…………………………………………………

Dark Season 1 Review

Dark is a German science fiction thriller series that premiered its first season in 2017 on Netflix. It’s an amazing show with an outstanding season one.

………………………………………………….

“The end is the beginning

and the beginning is the end“

…………………………………………………..

Consisting of ten very long episodes (over 45 minutes each), Dark’s first season is epic in span and ambition. Set in the fiction German town of Winden, it follows the time travel conspiracy that spans three timelines and multiple families in this town. There is a lot to praise here, but let’s first address the plot. Thematically speaking, this is a rather different take on time travel with a very limited, exact 33-year cycle and the possibility of one person dying and his future or past self still surviving. The same goes for the paradox that everything is interconnected and each even is predestined to happen and cannot be changed no matter what. These are some radical ideas that are questionable in some bits and pieces, but undeniably impressive in their originality.

The series is famous for handling multiple arcs and characters impressively effortlessly. It continues to amaze me how this show isn’t adapted from a book, but is wholly original. The towering level of detail as evidenced on the series is reminiscent of a superbly written novel, so the creators need to be commended for that high commitment. I personally did not find any plot holes and to me it all felt incredibly connected.

Jonas is one of the most important players and the twist that the Stranger who tries to fix everything is Jonas from the future was powerful and it made sense. Jonas is the most standard heroic type, but a lot is still unknown about his role in all of this time-meddling. Hannah is an unhinged woman who is so obsessed with Ulrich that she actively pursues to destroy his life. She’s scary, but maybe a bit too unreasonable.

…………………………………………………..

Mikkel is the catalyst for all of the season 1 time-travel conspiracies. The revelation about his life was very moving and his scenes with the nurse were very emotional. She’s a great character and by far the only truly good person on a show full of overly unlikable people. Ulrich and Katharina are particularly hard to like, but that was a good thing as they were so well painted as these selfish, overly confident and moody people who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Charlotte is a bit slow to realize some obvious things, but overall she’s a memorable chief of police figure with her own set of problems being well explored. Helge’s arc is incredibly intriguing and that seeming assault on him as a child was brutally effective at conveying terror and despair. The elder and the younger version meeting up was also unforgettable. Regina is also great and her conflict with the Nielsen family was well depicted. Claudia is such an intriguing presence on the show. She’s quite mysterious and I am quite interested in what will be her role overall.

As for the Noah character on Dark, I quite like him. The typically disturbing priest figure, he is undeniably effective at conveying intensity and the mysterious aura surrounding him was super cool. All of his dialogue was among the show’s most memorable and deepest. Dark develops the characters and the whole town superbly with Winden feeling like a living and breathing space, but I do wish that the soapy revenge and adultery subplots were reduced a bit. The cinematography is incredible, some of the cave and nuclear imagery was iconic, the VFX are outstanding and the score is one of the best ever created for television as it induces palpable horror and danger.

…………………………………………………..