Dark: Season 2

On the 21st of June, the Netflix TV show “Dark” premiered its second season consisting of 8 new episodes. The series created by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, became a global phenomenon after airing its first 10 episodes in 2017. “Dark” is such a complex drama, filled with tragedy, mystery and loss at every turn, ready to captivate the audience the minute it starts.  The story begins in 2019, in a small German town called Winden that could be imagined as the middle of nowhere. In this very place, built around a nuclear power plant situated next to a dark, frightening cave, takes place the tragedy of four families: Kahnwald, Nielsen, Tiedemann and Doppler. The rather complicated way in which the characters are introduced to the show in three different timelines makes it much more intriguing for the viewers to keep watching and figure out the links between the narratives.

While the first season allowed you to experience time travel through a couple of alternative events, the second season went on connecting every apparently irrelevant incident that has ever happened in Winden, causing the series to become one massive riddle that is constantly messing with your head. The disappearance of Mikkel Nielsen and the suicide of Michael Kahnwald depicted in the first episode of season 1 were only the beginning of an inevitable cycle of death. The history of the town is proven to be much darker than it might seem at first and it focuses on the illusions and lies that led each of the four families apart, changing their destinies forever.

 The screenwriters brought to life such a mesmerizing, powerful and unusual script that already made a huge difference in the film industry, being not only one of the best TV shows ever created, but also one of the few foreign series (written in German) that managed to become a worldwide hit. As a viewer, I believe you need passion and patience to fully understand and appreciate its unique concept because otherwise, you will not be able to enjoy the show at its true value. Baran bo Odar combined his visionary screenwriting skills with his directing techniques so effortlessly, creating something that can easily be called a modern-day masterpiece.

It is very impressive seeing how the actors fully matched their characters` descriptions, looking so unbelievably similar to one another. If you have not watched the first season yet, then you will have to trust me on this observation, because this is a very important and remarkable aspect that gives continuity to the plot. The entire cast did a wonderful job, from Louis Hofmann, who portrays Jonas Kahnwald so naturally, to Karoline Eichhorn (Charlotte Doppler) and Oliver Masucci-who plays Ulrich Nielsen- and all the way to Jördis Triebel (Katharina Nielsen), Maja Schöne (Hannah Kahnwald), Christian Pätzold (Egon Tiedemann) and Julika Jenkins, who portrays a younger version of Claudia Tiedemann.

All the other features of the show-including the costumes that accurately depicted each of the time periods mentioned in the narrative, the brilliant production design or the cinematography- were notable as well. The recurring theme from the original soundtrack gave an additional suggestive vibe to the chilling mysteries illustrated throughout the series. Truthfully, I cannot think of even one small moment that could have disappointed me in any way or any line that was out of place. “Dark” is a colossal story filled with twists and turns, that will not let you down once you start unraveling its sinister secrets.

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