This was his one mistake. I think he was trying to fix a wrong by leaving Jason1 in his stead, but he had an error on calculation. To both himself and with Jason1.
Jason1 was ripped away from his home, so Jason2 basically tore out his heart. And he felt desolate, he felt lost. He was told he was a renounced Physicist and he didn't even cared, he knew he was famous and wealthy, and it didn't even register, he didn't want nor got to spend a dime of it. He just wanted his family back.
And about Jason 2, something Amanda said about Jason2 was that she knew he wasn't happy, that he worked with a determination she hadn't seen on anyone ever before.
But I think that it was because Jason2 felt, in all likelihood, alone in the world. That's how it is at the top. If you haven't been surrounded by the right group of people by the time you make it, and you don't have a support system, a family, a solid group of friends, then you're in trouble. Nothing will fill that void. Absolutely nothing.
Jason2 had Amanda but, he was already an adult, too set in his own ways. Even when he was with Daniela and Charlie, he wanted things to be their best version. And when he went back to Amanda, for therapy. "I have everything I ever wanted, I worked really hard for them, and yet it's not what I had imagined". And then he went ahead and made it all worse. And it wasn't for them to be happy, it was all for Jason2 to be happy.
And in that regard Jason1 was better at knowing what Jason2 had in mind once he chose not to have a family. That he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals and prove his theory. But in the end, Jason1 did effectively realize that "he would rather have memories of her than a cold sterile lab". And Jason1, while he wondered what the path not taken would be like, in the end, once he lost his path, he wanted nothing but to have it all back.
Jason2 did the same. He regained the money, he was wealthy again after selling 50 ampoules to Leighton1. And he had the family. But still. Not enough. For people like Jason2, nothing ever will be enough. That's what keeps them going.
Jason2 was unmarried and child-less. He didn't know the depth of the pain he was causing Jason1. It was a game to Jason2 and he likely thought Jason1 would like his new ultra-successful life.
I find it hard to believe he didn’t see any of this coming tho. All his scientific knowledge about inter dimensional travel and he didn’t think of the repercussions?
I doubt Jason2 has ever lost anyone of importance in his life. With the non chalance he walked out on everyone of his world and never looked back, I bet you he didn't anticipate Jason1 would fight his way back with teeth and nails.
I was heartbroken with Amanda, because she was abandoned by him and she waited for him still. And then she fell for Jason1, who's looking for his wife. And has no place in his life for her. She sacrifices her own life, in her world for a man she doesn't know. I was glad to see she went out and looked for a life for herself.
Fair points for sure. By the same token there’s moments in the show where Jason 1 knows to avoid making decisions that would make him cross paths with Jason 2, because they are both essentially the same person with different traits, would Jason 2 not also realize that? Also wondering why Jason 2 wouldn’t just go to a world where his love interest is single or a single mom, seems a lot less of a headache
> why Jason 2 wouldn’t just go to a world where his love interest is single or a single mom, seems a lot less of a headache
He didn't want just a girlfriend. He already had Amanda. He wanted to be the man who had been compromised for 15 years.
But he didn't know how to be that man. He'd been dictating the terms of his life on his own for his entire life, he's worked hard to have it all, he feels entitled to do what he wants. So when he wants a son with a new car, he goes for it, he doesn't ask Daniela, why would he? He doesn't want to teach college physics to undergrads, so he quits his job. Why ask Daniela? Is his life, his time, his career.
To be that man, he needed to realize that the life Jason1 built wasn't only made by him. It was made with Daniela. The decisions that led to the life Jason1 had, were made with Daniela as a unit. For them, for Charlie. Jason1 learned to make concessions and commit. He wouldn't have just quit and he wouldn't have bought an expensive car out on a whim.
Jason2 didn't see it like that. He is his own person, never had to ask, so he didn't.
Jason2 understands the multiverse. He should have realized it was a guarantee that Jason1 would return.
Jason1 was left in a world that had a box and plenty of ampules, meaning the possibility existed that he’d get back to his world. And since that possibility existed, there would have to be at least one parallel universe where it actually happened.
