Dark Season 2, Episode 8
"Endings & Beginnings"
Original airdate: June 21, 2019
Writers: Jantje Friese, Daphne Ferraro
Director: Baran bo Odar
Cast: Peter Benedict, Sandra Borgmann, Karoline Eichhorn, Sylvester Groth, Louis Hofmann, Dietrich Hollinderbäumer, Leopold Hornung, Moritz Jahn, Julika Jenkins, Stephan Kampwirth, Wolfram Koch, Paul Lux, Andreas Pietschmann, Max Schimmelpfennig, Gina Alice Stiebitz, Antje Traue, Jördis Triebel, Lisa Vicari, Carlotta Von Falkenhayn, Mark Waschke, Carina Wiese
The first episode of this season was titled "Beginnings and Endings." The season finale is titled "Endings and Beginnings." It’s this episode that wraps up the Season 2 arc of the looming apocalypse, which we see happen, only to introduce new concepts and mechanics to keep this story going. This is not the end of Winden, nor is it the end of the story.
Adult Elisabeth finds a photo of her with her family, along with her fox hat and a picture of Noah, a woman, and baby Charlotte, her mom. The woman is, in fact, Elisabeth. Dark introduces us to perhaps its most mind-bending twist so far. Is Elisabeth Charlotte’s mom? We hear Noah say in a voice-over that he could never have told Charlotte who her mother really was. And I thought my family had issues.
Adult Noah and a younger version of himself stand side-by-side in the Sic Mundus headquarters. The older version of Noah tells his younger self that he must follow the path set out for him in order to become the man he sees beside him. Continuing the theme revealed last week, Noah tells his younger self that they are not free in what they do because they are not free in what they desire.
A younger version of Jonas stands with '80s Claudia in the caves. While his future self tried to close the wormhole, thinking it would break the cycle, he failed. However, the older Claudia believed that Jonas could change it all to ensure none of this ever occurred.
Meanwhile, Bartosz asks his mom about his grandmother, Claudia. He reveals to her that she’s not dead. In fact, Claudia came to visit him. A shock to Regina, who was not only abandoned by her mom all those years ago, but her mother also apparently returned without coming to see her. He reveals to her that Claudia had said she wishes she could have done things differently. Perhaps she still can. Bartosz kisses his mom and leaves.
Clausen has Aleksander arrested and now has a warrant to search the power plant. If he can’t put the man away for murdering his brother (it seems like he has enough evidence based on Aleksander stealing his identity, but what do I know about German law?), he’ll take him down for what he’s hiding at the plant.
Adult Jonas goes to Martha’s house and tells her she must come with him in order to avoid being killed in the apocalypse. When she refuses, he holds her at gunpoint. The things we don’t do for love (especially when that love is our perfect match/our aunt).
Bartosz is searching for the time machine and asks Franziska and Magnus where it is. They say it’s with their mom. Upset that Noah did not warn him, Franziska wonders whether Bartosz was led to do exactly this. A pupper for the priest to get the time machine where it needed to be. Katharina takes the machine to the Nielsen house, looking for Jonas. There, she finds the orb light and the maps of the caves.
We get more of the bootstrap paradox as we learn that Jonas knows what he does because older Clauida taught him, who is now learning this information from Jonas himself. If only I had had some random time-travelling older lady to tutor me while I was in university. I would have fared much better. He reveals to her that Adam, the head of Sic Mundus, is on the opposite side of them in this time war. Jonas then activates the time machine, re-opening the cave portal.
Adult Jonas takes Martha to the bunker and locks her inside. Later, Peter and Elisabeth will arrive for shelter, allowing Martha to escape.
Realizing that Clausen is investigating Aleksander and the power plant, Charlotte and Woller head there to see what he’s found. Clausen wants to enter the room with the older reactor, despite warnings from plant staff that it’s dangerous. He insists, and they begin uncovering barrels under the concrete.
Katharina finds a photo album at the Kahnwald house when adult Jonas returns home from locking her daughter/his aunt in a bunker. Starting to see how this dude becomes Adam. Katharina is desperate to get Mikkel back, but Jonas tells her it’s impossible. She thinks he’s being selfish because if she can make it happen, he’ll cease to exist. He admits that he thought he could prevent it all from happening, but it’s out of his control.
Noah has had enough of being under Adam’s control. He confronts him, revealing that he has the papers from Claudia’s notebook. When he tries to shoot him, the gun fails to fire. Interesting to think about whether something divine prevents this from happening, or whether the gun is just malfunctioning. Can it not happen because it hasn’t happened, or is it just a coincidence?
Adult Magnus and Adult Franziska enter the room, along with Agnes. Adam gives a speech about only being free when we are rid of emotion. Adam believes he has removed his desire, and therefore, can change the future. Agnes shoots Noah (her brother, by the way). Adam then enters the God particle and travels through time.
Meanwhile, the younger Noah arrives in 2020. The wormhole begins to open, and the town’s electricity flickers. Peter and Elisabeth see more dead birds falling out of the sky. Teenage Jonas tells Claudia to go to the bunker as well. Before she goes there, she goes to get Regina. The two have an emotional reunion. Regina can, understandably, hardly believe what she’s seeing. Claudia takes Regina to the bunker for safety.
At the Kahnwald house, younger Noah confronts adult Jonas. Noah always wondered when Jonas would become Adam, though Jonas claims he’ll never become him. The future priest retorts, saying that the two of them will be friends until Noah is betrayed. They each follow someone (Noah following Adam and Jonas following Claudia) because they each hope for their own salvation. When Jonas goes to shoot Noah, the latter has him lower the gun and shows him a letter from Martha. Noah believes the loop must be closed so a new cycle can begin. Everything must happen again. Jonas grabs his time machine and runs out the door.
Katharina enters the caves and follows the map, heading through the cave portal door. There is a full on reunion/meeting at the bunker as Peter, Elisabeth, Claudia, Regina and Noah all end up there. Clausen, Charlotte and Woller are there when the yellow drums are uncovered in the plant.
Teenage Jonas returns to his home and moments later, Martha arrives. She reveals that she knows everything. The last time these versions of each other saw one another, it was the day at the lake. So much has changed since then. They kiss.
The moment is interrupted by Adam. He says that all the pieces are in place. He will allow the cycle to be completed. He tricked Jonas in returning back to save his father, only to cause Michael to kill himself. However, Adam says that what is created is the beginning of the real end, where Adam can save all of humanity. It’s here you begin to see how Jonas could become The Stranger who could become Adam. They have the same goal, to end the suffering, but only the younger version is willing to sacrifice himself to make it happen.
Adam shoots Martha, killing her just as the apocalypse is happening. Charlotte tries to get Clausen to stop it all from happening, but he refuses. The God Particle is formed and Charlotte sees an adult version of Elisabeth through a wormhole. Adult Jonas arrives at the Nielsen house where he finds an angry Bartosz, as well as Magnus and Franziska.
Jonas, distraught over losing Martha, is met by another Martha. This one is wearing all black and has a scar under her eye. She will explain later, but she is not who he thinks she is. She activates a time machine and before they disappear, tells him it’s not “what time, but what world.” They vanish, and the Kahnwald home vanishes in a cloud.
And there you have it. If the beginning of the show told us this was not about “Where Mikkel was, but when,” we add a fourth dimension as we close out Season 2. It’s both the ending and also a beginning. If different worlds are possible, perhaps it is actually possible for the entire cycle to be stopped. Only time will tell.
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