Netflix’s show Dark is one of the best shows ever. Ever. And they are already working on Season 3. (Heck, time traveler here – I’ve already crafted my Dark Season 3 Family Tree. Check it out here! hahah.) Anyway, Dark is so detailed, and so convoluted, it requires the audience to keep numerous different threads in their head at once. It is perfectly well orchestrated, and thought out, but it means staying on top of a pile of different things going in multiple different directions all at once. And it’s so complicated that it requires this write up – Netflix Show Dark Season 2 Walkthrough.
Not only that, but I also spent well over a hundred hours to build two different Dark Family Trees. One for season one, which you can find here and is a great spoiler-free companion for season 2. And I also just released one for season two, which, you can find here. Yes, you are welcome. It will also be a good thing to have open while reading through this walkthrough. You can see my Season 2 Family tree just below the trailer – click the image to get the full sized picture. Donations gladly accepted towards the cause:
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And from here on out – top to bottom, will 100% be spoiler filled plutonium. Starting with this ENORMOUS spoiler filled family tree. If you haven’t watched this show (and it might just be the best show on television, that you just ruined for yourself, thank you very much) you really really don’t want to continue further on. OK?
Now, a few ground rules. Believe it or not, I happen to have a life. (Yes, my Dark Season 1 and Season 2 family trees seem to indicate that I don’t…but alas (or alack) I do.) And with that in mind, I plan to try and concisely describe each episode in the tightest way possible. But I’m known for my rabbit trails. So, wish me luck! And then at the end of the episode walk through I’ll do an overview of the entire season. But with season 2, I know for a fact exactly what the entire show, seasons 1, 2 and 3 is all about, and where it is going. 100%. Are you ready? I’ll go over it again later, because it’s not going to make sense right away. But the show is a Greek tragedy – of the Oedipus complex variety. A tragedy that tells the story of your own battle with evil. Well, practically it tells the story of Jonas’ battle with evil, but in so doing, it tells our story. Jonas is a microcosm, or a metaphor, for your daily struggle that we each find ourselves in every day. The temptation of power, money, and corruption. But also baser impulses, like deceit. And within this struggle is a battle for Free Will, by the powers of Determinism. And a right to make that bad choice. Don’t believe me yet? That’s OK. Let’s walk through the episodes and you’ll see how that is reinforced as we go.
Dark Season 2 – Episode 1
Season 2 kicks off with the establishment and architectural work necessary to stand up the Sic Mundus. “Sic Mundus Creatus Est.” Or “Thus, the world was created.” But Sic Mundus has become the moniker for the group we thought to be headed up by Noah, but instead we learn that it is headed by Adam. And one of Adam’s first words to us is that everything must continue as it always has. The cycle repeating. And this sets up the battle lines. Sic Mundus is attempting to continue the cycle. And Jonas, along with Claudia, are the only people fighting back. Episode one is a fairly disorienting start to season 2, with lots and lots of comings and goings. Middle aged Jonas saves his mother, Hannah, from committing suicide. In the future we see Jonas march through a cemetery of dead near the power plant. We learn that when Jonas attempted to destroy the passage, he only closed it temporarily. But the big take away from episode one is that in 6 days from now, the Winden power plant will be decommissioned, and that it will bring about the apocalypse.
Dark Season 2 – Episode 2
At the start of episode 2, Jonas, in the future, sneaks into the power plant and discovers a floating, flying blob. The God Particle. The latest in a long line of attempts to create and refine the various time machine capabilities. And he seems to be working on it, trying to find a way backwards in time. Middle aged Jonas (anyone have a better name for him?) takes his mother back in time to see her husband Mikkel, as a child, trapped in time with Ines. And Claudia visits her younger self, and informs her that she has to defeat Adam in order for Regina to live. And as the episode ends, Jonas goes back to the God Particle, in order to travel back in time.
Dark Season 2 – Episode 3
The bootstrap paradox – an item sent back in time is never created, it just exists infinitely in a loop. Tannhaus’ book on time travel is sent back to him before he writes it, thus, it is never actually written for the first time. It just always exists. And the only reason he can explain the time travel device is because it has been explained to him before.
Ulrich, trapped in a psych ward in the past, is visited by Egon. Ulrich tells him his name, and that he is a traveler from the future. Soon after, Claudia visits young Egon and trips him out by saying something to him that her younger self is about to say. Soon, Egon, and his search for the truth will become more important to a number of people.
Most importantly though, Claudia talks with Agnes, and asks her to give her younger self a news clipping. She also might have let her know that she had the final few pages of the notebook, which Noah is looking for. Because, Agnes uses this information for leverage with Adam, in exchange for telling Noah that Claudia has them. And with that information, Noah kills Claudia, and takes the pages. And as he reads the pages, he says, “Charlotte. It’s a lie.”
