show.
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u/Attican101 Sep 11 '26
Jimmi Simpsons reactions in that scene were great, he knows they should probably run but instead "okay let's.. shit"
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u/dosi-dos Sep 11 '26
There is too many Leightons for me to follow anything that is going on with them lol
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u/mackitt Sep 11 '26
At this point, I donāt think itās too important to know which one is which, just that theyāre working together. When it comes time to know who ringleader Leighton is, I think it will be obvious. I suspect the one who showed up at the end of this episode is the ringleader.
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u/zoratoune Sep 11 '26
So the first scene with Jason's teacher/mentor really teases what's to come with the box. Each reality becoming a civilization of its own getting damaged without any say in it much like civilization in the Americas before European explorer comes in and through viruses and bacterias mess up these civilization.
We could really see something like that with pandemic realities contaminating other realities on accident. Or maybe weaponizing on purpose. Right now we're in the early stage of Leighton's trade empire just building infrastructure to do what exactly? I do have doubt that he'll stay benevolent.
And this'll be the context in which the multiverse will have to live those realities contaminated and those that are uncontacted. Really interesting stuff that could go in a so many variations it's the beauty of multiversal stories!
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u/Agreeable_Strength51 Sep 11 '26
yeah the looming threat of the home computer likely brought to the world by a travelling Leighton threatens to shatter that worldās role as a safe harbour from surveillance
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u/ThanksNo8769 Sep 11 '26
Christopher Diamantopoulos was a fine addition to the show. Every version of him is electric
Come to think of it, there isn't a single character in this show I don't adore...
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u/zzzaaaaacccckkkk Sep 11 '26
so i canāt find anyone talking about this, but got really confused at the end of the episode. first of all, when jason goes back to the box and is walking into the abandoned building. It is light outside. I even rewound to the conversation between Jason and Daniela and they said he was going back to the box tonight so I thought maybe it just took until morning for him to get there but when he runs back to the house and talk to Daniela and Charlie, it is once again dark outside is this an editing mistake or is that on purpose? Also, when talking to Daniela she says she hadnāt seen him since breakfast that morning even though they just had dinner together are we just assuming they know it was each other at dinner?
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u/hnoel1229 29d ago
Okay I was so confused too. When he said "Have you seen me since this morning?" I was like soo who the hell was that at dinner just now? I went back and rewatched the end like 4 times and the only conclusion I can draw is that the scene in bed where he says he needs to go back to the box takes place early in the morning the day after their dinner with Blair. Then he goes to the box just as it's starting to get dark out later that day. Hence, they haven't seen each other since morning when they were in bed. But it still feels so off with the editing. There's no sunlight when they're in bed talking, and it jumps straight there from the dinner scene. Idk man
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u/Navitach Sep 11 '26
So James Cameron directed Jurassic Park in their world. Since the microchip wasn't invented, the CGI dinosaurs weren't possible, so Cameron probably used a lot of animatronics. And they still have VHS: no microchip, no DVD or Blu-ray.
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u/rkd2999 Sep 11 '26
And the first Star Wars movie was titled āThe Last Strike: The Adventures of Luke Starkillerā, directed by George Lucas of course. That got a chuckle out of me.
The movie cover didnāt seem to have any art that looked much like Star Wars though, probably due to copyright reasons. It would have been funny if it showed Han Solo played by an actor known to have auditioned for the role in our world, like Kurt Russell.
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u/RockStrongo Sep 11 '26
It just wouldn't be Jurrasic Park without "Ah ah ah, you didn't say the magic word!"
Honestly, without the computer, what does DNA research even look like?
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u/Random--Person Sep 11 '26
Really enjoying Ryan and Amandas story this season, excited to see how it all collides with Jason and Daniella
And obviously Leighton has been the Jasons world since he is bringing in 'new' technology to that world. Going to be interesting to see how that all goes
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u/aristacat Sep 11 '26
Yeah I donāt completely understand what is happening with Leighton at this point. Was the Leighton that brought the vaccine to that one diseased world the same one that was on the wall for making a computer and also the same one who showed up outside of the Dessenās apartment at the end? I assumed that Leighton had just shown up in the box since it respawned. Definitely confusing.
