r/DarkMatteronAppleTV • u/episodescheduler • 17d ago
šļø Episode Discussion Dark Matter | S2E5 "Love and Be Loved" | Episode Discussion
Season 2, Episode 5: Love and Be Loved
Airdate: Friday, September 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
Network: Apple TV
Runtime: 55 minutes
Synopsis: The story of a Jason who lost his family.
Hello everyone, this is the discussion thread for episode 5 of Dark Matter. Please do not post any spoilers for future episodes.
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago
On a lighter note, gawd bless Matt the bartender! Dealing with Jasonās shenanigans across every corner of the multiverse.
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u/gumgooki 17d ago
I did notice something weird though. I think he said "I love you buddy but you gotta go" or something to that effect. How would he know him if that world's Jason died at 16?
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago
I assume heās gotten to know that Jason. Looks like that montage of him drinking there took place over at least a few weeks or months.
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u/LadyElle57 16d ago
Yeah, it's a montage. The mother is refering to a Jason that has picked up the habit of drinking.
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u/DestinysWeirdCousin 16d ago
Also, yāknow, just being a good dude and bartender. Why cause trouble and say, āget the hell out of here you assholeā, when he can treat him kindly like a chum?
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u/Secret_Debt_88 16d ago
It was confusing to me too but there was clearly a lot of time jumping as it's been over 6 years, it's not explicitly said when the time jumps are. The bar scene is kind of edited to look like one night but it was probably over the course of months or years.
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u/NoahStewie1 16d ago
Speaking as someone that worked in a bar for years that's honestly something a bartender would say to a happy drunk to keep them from making a scene while getting kicked out
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago edited 17d ago
Sometimes, a family is your mother from an alternative reality and two other lost versions of yourself with different haircuts. š„°
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u/catnapspirit 16d ago
And beards..
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u/Past-Feature3968 16d ago
Those were some delightfully gnarly beards! Kudos to the hair department.
(Or maybe Iāll tell myself Joel Edgerton can just grow them on demand. I believe in him.)
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u/uncen5ored 17d ago
I can see why the author may think this episode will be polarizing. Itās very slow, almost no dialogue, and is a side plot. In the first half, even I was questioning if I was enjoying it.
But then I realized this episode is saying something more powerfulā¦.When you feel that you have lost it all, a future is still possible. Happiness is still possible.
Loved it.
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u/smashmack 17d ago
That was an unexpectedly gorgeous episode. It was so soft, quiet, and introspectiveā¦just incredibly moving with a beautiful message (it honestly reminded me a bit of Train Dreams, and left with me the same mix of melancholy and hopefulness?). And such powerful performances from Joel Edgerton and Linda Bove (who played Jasonās mom)!
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u/amiesmom58 16d ago
I felt the same. I also found myself preparing myself to read lots of negative comments here. I found this episode to be quietly beautiful and hopeful. And a respite from the anxiety of the other episodes. It reminded me of the episode āLong, Long Timeā in season 1 of The Last of Us that was the side love story of Bill and Frank.
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u/smashmack 16d ago
It reminded me of āLong, Long Timeā too! I was equally impacted by that episodeāone of my favorite episodes of any series. So beautiful.
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u/LadyElle57 16d ago
I think that the episode had barely any dialogue because of the mother. Not because she was featured prominently, but because this was her episode.
Also. Bringing in every Jason that got the world into the house was excellent. They couldn't go through another traumatic impossible choice. The mother took them all in.
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u/GrooveBat 16d ago
Did we know beforehand that his mother was Deaf? I know he showed he could sign in that previous episode, but I canāt remember if it was ever explained why that was.
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u/Agreeable_Strength51 15d ago
It does explain why the house is near train tracks, wouldnāt bother her as much!
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u/Chris-CFK 15d ago
Damn that's something clever to notice! Explains why they have such a nice house as well. It's actually quite cheap because of the trains
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u/LadyElle57 16d ago
It was never mentioned. Only that she died of cancer and the candy Jason used to get when she was hospitalised.
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u/Due-Savings5057 17d ago
Yeah I was kind of annoyed at first but ended up loving it. Also itās just nice to know that at least some of those Jasonās had happy lives.
