Dark is completely mind-bending – and we love it. With numerous interlinking plot threads and characters, all taking place at various points in time, there’s a constant need for answers as to what exactly is going on in the small German town of Winden. Often, however, these answers only raise further questions.
With Dark season 3 seemingly just around the corner, what better time than now to pose the questions we want answered in the new season.
Spoilers Ahead!
1. How does Jonas become Adam?
After his father’s suicide in 2019, Jonas becomes the first present-day character to discover the wormhole in the cave. With the revelation at the end of season 1 that “The Stranger” is in fact an older version of Jonas, come back in time to close the wormhole, Jonas’ future seemed clear. He was to spend the next couple of decades trying to defeat the time-travelling conspirators and close the loop for good. At least, that was until season 2 revealed a yet older version of Jonas. “Adam”, now scarred and disfigured, is the leader of those very conspirators – Sic Mundus.
So, how exactly does Jonas, a young man determined to avenge his father, save his small town? And with a resolute ambition to put an end to the nefarious actions of Sic Mundus, how does he become the man we see in Adam? All this is further complicated when Adam ostensibly murders young Jonas’ love interest, Martha.
2. Is the new Martha really from a parallel world?
Adam murdered Martha at the end of season 2, and then a new version of her appeared. With her, she had a small machine and cryptically told Jonas that she wasn’t from another time, but another world, before making them both disappear.
While Dark has delved deep into the complexity of time-travel, this is its first foray into parallel worlds. How do these worlds interact and when did they become aware of each other? Adam must know about them, being the older version of Jonas. But, if so, how do they fit into his master plan to destroy the world? Ultimately, all this stems from the appearance of alternate Martha, where she truly comes from, and where she’s taking Jonas.
3. What became of Ulrich?
Ulrich’s painstaking search for his son Mikkel (later revealed to be Jonas’ father), was probably the best sub-plot of season 1. The last we saw of him that season, he was wrongly accused and locked up for murdering some children in 1953. Picking up in season 2, he was still imprisoned in a psychiatric facility by 1987, now under the guise of “The Inspector”. Soon after, he learns from Egon (his old nemesis) that Mikkel is alive and well. This prompts Ulrich to escape from captivity and have a heartfelt reunion with his son. Realising this is his last chance to reunite his family, he attempts to lead Mikkel back into the cave and return to 2020. Sadly, he fails when interrupted by police and the two are again separated.
With adult Mikkel unable to recall much of his pre-time travel life, he doesn’t divulge anything further about his father’s fate to Jonas when they reunite in 2019. What’s more, Ulrich’s age makes it unlikely he would live through to 2019 in order to reunite with his family and all indications say he never interacted with his younger self.
That said, it feels like there’s more to come for Ulrich and we expect his mysterious fate will be revealed in season 3.
4. How do Magnus and Franziska come to work for Adam?
Magnus and Franziska are, in 2020, the moral compass of the group. Working with Martha, and later Bartosz (after they tie him up in the cave and discover his time machine), they set out to find everyone who disappeared.
Like with Jonas, for two individuals who seem so determined to do the right thing in their younger years, it was alarming to learn that their older selves are members of Sic Mundus. While their future selves have yet to say much, it’s clear they have a bigger role to play in all this, for better or worse.
5. How did Elisabeth become her own grandmother?
Elisabeth Doppler is first introduced as the deaf younger sister of Franziska and daughter of the police chief, Charlotte. She is the first character to describe the shadowy Noah – later revealed to be a member of Sic Mundus – that triggers the search for him in season 1. Season 2 introduces adult Elisabeth in 2053, where she has transformed into a ruthless militia leader.
In perhaps one of the most mind boggling and exciting twists of the series, Elisabeth is revealed to be Charlotte’s mother through a relationship with Noah. This is an example of a “Casual loop” and means Elisabeth is both her mother’s mother and daughter. Crazy, I know.
But how did the little girl, once feared kidnapped by Noah, come to have a child by him?
6. What happened in Aleksander’s past?
Perhaps one of the simpler mysteries of the series, but just as interesting, is the backstory of Aleksander Tiedemann. In 1986, he appears as a mysterious young man who saves Regina from Katharina’s (Ulrich’s future wife) bullying. He goes on to marry her and together they have a son, Bartosz.
In season 2, we learn that Aleksander was born Boris Niewald, but the rest of his checkered past remains a mystery. What exactly lead him to Winden, why did he assume a new identity, and why was he so keen to work at the power plant he would later come to control? All of this makes this classic case of stolen identity even more intriguing.
With these six questions (and more) to be answered in the new season, its expected release in June can’t come soon enough. If we’ve learnt anything, it’s that nothing can be assumed.
Is it all inevitable, bound to repeat itself forever?
If there’s anything you think we’ve missed, let us know in the comments.
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Featured image credit: Netflix (fair use)
