What you know is a drop, what you don’t know is an ocean

That’s how Netflix’s Dark is! A sci-fi series obsessed with time travel. The synopsis says, “Dark concerns the aftermath of disappearance of a small child in Winden, Germany which exposes the secrets of four estranged families as they slowly unravel a sinister time travel conspiracy spanning several generations.”

Dark at its core is a mystery series. It starts like Stranger Things & It but expands on a different mythology exclusively to its own and that’s what makes it stand out from the rest of the crowd. This isn’t a series to watch but a series to solve. So take out your notepad & chart paper; start noting down the plot events & draw the sprawling family tree that plays out across multiple timelines.

We have seen in films (Avengers:Endgame, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Back to the Future) how characters travel in past to change their future. But in Dark every time someone tried to change their reality, they merely helped to bring about what they had set to change. There is no free will. We are all trapped by time. Even if you change the future , then when did the version of you who wanted to change the past come from? Creators Baron Odar & Janjet Freise takes this quintessential time travel paradox & add so many such paradoxes that keeping track of them will give you an headache.

As far as technical side is concerned,Dark is top notch. The casting is perfect. How in the world they find three actors for same character across different timelines having same semblance as if it is one actor with his past, present & future! The character development is powerful. It captures the essence of small town where everybody knows everybody and every character matters. Everyone has their own secrets. It deepens our understanding of them in large satisfying ways, showcasing how they ended up as who they are, through a combination of good intentions & unspeakable acts. The ominous background score from Ben Frost & Kramer’s production design wonderfully fuels life into every time period & setting.

Dark tells a mind-bending story about a family saga within the framework of quantum mechanics without dumbing down science or forfeiting high drama. Sometimes I wonder how can a human mind can come up with something like this?? Are the showrunners, the husband-wife duo; Baron Odar & Janjet Friese from the future? I mean they have already watched it in the far future & decided to travel to past & make this show. Or some time-traveller planted this idea in their head?

Nevertheless, Dark ends on a full circle honouring it’s quote ” The beginning is the end & the end is the beginning.” What does that mean? For that you will have to watch the series. So here it is folks- 26 episodes of perfect television! A series that start with dark elements but ends with a ray of hope that will make you believe in higher power.