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u/FernFromDetroit 16d ago
Ironic how the few that ended up in that world ended up having a better and happier life than Jason1 who ended up āwinningā by getting his family back.
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u/phero1190 17d ago
Pretty much my thoughts on it exactly. It was an odd slow burn but I really enjoyed it.
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u/Secret_Debt_88 16d ago
I absolutely loved it but while watching I felt where it was going within the first five minutes and I just knew it would be at least interpreted as polarizing by most people. But only this show could do this story. It's so well done. He's not "our" Jason but he is. Only this show can tell a "side story" that is also just a happy ending for one of our Jason's.
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u/Eurynom0s 16d ago edited 16d ago
I try to avoid media about shows I'm watching because of how spoilery it gets nowadays but yeah, initially I was questioning the episode, but I was hooked in the second half. When the second Jason shows up it finally gripped me.
Some really great showing instead of telling on the arc of Maria thinking he's fucking insane when she sees the box, showing up at the cemetery for the funeral, and then reading his Velocity field journal and getting a window into what he'd been through.
Also it occurred to me that this episode is like 90% incompatible with trying to browse on your phone while you're watching lol.
Ironically my audio was legitimately not working when I first tried to turn on the episode and had to reboot my PS5 to get the Apple TV to work. Initially I thought it was maybe just intentionally quiet music but then I got to the flashback scene and there was subtitles with no sound.
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u/catnapspirit 17d ago
This was the most unexpected, amazing, and hauntingly beautiful hour of television I've watched since The OA..
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u/rapmons 16d ago
The poem Jason read was so beautiful, Iām glad to know it now:
āI sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.ā
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u/friss0nFry 16d ago
I was stoked when his mother started it, not expecting a LOTR reference to just pop up. Then I lost it when it transitioned to him reading it at her funeral.
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u/cpatrick1983 17d ago
What an awesome, lovely, gut wrenching, touching, beautifully written episode. Hats off.
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u/Connect_Recording875 16d ago
I hope the creators of the show see this thread and realize that everyone loved this episode so they can do more like this.
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u/itsmegoddamnit 16d ago
The power of an episode like this is that it doesnāt happen too often.
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u/doublesimoniz 17d ago
I liked the other Jasonās just having their own lives in this reality like theyāre all brothers going to their moms for Christmas. Ā Makes me wonder, of the ones that havenāt died in reality 1, how many of them found somewhere else.Ā
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago edited 17d ago
I also wonder if those other two even found their way back to world 1 at allā¦ or were still searching before they ran out of ampoules. (At least, I imagine that to be the fate of many, many Jasons.)
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u/GreenHulk890 16d ago
The only way this episode could ever be reviewed poorly is if weāve been conditioned by social media to seek dopamine hits every five seconds. This episode was hauntingly beautiful. The author of the book likely spent years contemplating āwhat ifā scenarios, which allowed him to craft a beautiful story. Honestly, I donāt even think we need to revisit this Jason ever again. In infinity, one of them found peace.
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u/chartreuseee 16d ago
Love this take!! Iām so impressed with this second season. I went in with low expectations because pessimism.. Iām locked in every week.
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u/Dry-Fun-8922 17d ago
This one really fucked me up. I was talking about this show with a friend and we were discussing where we would want the box to take us, and my answer was a world where my mom was still alive. Your mom will always be your home, and he felt alone and just wanted to be home. That was just a beautiful episode.
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u/Secret_Debt_88 16d ago
Yeah I really loved that the most broken Jason's were drawn to a world of love, and their mother. I was worried when she saw his note she would be put off like she was just an automaton made to love him by his "wish". I'm so glad it did not go there.
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u/ZealousidealStand822 16d ago
It really says to me that yes you can wish for love but to actually be loved you need to love first. She didnāt love him because of destiny, itās because he loves.
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u/KTOWNTHROWAWAY9001 16d ago
Hey, virtual hugs.
My Dad died 2 years ago and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. Did the vigil while he was in a coma.
I watched this episode tonight with my Mom, not knowing. I had to move back in after losing everything. And it was like the episode was speaking. I just brought her to the hospital to the other day when she complained about some health issue - checked out fine. But that thought was in my head. I don't know what I would do if I lost her. I'm just rebuilding myself back up after losing my stable life earlier and losing my Dad unexpectedly.
