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Spoiler Warning: This interview discusses major events from Season 2 of Dark Matter, including the season finale.
For Alice Braga, returning to Dark Matter for its second season meant navigating a new creative landscape. While the first season of the Apple TV science-fiction drama was adapted from Blake Crouch’s bestselling novel, the second moves beyond the source material, expanding its exploration of alternate realities while placing an even greater emphasis on the emotional consequences of traveling between worlds.
Braga, who plays psychiatrist Amanda Lucas, approached the new season with a particular focus on the psychological aftermath of her character’s experiences. After surviving extraordinary circumstances and choosing to remain in a seemingly ideal reality, Amanda discovers that changing her surroundings cannot necessarily resolve the emotional wounds she carries.
As a longtime admirer of Crouch’s original novel, Braga found herself in the unusual position of watching a story she already loved develop beyond its established literary world. She worked closely with Crouch to understand Amanda’s emotional trajectory, particularly how the experiences of the first season would continue to shape her behavior.
“She goes through so much on season one and there is this PTSD that she's going through,” Braga explained, describing the importance of understanding Amanda’s emotional state even when she finds herself in a seemingly perfect world.
“She's still away from home. She's still fighting her own demons.”
To explore those experiences, Braga researched post-traumatic stress disorder, grief, loss, and longing, grounding the character’s fictional circumstances in recognizable human emotions. She also continued working with her acting coach Victor, with whom she had previously collaborated on Queen of the South, focusing on script analysis and identifying the fundamental motivations driving Amanda’s decisions.
The challenge was particularly compelling because Amanda’s instinct to care for others persists even as she struggles with her own trauma. Despite her fear of returning to the box, she continues putting herself in dangerous situations to help people affected by the technology.
Amanda’s psychological struggles also take on a physical dimension in Season 2, with involuntary reactions revealing the impact of her experiences. Braga explained that these details were incorporated into the scripts by Crouch and Jackie, providing a foundation for how the character’s trauma might manifest.
However, she was careful to avoid making those physical responses the entirety of Amanda’s performance.
“As soon as she's in the box, I try to hold the shaking or everything because I think it's someone who is really really wanting to overcome that and put into action even if she's scared,” she said.
That tension between vulnerability and determination became an important part of the performance.
Unlike some of Braga’s previous characters, who internalized their suffering, Amanda possesses an emotional openness rooted in her work as a psychiatrist and her desire to support others. Her willingness to discuss her experiences with Ryan is therefore both a personal breakthrough and an attempt to help him understand the dangers of traveling between realities. Braga also explored the contrast between Amanda’s outward strength and her reluctance to confront her own needs.
“She's always taking care of people but then she really realized that she's she was just living her life without actually looking deep inside of her”
For Amanda, the realization that the box has caused widespread suffering becomes particularly devastating because she was involved in its development. As Season 2 introduces a reality devastated by a plague, Amanda and Ryan must confront their potential responsibility for the destruction unfolding around them.Braga believes Amanda’s instinctive response comes from her fundamental desire to protect people, even when doing so requires acknowledging her own role in creating the problem. She also sees the storyline as an exploration of how individual decisions can produce consequences far beyond their original intentions.
For the actress, the science-fiction framework allows the series to examine recognizable moral dilemmas through extraordinary circumstances.
One of the season’s most significant relationships develops between Amanda and Ryan, played by Jimmi Simpson.Although the two share the rare experience of traveling between realities, Braga was conscious that their connection should not immediately translate into unquestioning trust. In a universe where multiple versions of the same person exist, even a seemingly familiar face can represent an unknown threat.
“There is this the challenge of is he who he says he is because you never know into this multiple versions of these peoples that we're meeting in”
Braga sees Amanda recognizing something of herself in Ryan, particularly the way both have suffered because of another person’s decisions. That recognition strengthens her sense of responsibility toward him. Although their relationship could have developed romantically, Braga said the creative intention was to establish a genuine friendship. “I think we all wanted to be a true friendship,” she said.
Working with Simpson also provided opportunities to explore their connection organically. Braga praised his improvisational approach and the emotional spontaneity he brought to their scenes, describing the importance of responding to his choices rather than rigidly planning every interaction. The resulting relationship became an essential part of Amanda’s emotional development, allowing her to build trust while gradually becoming more comfortable revealing her vulnerabilities.
One of Braga’s most physically demanding sequences arrives when Amanda suffers a punctured lung and faces the possibility that she might not survive. To prepare for the scenes, the actress requested medical guidance so she could accurately portray the physical effects of the injury. Production arranged for a doctor to explain the breathing difficulties, pain, and limitations Amanda would experience.
“I really wanted to understand about the breathing more than anything how much dialogue I could say and what would be the level of the pain,”
The consultation also challenged her instinct toward restraint. The doctor emphasized the severity of the pain involved, encouraging her to embrace a more intense physical performance. Braga additionally considered how Amanda’s medical education would influence her awareness of the situation. As a psychiatrist, Amanda possesses knowledge that could make the experience even more frightening because she understands the potential consequences of her injuries. The actress worked through those details while collaborating with Joel Edgerton on the emotional dimensions of the sequence. By the end of filming, the physical demands had taken their toll.
“I was very husky at the end of that shoot. I was screaming like crazy,” she recalled with a laugh.
For Braga, Amanda’s journey is ultimately about more than surviving dangerous alternate realities. It is also about learning to confront her own emotions rather than constantly defining herself through past experiences.
While the complexity of the series can occasionally become overwhelming, Braga considers it one of the most creatively rewarding aspects of the experience.
“It's really fun, but it's challenging,” she said. “It's a beautiful challenge.”
As Dark Matter continues examining the infinite possibilities of alternate realities, Braga remains fascinated by the emotional questions that connect them.