Dark Season 2 – Episode 4
As episode 4 kicks off, we learn that Jonas has successfully traveled all the way back to 1921, where he meets Agnes as a young girl, her mother – Erma, and eventually a young Noah. And even here, in 1921, Noah is already aware of Jonas, his coming, and is extraordinarily hostile to him. Which, is interesting, because he isn’t hostile to Adam. Hrmmmm. Worse though, is that the tunnel hasn’t been dug yet, and Jonas is trapped in 1921. And older Jonas, along with his mother, Charlotte, Peter, and Katherine all end up in the shelter discussing whether this time traveling business is real or not.
Another important thread of season 2 is the new chief inspector on the case, Clausen, and his weird fascination with Aleksander Tiedemann. Clausen is aware that Aleksander isn’t from here, and he’s also aware that he took Regina’s name when they married. Why is this Clausen/Colombo guy so weird, and what is he all about? And do I care? Because I’m not 100% certain that I do.
As the episode comes to an end, Jonas meets Adam…and Adam reveals that he is Jonas. Which, raises an interesting question. Jonas and Adam are arch enemies. This show is entirely about the conflict between a younger and older version of himself. An almost Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of complication. The larger question is, what happens to Jonas that pushes him into becoming Adam?
Dark Season 2 – Episode 5
Younger Claudia invites her father to come and live with her, because she traveled to the future and saw that he will be dying soon. Which begs the question – if you got a shot to head to the future, and then return, how do you not get stock picks? But I digress.
Charlotte begins to get an idea that she is wrapped up in the center of all of this chaos. That Tannhaus isn’t her real father. Which corresponds to the fact, somehow, with what Noah learned from the final pages of the notebook he got from Claudia. We learn that Noah’s motivations have been around keeping Charlotte and her mother from being taken from him. Who is the mother?
Ulrich escapes from the asylum, abducts Mikkel, and then is caught by the police before they are able to jump. And Adam shows Jonas the duplicate time machine that they have in the future. And we learn that Adam has figured out how to jump to any date, as opposed to being into today’s dates, plus or minus 33 years.
Dark Season 2 – Episode 6
In episode 6, Jonas begins to believe that his father Michael’s suicide is the trigger that launches the cycle. And it’s up to him to stop the cycle from repeating by saving his father’s life. So Jonas travels back to the day before his suicide, June 20th, 2019. (Which, was the day I watched that particular episode. Surreal in the least.) And Jonas2 steps in and visits Martha after Jonas1 leaves – and he tells her, “I thought we had time. But how can we have time when it clearly has you? I think we’re a perfect match, never think anything else.” Which, is important, seeing as though he decidedly believed otherwise in season 2 because she was his aunt. But he has apparently gotten over that now.
He then goes and visits his father, and they have a very sweet moment together. And he tells his dad that he knows his real name is Mikkel Nielsen, and that it’s OK. He also tells him that he will soon commit suicide after leaving a note. But then Claudia shows up, and tells Jonas that Adam sent him here to trigger this so that it happens as it always has. And she wanted to know if he was with Adam or with the light. And then possibly the most important quote of all of season 2, Claudia says, “If we are at war, you have to wage it against yourself. Are you with Adam, or the light?” And after Michael hears Claudia, he decides that in order to help Jonas he would commit suicide, that there are more important things than himself in this world.
Dark Season 2 – Episode 7
In 1954, Claudia is on a slab, dead, and younger Egon is investigating. Claudia, is apparently the White Devil.
We learn that Clausen was given a note telling him that he would find the answers he is looking for in Winden. And so Clausen is able to circle in on Aleksander, but for what, we still don’t know. And my patience is running thin.
Hannah, after taking the time machine, goes back and visits Ulrich. But ultimately games the poor guy, knowing that Ulrich will never love her. That his ultimate allegiance will be to Katherina. And so she leaves him to rot in the 1950’s. But then she heads to Egon’s office and they have a smoke together. And she tells Egon that she recently lost everything, and she was new to the area. Now, think about this for a second. For the last few episodes, Hannah has been told by everyone that matters to her that she is selfish, and doesn’t love anyone but herself. Also, for the last few episodes, Egon has been wondering why he and his wife Doris never have sex. That and the fact that Doris is pretty deep into a relationship with Agnes, and although it hasn’t happened yet, I promise you – Hannah will be shown to be Claudia’s mother. Promise you. Guaranteed.
Circling back to the beginning, young Claudia, attempting to get her father to come live with him, he begins to learn the truth. And in the struggle, Egon falls and hits his head. And Claudia lets him die…solely because he believes he is helping Regina survive. And afterwards, Jonas visits her, and tells her that he knows what she’s just done. But that never needed to happen again.
Dark Season 2 – Episode 8
Hahaha – here we go! At the opening of this episode, we see older Elisabeth, flipping through Polaroids that she’s hidden away. And they are of her, Noah, and a baby. And who is that baby? Why, that would be Charlotte. Wait, what? Let me see if I have this straight. Charlotte gives birth to Elisabeth, and Elisabeth and Noah have a child together, and that child is then given to Tannhaus…and she turns out to be Charlotte? Holy Paradox Batman! hahahah.