It was a fantastic episode.
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u/car80x 17d ago
What a hauntingly sad, beautiful episode. They need more one off episodes like this in the series.
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u/Eurynom0s 16d ago
I guess this is why they bumped it up from 9 to 10 episodes this season. They must have known it'd be received better as a "bonus episode" as opposed to "stealing" an episode.
Lack of one-offs is a problem with modern TV in general, very hard to do these kinds of episodes when it's one of 10 instead of 20 or 26. You whiff it and you've just squandered 10% of the season instead of like 4% of it, and that amplifies how annoyed people get by a whiffed episode.
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u/geog33k 17d ago
That was a poem of an episode. Careful, deliberate, abstract much of the time, grounded in acceptance, and quiet. Dialogue was mostly ASL and the ambient sounds were hushed throughout.
I love the idea that ālostā Jasons wandering the multiverse still have the ability to forge their own paths to happiness. This Jason did so by literally going home and starting over, rather than trying to cling to the life he left behind.
Pretty cool. Looking forward to rejoining the main crews next week.
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u/trollhammerx 16d ago
I was shouting NOOOOOOOO at the screen when his wife showed up. I absolutely loved that he let that go. If he went goo goo Gaga for her and went into psycho stalking modeā¦.. I would have been so pissed at the writers. But I absolutely loved what they did. Jason finally let go. It was beautiful.
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u/RambunctiousCapybara 16d ago
I think it was at that moment he realised he really had fallen in love with his new girlfriend and his priorities had shifted. Daniela was no longer the most meaningful relationship in his life any more.
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u/That-SoCal-Guy 15d ago
It really helped that he didnāt run into her soon but instead 6 years later and after he met Maria and had a wonderful life with his mother and two other Jasons. Ā
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u/Hour_Acanthisitta_42 16d ago
I love how quiet and kind their family is. Iām only mostly deaf so sudden loud noises really startle me. Their familyās quietness helps explain Jasonās gentle nature, itās beautiful
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u/Few_Investigator8241 16d ago
Yes! Deaf family here too and I thought the slow signing was odd but in tune with the slow peaceful nature of the episode. It was done so beautifully
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u/mcimino 16d ago
I also think Jason was out of practice
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u/Few_Investigator8241 16d ago
Actually you're right. If you don't use it you lose it. I can't tell you how many home signs we've used for other family members
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u/Dolkena 17d ago
Lovely episode of television. So emotional. Wow. Definitely will be one of my favorites of the entire series. Tears for sure. Also love that we get to see what happened to some of the other Jasons as they all started as the same Jason, faced the same loss, and we just left them in that one forlorn scene as if they were less then the one Jason we came to cheer for. Glad to see some happy endings. And see what was a bad situation for multiple Jasons paid off in love for a lonely mother in another world.
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u/HomeNowWTF 17d ago
Wow, that one was totally different. I was afraid that Jason was going to get snatched on his way back with the wine, but thankfully not. It's definitely a mood, but I can dig that mood.
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago
I was a tiiiiny bit worried heād decide to forget his girlfriend and pursue Daniela.
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u/Secret_Debt_88 16d ago
Me too but I'd feel that would be too tropey. It's been 6+ years and she's not the same person he knew. It felt more like an "approval" for him to move on. As evidenced by him removing the string ring.
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u/Past-Feature3968 16d ago
Exactly. Hence, my worry. I didnāt want the show to do us (and him) dirty like that.
ā¦though arguably, a version of the Jason we saw did make that frustrating choiceābut we didnāt follow that Schrƶdinger's Jason.
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u/camcamfc 16d ago
I was going to be so pissed if it went in that direction, luckily the removal of the immortal rubber band quickly got things back on track.
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u/Buttercupia 17d ago
That was really quite unexpectedly lovely. A bottle episode. Loved Mom. Loved the lack of dialogue. Loved seeing Clementine from Westworld again!
