Dark

I was originally going to review Dark in seasons like I usually do, but I ended up running into a bit of an issue. I know this show is good, it's incredibly well-done, but halfway through the second season, I realized something: I just didn't enjoy watching it. Thus, I decided to delete my original seasonal reviews and review Dark as a whole, what I liked about it, what I didn't, and why I couldn't fall in love with it like so many other people have.

Dark starts out intriguing enough, it takes place in a town called Winden where a kid named Mikkel mysteriously disappears. Eventually, we learn that there is a wormhole in a cave that lets people travel back in time to 33 years prior. Soon after, you learn that the whole timeline has basically turned into a knot and everyone's attempts at breaking it fail, only for alternate universes to be introduced in Season 3 as a way to potentially untie the knot once and for all. This is an incredibly simplification of Dark's story, though, as it is packed with mysteries, characters, and incredibly screwed-up time loops. By the end of the show, you realize that nearly everyone is related in some insane way thanks to time travel, everything is connected.

I was really into Dark during the first season, which is still probably my favorite of the bunch, when it took on a sort of mystery box format. The first few episodes were overwhelming in just how many plot elements they introduced, but the show continued to resolve its mysteries in a tidy and realistic manner. Dark is stunningly tight throughout its three seasons, which is an incredibly impressive feat given how complex it is. Season 2 was where the magic started to fade, however, as it mostly felt like more of the same without that same initial mystery. Most of the episodes just made the timeline even more convoluted, and it wasn't until the finale where the show introduced anything truly new, that being the alternate universes. Season 3 was an improvement, and was probably the best season on an objective level. It was still complicated as hell, even moreso with the alternate universes, but its central conflict was compelling and the final half was a pretty excellent ending.

However, while this all sounds really cool, and it was for a bit, Dark left me feeling kind of cold by the end. My biggest problem in the show is in regards to the characters. The show tosses so many characters at you in its first episode alone, and even by Season 2, I still couldn't reliably recognize any of them. I didn't find myself caring about anyone other than maybe Jonas, and it doesn't help that most of the cast is pretty unlikable. Once the time loops become apparent, I realized that I felt even more alienated from the characters since it seemed like nothing they do would ever matter. The addition of alternate universes was a great step forward, but it was too late for me, even in Season 3, I just didn't care about this show's cast. I ended up caring more about Dark's mystery and intrigue, so when the magic of the show's unique and eerie score, strange way of telling stories, and complex structure started to fade, I ended up caring less.

Even more, Dark kind of felt like a slog to watch at times. Not because it was boring or anything, but because it was just plain exhausting. There are so many plotlines, characters, and mysteries to keep up with that I had to take notes and do research during and after every single episode just to barely understand what was going on. Watching this show felt like work, and while some people might enjoy unpacking its complex mysteries, I just wanted the show to end. And the worst part is, Dark isn't even a bad show. It has amazing production values, with great acting, beautiful cinematography, a stunningly tight script, and a great score. I have my nitpicks about the abundance of musical montages, the ridiculous amount of silences, the weird incest storylines, and how nearly every episode just happens to start with a sex scene, but I know that what I'm watching had a lot of work put into it. I wanted to love Dark, but it just wasn't for me, and that's perfectly fine.

There were some pretty great episodes throughout the show, however, particularly the ones with big plot twists:

Truths: While there are many crazy revelations of people being related in some way, Truths is probably the most impactful just because it was the first. The reveal that Mikkel and Michael were the same person is pretty great, and made a ton of sense while being genuinely surprising. We also got to meet Noah for the first time, which was pretty cool.

Alpha And Omega: Dark always did a good job with its season finales, they made the season feel self-contained while leaving a ton of loose ends open. This finale gave us the reveal that The Stranger was an adult Jonas, which was really cool and, once again, made a ton of sense. There was also Helge's surprise death, and the reveal of the apocalyptic future of 2052.

Endings And Beginnings: This whole finale had this great air of tension to it as the apocalypse slowly neared, and we got some shocking character deaths, messed up revelations, and the big climactic reveal of alternate universes. I already expressed my praise towards the addition of alternate universes, it's a cool twist that expands on the show's time travel rules while giving me hope that the characters could finally unite that time knot.

Life And Death: It's stunning just how unbelievably relentless and chaotic this episode was. The sheer amount of character deaths is insane, culminating in probably the show's most effective (or one of the most effective) twists, Jonas's death.

The Paradise: I'm not gonna lie, this finale was satisfying as hell. It's so interesting to realize just how much unhappiness and misery the time loop caused everyone, so when the loop has finally been untied, and the survivors are happy in the origin world, it's hard not to feel pretty happy for them.

Overall, Dark is an incredibly well-produced show with amazing production and a story that's way neater than it should have been. However, I just couldn't find much enjoyment in it myself. So I'll leave the review with this: Give Dark a try, if you like it, that's awesome! But if you happen to not like it either, that's fine as well. I'm happy that I try so many different genres and shows, even if not all of them appeal to me.

2/5 Stars

Favorite Episode: Alpha And Omega