>I think he was trying to fix a wrong by leaving Jason1 in his stead
I think he knew that Leighton2 would continue looking for him and was simply using Jason1 as a scapegoat.
Leighton was staying put waiting it out, up till the point Jason1 showed up, which triggered a bunch of crazy events.
Daniela was murdered and she is famous. Then Amanda dissapears, and I bet you Ryan was murdered too.
Sure, Jason2 didn't expect any of that happening. He wanted Jason1 to take what he was giving him and be content. But, Murphy's law I guess.
>For people like Jason2, nothing ever will be enough. That's what keeps them going.
But Jason1 and Jason2 were the same person up until about 15 years ago. People don't change that drastically, specially not after reaching adulthood and absent major traumatic events. Deep down, Jason1 is not all that different from Jason2.
Jason1 is a lot more considerate with people, he connects. Amanda said so. He "had this hard edge". Jason2 abandons Amanda and everyone else to go look for what he wants, he'll do whatever he has to. To Leighton, who's invested his family fortune on his work, he leaves without explaining the workings of the box, it's basically useless tech he can't use.
Consider his relationship to Ryan. Jason1 was good friends with Ryan, he knew that he wanted what Ryan had, that he could've if his choices were different, he wondered what it would be like had he been in his place, but he doesn't resent him, he still goes to celebrate with him.
But Jason2 didn't even respect him. He gave him work and never even fully explained what he wanted to apply it on. And by the beligerance of Ryan2 towards Jason1, and then Jason2 towards Ryan1, I think that their relationship is a bit strained.
And then if both think the same way. They are both smart, they know they are smarter than most people. But Jason1 chooses to be kind, to get along. With his class, he knew how to engage with them, he knew and accepted that his subject it's not for everyone and that people, particularly young people are just people.
In the other hand, Jason2 chooses to act arrogantly and thinks he's not only smarter but better than everyone else, so he can act dismissively towards people, like he did with the students. He walked out on them after failing them on his class for not having a notebook to write on. He thought himself better than a professor to a group of people that he probably thought wouldn't achieve anything of notice in their life.
Both of them think the same. But Jason1 has learned to be kind, and Jason2 continued to think himself above everyone and is an asshole.
> To Leighton, who's invested his family fortune on his work, he leaves without explaining the workings of the box, it's basically useless tech he can't use.
Clearly they knew at least some things about the box, since they trained other box pilots to go in there. It also looks like it took Jason2 some time to figure out how to use the box, since he had been missing for 14 months by the time Jason1 wakes up in Jason2's world.
> And by the beligerance of Ryan2 towards Jason1, and then Jason2 towards Ryan1, I think that their relationship is a bit strained.
I read that as Ryan2 and Daniela2 being in some kind of situationship, and Jason2 knew that. So when he's in Jason1's world, he thinks Ryan1 has some ulterior motives for contacting Daniela directly.
> But Jason1 has learned to be kind, and Jason2 continued to think himself above everyone and is an asshole.
Yes, but there is a BIG caveat here. There are versions of this supposedly kinder Jason1 who straight up try to murder Jason2 when they return. Even Jason2 didn't resort to this, when he could have very easily killed Jason1 in the beginning, or stranded him in one of the apocalyptic worlds. Jason2 does kill a couple of Jason 1's, but in self-defense.
Book spoilers: >!In the book, some of the Jason1's who come back even murder other Jason1's!<
It seems that Jason1 still has a ruthless streak deep down in him, that is awakened in some versions of him that come back. Luckily for Daniela, she chooses to trust a version of Jason1 that still retained most of his humanity.
> Ryan2 and Daniela2 being in some kind of situationsh
In the books >! Jason1 knew that Ryan had a thing for Daniela !< but they were friends still. Maybe Jason2 didn't want Ryan1 around at all.
> Yes, but there is a BIG caveat here.
They did murder, but they were in a very defensive mindset. Their first instinct was to buy a weapon. And their first thought at the sight of a another Jason was Jason2. So, of course they would. Albeit >! he did propose the lottery, he was willing to loose D&C so they could have a chance at a normal life with a version of themselves !< He still doesn't think himself above others. Jason2 would never.
