Trip of a Lifetime

What bothers me most beside the fact that we pretty much see everything unfolding without any surprises is that they have to do closeup shots of - for example - a piece of equipment that was used in the previous episode to confirm what we already knew.

Taking the spectator by the hand is like saying you're not smart enough to understand so lets put a big red arrow toward something so you can be sure to understand we wanted you to understand.

So....still predictable with a very average direction... except for the last scene that is good enough to hopefully have a better third episode...we'll see...

Luckily enough, as most publishing studios seem to make a habit of, Apple decided to not just give us episode 1 on release, but episode 2 as well. And for good reason. Where I found myself willing to further unravel the mystery that is Dark Matter after episode 1, the second installation of this season does so even more. The main goal of a second episode, if done right, is to present the viewer with some, not too many, extra layers to the overall plot it seems to steer towards. "Trip of a Lifetime" does so graciously, with a more and more impressive Joel Edgerton, and an even more impressive dynamic between Joel and Jennifer.

Episode 1 left us with questions, and while episode 2 answers some, it mostly just adds new ones. It's a good trick out the ol' thriller-handbook, but not less effective because of it. As a viewer, one wants to be able to create their own version of the storyline, only to be glee when it unfolds in that manner or, better yet, to be surprised when it doesn't. Jakob Verbruggen, director of the first episode as well, does this right, as we know him to do. My initial doubt of Joel being able to carry such a profound role slips further away, yet ever remains. Two episodes in is not enough to vanquish it alltogether, but it tries its damn hardest.

Accompanied by a strong Jimmi Simpson and an endearing Jennifer Connelly, part 2 offers more room for intricate relationships to be discovered. In particular, chemistry between Connelly and Edgerton is splashing up until now. The acting needed to pull off multiple faces, attitudes and small details in their interactions amongst each other should not be taken lightly. Even more so, episode 2 teases us with what's to come in season 1, and if you may believe the preview, the intricacies only increase in number. Sure, there are some minor details in dialogue that could be better. There could be more room for different kinds of emotion and understanding. But as a whole, after 2 episodes, Dark Matter is shaping up to be a refreshing entry in an otherwise competitive field of psychological thrillers.

As we end episode 2, knowing we now have to wait a week for the show's third part, it makes it worth the wait. Where episode 1 marked an 8, episode 2 definitely deserves the + next to it.

I have now realised one of the problems with this series is that the author of the book also wrote the screenplay.

Not only does this lead to an excessive obligation to remain faithful to the text, but perhaps also reluctance to rearrange story, and simple obvious point that visual storytelling often has different requirements than writing a book.

Elements of the story are overdetermined and overexplained and you end up with a plodding wooden show.

Having said that, it is an interesting story and this episode starts to pick up intrigue particularly with the shock ending, I'll keep watching.

Haven't finished the show yet, but i absolutely love the topic and i think the story has so much potential. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but for sure it makes people think about their alternative selfs created by different decisions in life. This series is the abandoned child of the Butterfly effect and Everything everywhere all at once.

In this episode they clarify the things we were all suspecting with some incredible twists in the end. I really wanted to write some review, because i'm really fired up about this one, but i did not know it has to be 600 words at least, so apologies for this long meaningless sentence.

Highly recommend.

This episode feels like the director had a field day indulging in aesthetic self-gratification at the audience's expense, luxuriating in tone and texture while forgetting to tell a compelling story. Sadly, it couldn't be salvaged in editing - the pacing is so bloated; even the cuts feel padded. What remains is a prestige TV husk: all tone, no pulse, dressed in visuals and dialogue that mistake ambiguity for depth.

Aesthetically sleek but emotionally inert, Trip of a Lifetime wastes its premise on plodding exposition and storytelling that feels like it's been sedated for the comfort of algorithm-fed audiences. At its most charitable, it's a speculative fiction TEDx talk. At its worst, a masterclass in narrative stalling.

And at the center of this emotional vacuum? Joel Edgerton.

At his low point, Edgerton delivers a lukewarm performance best described as cinematic drywall - structurally present, superficially solid, but spiritually inert. He's the human equivalent of a shrug in a cardigan. If charisma were voltage, he's operating at a safe-for-office-equipment 5 volts. At his best, he can radiate a quiet gravity that anchors films with emotional restraint (Loving, Warrior) - but that subtlety collapses under the weight of a show that needs contrast, not consistency.

In Dark Matter, the problem magnifies. You're watching Joel play multiple versions of himself, yet every Jason feels identical. The only way to tell them apart is lighting and whether the soundtrack is swelling. You're meant to feel the existential weight of identity collapse, but what you get is... Jason. Just Jason. Still brooding. Still blank.

Joel can act, but here - whether due to flat direction, a script terrified of emotional risk, or an overcommitment to subdued realism - he disappears into the material in all the wrong ways. What should feel like a psychological pressure cooker instead plays out like a beige shadow play narrated by Google Translate in whisper mode.

Rating: 2 Schrödinger Jasons out of 10 (One is missing, the other's just confused.)