Last Updated: June 27, 2020, 16:08 IST
Dark Season 3
Cast: Louis Hofmann, Lisa Vicari,
Creators: Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese
The best way to enjoy Dark is to not read or watch anything about it before it actually hits Netflix as spoilers may dilute your fun. So don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers ahead.
Dark’s third season — the last of the trilogy — dropped on June 27. Only fans can understand the value of this date.
Well, the last season left us with a pondering note, “The question is not when, it is what world” and season 3 is the answer to it. It picks up from the last finale, when Martha Neilsen from an alternate world arrives at Jonas Kahnwald’s house to save him from the apocalypse. On his quest to fix the ‘glitch in the matrix’, Jonas reaches the other Winden and discovers that Adam isn’t the only one who’s tampering with time, space and apocalypse in the endless cycle of cause and effect. He learns that his actions not only affect his world but a parallel world as well. This is the simplest thing that you’ll see in the entire season because hereafter begins a web of complicated timelines in a multi-dimensional world.
The show creators — Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese — deserve a shout out for connecting the dots so intricately. With so many characters, timelines and subplots, it is very easy to lose track. However, Dark’s season finale turns this into its strong suit. It is so well connected and detailed that props as small as coins and pendants end up influencing almost every storyline.
‘The last cycle’ of the German show on Netflix is a mind-boggling mix of thriller and romance with a backdrop of nuclear holocaust and a tragic love story. Dark draws its strength from the journey of its characters. We already know what a character’s fate is, still you can’t help but think about the possibilities.
(Image courtesy: Instagram/Baran bo Odar)
In the intermediate episodes, the timelines get so complicated that you would want to write down everything. There will also be moments when you will have to pause and be like ‘wait, what just happened?’ But you will only be intrigued further.
Season 3, in particular, has done a good job with casting. Actors chosen to play the past and future self of the characters are so apt that they don’t really need an introduction in different timelines or worlds. Louis Hofmann (Jonas) and Maja Schone as Hanna Kahnwald once again prove their acting brilliance with an extraordinary performance.
(Image courtesy: Instagram/Maja Schone)
Cinematography is another thing that works in favour of the show. With many wide-angle shots and drone footage, the show appears cinematic and grand. The usage of grainy and grey shades for the post-apocalyptic world in contrast to the warm tones for the early ‘70s and ‘80s makes you better connected with the milieu.
However, Season 3 often gets grim and you hopelessly wait to see a ray of sunshine in a cold rainy city. Also, hopping between timelines covering a century in a single episode, makes it a strenuous watch. You may not like picking it after a long day.
Dark Season 3 is complex, but if you have watched the first two seasons, you cannot leave it. In the end, you get most of your answers, and you’re glad to know that there are no more mysteries and timelines for you to solve. The finale left me with the same satisfying feeling I get after solving Instagram’s “Guess the Gibberish” puzzle in one go.
The show is streaming on Netflix. You can watch the title song below.
Rating: 4/5