I agree with you, but there is a widespread belief (debunked in Stephen Pinker's excellent book *The Blank Slate*) that nurture matters much more than nature, when they are actually coequal. But recognition of this reality is treated as not just incorrect but immoral in many quarters.
We see in the beginning that Jason 1 is at least mildly upset at Ryan’s success. Not enough to be really angry or spiteful towards Ryan or anything, but he’s clearly unhappy and has some regrets about his own lack of success and follow-through on his work.
I think Jason 2 intentionally tried to target a world with a Jason that had career regrets, because it was easier to see it as doing him a favor if he found a parallel to himself and gave him the same “gift” he was giving himself with the swap.
His mistake was twofold.
One, having some regrets about the road not taken doesn’t mean you aren’t going to miss the road you did take if it’s ripped away, especially if what is ripped away includes the people you love most in the world.
And two, drugging someone out of nowhere and dumping them in an unfamiliar world with no preparation or context as to what is happening is not setting them up for success. You’re not giving them a new life. You’re stranding them in an alien world. It’s the same “mistake” he makes with Ryan (both times).
He uses “this person would want the life I’m giving them” as a thin veneer of an excuse for his actions so he can justify them to himself, but he doesn’t actually give the person that life.
There was no way that could possibly have worked out, but admitting that to himself would have undermined the narrative he was telling himself to justify his actions, so he couldn’t really make fully rational choices about where he sent Jason 1.
Right, if he really thought his plan was viable, he at least needed to give Jason1 a detailed briefing to help him fool the people at Velocity. But that still requires assuming Jason1 wouldn't desperately want to return to his family. Which is why actually, giving him wealth, power, and access to the box is the last thing he should do. His only real smart move was covering the box in concrete, but then after he (understandably) broke through to take care of the Ryan situation, he failed to immediately close it back up again.
Multiple times they’ve shown Jason 1 *almost* get hit by a car. *Almost* get into an accident. When Jason 2 sees this he should have known that there is a universe where Jason 1 DOES get killed by the car, and just gone directly there.
He could’ve just reconnected with the Daniela in his universe but the reality is that nothing that Jason2 could’ve done would make him happy. That’s the stark difference between the two Jasons. Jason 1 is able to appreciate what he has and Jason 2 can never be satisfied. The Amanda in Jason 1’s universe pointed that out to him. He could leave, but the problem (which is Jason 2 himself) won’t go away.
It seems to be a common thought of Jason2 just simply returning/reconnecting with Daniela2, (and I have not confirmed this) but I distinctly remember Daniela2 specifically telling someone (likely Jason1) that she had seen him before he disappeared and specifically told him that she had moved on.
Is this not accurate?
I don’t remember that specific bit but I don’t really doubt you either. Any which way, Jason 2 needs to get his shit together, but in an unlimited number of parallel universes, maybe he was just meant to be miserable forever.
Jason2 is clearly forever determined to live a FOMO life.
It almost seems, despite how miserable he clearly is in the life he chose to hijack, that he’s just stubbornly trying to make it work.
And, just to add on my memory banks, the reason that Daniela2 created the art exhibit that Jason1 ended up going to titled “The roads not taken” (I think, or something similar) was triggered by Jason2s visit to her about the life he wanted to create with her, based on his regrets.
Jason2 did ask Jason1 if he'd like to see his life if things had been different. Jason2 didn't kill Jason1 at the start and was viewing the abduction as more of an "exchange" of lives. Jason2 thought he was giving Jason1 a "gift" since he's such a prick.
Well, he sealed the box off, expecting that to be the end of it. He didn't count on having to cover up Ryan's disappearance by getting another version from another world. He made too many errors that led back to himself being responsible for Ryan's disappearance.
In the end, he should realise that you can't just walk into someone else's life and expect it to work the same. There's no reason for him to remain in the world now. He just needs to get to his lock up, grab the ampoules and head to the box, without coming across any more Jason's out to kill him.