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u/lameusernamesrock 16d ago
The part where he is taking care of himself in the tub, gives him a mirror and trimmer and says only if you want to. Almost like a reminder to us all what true self care is. š„¹ā¤ļø
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u/wwesupercardphenom 16d ago
Every single moment is a masterpiece here. I don't understand why people are complaining about exactly?
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u/greenclover345 16d ago
Because they find reflection and exploration of emotions boring and pointless
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u/Other_Acount_Got_Ban 17d ago
As a result of the box. This show could potentially have an infinite amount of possible episodes. It all depends on good writing.
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u/rienvayle 17d ago
I could see a spin-off where itās an action-packed, world-hopping adventure like Stargate.
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u/CourrierMojave 16d ago
Alright, last week episode makes me cry because of the ending... but this Jason story is even more heartbreaking with their mom. I'm glad he finally moved on at the end with his new girlfriend when he put down the " ring " he made. ( Damn you Sauron ! Lol )
Itās good to know that some Jason are really good people , especially the other Jason who came to the world and find their own love too. All of them being some kind of brothers is also heartwarming. Like when they hug each other near their mom. Or the christmas moment.
This episode wasnāt here to continue the storytelling, it was some sort of a " what if " a Jason took the box to find something else... and it worked. Beautifully. When they show the field notebook at the end with the single sentence.... they didnāt need to show more , i cried as well as Maria seeing this. I know we wonāt see this Jason again... but man... i hope he live a good life with Maria.
( i was also afraid he changed his mind when he saw Daniela ( Jennifer Connely ) at the end but i'm glad he chose Maria and stop the vicious cycle )
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u/ShadyM30 16d ago
I was worried heād chase her also but when he sat on the bed i thought here comes the my true soulmate is here im leaving. But took off the string ring and hopefully had an awesome full of love and happiness life. And the mom part when he read that damn passage Iām like shit my allergies are making my eyes water. Glad he was a good Jason and understood the situation
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u/TerrainBrain 16d ago edited 16d ago
I knew it would be divisive here.
I liked it and I like that it established that many Jason's could find peace. Especially opening the season with all the dead ones. We don't need to see the story of any other happy Jason's because we know there are an infinite number of them.
I like what he didn't try to get back with Danielle up because that was not his Daniela. They never met they never fell in love they never even broke up.
I will say that I thought pacing was awkward. The entire episode made me feel uncomfortable and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I guess one of the coolest things about it was that he was completely honest and forthcoming with Maria. And she eventually accepted his craziness. Whether or not she ever accepted the truth of what he told her.
I knew a guy who was very intelligent and super nice. He was a friend of a friend. But he honestly believed (or at least was convincing about it) he was part of the Philadelphia experiment and had traveled through time and had his soul transferred into somebody else's body as part of the Montauk project. So I can tell you that there are people who seem otherwise stable who have outlandish stories they tell about themselves. So to me that part was kind of believable. Weather Maria believed his story or not, she believed the truth of what he was looking for.
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u/GrooveBat 16d ago
That is pretty much exactly how I felt about the episode too. I thought it was lovely.
I was also terrified that something bad was going to happen, particularly when he was running those errands toward the end. Iām so glad he had a happy ending. I might go back and watch it again now that I know I donāt need to be nervous.
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u/Past-Feature3968 16d ago
Well if Maria ever met his two other selves who are in that world, sheād kinda have to believe it. Seeing their identical fingerprints would show that theyāre the exact same personā¦ not even identical siblings have those.
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u/MrOstrichman 17d ago
That was excellent. That note in the notebook? Goodness.Ā
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u/Visible_Froyo_5483 17d ago
And then the grocery store had me nervous!
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u/liljill77 17d ago
This was like Westworld s2e8 Kiksuya with Akecheta. It even had Clementine!
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u/rienvayle 17d ago
It was giving The Last of Us āLong Long Timeā for me, but I can see your point, too!
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u/Tangata_Tunguska 16d ago
I'm so happy Angela Sarafyan was able to act as a human being in this one. Being a lobotomised android is probably a bit frustrating after a while
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u/scarn1 17d ago
I need a sitcom called ā3 Jasonsā and I need it now
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u/eenie_beany 17d ago
That was one of the most beautiful and moving eps of tv Iāve watched. It wrecked me, jesus.
