Dark Matter (2024) s01e02 Episode Script

[JASON PANTING]
[DOGS BARKING IN DISTANCE]
[PANTING]
We just did last call, man. Sorry.
[PANTING]
Hey. Hey.
You know me, right?
I don't think so.
[STAMMERS] Come on, Matt.
How do you know me?
[STAMMERS] 'Cause I come
in here all the time.
Oh, well, I've I've never served you.
It's Jason.
Okay.
There was a party tonight, man.
You served us a bottle of
the Macallan, uh, uh, Rare.
You mean this bottle?
Uh, yeah.
I haven't sold a drop of that all week.
[SNIFFS] You just [STAMMERS]
You opened up the back for my friend.
I've never seen you before in my life.
[LAUGHS]
- [LAUGHS]
- [LAUGHS]
Matt. Fuck, man, you're
freaking me out, okay?
It's not funny. Just tell
me you you know who I am.
Okay. Here's what I'm gonna tell you.
Go get some fucking help and
get the fuck out of my bar.
Mike!
Is that gonna be a problem?
[SHUDDERS]
No.
[BREATHES SHAKILY]
[GROANS]
- [DOCTOR] Mr. Dessen?
- Yes?
I'm Dr. Randolph. What brings
you into the ER tonight?
Well, I, uh I I think that
there is something wrong with my mind.
[MACHINERY WHIRRING]
What is that?
- [NURSE] Lorazepam, to help you sleep.
- [BREATHES SHAKILY]
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[BREATHING SHAKILY]
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[GROANS]
You're killing me.
All right, Jason
where do we keep our fucking coffee?
[SIGHS]
- Sorry to wake you.
- [JASON SIGHS]
- [DOCTOR] Do you know where you are?
- Uh [STAMMERS]
at the John of God Hospital.
[DOCTOR] Very good.
I have the results from your C
scan, and there's no brain damage.
No tumors.
Some shallow bruising
but nothing too serious.
We also ran a tox screen.
We found something
I've never seen before.
A psychoactive compound.
You asked us to find your family.
[INHALES DEEPLY] Yeah.
There isn't anyone named
Daniela Dessen in all of Chicago,
and no Charlie Dessen enrolled
at St. Peter High School.
- No, no.
- [DOCTOR] I'd like to talk about
what you told Dr. Randolph last night.
You said
"It wasn't my house. The
furniture had been changed.
- The kitchen was totally remodeled."
- [SIGHS]
Do you really believe that, Jason?
"Jason Ashley Dessen,
born in Denison, Iowa.
Bachelor's degree from
the University of Chicago.
PhD from the same
university." So far so good?
Yeah.
[DOCTOR] "Postdoctoral fellowships
at Harvard and Princeton.
- Awarded the Pavia Prize in 2010."
- [SCOFFS]
And according to this article,
you haven't been seen
publicly in over a year.
[SIGHS]
[JASON INHALES SHARPLY]
[SNIFFS]
[DOCTOR] Have you ever been
hospitalized for psychiatric care?
There are places specifically tailored
to help people who are experiencing
a little bit of a disconnect
between what's real and what isn't.
I'd like to start by having
a full evaluation done.
Is that something you'd be open to?
Absolutely.
Thank you, Doctor.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
He could be out there,
spilling all our secrets.
We should go to the police.
We've lost four people,
and you want to bring
more attention to Velocity?
She's right.
[AMANDA] If you were a man of science
like Jason, where would you go?
Hospital.
[SCOFFS]
[SIGHS]
[STAFF MEMBER, OVER P.A.] Dr. Hollis
[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]
- Excuse me, hi. Um
- [STAFF MEMBER] Hi.
[CHUCKLES] It's my first day here,
and, uh, I was wondering
if I could borrow a pen.
[STAFF MEMBER] Yeah, sure. Here you go.
Oh, I'll bring it right back.
Hey, Jason.
Uh [STAMMERS] hi.
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
Uh
[INSTRUCTOR] The first
law of thermodynamics.
[WHISPERING] Sorry. Keep going.
So does anyone wanna take a shot?
- Really? No one?
- What was the question?
- Um, laws of thermodynamics.
- Mmm.
[INSTRUCTOR] The first
law of thermodynamics
is the law of conservation of energy.
It states that energy cannot
be created or destroyed.
Now, what do I mean when I say energy?
Energy can be described
as the ability to do work
- where work
- [JASON CLEARS THROAT]
I'll take over from here.
