Altough I'm german I rarely check out german TV shows. The last one was Deutschland 83 and that was like two years ago. Germany just hasn't figured TV out yet but that's another discussion.

When I heard Netflix was producing a german show I just had to check it out because Netflix has a great track record so far and Germany does have talent infront and behind the camera. But overall I think this show just fell flat. Good, but nothing great.

Fantastic visuals that are shot very beatifull, the actors IMO are mostly great and the music/score can be beautiful but often gets obnoxious. But unfortunetly there are too many characters that are hard to keep track off which distracts from the story.

The story is already confusing enough even without trying to keep up with the many characters over different decades and it heavily sets up future seasons without answering a lot of questions about this one and just left me unsatisfied at the end.

Still worth watching tough IMO and very bingeable similarly to Stranger Things.

But if you do watch it then choose the subbed version. I checked out the dub really quick and it sounded horrible. And also don't browse your phone as you might do on other shows. You're going to miss so much important shit.

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EDIT after Season 2:

I'm not actually sure what just happened and what I think about it. But the one thing I'm sure of is that the casting in this show is absolutely phenomenal. The actors look so much like their younger counterparts that I'm not fully convinced they aren't actually related.

Plus the cinematography is still fantastic and the music monatages are really beautiful (and they got rid of those obnoxious sound effects).

And altough the story is still very confusing I found it more easier to follow and more engaging than Season 1 because I now know all the charcters and their background. And it seems that the writers had this all planned out and aren't just making shit up as they go.

Changed my rating from 8 to 9.

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EDIT after my first rewatch just before S3 is released.

Changing my rating again. This time to a 10. After S1 I thought it was good but confusing show (8), after S2 I thought it was great and really well thought out one (9). Now after rewatching both seasons for the first time I think the show is fucking masterpiece. (10). Once you can watch it without being confused and actually knowing what is happening your just in awe throughout all of it.

If they stick the landing with season 3 it could be up there with the best ever.

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EDIT after Season 3

Masterpiece. Simple as that.

Writing. Directing. Cinematography. Casting. Acting. Soundtrack. Everything is perfect.

I'm going to miss the beautiful music montages at the end.

Damn! Dark, the trilogy as a whole is a very well written show with a captivating story. This only becomes more apparent when you realize how consistent the series has been throughout the three seasons and how everything was so well thought out beforehand. Granted, calling it immensely complicated would be an understatement as it may require careful attention or multiple viewings to grasp and remember everything but once you clear this hurdle and understand this show, its brilliance will readily become apparent.
This show may very well go down in history as one of the greatest Sci-Fi content both in terms of films/tv ever made. We will be darn lucky if anything ever comes close to the greatness of this show in future. Or maybe considering how it is a sleeper hit, it inspires studios to order more thought provoking contents, but who knows.


[spoiler] I think , once they prevent the deaths and time-travel from being invented, Jonas'(Split Reality 1) and Martha's(Split Reality 2) universes(realities) are annihilated, the Scientist's "Original reality" splits/branches again, to form another "3rd" Split Reality which is the one shown in the end.
Since "Endings are beginnings and beginnings are endings or everything is predetermined and past/future can't be changed", this would make the most sense without breaking the show's rule because if the Scientist didn't try to invent time Travel, there wouldn't be 2 split realities and with that no Jonas or Martha coming to change the past, and if they didn't come, he would invent time Travel, a Paradox.
So the original reality still exists alongside the new 3rd reality. However Jonas and Martha are erased from existence since their universes no longer exist.
Hannah deciding to name the unborn child 'Jonas' was also a nice way to spare us a completely sad ending.
But hey who knows! The series is open for multiple interpretations.[/spoiler]


Here's something you might find helpful:
_**How To Understand Dark**_
1. Determinism:
**I.** Watch Predestination (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2397535 ) to acquaint yourself with the general idea of a closed time loop. Also maybe give Triangle (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187064 ) a shot.
**II.** Arrival is also great.
**III.** Watch Devs (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8134186 ) [Ignore the last episode, unfortunately Alex Garland still can't stick a landing] to really get the essence of a deterministic universe on the quantum level.
2. Split/Parallel Realities:
**I.** Rick&Morty has several episodes dealing with the concept. However, S02E01 A Rickle In Time(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4462494 ) and the recent S04E08 The Vat Of Acid ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10655692 ) both do the best job of explaining IMO.
**II.** Steins Gate is a masterpiece if you are into anime (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1910272 )

Hardcore sci fi fans will love this cerebral show that tackles time travel paradoxes head on. Casual fans might not like how hard it is to follow. The dubbing for English isn’t great and diminishes the show a bit, so watch in German it you don’t kind subtitles.

This is another overrated TV show. Coworkers recommended me to watch it. Dark has quite good reputation and rating on the Internet as well. So, I started watching. Watched whole first season and now started second one and all I can say it's very slow, confusing and uninteresting. Characters are boring and shallow, plot is also very simple and uninteresting - just about time travelling. Some characters jump from present to past or future and that's it. There's no tense or anything that would leave you attached to it, having a desire to watch episode after episode. I can't wait when second season ends, so this boredom ends. The only thing I like about this TV show is it's main soundtrack.

A delightfully supernatural treat. Dark has been added to my list of favorite shows. There's an English dubbed version out there but I fully recommend getting subtitles and watching the original German.