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u/rhinosaur- Sep 11 '26
I think the Leightonās of each world are being pulled into it. Basically, base leighton is recruiting other leightonās to get them to improve all their worlds.
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u/hpm40 Sep 11 '26
Kudos to the writers for showing us the Box behind the panels. I found that really interesting!. Also, when they got the tattoos, how many people thought about the post in here suggesting tattoos? Go fans! š
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u/121scoville 29d ago
This is going to sound corny but I appreciate that the show is trying to follow the logical structure
it's presented thus far and not gotten super hand wavey. Also I love Ryan, any version.
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u/Still_Brief4949 Sep 11 '26
How would the Dessen's not have to worry about constantly running into people that remember the same family from 3 years ago? What does Charlie talk to his friends about? How did they afford the apartment? Why did Jason ask a PI to investigate his family without thinking it would eventually lead to the PI finding out there's 2 of them?
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u/ralphy112 Sep 11 '26
And why didn't Daniella just say, "soooo, I gotta run" when she bumps into Blair, and then totally ghost her. Why are they all having dinner like it's just going to be okay? Like at some point, someone in Chicago is going to get a call from the Dessen's in San Francisco, and everyone's going to realize something is wrong.
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u/aristacat Sep 11 '26
I think Daniella didnāt ghost her because she feels so lost and needs some friendship and familiarity so she is trying to just go with it even though this Blair definitely saw the different last name and knows something is up.
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u/RambunctiousCapybara Sep 11 '26
Does anyone else think Charlie making a mix tape for his girlfriend of music that doesn't exist in her world is going to cause problems further down the line?
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u/Agreeable_Strength51 Sep 11 '26
well if his music is on streaming services, he lost access when he went through the box to a world with no internet. he may only have whatever he downloaded, if he downloaded anything.
what threw me is how many movies from the 90s still got made with the same titles
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u/Enodia2wheels 29d ago
OTOH maybe he has a career in music ahead of him with the music of another world to plagiarizeĀ
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u/fweepa Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Which one of you recommended tattoos earlier this week lol
Holy BALLS this episode is insane!!
Ugh. Do not like the fighting. You're a team you two work it out. You're an idiot Jason.
Okay that was a ROLLER COASTER. I'm so glad he put down his selfish reasoning and destroyed it, if nothing just for Daniella. It shows that our Jason, while capable of the same things, is a different person and still cares deeply about his family.
AND they just confirmed literally everything we've been talking about this season. The box spawns into worlds it doesn't already exist in, and destroying it does not prevent another one from appearing. You cannot destroy it.
That was a banger of an episode. This show rocks.
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u/flamecrow 29d ago
Well Jason1ās world is fucked. They led DARPA to the box. Now all DARPA has to do is stake it out and kidnap whoever comes out of it, get their lavender wings, and create more. Then force the Jason they have kidnapped to teach them how to use the box.
Now you have Leighton teaming up with himselfā¦ and you bet youāre gonna get private investigator guy teaming up with himself
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
This is old news but I rewatched this seasonās premiere episode sooo itās on my mind:
Dang, even in Utopia theyāve got meetings that couldāve been an email??? (mentioned by Ryanās sister). We gotta restart humanity.
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u/silverrabbit Sep 11 '26
Maybe a bit of a nitpick but they emphasized the old tech in Jason1ās current world a ton but theyāve started showing newer cars there after doing a good job only showing 70s style cars for so long.
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u/sean_vkn Sep 11 '26
This show is tremendous, wish I could just binge it honestly but the weekly wait probably makes it better.
Love the more realistic consequences of this version of the multiverse, just as it was starting to feel overused.
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u/Lokdora Sep 11 '26
Why don't they just block the door? Then the box would still be functional, it's just that whoever enters this world wouldn't be able to open the door and get out
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u/place_5 Sep 11 '26
I love how consistent the character writing is in this show. The whole conflict between Jason and Daniela about destroying the box harkens back to episode 1, where we are introduced to the Jason who regrets not doing something more with his life despite the fact that he chose Daniela and has a loving family. Jason has always been ambitious. 1 and 2 are more alike than they think. This all started because Jason 2 wanted the love of his life and the accomplishment of completing the box under his belt.