[MUSIC PLAYING FAINTLY THROUGH EARBUDS]
Thank you for covering
for me. Sorry I was late.
You find all this a little boring
or do you already
know all of this stuff?
It's okay. I find it
a little bit boring.
It is. [SIGHS]
That's up to you.
You know what true boredom looks like?
Your life in five years' time
when you realize you
haven't paid attention.
And you'll find yourself
working for other people,
likely a middle management person
who takes out their frustrations
and their despair on you
while you're trying to
sell products and services
that you don't care about
for some multinational corporation
who doesn't actually
give a flying fuck
- [STUDENTS LAUGHING]
- [SIGHS]
excuse my language if you exist.
But I care,
'cause for this fleeting
moment What's your name?
- Riley.
- Riley? That's right, Riley.
For this fleeting moment,
Riley and everybody else who's still
on your phones put them away
you get to sit in a classroom
and ponder the mysteries
of our existence.
And that is great.
Now
I'm not expecting you
to understand everything.
I'm not a cruel man.
But I do expect you to
respect the opportunity.
Pay attention.
That's all.
Like when I tell you things.
For example, that in 1850,
a brilliant man by the
name of Rudolf Clausius
Can you call me immediately
if you hear anything?
Yeah, we're very worried about him.
I appreciate it.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Any news?
[LEIGHTON] No. Dawn spoke
to someone at John of God.
Jason was there last night.
Dawn rushed over, but
Jason had already left.
Did she hear anything
about his condition?
No. But at least we know
he hasn't left the city.
- Any luck on your end?
- I'm striking out.
What about Ryan?
I left word.
Okay. Listen, keep trying. Call
me the moment you hear something.
I will.
[SIGHS]
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
- May I have your invitation?
- Oh, I I know the artist. She's
Uh, the public opening is tomorrow.
Unfortunately, tonight is invite only.
Yeah, but Daniela,
- she said I could come.
- Okay. Your name?
Uh, Dessen, Jason.
Dr. Dessen?
Yeah.
Just one second.
Inside the envelope are three cards.
Choose one and present
it to the woman inside.
- Mm-hmm.
- Uh, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you.
[PEOPLE CHATTERING, LAUGHING]
Hi. Welcome. Have you
selected your card?
Uh
Do you know where Daniela is?
The artist.
I just know that she's
somewhere back there. Sorry.
Um, your door is going to be number two.
Please seal the remaining
cards in the envelope
and keep them with you till
the end of the exhibition.
- Yeah.
- [CHUCKLES] Enjoy.
[PEOPLE CHATTERING]
Oh, it's you.
[DANIELA] I heard you checked in.
Where Where Where's Charlie?
Charlie who?
- Darling, you've done it. [CHUCKLES]
- [CHUCKLES]
Listen, The Times is here.
Okay. Good. Um, sorry.
Alesia, this is Jason Dessen.
Jason, this is Alesia Cheney, my agent.
The Jason that inspired the show?
- Uh, yeah.
- [JASON CHUCKLES]
I am so proud to be your friend.
Hi. This looks fantastic.
Thank you. Look who's here.
Ryan?
Yes. Okay. Going.
Um, sorry, guys.
I have to go be a good host, but,
um, I'm having a much smaller thing
- at my place after. Will you come?
- Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
- Jason?
- Yeah. I wouldn't miss it.
Well, shit, where the fuck
have you been? [CHUCKLES]
I heard you cracked up, and
they stuck you in a cell.
Although I also heard you moved
to Costa Rica and became a farmer.
And I heard you were dead.
Well, I'm certainly not dead, so
Hey, how did those compounds I
made for you last year work out?
Compounds? What compounds?
All right. Please, I know
I understand that you're buried
under a mountain of NDAs, Jay,
and I don't wanna be a dick,
but I did a lot of work for
you and Velocity in the dark.
- And
- Velocity?
You said [STAMMERS]
You said Velocity, so
[STAMMERS] you know that place.
What are you doing?
What is this? What is this shit?
[GLASS CLINKING]
- What are you doing?
- Just We're not done here.
[DANIELA] Hi. [CHUCKLES] Sorry.
Hi, everyone. If I could
just, um, have a moment.
I just wanna say a couple things.
Sometimes, we ask
ourselves the big questions:
"Who am I? Who could I be?
Who might I have been if the
Bulls had defeated the Pistons
in the 1990 conference final?"
[ATTENDEES LAUGHING]
Just asking.
We all know our lives are marked
by the choices that we make.
