‘Dark Matter’ Episode 4 Recap & Review: Jason and Amanda Access the Multiverse

Dark Matter Episode 4 begins with everyone at Velocity Labs in a mad scramble after Jason 1 and Amanda charged into the box. As soon as the box opens and the three-minute timer goes off, Leighton (Dayo Okeniyi) grabs a pack and heads into the box. Inside the endless corridor, Jason and Amanda wander aimlessly, wondering how the box works or what exactly they’re looking at.

They realize their brains created this corridor because they are attempting to process something the human mind hasn’t evolved to comprehend. The pair finally decide to open a door and find themselves inside a building in an alternate world covered in ash. After stepping outside, they realize it’s not just their building, the entire world is a desolate wasteland covered in ash. Amanda asks Jason how they made it to this world, but he’s not sure.

As they stare into the barren city, a building collapses, and they narrowly make it back into the building and the box in time, and the credits roll. In the original world, Daniela (Jennifer Connelly) walks up to the small box that holds Max’s (Jason and Daniela’s other son who passed away when he was young) ashes. Charlie (Oakes Fegley) drives with Jason 2 (Edgerton) in the passenger seat, and Jason tells him to run a yellow (almost red) light.

Jason 2 Quits His Teaching Job at Lakemont College

Dark Matter Episode 4 continues when Charlie tells his father he doesn’t want a big 16th birthday celebration, but Jason wants to do something special. Inside the box, Jason 1 and Amanda search through their packs and realize the coordinates of the box can’t change, but the worlds they enter can. Neither Jason nor Amanda know how to use the box, but they take another dose of the drug and enter the corridor once more.

Leighton is also wandering the corridor and calls out to Jason and Amanda, but they’re nowhere to be found. In the other world, Jason 2 returns to Lakemont College to teach physics in Jason 1’s place. He can’t get his students to pay attention so he throws a bottle into the corner and it shatters. Jason demands his students take a pop quiz on paper, but they all tell him no one carries paper anymore.

Jason then tells his students that everyone who doesn’t have paper fails, says good luck, and walks out of the classroom. Someone approaches him in the hall and asks why he broke a bottle in class and Jason says he quits. Meanwhile, Jason 1 and Amanda exit the box into another world that is covered in trees and extremely foggy. They open another door to find a world where the sun is hundreds of feet off the ground and there is no atmosphere, and Jason quickly shuts the door.

Jason and Amanda Find Themselves in Countless Perilous Worlds in ‘Dark Matter’ Episode 4

Amanda panics and takes off down the hall, only to discover she’s running down an infinite corridor like Jason said. Jason explains why there are so many realities and says they need to find food and water quickly. They then open another door that leads to the basement of Velocity Labs in what appears to be the same world they left earlier. It’s here they see alternate versions of themselves running toward the box.

Dawn (Marquita Brooks) and Leighton confront the alternate Jason and Amanda, and Dawn shoots Amanda in the head while the original Amanda watches; the pair then escapes into the box. Jason tries to open several more doors, one of which leads to the ocean and the other deep underground. They try another world that opens to werewolves, and several others that are nothing more than nightmarish hellscapes.

Amanda decides she’s had enough and opens a door that leads to a snowy world. She charges out into the snow and the two find themselves in the middle of a blizzard, unable to locate the box. Amanda is too cold to stand up, so Jason carries her to an abandoned house nearby. Jason tucks Amanda into bed to warm her up and explores the house to find matches. He builds a fire downstairs and carries Amanda to it to warm her up.

Jason 2 Visits Leighton Vance in Episode 4 “The Corridor”

Leighton continues wandering the corridor calling for Jason, and he’s beginning to panic. In the original world, Jason 2 visits Leighton Vance, who never took over Velocity from his father or grandfather. They share a drink and Jason apologizes for the passing of Leighton’s grandfather. Leighton says his dad is running the company, and he’s living off a trust fund.

Dark Matter Episode 4 continues when Jason tells Leighton he quit teaching and wants to get back to what he was working on and spend more time with the family. Leighton says he’s already invested in Ryan’s company and can’t help him, but Jason says he wants to show him something. Meanwhile, in the frozen world, the blizzard has stopped and Jason 1 ventures outside and sees Chicago in the distance in a total ice age.

