Apple TV’s Dark Matter: A 9-Hour Exploration of Inception’s Ending

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If you’re still thinking about the ending of Inception after all this time, you should definitely watch one of Apple TV+’s hidden sci-fi gems.

It’s been over ten years since Inception came out, and it’s still considered a top-tier science fiction film. The movie’s ending, deliberately ambiguous, continues to spark debate among viewers. Though there’s no definitive answer to what happens in the final scene, a new Apple TV show provides a fresh perspective on how to understand it.

The popular sci-fi series on Apple TV, which is based on a successful book, will be back for a second season on the streaming platform soon.

Dark Matter Is A 9-Hour Exploration Of The “Inception” Ending

Credit: Everett Collection

The ending of Inception leaves viewers wondering if Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Cobb, is actually in reality or still dreaming. The Apple TV+ series Dark Matter explores a similar question throughout its entire run. While the Christopher Nolan film presents this “real or not” puzzle with a spinning top and a final, ambiguous cut to black, Dark Matter delves deeper, consistently questioning what truly defines reality.

Apple TV+’s series, Dark Matter, centers around Jason (Joel Edgerton), who discovers a device that lets him travel between different versions of reality. As he journeys through these alternate worlds, he begins to question everything he thought was real, realizing his entire life may have been based on a false perception.

Each small decision he made in his past spawned countless alternate realities, each a variation on the same theme. As he journeys through these different worlds, he begins to wonder, much like the character Cobb, if what feels real is more important than what actually is true.

In the end, similar to the character Cobb, he makes a final choice that shows his desire to feel connected to others is stronger than his need to know what’s true.

Dark Matter Isn’t About Dreams, But It Feels A Lot Like The Christopher Nolan Movie

Just like Cobb frequently finds it hard to decide between reality and his dreams, Jason also contemplates remaining in one of the alternate worlds and building a new life rather than going back to his own world.

Ultimately, the Box in Dark Matter functions similarly to the Totem in Inception. Both aren’t meant to reveal objective reality, but rather to highlight how personal and subjective reality can be. Just as Cobb stops relying on his totem to tell him if he’s dreaming, Jason becomes less focused on finding the perfect world and more concerned with finding a world where he can reunite with his family.

Both Inception and Dark Matter explore ideas similar to the famous Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment. In both stories, the main characters experience multiple possibilities at once, and it’s their decisions that ultimately determine which reality becomes true.

Both Inception and Dark Matter explore science fiction concepts in unique ways, so it’s hard to say which is better. But, given their similar themes and thought-provoking ideas, Dark Matter on Apple TV+ would likely appeal to fans of Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

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2026-01-19 07:28