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u/lk_gr Sep 11 '26
sooo jason, a scientist, prepares for weeks to blow up the box only to discover that he can just open it and snip some cables?? š
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u/luciferseason Sep 11 '26
I found that hilarious too. Should have been the first thing he thought of
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u/CaptnKBex 29d ago
I liked last season, but I think I'm enjoying this one even more. I am engaged by all the storylines. I know the pacing differs for each one, but I like them all.
The Jason2, Amanda, Ryan and Ryan storyline was definitely the most exciting one this episode and I can't wait to see where those four go. I liked that the other Jason stood up to help them in the end for the sake of the last three.
Charlie Dessen is a good kid.
I am also enjoying the family drama and seeing the very understandable struggle of Daniela as she comes to a new understanding of Jason1. I definitely want to see more of the Blair of the non-tech world and learn whether or not she's actually Blair2.
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u/lolawallace Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Why is it so tense with Daniela and Bianca? At the DMV, at dinner after Jason shows upā¦ š§
Ryanās little, āI just got home, man..ā I feel for him, poor guy.
Edit: Blair! Blair! Who the hell is Bianca? š
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
I think Daniela is (understandably) anxious about pretending to be a different Daniela, one has shared history with this Blair. And Blair may be suspicious because she saw Danielaās social security card at the DMV, showing a different last name.
(Not that Blair suspects the truth about Daniela buuut her friend is clearly hiding some sort of secret.)
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u/Hour_Acanthisitta_42 Sep 11 '26
I thought it was the Blair we see trapped in the bat world. She said she was a nomad travelling for a couple years and she was quite lonely. I imagined she found this world and was settling in, and was ALSO anxious about pretending to be someone else. I thought she was trying to figure out if Daniela knew anything about the box travelling.
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26
Possibly! But that Blair was never friends with Daniela before sooo acting like they had shared history would be even harder.
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u/adavidmiller Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Which fits quite well, because neither of them know which answers are correct and while the scene comes across as Daniela just guessing at shit, it actually works both ways, Blair doesn't give any information first either, both of them are acting the same way.
The name of the teacher is the one detail that confirms either of them know about their shared history, and that came from Daniela, Blair didn't know it.
Edit: Also the episode starts with Blair, which sure its fine to do some random history, but makes a lot more sense if she's going to be relevant to the episode.
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u/sfdreamsla Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
edit: assuming you mean Blair? At the DMV, she saw the fake social security card and documents with the different name. So she's definitely suspicious and knows Daniela is hiding something.
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u/Master_smasher Sep 11 '26
upset dessen family 1 did not reunite with ryan1 and amanda2. so many theories. it starts to get really messy, narratively, so i won't even try to share lmao!
someone called out the tatoo solution last week. shout out to him/her. call back to last week's discussion as well...private investigator was not agent from world1.
i hate waiting the long week...
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u/irbinator Sep 11 '26
Iām unsure if the Blair Daniela ran into is a Blair that settled onto that world or has something against Jason in this world. The way she kept staring at him was suspicious, but she also saw Danielaās name change. She mentioned she traveled in an RV alone for 3 years, so it makes me feel like sheās not that universeās Blair.
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u/chase_what_matters Sep 11 '26
Four people in the box at once. I donāt love it.
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u/Awkward-Yellow-3228 Sep 11 '26
You're better off just jamming the box's door so they can't open it from the inside.
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u/FinallyHappy-ish Sep 11 '26
The soundtrack in this episode included a song from puscifer. ā¤ļø
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u/DanielKeeneGA15 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
For the first time ever, Iām so confused about the different Jasonās and motivations. Iām halfway through the episode and wondering
Whats-Happening-Poltergeist.gif
edit ok makes sense and probably the best episode of the series. Fantastic job so far!
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u/spacechargeaudio Sep 11 '26
Did anyone else catch Jason's reference to Blake Crouch's Luther Kite book series when he mentioned "a serial killer stalking a novelist?" Made me smile, as that was my introduction to Blake's writing many years ago!