And while I've never
been a fan of regret,
I will admit to a certain
curiosity about the path not taken.
Tonight, each of you made a choice
that determined which version
of my show you experienced.
You should still have the
cards that you didn't choose.
They're also tickets and
you can use them to return
at any point during the next
month and take a different path.
Maybe find out if the
grass really is greener.
Thank you to my amazing team.
You made this possible. Thank you.
And thanks to all of you for
coming tonight. It means the world.
- Salud.
- [ATTENDEES] Salud.
[ATTENDEES APPLAUDING]
And where else is the
exhibition showing?
Well, New York, uh, and then Boston,
and it'll open in Los
Angeles next month.
So probably fly out to go see it.
Mmm. Well, maybe I'll come with you.
You know, we can make a weekend of it.
Seriously?
Why not?
Well, I would love that.
[PHONE CHIMES]
He called me today. [SNIFFS]
Ryan did?
Yeah. He wanted to know if
we talked about the job offer.
[JASON] Food's here.
Uh, can I eat later? Some of my
friends are going to the skate park.
Who's gonna be there?
Brooke, Drew, A-Adam and Michelle.
Okay.
Sure you don't want to eat
something first, though?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- Okay, back by 10:00.
Yeah. Thanks.
- [DANIELA] Hey, kiddo.
- Yeah?
Maybe tonight's the
night you tell Brooke.
- Tell her what?
- That he likes her.
Whoa, strong disagree.
Well, relationships are a negotiation,
and whoever speaks first kind of loses.
That's a cynical view of love, my love.
Who's talking about love?
[CHUCKLES]
Just show her that you're interested,
and but play it close to the vest.
So, like, be aloof?
Aloof.
Yeah. The right level of aloof.
But cool.
- [CHUCKLES]
- [JASON] Have fun.
- [LAUGHS]
- Be yourself.
- Yeah. [CHUCKLES]
- [DANIELA] Have fun.
- Yeah, thanks.
- Yeah.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES]
[CHUCKLING] What was that?
[CHUCKLES] What? What?
Show me aloof. What
does aloof look like?
Uh, like
[LAUGHING] No.
- Hey.
- [JASON] Hey.
You want?
Uh [CHUCKLES]
[BLOWS]
[DANIELA SIGHS]
- [JASON SIGHS]
- So
[CLEARS THROAT] now
it's just the three of us.
[INHALES SHARPLY, GRUNTS] Spill it.
Where you been?
[SNIFFING]
Hypothetical.
Hypothetical?
- [INHALES SHARPLY] Oh, boy. [LAUGHING]
- [LAUGHING]
A man of science [CHUCKLES]
physics professor
- Okay.
- he is married
to the woman of his
dreams, and they have a son.
And they all have a good life.
Until one night, this
man, he goes to a bar.
He's seeing an old friend,
college buddy, who's
won a prestigious award.
[RYAN] Hmm.
But on the walk home, something happens.
He doesn't make it home.
When he regains his
full presence of mind,
everything has changed.
Uh, brain tumor, head trauma?
CT scan says no.
Maybe it's like some kind of
multitiered deepfake punking.
Within five hours, the entire
inside of his house is renovated.
And I'm not just saying
different pictures on the walls.
I'm saying new
furniture, new appliances,
light switches have moved,
walls are different colors.
No prank could possibly be this complex.
And [STAMMERS]
I mean, what would be the point?
- Ooh, how much LSD is this man on?
- [SIGHS]
That seems like a determining factor.
Okay. Then I I don't know.
It sounds like he's crazy.
I'm not crazy.
Tonight, your agent said that I
had inspired your installation.
- [DANIELA] Yeah.
- How so?
We hadn't seen each other for a while,
and you showed up here
one night out of the blue.
Said you'd been thinking about
me. You really don't remember this?
You told me
that our existence is all about choices.
You said our choices create worlds.
And so, theoretically,
we simultaneously inhabited
an infinite number of them.
You told me that, in this world,
the worst choice you'd made
was the one you made with me.
I said
we'd had our moment all those years ago
and that I loved you.
I'll always love you.
But now we're friends.
I'm in a different
place, and you are too.
We talked for a long time.
You started talking about your research,
and you mentioned a project
that was under wraps,
and you said something that struck
me, so I remember it very clearly.
You said you'd probably
never see me again.
When I saw you earlier,
the first thing you asked
me was, "Where's Charlie?"
Who's Charlie?
Our son.
What? What?
[JASON] This is what I know.
- You and I live in a brownstone
- [STAMMERS]
in Logan Square.
