I've put my finger on what's wrong with this series, the total lack of empathy these people have for one another.
The countryside is littered with bits and bobs from what is obviously Loop experiments. You'd think that people would know better than to start messing around with anything they found lying around. Everything is a disaster waiting to happen. But no, so that's what makes these stories happen - human stupidity.
The biggest suspension of disbelief in this entire series is that this junk is just lying around waiting to cause trouble. The big theme is that no one is held responsible for anything in this town. That becomes more and more obvious as the episodes go by.
This episode is the typical story of thinking the grass is greener for someone else. Then finding out it's not. Then appreciating what you have and wanting it back. Or not.
The twist at the end came across as the writers patting themselves on the back for being edgy and nonconformist. I guess we see now where the lack of empathy comes from.
The bottom line is that the two main characters of this episode learned nothing, the familiar and predictable parable did not play itself out and so the entire exercise was pointless. If I'm supposed to have sympathy for these two characters, this is a massive fail. Danny is a despicable human being and Jakob is a sweet, but miserable loser.
In what universe would two teenagers just shrug and accept something as traumatic as this? Or carry on being friends as though nothing happened? I guess we're supposed to accept that their relationship with their parents was so bad that they'd rather it end the way it did.
Like I said... in what universe? This one, apparently.