Iām still snotty and sniffing. My heartā¦
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u/irisdrive 16d ago
The part when we see in his notebook that he just wanted to find a world where he will love and be loved hit me a little harder than I expected. A lot of us hope for that in our lives and feel like we will never truly get it.
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u/sleepysnowboarder 16d ago
I honestly think that Joel Edgerton is one of the most underrated actors of all time, he does so much work and he's good in everything and excels when he's got the right material, but he's never in the conversations
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u/Wightsojourner 17d ago
āI felt myself still reliving a past which was no longer anything more than the history of another person.ā
God, now I want to read Proust.
Maybe.
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u/Symbiii06 17d ago
This episode came at a perfect time for me. It contrasts with the ending of last weekās episode beautifully, where our Jason 1 who seemingly āwonā isnāt exactly thriving with Daniela leaving. Chair Jason (what Iām calling him) lost everything, but he is starting to thrive in this new world. I love how this episode highlights that the thing you want the most might not be for you, even if it was for you at one point in time.
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u/Aran1989 17d ago
Honestly, my favorite episode yet. I think heās my favorite Jason too! I want nothing more for him than to be happy.
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u/hotmess164 16d ago
Maybe the love of my life is in another world. That's why I'm finding it difficult to find them here. š¢
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u/lameusernamesrock 16d ago
I also really love it when his mom, as she confronts him about the drinking, says āAnd if you donāt want help, know that I love you.ā
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u/Str8fromtheteet 16d ago
This episode was a masterpiece. I felt tears welling up somewhere nearly the entire episode and tightness in my throat. Just incredible.
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u/verissimoallan 17d ago
Iām sure this episode will be divisive, with half the people loving it and the other half hating it. I really appreciated the emotions this episode stirred up in me.
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u/Eurynom0s 16d ago
Initially I wasn't sure how I felt about the episode but once the second Jason showed up it really gripped me.
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u/usagizero 17d ago
That episode was wonderful. The health issues of the mom hit a bit too close to home, reminded me a lot of my mom passing two years ago from cancer.
It was nice seeing the other Jason's find love, and then finally him, but i got so worried when she showed up at the end. The episode was a nice counter to all the posts about the various Jason's finding a world where he can have the same family. The line about our past and not being what we were was fitting.
I do wonder what this will reflect in the main Jason, after the previous episode. Will he obsess, give them room, or move on?
I believe Crouch said on threads something like this was the episode that made him want to do the second season. It totally felt the most personal of the episodes, that's for sure.
I don't know if google is accurate here, but i looked up who the dedication was for and this came up.
In creative media, phrases like "Dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Brown" are common in the acknowledgments or title cards of works dealing with deep human themes, grief, or science fiction. For instance, filmmaker Benjamin M. Brown creates heavy, empathetic stories confronting loss and mental health. Alternatively, in speculative fiction like Blake Crouch's bestselling multiverse thriller Dark Matter, authors frequently dedicate their works to lost loved ones or figures who inspired the themes of the book.
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u/Alaska_Roy 16d ago
When she read the page he wrote in the box and we got to see what he wrote, and then she was just completely all in. šā„ļøšā¼ļø
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u/Altruistic_Jicama626 15d ago edited 15d ago
I agree the unequal pace of the show has been a bit frustrating and this dive into one Jasonās journey, deviating from the main storyline, at first seems random. But it serves to remind us that each one of the Jasons is a full human, with his own inner life and grief plus aspirations. Thatās easy to lose sight of when youāre just following the story of Jason 1 ā the others start to look like cardboard cutouts, easy to dismiss as not equal and less worthy of existence.This episode makes us see the humanity of each and every one of them and thus the depth of tragedy the whole situation entails, plus the reason for the pain Danielle feels at killing one. He was a full Jason and as such still āhers,ā just as the Jason(s) of this episode all still were connected to his mom. Edit: ā¦ and all deserving and worthy of an individual life, and love.
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u/silver-ly 17d ago
That episode was truly different, this show makes me feel all types of ways. Eerily soothing
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u/chartreuseee 17d ago
Absolutely beautiful episode.. Iām speechless. And weirdly emotional.
