'Dark Matter' Season 2 Episode 3 Recap & Ending Explained: Did Leighton2 Find The Dessens?

In Dark Matter Season 2 episode 2, we saw Blair2 stepping into the Box three years ago, thereby taking the first step towards the chaos that shook the multiverse. In the present day, the Dessens made their way to a world that was stuck in the ‘70s. Due to the lack of advanced technology and surveillance, the Dessens thought they were in the clear. But when Daniela went to the local school to get Charlie enrolled, she learned that the Dessens of that world used to live in Chicago and they moved to San Francisco three years ago. That meant that the time-displaced Dessens had to get new credentials so that they could live without raising suspicion. Jason1 got in touch with Mitchel2 to help them get some fake documents and he also asked him to do a background search on his own family because Jason1 wanted to see what information would come up if somebody was looking for them. Mitchel2 delivered on both of those demands and, without revealing it to Jason1, he came to the conclusion that there were two sets of Dessens roaming around in his world: one was in San Francisco and the other in Chicago. Hence, he began tailing Jason1 to get to the bottom of that mystery. That was how he found out about the Box. Now, since the Dessens had visited the utopian world once, Ryan1 and Amanda2 had the option to go back to their world, and they took it. They eventually landed in the ‘70s world but they didn’t cross paths with the Dessens (because they didn’t know that the Dessens were there). When they went back into the multiverse via the Box, Mitchel2 got to watch the weird phenomenon of two people vanishing in a giant, metallic box. In addition to all that, Leighton2 and Okulo recruited Ryan3 so that they could travel through the multiverse and work with all the Leightons to use all the breakthroughs that mankind had in all the worlds out there to solve the problems of the worlds that were struggling to survive. What happened next? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

‘70s-Leighton Has Invented The Microprocessor

Episode 3 turns back the clock by three years to show us Jason2 reuniting with teachers and friends at a pub to discuss his theory which will allow humans to travel through the multiverse. More than the technical aspect of it, Jason2 wants to get some clarity regarding the philosophical question that he is facing: What will be the consequences of multiversal travel? And one of Jason2’s mates says that, much like every invention, it will unleash everything that’s beautiful and everything that’s terrible about the multiverse. This interaction is juxtaposed with the scene of Blair2 gearing up and then stepping into the Box because that’s the moment when “everything beautiful and everything terrible” about the multiverse became accessible to all those who knew how to use that Box. In the present day, the ‘70s world, Mitchel2 meets up with his sister, Sheila, who has ordered an investigation into their world’s Leighton because, all of a sudden, he has invented the micropressor. As mentioned in episode 2, the reason why the ‘70s world was stuck in the ‘70s was because Nixon won the presidential election and defunded NASA, as a result of which the microprocessor was never invented. Now, while Mitchel2 is a PI, his family owns MacNamara Tech, which is supposedly headed by Sheila. And since they are trying to make advancements in the tech field, they are surprised by Leighton’s Velocity Tech suddenly hitting gold. Mitchel2 says that he has not found anything shifty about Leighton’s activities. It’s possible that this version of Leighton has invented the microprocessor all by himself, but I also think that Leighton2 got in touch with him and basically gave him the blueprint for the microprocessor as a gift. There are even rumors that their Leighton is about to launch a “portable telephone,” which means a cellphone, and that’s definitely something that Leighton2 or some Leighton on Leighton2’s team has told to Leighton4 (that’s what I’m calling ‘70s-Leighton).

Jason1 Starts Studying The Box

Sheila notices the pictures of the Box that Mitchel2 has taken and asks him what that’s all about. Mitchel2 tells her about the Dessens and, as expected, Sheila has a very hard time wrapping her head around the fact that there are two sets of Dessens in her world. And she has an even harder time understanding that Mitchel2 has witnessed a couple (Ryan1 and Amanda2) vanish into the aforementioned Box. Also, Mitchel2 wrongfully assumes that Jason1 doesn’t know how the Box works, but he knows that Jason1 is trying to destroy it. We don’t see any more of the ‘70s-MacNamaras in this episode but there’s a good possibility that that pair of siblings are not going to stop until they get to the bottom of this mystery. As for the Dessens, they leave the hotel and move into their very own apartment. We see that Charlie has made friends at school. Jason1 is working at a bar, which pays enough to help him make ends meet. They celebrate Christmas, they reminisce about the past, and they try their best to be hopeful about the future. The only real hiccup that Jason1 faces is the bomb that he is making from scratch in order to destroy the Box. While taking a break from the bomb-making process, Jason1 puts his coffee mug down on the floor of the Box and notices that the liquid in it is pulsating. This means that there’s some kind of machine in the walls of the Box and that revelation prompts Jason1 to search for a panel in the Box that can give him access to the inner machinations of the device and allow him to deactivate it. However, instead of pulling out all the wires and processors inside the Box, Jason1 starts making notes about how the thing actually works.