We have a 15-year-old son named Charlie.
All right, man. That's not funny.
Why would you even bring that up?
Ryan?
You're a famous neuroscientist.
- I am?
- [JASON] You won the Pavia.
You lecture all over the world.
- This is supremely fucked up.
- [PHONE RINGING]
[JASON] All over.
You know, uh, Jay, what
I think is that, uh,
you should eat a bag of dicks.
And please let me microwave
them for you first,
so they're nice and
fucking hot for your mouth.
Fuck you. Honestly, man.
Ryan. Ryan, l-listen, man.
- Ryan! I'm not fucking with you.
- [RYAN] What?
I have not lost my mind. I swear.
I hear you.
[SIGHS] There's some
stuff I gotta deal with.
- [DANIELA] Yeah.
- Do you Do you want him to leave?
- I'm good.
- Yeah? Okay. All right.
You're coming back tomorrow
to finish those dishes, right?
[BOTH LAUGHING]
- Hey It was a great show.
- I'm good. Yeah.
- Thank you.
- Yeah. Thank you.
[JASON] I'm sorry.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Why are you using my toothbrush?
Uh
Hmm.
- Hey.
- Hey.
You really didn't need
to go to any trouble.
- I could've stayed at a hotel.
- No.
No, no, you're staying
here with me. End of story.
Uh, your clothes are in the wash.
So I put those there if you want.
Thank you.
Whose are these?
My last boyfriend's.
I really don't know why I still
keep them, but [CHUCKLING]
- Because they're so fancy.
- Because I do
- Oh, yeah. They're fancy.
- [CHUCKLING]
[SIGHS, CHUCKLES]
When you went to the hospital,
what'd they think was wrong with you?
They don't know.
They said I had some strange drugs
in my system, which I-I didn't take.
They wanted to have me committed.
Okay. You sure that's not
what's best at this point?
I don't need psychiatric
help. Just need answers.
Yeah.
I know you think that
I have lost my mind.
Get some sleep.
[BREATHING DEEPLY]
[GASPS, EXHALES HEAVILY]
Hey.
Sorry, I-I didn't mean to scare you.
Are you leaving?
Uh, yeah. Training day.
Oh, of course.
Oh, will you take the
chicken out of the freezer
and put it in the sink for me?
'Cause it has to defrost.
- Yeah.
- Okay. [KISSES] Thanks. See you.
Have fun.
Thanks.
[DOOR OPENS]
[KEYS JINGLE]
[CAR ENGINE STARTS]
[PHONE RINGING]
[RYAN] Sweet buddy. What's up?
- [JASON] Hey, Ryan.
- [RYAN] Hey.
Daniela said that you
called. You call my wife now?
Yeah, I Well, I just thought
she would be super excited.
- All right. Listen, Ryan.
- What?
Just let me be really clear, okay?
I like my life in Chicago,
and I'm not leaving.
So that's a no to the job.
Okay?
- That's a n Okay. Okay.
- So
Um Well, shit, man. Uh,
I'm sorry I overstepped.
Yeah, well, you kind of fucking did.
Shit, man. Okay.
- Okay.
- Okay, I hear you, man.
Okay.
- [BREATHING HEAVILY]
- [PHONE RINGING]
Hello? [BREATHING HEAVILY]
[JASON] Hi.
Oh, my God. Jason. Are you okay?
[BREATHES HEAVILY]
I don't know.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Where are you?
I'm, uh I'm about to walk into
a a mental health hospital.
[BREATHING HEAVILY] I
wish you'd let me help you.
I think I need to see
someone that doesn't know me.
Which hospital?
I'm not sure this is a good idea.
Well, technically, it is my house.
[DANIELA SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
No.
[STAMMERS, SCOFFS]
In our house,
we have that photograph
of the waterfall.
Only you and me and Charlie are in it.
I've never been there.
We went there five years ago.
It was the trip of a lifetime.
- Jason, she sounded worried
- [SIGHS]
on the phone.
- I think we should let her help.
- [SNIFFS]
This here is my son's room.
At least it should be.
Our son
who's into anime.
Skateboarding.
He likes a girl. He's
You know. Come on.
He draws those crazy
landscapes you love.
Fifteen, he's already
looking at art schools,
and you're really proud of him
because he he's got your eye for it.
Look
when I told you that I was pregnant,
you said you needed
time to think about it.
That That I remember.
And then, the next day,
you came to my apartment,
and you said that you were
busy with your research.