“We are not free in what we do, in that we are not free in what we desire.”
Adam visits Noah and Martha. “Today the dark matter is created so that I can end the world…and today I am the trigger that will make you into what I am today…” and he shoots Martha dead. Struggling to decide what to do, Jonas needs to decide between catching Adam, and saving Martha’s life. But ultimately she dies in his arms.
Clausen, on the worst possible day in the history of earth, gets a search warrant to inspect the Winden Nuclear Power Plant. And, because of that search, ultimately causes the God Particle’s release, and the beginning of the apocalypse. And when the portal opens, Elisabeth sees her mother (?) and when they touch the Dark Matter explodes.
And as Jonas is sitting over his dead girlfriend, she walks in on him and says, “The question is not what time I am from, but from what world.” Um. What?
The end.
Dark Season 2 Insights
If you look at my season 1 family tree – and just watch it for the gaps, you will notice something intriguing. Now, flip to my season 2 family tree – notice where the gaps are filled in? Where missing parents were, but aren’t missing anymore? Most of them were filled by paradoxes. Egon and Doris aren’t having sex, and yet, they have a child? Thank you for that assistance Hannah. Charlotte is sans parents entirely? Thank you Elisabeth and Noah. (Wait, what?)
Also, as a result of this new information, did you realize something about the original three boys that were experimented on by Noah? Both Yasin and Helge were connected to Noah. Helge is his own son through Greta. Possibly the only reason he was the only one spared of the three. Yasin Friese was in love with Elisabeth, and was killed to protect her for himself. The only boy that wasn’t connected to Noah in anyway as Erik Obendorf. But maybe we will learn of a connection between Noah and Erik in season 3? I wouldn’t doubt it at all, this show is so completely intertwined.
Free Will and Determinism
You might not think of yourself as much of a Theologian…but as you watch this show, you are grappling with theological complications that have baffled mankind as far back as the written record goes. All time travel movies, and books, deal with this problem whether you think they are or not. And this show is delving into the idea of Free Will or Determinism. If you know that tomorrow there will be a sea battle (to steal an analogy from Aristotle), and there is one, did the participants in the sea battle have a choice in the matter? Or were their fates determined in advance, and against their will? Within the realm of Theology, Calvin would say that God knows our every choice, and therefore it is already determined. We could delve really deep on this topic by discussing Circumstantial Freedom, Acquired Freedom, Natural Freedom and Compatibilist Freedoms. But the question on the table at the end of the day is whether or not you are able to make choices for yourself. And amongst those choices, the question now is, what do you choose? And heck! Can you even choose?
Jonas and His Inner Conflict
Now, back to the beginning of this post – where I said that I knew exactly what this show – season 1, 2, and 3, was all about. Like I said, Jonas is our battleground. Jonas, being Adam, and Jonas, but only separated by time, the question is, what makes him become Adam? Why does he become the leader of the Sic Mundus? Why is he determined to end the world as we know it? Yes, we know that Adam shot Martha. But really?
The question here on the table is this…and it has nothing to do with entertainment, the show Dark, or any of that. The question is this – if horrible pain comes your way, does it in fact allow you to collapse in on yourself and ruin the world on your way out? Does it allow you to pull an Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold? To pillage and burn the world as you make your exit? And that is the question facing Jonas the lesser. Was it Martha’s death that flipped the breaker switch? Or will Jonas, as Claudia said to him, wage war against himself?
This struggle has been confronting mankind since he walked in the garden in the cool of the morning with God. Do I wage war with my passions or do I give them their legs and let them run? And if there is no God, and we in fact, as Nietzsche proclaimed, have killed him, then what does it matter if I burn it down on my way out? This is the story that is happening throughout the show of Dark, across all three planned seasons.
Final Thoughts and Questions for Dark Season 2
The thing that perplexes me the most, because the show flip flops in its explanation to the viewer, is this – does the Sic Mundus want to continuously repeat history? Or does it want to end it? Is Adam hoping for complete control of time in order to force the repetition? Or to end humanity as we know it, or both? Sometimes the show seems to be saying that Jonas is trying to break out of the loop, avert the apocalypse, and also keep Martha alive. Which, makes sense. But I’m not 100% sure what Adam’s goals are.
I mean, I have a lot of other questions like, who are those two people, the man and the woman, in Sic Mundus? How are they connected? I’d like to know why this God Particle was created during this Winden Nuclear Power Plant accident. What caused that to happen? Who tipped Clausen to the fact that Boris Niewald (Aleksander) was in Winden? And on and on they go. But the biggest question is about Adam, and his goals, and what his ultimate aims are. But hopefully season 3 will shed just a little more light on this front.
Edited by: CY