A Version Of Leighton Is Fighting A Deadly Disease

Daniela goes to the Department of Motor Vehicle and, for a few seconds, he thinks that there’s a version of Jason sighting right in front of her. Her flight-or-fight response kicks in, but she heaves a sigh of relief when she finds out that the guy before her isn’t a Jason. She does spot a familiar face though: ‘70s-Blair (let’s call her Blair3 because she is the third Blair we have come across). Daniela immediately realizes that Blair3 has recognized her; hence, she tries to gauge how much Blair3 actually knows about her and her family. As soon as Daniela understands that Blair3 will be easy to fool, she gets comfortable sharing a bunch of personal anecdotes and listening to what Blair3 has been up to in the recent past (Blair3 talking about becoming a nomad is definitely a reference to Blair2’s decision to go into the multiverse all by herself). While they are having this conversation,  Blair notices that Daniela doesn’t have a ring on her finger; instead, she wears a hair tie like a placeholder for her engagement ring. She doesn’t address that elephant in the room probably because she believes that Daniela will talk about it when the opportune moment arrives. As Daniela has to go for her appointment, Blair3 gives her phone number to Daniela and tells her to give her whenever she is free, grab dinner, and chat some more; Daniela feels confident enough to say “yes” to that plan. We get a brief look at one of the versions of Leighton–probably Leighton2 because he has a limp, but I’m going to call him Leighton5 until proven otherwise–traveling to a world which has been ravaged by a deadly disease. He has acquired a vaccine, most likely with the help of the other Leightons, and he delivers it to the version of Dr. Springer that exists in that version so that she and the CDC can mass-produce it and save everyone, including Leighton5’s father. We see a memory of a young Leighton with his dad, who is building a hypersonic propulsion device with his colleagues, and I don’t think this memory is specific to any one Leighton; I think any of the Leightons could have lived this memory; the only difference is only one of the Leightons has to strive to bring his father back from the brink. 

Daniela Almost Kills Jason1

Daniela is at the apartment helping Charlie with one of his school assignments where he has to describe some exciting adventure that he has been on. Charlie has described his trip through the multiverse but Daniela says that Charlie can’t write about that because then their secret won’t be a secret anymore. Charlie says that if he can’t write about multiversal travel, then he has to make something up because, the truth is, going into that Box is the most exciting thing that has happened to Charlie. Before Daniela can fathom how devastating life has been for Charlie, the sensor on her oven goes off, which causes Daniela to briefly spiral out because whenever something goes wrong, she blames herself. Charlie tells her to chill out and be kind to herself regardless of if she has made a mistake or not. That’s when she understands that, while this mutliversal adventure might have robbed Charlie of a proper childhood, it has made him mature enough to be the soul of the Dessen household. Later that night, Jason1 returns home and lovingly wakes up Daniela. Daniela almost shoots Jason1 because he fails to immediately remember the password (they have to repeat a word that they said at the beginning of the day); thankfully he does recall the word but the Dessens come to the conclusion that they can’t rely on this technique to verify if they are in the company of the right Dessen. Therefore, all three of them get a unique tattoo of a compass on their forearms where the North, South, East, and West directions have been replaced by the first letter of the names of the Dessen family: J, D, C, and M (it’s Max, Charlie’s deceased brother).

Ryan1 Returns Home

Ryan1 and Amanda2 are seen traveling through the multiversal corridor, talking about whether or not Amanda2 regrets going into the multiverse, playing a part in the creation of the Box, and more. As they converse, Amanda2 realizes that Ryan1 thinks a lot like Jason2. Hence, she takes a massive gamble and opens the door as both of them are thinking of Jason2. The gamble pays off massively as they land in Jason1’s world, which is also Ryan1’s world; the broken concrete casing around the Box is a dead giveaway. Still, Ryan1 refuses to believe that he has made it back home until he goes to his own house and checks out if everything is in place. Right as he is done confirming that he is indeed back home, and just when Amanda2 and Ryan1 are done coming up with the theory that the Box takes you to the world in which the person you are thinking about (before you open the door) resides, another Ryan appears (let’s call him Ryan4). Ryan1 and Amanda2 are ready to chuck all of their theories out of the window and return to the Box, because they think they have made a mistake, but Ryan4 assures them that they are in the right place and he tells them to sit tight. He makes a call and a few minutes later, Jason2 shows up, which causes Ryan1 to flare up and punch the living hell out of Jason2. As they are bickering, it’s revealed that, across the road, in a neighboring building, Beanie-Jason, Mitchel1, and Mitchel1’s whole team (they are DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is stationed and they are observing everything that has been going on in Ryan1’s house. As soon as Beanie-Jason confirms that that’s in fact Jason2 in there, Mitchel1 tells his team to get ready to infiltrate Ryan1’s house and apprehend all of them.

