Just a few hours ago I watched the final episode of the Dark series and I was completely satisfied with the final resolution of the series.
I haven't been a fan of the series since the beginning. I've been away from all the hype formed around the series. I decided to watch seasons 1, 2 and 3 in a marathon.
In a town called Winden, some young people are starting to disappear. Among them, the son of Ulrich, one of the policemen, whose brother also disappeared 33 years ago, in 1986. Four families, the Nielsen, Doppler, Tiedemann and Kahnwald have crossed their destinies for more than sixty years, secrets and mysteries are beginning to come to light, in the middle of it all is Jonas Kahnwald, whose father Micheal Kahnwald committed suicide, hanging himself in the house. And Martha Nielsen, Ulrich's daughter and Mikkel's sister, the boy who will disappear. For three seasons we will see the relationship between the disappearances and the relationship of the four families, which even goes back to 1888. Because everything is connected.
I love science fiction stories with time travel, parallel universes and all those space-time fantasies. And Dark has everything we want to see in these kinds of stories. Plus, the creators have made a wonderful closing to the series. An emotional and perfect ending, in line with everything we had seen in all the seasons.
Magnetic characters: A perfect casting to give life to some unforgettable characters, all with importance within the story, everything is connected. Some characters had a very sad ending, because they are all marked by tragedy. But they are also marked by love.
The Love Story: The best stories are the ones that have love as the main engine. Dark is not only the love between Jonas and Martha. It is also the love story of the other characters, the love between lovers, the love between parents and children, the love to recover what has been lost. That's the motivation, that's what generates the facts, the origin of everything.
The mythology of the series: The creators and writers of the series have done an excellent job in creating a whole mythology for the universe of Dark. Mixing scientific theories about black holes, magnetic fields; with philosophy and Greek mythology. They have managed to use all those elements to give credibility to a fantasy story full of symbolism.
The atmosphere: The apocalyptic tone is present from the beginning. A strange atmosphere is perceived throughout the town, from the streets, houses, the nuclear plant, the forest and of course, the caves. It's a very good job, led by the director of photography Nikolas Summerer. He gives the series a personality and character, almost of terror.
Winden: The town is another character in the story. It's also been a great success, using a remote location to shape Dark. An element that is taken from the series about strange disappearances and murders, in a town where everyone seems to keep secrets. In real life there is a town called Winden im Elztal, although it is not the one we see in the story. They only have in common a forest as mysterious as the one in the series.
The only weak point has been the special effects of the dark matter that allows for time travel. It's very noticeable that they're computer-generated. But that simple detail doesn't matter, all the other positive aspects detract from this. We're still many years away from generating 100% realistic special effects. We'll have to wait for someone from the future to improve them.
Season 1: The beginning of everything. From the first episode, in its final part, history shows us that it is all about time travel. We are presented with mysterious characters, who we later discover have seen, but in a different time. Nothing is missing or left over, each episode moves the story forward and leaves you wanting more. I see what you mean. Because a lot of fans wanted a quick second season. It's addictive.
Season 2: Welcome to the future. With that sentence over season one. Season two shows us that apocalyptic future, from which they can't escape. The apocalypse will happen. No one will be able to stop it. The season maintained the quality. A great season that surprises in every episode.
Season 3: The question is not from what era, but from what world. To make the story more complex, we are presented with the variant of parallel worlds. For me, it's the season where some scenes are repetitive. An excess of boasting about their own mythology. But with equal magnetism. Also, a bittersweet closure, a perfect ending to a story that was always covered in darkness.
Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese are the creative minds behind this dark story. He, a Swiss-born filmmaker and she, a German-born couple, have previously made films. I saw one of their productions a few years ago, the German film Das letzte Schweigen (The Silence) which told the story of the rape and murder of a young girl in the same place as an identical event 23 years ago. Set in a village, it is a very recommendable film and one that I liked very much at the time.
Now, the couple have a great weight on their shoulders. They've created a very successful series. The following projects will generate many expectations. This can generate discontent if the next thing they do is not to the liking of the audience. For the moment they have done what seemed impossible, that viewers from all over the world, were aware of a science fiction series spoken in German and with actors unknown outside Germany.
The actors' work is perfect. It's impossible to evaluate them and name them all. All the actors who play the many characters, in the different times and worlds, are excellent. Choosing a favourite is a difficult task for me. They all brought the necessary credibility to this fantasy.
The marketing power of Netflix is amazing. It is thanks to Netflix that this European series is a worldwide success. It is something similar to what happened with the Spanish production La Casa de Papel. It's a television phenomenon. Why am I surprised? The story of Dark can be confusing for many viewers. Dark opens too many timelines. Characters cross at different times and at the end of the second season and the beginning of the third, the range expands, with parallel worlds. I'm glad, because this shows that the viewer is no longer afraid to follow complex stories.
Why haven't you seen the series before? I got carried away by prejudice. I read the first reviews when it premiered the first season, and they said it was Stranger Things. And that's why I didn't see it. I don't like Stranger Things and the kids, the teenagers on that show. I made a mistake. Dark is not like Stranger Things. They're absolutely different shows.
In Dark there are children and teenage characters, but they're better constructed, they're very young characters, but they don't act as idiotically as most characters of that age, which we see in American series. Of course they do young people's things, but they assume with maturity all the facts.
If you love science fiction and time travel, you have to watch this series. It's an incredibly high quality product. Very well done, details taken care of and with characters that will make you fall in love.
My Rankin: 4.5/5
