A Review About DARK
The following will be a mostly spoiler free Review of the show DARK, to give you an idea what’s it like and if it’s a series for you. DARK is streaming on Netflix.
Where to watch: Only Netflix (because it’s a Netflix Original)
Published: 1 December 2017 – 27 June 2020
Length: 3 seasons (concluded), 26 Episodes with a running time between 44-73 minutes
Genre: Mystery, Sci-Fi
Main place of action: Winden (A made-up town in Germany)
What is it about?
Winden is a small town, quiet and boring for most of its inhabitants. Especially the teens feel trapped there, knowing everyone and every place. But things change when in late autumn 2019 children starting to get missing. They are not killed, no bodies can be found, but there is also no trace of them whatsoever. Things are getting worse when adults are disappearing too. But finding them reveals secrets that change everything forever.
Was it good?
DARK is very different and not what I had expected at all! It’s a Netflix Original but produced in Germany with german actors. But it’s not like all the german productions I have seen up till now, it’s better, to say the least. You should be all up for mysteries and solving them because without the will to do that DARK is not for you. It’s one of those series where you understand what’s going on, in later episodes, fully understanding everything at the end.
The story is told through 3 seasons because symbolism is a big thing in DARK. It’s not a show where there is a small story every episode, like say a murder that has to be solved and it’s not exactly concluded at the season finales. You can only connect the dots to what’s exactly going on when finishing the last episode. It has some more sci-fi elements than the description might show, but I don’t want to spoil the details. It gets more and more complicated with every hour you watch. Every answer gives the viewer even more questions.
Those questions are mostly solved at the end, but I still had to watch some videos on youtube, explaining everything. I don’t think that’s because I did not pay enough attention while watching, I would say it’s pretty normal after watching DARK for the first time. Just because much is happening in a short amount of time and you can’t explain everything in detail, without cutting on the story part. It’s not that there is no explanation at all, I would just say watching the whole thing once or twice would best for getting to the root of everything.
The characters are all very interesting and have their unique life stories which you get to see told onscreen. There is even a deaf girl using german sign language with her family which I found pleasantly surprising! Of course there are either subtitles or people speaking while signing, so you will understand everything.
Final Verdict
DARK is a complex mystery series with very competent actors and writers that accomplishes its goal of keeping the viewer invested in what’s going on, while also confusing him with almost every bit of information that he gets. If you are into that, DARK is a series that provides enough things to think about, to use post it’s to write down important information, even tracing back whole family trees. Some say it’s a masterpiece, I would say there is at least one paradox at the end, worth taking half a point of the finals score. But 4 1/2 out of 5 popcorn bags is more than a german production ever scored for me, so I highly recommend it!
Greetings and good wishes
The Mad Hattress