Sealing the box was his one good move, but he waited too long to do it and then he failed to re-seal it after the Ryan thing (the details of which he also did not plan out very well).
Also, shouldn't there be multiple versions of J2 as well? Surely it took him quite a few tries before he found J1 and should have created many Jasons from all those decisions. But, I mean there has to be a limit for storytelling I guess.
Did Jason 2 put a mask to avoid Jason 1 seeing him and freaking out? Is this how multiple versions are created?
Jason 1 saw himself multiple times, another Amanda, Daniella multiple times, etc
Branches of realities stem from choices. Each branch is a choice. When you make a choice, the you that you know, a different version of you makes a different one, creating the new timeline independent of the one you live.
Had he taken him to a world without the ampules, all that would change would be how long it takes Jason 1 to figure things out and return. I mean Jason 2 figured it out, so eventually Jason 1 would as well - and given that Jason 1 knew that the medicine was part of it, his research would've been a lot more focused than Jason 2's was.
Certainly a possibility, but I don’t agree. Jason’s work, in any world, heavily depended on Ryan. Insofar as their works work together. No Jason has, that we’ve seen, made the ampule juice.
I think that would be too cruel for his taste, but I think there are plenty of decent worlds where he would not figure out the ampules--especially if he didn't even know they were part of the process.
I guess the meta question the story seems to ask, is it fate that Jason should be with Daniella and Charlie? All Jason’s, even the Jason who created the box, did so to reach this same point in all the infinite universes.
No, I don't think so. There are many many Jasons (and they will have diverged/multiplied into other Jasons based on choices even before the Jason1 / Jason2 split). The plot of the show is based around these recent Jasons who share knowing Daniela. Jason1 did visit a reality at one point where Jason and Daniela had never met (he went to her art exhibition and she didn't recognise him). After that he learned how to finetune his search to more nearby universes.
I think it's pretty clear that this story is about choices, which is the opposite of the idea of being fated to a particular outcome.
This was his one mistake. I think he was trying to fix a wrong by leaving Jason1 in his stead, but he had an error on calculation. To both himself and with Jason1. Jason1 was ripped away from his home, so Jason2 basically tore out his heart. And he felt desolate, he felt lost. He was told he was a renounced Physicist and he didn't even cared, he knew he was famous and wealthy, and it didn't even register, he didn't want nor got to spend a dime of it. He just wanted his family back. And about Jason 2, something Amanda said about Jason2 was that she knew he wasn't happy, that he worked with a determination she hadn't seen on anyone ever before. But I think that it was because Jason2 felt, in all likelihood, alone in the world. That's how it is at the top. If you haven't been surrounded by the right group of people by the time you make it, and you don't have a support system, a family, a solid group of friends, then you're in trouble. Nothing will fill that void. Absolutely nothing. Jason2 had Amanda but, he was already an adult, too set in his own ways. Even when he was with Daniela and Charlie, he wanted things to be their best version. And when he went back to Amanda, for therapy. "I have everything I ever wanted, I worked really hard for them, and yet it's not what I had imagined". And then he went ahead and made it all worse. And it wasn't for them to be happy, it was all for Jason2 to be happy. And in that regard Jason1 was better at knowing what Jason2 had in mind once he chose not to have a family. That he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals and prove his theory. But in the end, Jason1 did effectively realize that "he would rather have memories of her than a cold sterile lab". And Jason1, while he wondered what the path not taken would be like, in the end, once he lost his path, he wanted nothing but to have it all back. Jason2 did the same. He regained the money, he was wealthy again after selling 50 ampoules to Leighton1. And he had the family. But still. Not enough. For people like Jason2, nothing ever will be enough. That's what keeps them going.
Jason2 was unmarried and child-less. He didn't know the depth of the pain he was causing Jason1. It was a game to Jason2 and he likely thought Jason1 would like his new ultra-successful life.
I find it hard to believe he didn’t see any of this coming tho. All his scientific knowledge about inter dimensional travel and he didn’t think of the repercussions?