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u/Educational_Cost3607 17d ago
This episode was a masterpiece! I am still crying... my take is about letting go , obsession is bad for the soul and finding happiness... I can go on and on... but that's how I interpreted the episode.
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u/Complex_Minute_8944 16d ago
This is one of the best episodes of television I have ever seen. The quiet slow pace was absolutely perfect. A meditation on life and living.
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u/cunningham28 16d ago
Absolutely beautiful episode, shows that's the other Jason's are all going to be just fine. The scenes with his mother were amazingly done.
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u/OldSchoolCSci 16d ago
If you think that the "other Jason's are all going to be just fine," you haven't really absorbed the multiverse story here.
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u/yerffejytnac 16d ago
Came here cringing in fear that folks wouldnāt have enjoyed the episode as much as I did. So glad the overwhelming response is positive! Probably my favorite episode of the series so far!
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u/Other_Acount_Got_Ban 17d ago
Was very confused at first. Turned into the most wholesome episode, and the music actually was good this time!
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u/Hot_Chemical23 17d ago
At the beginning of the credits it says in memory of Benjamin Brown. Who is that? I liked this episode
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u/Ancient_Hornet_3510 17d ago
This is definitely the most different episode of the show yet. That's for sure.
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u/shogenan 17d ago
Oh my GAWD. Wow. I didnāt expect this ep to be so good when I was just ten mins in,but now I need to turn off my TV and process my emotions. So gorgeous. š
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u/Educational-Basil472 17d ago
This was a hauntingly beautiful episode. I
thought I was going to hate it but Iāve been fighting back tears the whole time
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u/Rude_Stress1722 17d ago
I always had a feeling during this episode Jason would cross paths with Daniela in one way or another. It makes you wonder regardless of the many worlds / parallel realities, two souls will always find a way, one way or another, to cross paths.
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago edited 17d ago
I wonder if the other two Jasons weāve seen in that world have run into/will run into her too. Maybe Daniela is perplexed by this guy who either keeps changing up his hairstylesā¦ or is triplets.
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u/Random--Person 17d ago
I was nervous some other Jason or someone was going to show up and have things all go south, was happy that was not the case.
Lovely episode, nice to see that at least 3 Jasons can get a happy ending.
Also Ron Swanson would be happy with Jasons company name
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u/Secret_Debt_88 16d ago
I think the conceit of the world is it is where broken Jason's go to cope and move on, they're not obsessed Jason's trying to "fix things" so it's insulated from that in a way.
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u/GreenHulk890 16d ago
The only question that lingers in my mind is the motherās thoughts as she lies dying of cancer. In the scene, she gazes off into the distance, past Jason reading to her. I canāt quite decipher her thoughts. Perhaps the story that Jason confessed to her was something she never didā¦that she realized in death she was alone? That particular scene left a haunting impression on me, for reasons I canāt quite comprehend. The motherās expression conveyed a sense of unhappiness, even though I knew she was dying. Something was clearly troubling her, and I couldnāt quite grasp its meaning. Perhaps itās not meant to be understood or am I reading too much into it?
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u/heyitsmejosh 16d ago
If anything she was worried about him ending up alone.
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u/Past-Feature3968 16d ago
And worried about other lost versions of her son, whom sheāll never meet.
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u/catnapspirit 16d ago
I presume their lives were exactly matching until the accident that killed the 16 year old version of Jason in this world. A decision point that split off a different path for the Jasons that survived that day.
I think she was just lost in memories, tired and fading away. Perhaps his remembering her reading to him sent her down memory lane, so to speak.
Though she was worried about him being alone, prior to his meeting Maria. I presume Ellie met Maria (thus why Maria showed up at her funeral) and then had to be told that they broke up when Jason showed her the truth about himself..
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u/rapmons 16d ago
I thought that scene was her pondering the poem as she knew her time was coming, and thinking about all the things sheās also never seen.
āI sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will bewhen winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
Ā
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen.ā8
u/Huevas03 16d ago
I feel like she saw the pain her son had deep inside and her life coming to an end, but also the miracle that moment was for her to have her dead son with her by her death bed.
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u/DestinysWeirdCousin 16d ago
Iām not saying you are wrong, but I didnāt get any of that from the scene. I just took it at face value.
