Dark Matter Season 2 Adds A Minor But Crucial Element From Blake Crouch's Book
by Jeremy Mathai · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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Warning: This article contains spoilers for "Dark Matter" Season 2, Episode 4, "Stars, Hide Your Fires."
There might not be anyone in television more uniquely positioned than Blake Crouch with "Dark Matter" Season 2. Not only is he credited as creator, showrunner, writer, and executive producer on the Apple TV series, but as the writer of the novel this series is based on, he also happens to be adapting his own original work. What's more, the acclaimed first season of the sci-fi adventure already covered all the events of the book to completion. Season 2, then, is in fully uncharted territory — essentially acting as a sequel, expanding far beyond what's on the page.
This has already led to some incredibly fun, possibly controversial twists and turns that even readers wouldn't have seen coming, but we're now seeing more examples of how Crouch and his writers are able to take artistic license with the original "Dark Matter" book. Episode 4, evocatively titled "Stars, Hide Your Fires," focuses on several characters who weren't as fleshed out in either the novel or in Season 1: regretful villain Leighton Vance (Dayo Okeniyi), the dreaded "Jason2" (Joel Edgerton), and both Amanda Lucas (Alice Braga) and Ryan Holder (Jimmi Simpson). The latter three (with an extra Ryan Holder from an alternate reality, for good measure) spend the first half of the episode as unlikely travelers together, attempting to return Ryan2 to his original world — one he was rudely abducted from by Jason2 back in Season 1. But, when they finish, Jason2 requests a tablet of Ryan and Amanda's new invention, "lilac wings," to travel the multiverse.
While a seemingly minor development, this is actually a crucial element straight out of Crouch's novel ... and which he left out of Season 1 altogether.
Dark Matter Season 2 keeps finding new and interesting ways to adapt Blake Crouch's original book
If ever there were an adaptation that fans can't possibly hate because of changes made to the source material, it would have to be "Dark Matter." With original author Blake Crouch calling the shots across both seasons so far, well, any book readers disgruntled by certain differences will have to take up their complaints with Crouch himself. Those willing to analyze this situation on a deeper level, however, might be able to appreciate how the latest episode sneakily adapts a certain element that the show left out — until now.
Season 1 established that the mysterious, multiverse-traveling box created by Leighton Vance can only be used with "ampoules" that, when injected, break down barriers in the human brain preventing them from perceiving the many realities surrounding them. In the book, these can be administered either through injection or by simply drinking the chemical compound. The former option leads to an instantaneous reaction, transporting a user from the tight confines of the box to the corridor with infinite doors opening to infinite worlds. The latter takes 30 minutes to take effect, but is a much safer choice.
It's obvious why the series would opt for the quicker, more cinematic approach, but Season 2 just brought back that second method. Ryan and Amanda's tablets, known as "lilac wings," are described exactly as the book's ingestible drug: needing half an hour to take effect, but lasting up to two hours longer. While this might seem like a mere Easter egg for readers, it also opens up a world (er, multiverse?) of dramatic opportunities — which, without spoiling anything, may be worth remembering for later.
New episodes of "Dark Matter" stream on Apple TV every Friday.