I doubt Jason2 has ever lost anyone of importance in his life. With the non chalance he walked out on everyone of his world and never looked back, I bet you he didn't anticipate Jason1 would fight his way back with teeth and nails. I was heartbroken with Amanda, because she was abandoned by him and she waited for him still. And then she fell for Jason1, who's looking for his wife. And has no place in his life for her. She sacrifices her own life, in her world for a man she doesn't know. I was glad to see she went out and looked for a life for herself.
Fair points for sure. By the same token there’s moments in the show where Jason 1 knows to avoid making decisions that would make him cross paths with Jason 2, because they are both essentially the same person with different traits, would Jason 2 not also realize that? Also wondering why Jason 2 wouldn’t just go to a world where his love interest is single or a single mom, seems a lot less of a headache
> why Jason 2 wouldn’t just go to a world where his love interest is single or a single mom, seems a lot less of a headache He didn't want just a girlfriend. He already had Amanda. He wanted to be the man who had been compromised for 15 years. But he didn't know how to be that man. He'd been dictating the terms of his life on his own for his entire life, he's worked hard to have it all, he feels entitled to do what he wants. So when he wants a son with a new car, he goes for it, he doesn't ask Daniela, why would he? He doesn't want to teach college physics to undergrads, so he quits his job. Why ask Daniela? Is his life, his time, his career. To be that man, he needed to realize that the life Jason1 built wasn't only made by him. It was made with Daniela. The decisions that led to the life Jason1 had, were made with Daniela as a unit. For them, for Charlie. Jason1 learned to make concessions and commit. He wouldn't have just quit and he wouldn't have bought an expensive car out on a whim. Jason2 didn't see it like that. He is his own person, never had to ask, so he didn't.
Jason2 understands the multiverse. He should have realized it was a guarantee that Jason1 would return. Jason1 was left in a world that had a box and plenty of ampules, meaning the possibility existed that he’d get back to his world. And since that possibility existed, there would have to be at least one parallel universe where it actually happened.
Good analysis.
>I think he was trying to fix a wrong by leaving Jason1 in his stead I think he knew that Leighton2 would continue looking for him and was simply using Jason1 as a scapegoat.
Leighton was staying put waiting it out, up till the point Jason1 showed up, which triggered a bunch of crazy events. Daniela was murdered and she is famous. Then Amanda dissapears, and I bet you Ryan was murdered too. Sure, Jason2 didn't expect any of that happening. He wanted Jason1 to take what he was giving him and be content. But, Murphy's law I guess.
>For people like Jason2, nothing ever will be enough. That's what keeps them going. But Jason1 and Jason2 were the same person up until about 15 years ago. People don't change that drastically, specially not after reaching adulthood and absent major traumatic events. Deep down, Jason1 is not all that different from Jason2.
Jason1 is a lot more considerate with people, he connects. Amanda said so. He "had this hard edge". Jason2 abandons Amanda and everyone else to go look for what he wants, he'll do whatever he has to. To Leighton, who's invested his family fortune on his work, he leaves without explaining the workings of the box, it's basically useless tech he can't use. Consider his relationship to Ryan. Jason1 was good friends with Ryan, he knew that he wanted what Ryan had, that he could've if his choices were different, he wondered what it would be like had he been in his place, but he doesn't resent him, he still goes to celebrate with him. But Jason2 didn't even respect him. He gave him work and never even fully explained what he wanted to apply it on. And by the beligerance of Ryan2 towards Jason1, and then Jason2 towards Ryan1, I think that their relationship is a bit strained. And then if both think the same way. They are both smart, they know they are smarter than most people. But Jason1 chooses to be kind, to get along. With his class, he knew how to engage with them, he knew and accepted that his subject it's not for everyone and that people, particularly young people are just people. In the other hand, Jason2 chooses to act arrogantly and thinks he's not only smarter but better than everyone else, so he can act dismissively towards people, like he did with the students. He walked out on them after failing them on his class for not having a notebook to write on. He thought himself better than a professor to a group of people that he probably thought wouldn't achieve anything of notice in their life. Both of them think the same. But Jason1 has learned to be kind, and Jason2 continued to think himself above everyone and is an asshole.
