You might have already heard about the series Dark as the series has created quite a buzz since its release with reviews calling it ‘mentally exhausting’ and ‘redefining science fiction’.
Netflix’s Dark is a German-language science fiction television series that ran from 1 December,2017 to 27 June,2020. Created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese and produced by Wiedemann & Berg Television, the series features an ensemble cast.
Dark is also Netflix’s first German-language original series. The third and the last season was released last year. All of the three seasons received rave reviews and wide critical acclaim for the storyline, performanes of the cast, musical score, tone and narrative.
Storyline:
The series is set in a small fictional German town named Winden. It is based on the ideas of time travel.Throughout the series, it asks the question of what time is, if it is an illusion and if its anything at all. According to the series, in the same way that past has a bearing on the future, the future too is dependent on the past.
Life is 3-dimensional (i.e, the past, present and the future) and a never ending cycle. The past, the present and the future are connected.
All of these might seem extremely confusing to anyone but as the series progresses, the secrets are revealed, twists and turns are unfolded and the characters explained, slowly, making the show an extremely intriguing and exciting watch.
Season 1:
Season 1 begins with the disappearance of a young boy Erik and moves towards the subsequent and suspicious disappearances of two more boys, a teenager, a police officer and an elderly man.We are introduced to the four protagonist families- the Tiedemanns, the Nielsens, the Kahnwalds and the Dopplers.
As the season unfolds, the lies, secrets and betrayals surrounding the four families are revealed which leads to weakening of family bonds and relationships.The ‘wormhole’ lying beneath Winden’s nuclear power plant is shown to be a passage for time travel, “a crack in time” where the past, present and the future meet. It is, as one of the characters said, where the beginning and the end meet.
Some members of the central families become aware of the wormhole in the first season.Season 1 begins in 2019 and later includes storylines from 1986 and 1953 by time travel through the wormhole.
Season 2:
The season 2 shows that the most of the central families’s members have come to know about the time travel and about their family members being stuck in the past. They try to reunite with them.
This season also introduces the viewers to the ‘Sic Mundus Creatus Est’, a major part of the storyline in this ongoing battle for the fate of people of Winden as well as of people of the world. The episodes of this season also seem to appear as countdown towards a supposed apocalypse.
Season 2 continues the storylines from where it was left off in 2020, 1987 and 1954 respectively, including additional storylines from 2053 and 1921.
Season 3:
The third and the final season of the series follows the four families across time as they face the apocalypse. This season continues the storylines from 2020, 1954, 1987 and 2053 in the first world and storylines from 2019 and 2052 as well as a new storyline of 1888 in the parallel world. We see the main events connecting the incidents from all the seasons.
Cast and Characters:
Since the series showcases storylines set several years apart, the characters are played by different actors portraying different phases of the character’s life.
Jonas Kahnwald: Teen: Louis Hofmann
Adult: Andreas Pietschmann
Elder: Dietrich Hollinderbaumer:
Hannah Kahnwald: Teen: Ella Lee
Adult: Maja Schone
Ulrich Nielsen : Adult: Oliver Masucci
Martha Nielsen: Teen: Lisa Vicari
Adult: Nina Kronjager
Elder: Barbara Nusse
Mikkel Nielsen: Child: Daan Lennard Liebrenz
Adult: Sebastian Rudolph
Katharina Nielsen: Teen: Nele Trebs
Adult: Jordis Triebel
Magnus Nielsen: Teen: Moritz Jahn
Adult: Wolfram Koch
Franziska Doppler: Teen: Gina Alice Stiebitz
Adult: Carina Wiese
Elisabeth Doppler: Child: Carlotta von Falkenhayn
Adult: Sandra Borgmann
Peter Doppler: Teen: Pablo Striebeck
Adult: Stephan Kampwirth
Charlotte Doppler: Teen: Stephanie Amarell
Adult: Karoline Eichhorn
Helge Doppler: Child: Tom Philipp
Adult: Peter Schneider
Elder: Hermann Beyer
Bartosz Tiedemann: Teen: Paul Lux
Adult: Roman Knizka
Regina Tiedemann: Teen: Lydia Makrides
Adult: Deborah Kaufmann
Aleksandar Tiedemann: Teen: Bela Gabor Lenz
Adult: Peter Benedict
Claudia Tiedemann: Adult: Julika Jenkins
Elder: Lisa Kreuzer
Noah: Teen: Max Schimmelfennig
Adult: Mark Waschke
H.G. Tannhaus: Elder: Christian Steyer
Final thoughts:
Dark dives deep in the concept of time and time travel unlike any other shows before.
With many characters, it becomes a little difficult to keep track of the characters and their back stories as several storylines are shown alternately. This is the reason why the viewers might not be able to connect with the characters as they exist as pieces of a big jigsaw rather than individual pieces, that the viewers try to understand.
Nevertheless, with its brilliant storytelling combined with a terrifying narrative and excellent acting,it never once disappoints and makes for a, although puzzling, but a very satisfying watch.
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