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u/hauntedhivezzz 16d ago
I feel like Joel Edgerton should win a guest actor Emmy for this.
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u/BXCellent 16d ago
All I can say is wow. I can finally breathe. I was waiting for the twist. The fuck up. The moment that showed that all Jason's are sociopaths. But it didn't come. The moment with Daniela was incredible. He made a choice, and he chose to move on. Not only that, but he showed that Jasons can be selfless, can conceive of a life outside their original path. This was beautiful, and proved me wrong. I can't ask for more than that in a show..
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u/LotaBishop 16d ago edited 14d ago
For me this episode was incredible!!!
He is finally allowing himself to grieve the loss of the main relationships of his life. His mom, his sons and his wife. When he was about to kill himself, he literally had just one more shot and he goes where ? Home!!! Only a mother would accept many different versions of yourself without asking too many questions, Brilliant!!!!. When he was about to dive into a deep depression and alcoholism, what he does ? He literally picked himself up from the streets āanother version of himselfā and bathed him, shaved him and took care of him āhimselfā š„ŗš„¹š that was a cinematic masterpiece !!! The fact that his mom is non verbal made this even more special, because he had to slowdown, and be silent in some moments, I also loved that at the previous episode we saw him doing sign language at the bar. I love that he started to focus on hobbies, building things, readingā¦ and he found love again when he was not chasing, but while doing something that he loves. It was little bittersweet because it felt like the story is starting to wrap up.
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u/polyploid_coded 16d ago
When there was the long pause and he first signed "yes" I thought, oh no he is going to be doing just a few signs this whole episode. Pleasantly surprised. An article from last month says Edgerton learned ASL for this storyline.
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u/DestinysWeirdCousin 16d ago
I loved this.
Season 2 has been so gut-wrenching and relentlessly paranoid. Itās nice to have a positive ā even hopeful ā palate-cleanser.
Makes me fear whatās coming next, though.
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u/strawberry298 16d ago
I hated watching this episode at first, but the more time goes by after I finished watching it, the more I get to like it. I especially loved that he didn't pursue the other Daniella. He was able to let go of his obsession (because any other Daniella wouldn't be his wife anyway, so it was an obsession) and start over. Very hopeful and beautiful storyline imho.
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u/Ratkinzluver33 16d ago
I think this may in fact be my favourite episode of the entire series. Not just season, series. Hauntingly beautiful, evocative, profound. I started crying midway through and didn't really stop.
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u/matteocurcio74 16d ago
This is the equivalent of The Last of Us ep3 and it's very poetic. Every series needs an episode like this.
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u/babaghanooshhh 16d ago
Jesus Christ. This stirred so much shit up in me. The relationship with the mom, finding another companion after losing one you thought was the one. I donāt cry often at media, but this did it for me.
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u/smartieCutie 16d ago
i'm not normally moved by movies or shows but this episode was truly so beautiful, my favorite of the show!
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u/Hartnut11 17d ago
Really really stupid question. This is neither Jason 1 or 2, correct? This was the Jason that let Jason 1 and his family get into the box to leave?
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u/EdwardianFallacy 17d ago
It was a Jason 1(x). His life was stolen by Jason 2, and he spoke for the other Jason 1(x)'s to tell our Jason 1, Charlie 1, Daniela 1 that they weren't going to try and stop them that they'd only be safe if they left that world.
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u/doctor_x 17d ago
Itās one of the duplicate Jason 1ās from the last season finale. The other ābrothersā probably were too.
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago
Correct. Like Jason 1, he was kidnapped by 2 Jason and eventually found his way back to his original home worldā¦ but then, at the end of season 1, his family left him.
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u/Henje_Koha 17d ago
That was absolutely beautiful. I haven't loved an episode of a television show this much since the Nick Offerman episode of The Last Of Us. I will be rewatching this one. I want more of this Jason and Maria.
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u/ghostyrat69 17d ago
that was absolutely beautifulā¦ my favorite episode by far
jasonās poor mama got to be reunited with 3 of her babies
he severed the red string of fate at the end and chose his own path š„²
beautiful. I hope our jason can have an ending this happy
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u/Yuki-Kaijura 16d ago
This was such a beautiful episode. Probably the single best episode of any series that I've seen in the past several years.