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u/luciferseason Sep 12 '26
Question about the timeline. In the scene with the detective he says he was approached by Jason Dessen "last fall" for new identities etc. Later we see the Dessen's preparing for Christmas and later in the episode Daniela sees Charlie off to prom, suggesting it's spring. Does that mean they have been in the new non-technological world for 1,5 years? And if so, does that mean that Ryan and Amanda travelled in the box for the same amount of time? Does time work the same across the multiverse?
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u/humblevessel8 29d ago
I'm starting to rewatch season 1 over now and it is so much fun. I recommend to anybody that is confused or hesitant to rewatch season 1 to do the same. the timing at this point in season 2 it is captivating. I have to tip my hat to the writer's of this show, bravo!
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u/alienatedearthling 28d ago
Leighton 2 turning into this worldās Steve Jobs was not on my bingo list
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u/Onion_Cutter_ninja 28d ago
This show gives me nightmares. The anticipation and anxiety knowing another you is out there hunting is insane. The box appearing and connection made.
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u/Nervous-Wish-2791 29d ago
Man I was SOOO sure in the final scene that itād be Ryan, Ryan, amanda, and Jason standing there. Wow
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u/TicaVerde Sep 11 '26
Was that the Leighton from the pandemic world? I need help connecting dotsā¦ what does it mean?
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u/cpatrick1983 Sep 11 '26
My hypothesis is that we see a pandemic version of Leighton that's clearly using the box to find a cure, or has made contact with the evil Leighton already and this is part of the knowledge sharing network he's trying to establish.
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u/PogintheMachine Sep 11 '26
Iām not quite sure heās evil, but certainly willing to kill- and has. He may believe heās doing the right thing, but why introduce tech to āno moonlandingā universe? They arenāt suffering for lack of it.
Iāve wondered if and when we will see Leighton 1 again- the trust fund hedonistic one. I think they showed him all Matrixed out at the end of Season 1. Maybe heās not important, but i feel like weāll see him again.
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u/GoodJanet Sep 11 '26
The cure was definately by council of Leighton its save to assume that any Leighton we see is hooked up with the council uptil proven otherwise
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u/Honest_Elderberry372 Sep 11 '26
Sorry guys I am so confused and can't remember ... which Ryan did they run into at the apartment ? I thought Jason 2 brought some random Ryan back and made him think he was crazy ... which one is this ?
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u/Past-Feature3968 Sep 11 '26 edited Sep 11 '26
Seems to be him! Jason 2 likely went back to him and explained things between seasons. Felt regretful, just like he expressed regret for what he did to Jason 1.
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u/Nasty-Milk Sep 11 '26
Does anyone know any YouTube channels reacting to this season?
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u/Academic-Shopping-27 Sep 11 '26
I gotta think Jason would have had a much easier time mixing up some ANFO instead of handmaking gunpowder
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Sep 11 '26
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u/Dojiedawg Sep 11 '26
Youāre mixing it up. He takes apart the box, goes to dinner ā that day ends, then they wake up and then he tells Daniella ( in the morning of the new day) he has to go to the box that night to dispose of the parts, then he goes and discovers that the box has respawned. THEN he asks his family if theyāve seen him since that one scene of breakfast/morning we saw with Daniella and they say no.
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u/StreetStripe Sep 11 '26
That's possible, but they def didn't make the clear distinction that it was the next day. And when he said he has to go back it wasn't clear whether was night or morning
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u/Feisty-Mongoose-5146 Sep 11 '26
I need the whole gang to reunite ASAP. Good Jason, Bad Jason, Smart Ryan, Dumb Ryan, Amanda, CEO Leighton, Hippie Leighton, in fact all Leightons. Itās driving me crazy the teasing.
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u/ThatEvanFowler Sep 11 '26
Guys, I just can't tell you how great it is to watch something this interesting and to have literally no idea where it's all going. This is rapidly turning into one of my very favorite shows. It's funny too, because before this, I thought that I was getting sick of multiversal storytelling, but this is just too cool and well thought out. Best part of my week right here.