Dark Matter, based on the novel by Blake Crouch, is about a Jason Dessen, a scientist who is kidnapped by his duplicate from another universe and stranded in the universe of that duplicate. Jason's challenge is to find a way home to get his life back.
Things get increasingly complicated. Over the course of the show's first two seasons, we get to see a legion of Jasons as similar events play out across multiple universes.
While I've enjoyed the show thus far, this is the first time I've been moved to comment on an episode. "Love and Be Loved" (the fifth episode of season two) is one of the best hours of dramatic television I've ever seen, and meets the potential of long-form narrative.
As a stand-alone story, "Love and Be Love" still works. But with 13 episodes of character development behind it, everything this version of Jason is going through explores the human cost of living--not in economic terms; just the pain of being alive, and why it's still worth fighting for.
"Love and Be Loved" is a lifeline to those among us are despairing over the state of our world--a reminder that if we're lucky, when we've hit rock bottom, there will be someone out there to lift us back up with kindness, empathy, and understanding--and that when we're back on our feet, we can do the same for others.
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