You said that the next year of your
life would be spent in a clean room
and that I deserved better.
- [BREATHES DEEPLY]
- You said our child deserved better.
- [JASON] No.
- I chose not to do it on my own.
We went our separate ways,
and that's what happened.
That's not what happened. What
happened was, I thought about it,
and I said to you,
at the end of my life,
that I would rather have memories
of you than of a cold, sterile lab.
No. You said you weren't ready.
[CLICKS TONGUE] I never said that.
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
Are you fucking with me?
Or am I walking around a dark house
with someone who's lost his mind?
No, I'm telling you the truth.
We should get out of here.
[JASON SIGHS, SNIFFS]
[DANIELA SIGHS]
I'm sorry
[SIGHS]
for what you s-say happened to us.
That was a lifetime ago.
And for for all of this. I mean
I don't want to scare you.
I just don't understand how what's
true for you isn't true for me.
I can't reconcile it, I
I know I have an entire marriage
worth of memories with you,
which
I know sounds completely insane.
I just know that I wouldn't lie to you.
I don't know what it
means exactly, but
I believe you.
Holy fuck.
- What?
- He did it.
Son of a He did it.
[TIRES SQUEALING]
[DANIELA] He did what?
[JASON] What I was trying to do.
Crazy theory.
Crazy.
What if the Jason that lived in this
world that won the Pavia Prize,
whose house we were in today,
who everyone thinks that I am
What if he created
a larger version of of my box
that could put not
not just a particle
but an actual human
being in superposition?
A box that would it would
allow a person to travel
across the multiple
realities of quantum physics.
And what if he used that
box to travel to my world?
What if
the person that abducted me
is me?
How could it be you?
Not exactly me. Uh, a version of me.
Like All right, im-imagine
he and I are the same
person all those years ago,
right up until the moment
that you got pregnant.
Then, we split up into
our own separate universes.
We split because I chose to be with you,
and he chose to pursue work,
which led to the creation of the box.
[CHUCKLES] What if, in this moment,
I'm in his world
and he's in mine?
Why would you do this
to yourself, though?
I'm glad you found your way to me.
I am too.
What's this?
That's proof.
[DANIELA] Of what?
That I'm not crazy.
See, eventually, the mark of
my wedding ring will disappear,
and my memories will be the only remnant
of this life that I had.
So that's to remind me of what's real
and what I have to get home to.
- [DANIELA] Hey.
- Hey.
[DANIELA] Still awake?
Yeah.
Do you wanna come down?
[JASON SIGHS]
Tell me about us.
About us?
Okay.
[GROANS] Where do I start?
- We had a shotgun wedding
- [CHUCKLING]
that pissed a lot
of people off. [CHUCKLES]
Then we had an amazing party,
which was great.
And then we became
parents not so long after.
First few years were complicated.
- It got hard. Real hard.
- Why?
Uh [SIGHS]
You know how it is. Maybe you don't.
But life has a way of just
[SIGHS] grinding you down.
And,
you know, our priorities changed.
I mean, I spent less time in the lab.
You spent less time in the studio.
[INHALES DEEPLY] I eventually
lost my, uh, funding,
and you eventually quit painting.
I quit painting?
Yeah.
- So are we, like, boring?
- [CHUCKLING]
- [CHUCKLING]
- Oh.
It's not the way I look
at it. It's It's, uh
Okay. How do you look at it?
We made a life together.
- [DANIELA] Hmm.
- [JASON] Mmm.
Am I happy?
Yeah.
We've had our rough
patches, but, yeah. Yeah.
Uh
And you are also my best friend.
How's the sex?
[CHUCKLES]
[CHUCKLING] Oh, my God. Are you
actually blushing? [CHUCKLES]
- [CHUCKLES] This is so weird.
- Oh.
- Is it bad?
- No.
No.
[INHALES DEEPLY] I'm sorry.
No. No, no, no.
[DOORBELL RINGS]
[KNOCKING]
[PHONE RINGING]
[RINGING STOPS]
Hello?
Who is this?
[CALL DISCONNECTS]
[DANIELA] They hung up.
- [GUNSHOT]
- [GASPS]
[JASON] Hey. Hey. Listen, please don't.
I-I-I'll go with you. She
has nothing to do with it.
Drop the phone. What did I say?
Daniela, do do exactly
what she says. [STAMMERS]
- [GUNSHOT]
- [DANIELA GASPS]
[GROANING]
No. Daniela.
Daniela. No. Daniela.
No.
Daniela.