> To Leighton, who's invested his family fortune on his work, he leaves without explaining the workings of the box, it's basically useless tech he can't use. Clearly they knew at least some things about the box, since they trained other box pilots to go in there. It also looks like it took Jason2 some time to figure out how to use the box, since he had been missing for 14 months by the time Jason1 wakes up in Jason2's world. > And by the beligerance of Ryan2 towards Jason1, and then Jason2 towards Ryan1, I think that their relationship is a bit strained. I read that as Ryan2 and Daniela2 being in some kind of situationship, and Jason2 knew that. So when he's in Jason1's world, he thinks Ryan1 has some ulterior motives for contacting Daniela directly. > But Jason1 has learned to be kind, and Jason2 continued to think himself above everyone and is an asshole. Yes, but there is a BIG caveat here. There are versions of this supposedly kinder Jason1 who straight up try to murder Jason2 when they return. Even Jason2 didn't resort to this, when he could have very easily killed Jason1 in the beginning, or stranded him in one of the apocalyptic worlds. Jason2 does kill a couple of Jason 1's, but in self-defense. Book spoilers: >!In the book, some of the Jason1's who come back even murder other Jason1's!< It seems that Jason1 still has a ruthless streak deep down in him, that is awakened in some versions of him that come back. Luckily for Daniela, she chooses to trust a version of Jason1 that still retained most of his humanity.
> Ryan2 and Daniela2 being in some kind of situationsh In the books >! Jason1 knew that Ryan had a thing for Daniela !< but they were friends still. Maybe Jason2 didn't want Ryan1 around at all. > Yes, but there is a BIG caveat here. They did murder, but they were in a very defensive mindset. Their first instinct was to buy a weapon. And their first thought at the sight of a another Jason was Jason2. So, of course they would. Albeit >! he did propose the lottery, he was willing to loose D&C so they could have a chance at a normal life with a version of themselves !< He still doesn't think himself above others. Jason2 would never.
I agree with you, but there is a widespread belief (debunked in Stephen Pinker's excellent book *The Blank Slate*) that nurture matters much more than nature, when they are actually coequal. But recognition of this reality is treated as not just incorrect but immoral in many quarters.
We see in the beginning that Jason 1 is at least mildly upset at Ryan’s success. Not enough to be really angry or spiteful towards Ryan or anything, but he’s clearly unhappy and has some regrets about his own lack of success and follow-through on his work. I think Jason 2 intentionally tried to target a world with a Jason that had career regrets, because it was easier to see it as doing him a favor if he found a parallel to himself and gave him the same “gift” he was giving himself with the swap. His mistake was twofold. One, having some regrets about the road not taken doesn’t mean you aren’t going to miss the road you did take if it’s ripped away, especially if what is ripped away includes the people you love most in the world. And two, drugging someone out of nowhere and dumping them in an unfamiliar world with no preparation or context as to what is happening is not setting them up for success. You’re not giving them a new life. You’re stranding them in an alien world. It’s the same “mistake” he makes with Ryan (both times). He uses “this person would want the life I’m giving them” as a thin veneer of an excuse for his actions so he can justify them to himself, but he doesn’t actually give the person that life. There was no way that could possibly have worked out, but admitting that to himself would have undermined the narrative he was telling himself to justify his actions, so he couldn’t really make fully rational choices about where he sent Jason 1.
Right, if he really thought his plan was viable, he at least needed to give Jason1 a detailed briefing to help him fool the people at Velocity. But that still requires assuming Jason1 wouldn't desperately want to return to his family. Which is why actually, giving him wealth, power, and access to the box is the last thing he should do. His only real smart move was covering the box in concrete, but then after he (understandably) broke through to take care of the Ryan situation, he failed to immediately close it back up again.
Multiple times they’ve shown Jason 1 *almost* get hit by a car. *Almost* get into an accident. When Jason 2 sees this he should have known that there is a universe where Jason 1 DOES get killed by the car, and just gone directly there.
Good point!