Jason 2 takes Leighton to the warehouse with the box and gives him some psychoactive drug, of which they both take a dose. Back on the ice world, Jason 1 breaks down furniture inside the house and stokes the fire while Amanda finally warms up. Jason looks at a photograph of the family who used to live here and is reminded of his family. In the original world, Daniela looks at pictures of little Max and also parses some of his belongings.

Jason and Amanda Figure Out How To Control the Box in ‘Dark Matter’ Episode 4

The drug begins to take effect on Leighton, and he gets into the box with Jason 2. Jason 1 tells Amanda that the box is buried in the snow, and she admits she was panicked and lost control. She apologizes to Jason and tells him a story about her childhood. Amanda reveals she was thinking about being trapped in a snowstorm before she opened the door, and the two realize that their thoughts control which universe the box takes them to.

Leighton and Jason 2 stand in the box, Jason closes the door, and Leighton experiences the corridor for the first time. Jason explains his thoughts control the box and says he’s going to open a door and needs him to clear his mind. In the snow world, Jason and Amanda venture out to locate the box. The GPS dies, but they continue searching because it’s their only hope of survival. They use a compass and magnetic field to find the box.

In the original world, Daniela asks Charlie if he’s ready to go or if he wants to wait for Jason, and he says not to wait. Jason 1 and Amanda make it back into the box, and he realizes it is Charlie’s 16th birthday. Daniela and Charlie sit at Max’s tree and light a candle for him. Daniela and Jason tell the story of Max’s birth to Charlie and Amanda, respectively, and reveal that he was Charlie’s twin brother. She says he was a fighter and the first of the two to be born.

Jason and Amanda Continue Bonding Inside the Box

Dark Matter Episode 4 continues with Jason 1 telling Amanda the story of how Max died, and Daniela reminds Charlie that he and Max were inseparable. Jason gets emotional thinking about missing the time sitting with Daniela and Charlie at Max’s tree. Jason 2 and Leighton return home to their world and Jason tells him who he is, and that Leighton was one of his closest friends and colleagues in his world.

Leighton tells Jason 2 he’d give anything for a chance to start fresh. Amanda and Jason 1 sit inside the box and Jason asks if his counterpart was happy. She says no because all he did was work, but that he was the most driven human being she ever knew. Amanda thinks Jason 2 rationalized the kidnapping by telling himself that he was giving Jason 1 the chance at a new life, the path not taken.

Jason 1 realizes Jason 2 did everything just to have a chance with Daniela and Charlie. At home in the original world, Daniela and Charlie are making spaghetti and meatballs when Jason 2 walks in. Charlie tells him he missed his time at the tree, and Jason apologizes and tells him he got him a present. Charlie opens the small box to find a car key, and Jason says it’s parked outside. He runs out in excitement and Daniela is clearly annoyed.

Leighton’s Path Is Nearing Its End in ‘Dark Matter’ Episode 4

Daniela is understandably frustrated that Jason bought a car and quit his job without talking to her. Charlie hugs them both and asks if they can go for a ride, and Jason tells Daniela they don’t have to worry about money anymore. Inside the corridor, the Leighton that charged into the box at the beginning of the episode is bruised and bloody. He opens a door to see the snow world that Jason and Amanda were in earlier, closes it, and continues down the endless corridor.

Dark Matter Episode 4 is the first in the series that features several large deviations from Blake Crouch‘s novel. In the book, Leighton doesn’t charge into the box after Jason and Amanda, and Jason also doesn’t go and talk to the other Leighton and show him the box. These are new adjustments to the series which keep the audience on their toes. Dark Matter is operating at extremely high levels through four episodes, with a chance to accomplish something truly special if it continues this run.

'Dark Matter' Episode 4 Review

5/5 Total Score

The Good

• Joel Edgerton displays devastating emotion inside the box.
• The addition of Max adds a layer of intriguing uncertainty to the series.
• Further exploring Jason and Leighton's relationship is a great change.

The Bad

• There is so much happening at once that it can be tough to follow.