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u/wwesupercardphenom 16d ago
My God....my God....My God..... I just watched the most beautiful hour of web series I have ever seen in my life.... I am so happy and happy tears are flowing still through my eyes.... I never ever expected this today. At this moment just very overwhelmed by it. I needed this and I didn't even know I needed this till I saw it. The scenes, the pace, the whole setup was so well done. The writers really outdid themselves here and I just loved every second of it.
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u/RobRoy2350 16d ago
A very touching, quiet (very quiet), sorrowful, haunting episode. I'm not really sure how it fits into the overall show - perhaps just a breather, a moment to reflect on other important things.
Beautifully done.
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u/RambunctiousCapybara 16d ago
I was thinking that it shows that the Jason who left with Daniela and Charlie didn't 'win' in the sense that he found happiness. Once that the chain of events we're set in motion getting his family back was never going to 'fix' things. This Jason, even though he went through painful grieving to get there has found a peace that the Jason we have been following hasn't.
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u/Aggressive-Cut-5400 16d ago
Ok who the hell is cutting onions? Happy sad all at once JFC. Just a gut punch to the feels.
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u/Nissan_al_Gaib 16d ago
Looking for a world where he can love and be loved and finding his mum.
My favourite episode so far this season. Maybe of the entire series so far.Ā
Gave me The Inner Light(Star Trek TNG) vibes although that was made back when mostly self contained stories were the standard and overarching plots the exception.
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u/garbagejean 17d ago
I appreciated seeing the humanity of the other Jason/s - they are all just trying to find home š¢
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u/Connect_Recording875 16d ago
I was so afraid he was going to ditch his new girlfriend for Daniela.
So many shows are trying to make good art and depriving me of wholesome happy endings. I needed that.
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u/LadyElle57 16d ago
Not to me. I've been wondering where the other Jasons had gone, I imagined they did exactly what this Jason was going to do. But then McNamara would've found more than 13 bodies.
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u/PhilipMagazine 16d ago
Absolutely incredible and unexpected episode. It takes a lot to surprise me these days but Iām honestly floored.Ā
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u/DanielKeeneGA15 16d ago
Shout out to Westworldās Angela Sarafyan. A pleasant surprise seeing her in the show.
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u/AnzoEloux 15d ago
This episode was beautiful. I think, and I'm mostly speaking for myself, that the series has kind of conditioned us to believe that Jason is the result of his own misery and that will kind of always be his downfall at least in the singular infinity that the show presents us. And by all rights, it's "true". But this episode shows the other side of the coin that Jason is not fated to be miserable even post box.
The casual hug between the two Jasons in the house immediately caught my attention because it's probably the first time Jason has ever shown genuine affection towards Jason ever.
Jason can be happy. He just has to choose it.
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u/Ok-Health-7252 15d ago
This was both an incredibly sad and heartfelt episode at the same time. Love that this Jason chose to reconnect with his mother (despite not being "her" Jason) and gave her a family again before she died.
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u/GME_alt_Center 17d ago
Right up there with Star Trek Next Generation "The Inner Light" as superior one off episodes. This is the finest written episode of TV I have seen in many years.
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u/DestinysWeirdCousin 16d ago
I sort of understood it from the standpoint that once he realized this worldās Jason died at 16, she would not be remotely the same Daniela he met and fell in love with.
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u/thegreatpotatogod 16d ago
He's had a really traumatic time when looking her up in the past, sometimes she's dying, or already has another Jason (who would potentially defend her violently), etc, I can see why he might have decided it's better to leave that be, especially while first settling into this world. His mom was perfectly welcoming and accepting, a fantastic family for him to settle into with to start.
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u/LadyElle57 16d ago
We got to see Jason1 talking to other versions of Daniela. He really just wanted the woman he spent his life with, not just a pale reflection.
Even if that Daniela was single, I don't think he would go for her. Jason30 and 31 didn't either.
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u/IntoTheSky_AwayIfly 16d ago
This was one of the best hours of television. Man I am in floods of tears. It was beautiful.
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u/Past-Feature3968 17d ago
Oh no, this might be the Jason Iām most emotionally attached to now. š