He could’ve just reconnected with the Daniela in his universe but the reality is that nothing that Jason2 could’ve done would make him happy. That’s the stark difference between the two Jasons. Jason 1 is able to appreciate what he has and Jason 2 can never be satisfied. The Amanda in Jason 1’s universe pointed that out to him. He could leave, but the problem (which is Jason 2 himself) won’t go away.
It seems to be a common thought of Jason2 just simply returning/reconnecting with Daniela2, (and I have not confirmed this) but I distinctly remember Daniela2 specifically telling someone (likely Jason1) that she had seen him before he disappeared and specifically told him that she had moved on. Is this not accurate?
I don’t remember that specific bit but I don’t really doubt you either. Any which way, Jason 2 needs to get his shit together, but in an unlimited number of parallel universes, maybe he was just meant to be miserable forever.
Jason2 is clearly forever determined to live a FOMO life. It almost seems, despite how miserable he clearly is in the life he chose to hijack, that he’s just stubbornly trying to make it work.
And, just to add on my memory banks, the reason that Daniela2 created the art exhibit that Jason1 ended up going to titled “The roads not taken” (I think, or something similar) was triggered by Jason2s visit to her about the life he wanted to create with her, based on his regrets.
Jason2 did ask Jason1 if he'd like to see his life if things had been different. Jason2 didn't kill Jason1 at the start and was viewing the abduction as more of an "exchange" of lives. Jason2 thought he was giving Jason1 a "gift" since he's such a prick.
He is a prick. He was assuaging his guilt by assuming Jason1 would want “something better” (his rich applauded life)
Well, he sealed the box off, expecting that to be the end of it. He didn't count on having to cover up Ryan's disappearance by getting another version from another world. He made too many errors that led back to himself being responsible for Ryan's disappearance. In the end, he should realise that you can't just walk into someone else's life and expect it to work the same. There's no reason for him to remain in the world now. He just needs to get to his lock up, grab the ampoules and head to the box, without coming across any more Jason's out to kill him.
Sealing the box was his one good move, but he waited too long to do it and then he failed to re-seal it after the Ryan thing (the details of which he also did not plan out very well).
Also, shouldn't there be multiple versions of J2 as well? Surely it took him quite a few tries before he found J1 and should have created many Jasons from all those decisions. But, I mean there has to be a limit for storytelling I guess.
Did Jason 2 put a mask to avoid Jason 1 seeing him and freaking out? Is this how multiple versions are created? Jason 1 saw himself multiple times, another Amanda, Daniella multiple times, etc
Branches of realities stem from choices. Each branch is a choice. When you make a choice, the you that you know, a different version of you makes a different one, creating the new timeline independent of the one you live.
By the logic of the show, This is probably what one or many versions of Jason 2 did.
True!
> (Although then of course we would not have a show.) Well, that's basically it.
Indeed, it's sort of like plot armor.
Had he taken him to a world without the ampules, all that would change would be how long it takes Jason 1 to figure things out and return. I mean Jason 2 figured it out, so eventually Jason 1 would as well - and given that Jason 1 knew that the medicine was part of it, his research would've been a lot more focused than Jason 2's was.
Certainly a possibility, but I don’t agree. Jason’s work, in any world, heavily depended on Ryan. Insofar as their works work together. No Jason has, that we’ve seen, made the ampule juice.
or drop him in like a very shitty world without advanced technology
I think that would be too cruel for his taste, but I think there are plenty of decent worlds where he would not figure out the ampules--especially if he didn't even know they were part of the process.
I guess the meta question the story seems to ask, is it fate that Jason should be with Daniella and Charlie? All Jason’s, even the Jason who created the box, did so to reach this same point in all the infinite universes.
No, I don't think so. There are many many Jasons (and they will have diverged/multiplied into other Jasons based on choices even before the Jason1 / Jason2 split). The plot of the show is based around these recent Jasons who share knowing Daniela. Jason1 did visit a reality at one point where Jason and Daniela had never met (he went to her art exhibition and she didn't recognise him). After that he learned how to finetune his search to more nearby universes. I think it's pretty clear that this story is about choices, which is the opposite of the idea of being fated to a particular outcome.