Ryan1 Has To Run Away From Home

Beanie-Jason says that the deal was to catch Jason2 and the rest are supposed to go free. Since Mitchel1 isn’t paying attention to Beanie-Jason’s words, he steals a gun and shoots at Ryan1’s window so that they go on the run. This leads to a car chase with Ryan1, Ryan4, Amanda2, and Jason2 in one car (they are headed back to the Box), Mitchel1 and Beanie-Jason in another car, and all the other DARPA agents in other vehicles. During the car chase, Jason2 and Ryan4 give Amanda2 and Ryan1 the lowdown about the multi-Jason war that unfolded at the end of Season 1, which has led DARPA to believe that someone is cloning all these Jasons. As per Jason2, while Jason1, Daniela, and Charlie are safe wherever they are, Jason1’s world has essentially become a surveillance state where every nook and cranny of the world is being searched so that DARPA can get the answers to this whole mystery. Therefore, they have no choice but to disappear into the multiverse; and, well, that’s what they do. Mitchel1, Beanie-Jason, and the DARPA team are unable to follow Jason2, Ryan4, Ryan1, and Amanda2 into the Box because they don’t have the Lavender Wings. Well, the thing about the Lavender Wings is that it can be made. If there’s even a trace of the chemical out there somewhere (there’s a vial near the Box), DARPA can probably get all the best scientists in the world to remake the Lavender Wings. After that, they can use Beanie-Jason’s expertise of traveling through the multiverse to use the Box to their benefit. Will Mitchel1 be chasing after Jason2 once he gets a taste of the multiverse? I don’t think so, but that jarhead is definitely going to unleash horrors upon Jason1’s world that Jason2 or any of the other Jasons haven’t.

Jason1 Almost Betrays Daniela

Daniela can be seen pictures of Charlie with his friends as they go to prom. Jason1’s not around because he is still working on that Box. Daniela arrives at his “workshop” and is lowkey shocked to find out that, instead of finding a way to destroy the Box, Jason1 is trying to study it. Why? Because the Box is an idea that he thought he originally had. So, when Jason2 turned that idea into a reality, and rocked up into his world and turned it upside down, Jason1 felt that all this years of work had gone to waste. By building an on-off switch for the Box–so that they or anyone else can access the ‘70s world only if he wants to–Jason1 feels that he will be adding something worthwhile to a project that he thought was uniquely his. Of course, Daniela doesn’t like this idea, especially because it’s a decision that Jason1 has made without consulting her. What’s worse is that Jason1 blames Daniela’s recent mental health issues for him not feeling the confidence to confide in Daniela. That truly sends Daniela over the edge and she straight-up tells him that it’s pointless to try and derive some kind of satisfaction by building an on-off switch into that Box. Yeah, Jason1 could have built the Box if he had the manpower, the time, and the resources to do it. However, he chose his family over the project that would have taken him away from his family. Now that the Dessens have reached some semblance of stability, Jason1 is making a mistake that he didn’t originally make, which is choosing the multiverse over his family. Daniela says that she is heading home, after which she will go to work, and then she will go to the dinner date with Blair3; she says that Jason1 doesn’t need to come because he clearly doesn’t have his priorities straight. This finally triggers Jason1 to dismantle the box and take out all its parts until there’s nothing but a big, hollow, metal cage left. After that, he heads to dinner with Daniela (yeah, she is happy), Blair3 (the way she keeps looking at Jason1 makes me think she has some history with the version of Jason that’s native to this world), and Theresa. He greets them and then heads to the washroom, which is when he sees a vision of the Box. Jason1 shakes it off, heads back to the dining table, and after getting home, he tells Daniela that he has to go back to the location of the Box one more time to dispose of the leftover tech so that nobody finds it and makes some kind of abomination out of it; Daniela approves of that.

A Version Of Leighton Wants To Meet The Dessens 

In the ending of episode 3, when Jason1 shows up at the location of the Box, he is shocked to find out that the Box has reformed there. The parts that he had pulled out are still in its place, but a new, fresh Box has appeared. He immediately rushes back home to Daniela and Charlie and checks if they have met a version of himself after breakfast. Once they confirm they haven’t, he reveals that the Box is back even though he dismantled it. How? Jason1 theorises that the Box always reconnects to a world where an outlet of it has been destroyed or removed. So, in Jason1’s opinion, there’s no way to truly disconnect a world from the multiverse. But based on Ryan1 and Amanda2’s inference, we know that that’s not how the Box works. If the Box is disconnected, it stays that way until someone enters the multiverse with the intention of meeting the person that resides in the world where the Box was disconnected. If somebody doesn’t come after you, the Box just wouldn’t appear in your world. Well, whatever the case maybe, the ‘70s world is open to the multiverse again and, as pointed out by Charlie, the reason for that is a version of Leighton. Which version of Leighton is that? I don’t know; there’s no way to say for sure. Going by his demeanor, I will say that it’s Leighton2. But what use does he have from Jason1? He has everything he needs to “fix the multiverse.” Could it be Leighton1, the guy who got lost in the multiverse? Maybe. Or it’s possible that this is a version of Leighton we haven’t encountered yet, who wants to employ Jason1 on some crusade against all the other Leightons? The answer to these questions lie in next week’s episode. Until then, feel free to speculate in the comments section below.

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