Blake Crouch

Good morning.

Today we're discussing Episode 9, the penultimate episode of Season 2 of Apple TV's Dark Matter, entitled How to Build the Box, written by Jacqueline Ben-Zechary and Blake Crouch and directed by Nick Murphy.

As usual, I'll begin with a brief synopsis of the episode and then we'll get on to the discussion.

How to build the box.

So it's based on a book.

And the author, Blake Crouch, he also is like involved with it.

So I feel like that's always kind of better when the author's involved.

But the first season covers the whole book.

And then they started doing a second season.

I spoke to best-selling author and Dark Matter creator Blake Crouch for a deep dive into several moments and themes of the acclaimed Apple TV series.

This is Exploring Humanity Through Sci-Fi.

My mission, as always, took it to get a better understanding of ourselves through sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and comics as our mode of exploration.

No, I where she'd understand, like some of the engineering and stuff.

This is just this is just this is just if Blake Crouch was writing Dark Matter as a trilogy, he probably would have made her the software specialist for quantum decoherence.

But because he wanted her to kind of be an outside out, you know, speaking of skis way out in front of her skis going into the box, he made her the bioethicist.

Mm hmm.

Like, it doesn't seem like the Hornets are just like kills within seconds.

I don't know that there's enough time for her to to to do all even with all the observer effect anyway.

The fact of the matter is it did happen, regardless of what we think and what Blake Crouch was thinking.

And also that this is that her warnings are echoing through Leighton's head.

But if they do truly close the box in this season, then you literally can't have a season three.

And I think you had looked this up beforehand, right? Where both Blake Crouch and Joel Edgerton, I think they're trying to do a three-season arc.

Even though the show hasn't gotten picked up, they want to do at least one more season, which I'm really hoping it does because I think the show is done well and it's compelling enough that having a third season would be entertaining.

But there's just no way this season ends then with them closing the box because then where's our mystery? Where's the fun of all the craziness? Or is it dealing with the after effects of all these characters we've met throughout these first two seasons and how they're kind of coping with the fact that they cannot move between worlds? I mean, maybe that could be compelling.

yeah, that's it.

All right, well, let's get to Dark Matter, Episode 5 of Season 2, Love and Be Loved, written by Blake Crouch and Jacqueline Benzekery, directed by Alec Sakharoff, released September 24, 2026.

All right, you know, I feel like I'm always apologizing because I don't remember who posted what I'm about to refer to, you know, in the Facebook group.

But the writers apparently expect this introspective episode with minimal dialogue to be rather polarizing in the fan community.

i i don't either and

and people sneak it in like like cincinnati joe did today

right well again i forget whether it was joe or or you know one of the allens that that posted just a a screen cap of blake crouch's instagram or whatever And it was, you know, he mentions the idea that he expects this to be a rather polarizing episode among the fan base.

And while I don't love it like you apparently do and the contributors that we've heard from, I certainly think it's a strong episode.