IR TV Review: DARK MATTER - EPISODE 2 (“A Perfect World”) [Apple TV-S2]
The first episode of Season 2 of "Dark Matter" re-established a world but also showed more of the characters on the run. Jason (Joel Edgerton), Diana (Jennifer Connelly) and their son Charles continue to look for the right world but one that keeps them safe and below the radar. With some highly functioning people, it would seem hard to shut down in this way without losing themseleves. They seem to find what they think is a perfect world which is interesting because what made the box possible is not quite there and yet there is a box so there is anomaly. Once they start investigating, it is intriguing what changed in the world and what shifted it in many ways. It is a simple angle away from something and yet it is very practical in what it did.
In a parallel spot, which is much different in what it actually represents, Ryan (Jimmi Simpson) and Amanda (Alice Braga) come together in a way which is a sort of an odd perspective considering where the first season built to. It makes sense and sets up what happens at the end of the episode which is more cinematic and visual than any of the special effects because of the connotation of what it shows in terms of dynamic and structure of the universe (beyond any concept of technology). Yet elsewhere Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi) is moving pieces and in a way trying to become Kang in a way…for good. But that can go wrong as one knows. There is also no progression of the white herring from the first episode even though a PI might turn out to be the doppelgänger. But certain pieces don’t quite fit yet. But in this kind of changing world the issue only is if the show becomes too technically complicated in its narrative structure (Apple TV's "Constellation" also had this issue) before getting back to the root that made it interesting which was loss. There is also one moment between Connelly and Edgerton as the characters which is interesting. It is a character beat but also speaks to something else which might be at issue in the future. 87%/B+
By Tim Wassberg
