Dark just continues to get better. What started off as an interesting take on time travel has morphed into a tense, unpredictable ride.
The big moment the episode builds up to is set up perfectly. The episode begins with Helge in 1953, although we don't necessarily know who he is at this point. We know he's important though, as the episode centres around him. At the same time, we see Ulrich make his way to the past and meet some of his relatives. All this build-up is intercut with the Stranger and Taunhaus discussing the nature of time. Their discussion mostly serves to establish some of the central themes of Dark: time loops, and determinism vs free will. The actual scientific accuracy of 'chicken and egg' reference is obviously not important, rather it is used to explain the concept of time loops. And that theme is highly relevant to the main event of the episode. All this creates a sense of foreboding as we know something big is going to happen.
Sure enough, it does. Ulrich's murder of young Helge is stunning in the way that it does the thing time travel films seldom dare to do: it dives headfirst into the grandfather paradox. If Ulrich kills Helge, then he will never be alive in 2019 in order for Ulrich to suspect him and kill him. What makes this moment so shocking is not just that it is the brutal murder of a child; it is that this is uncharted territory with seemingly no possible solution. How will the writers get out of this one?
9.5/10
The big moment the episode builds up to is set up perfectly. The episode begins with Helge in 1953, although we don't necessarily know who he is at this point. We know he's important though, as the episode centres around him. At the same time, we see Ulrich make his way to the past and meet some of his relatives. All this build-up is intercut with the Stranger and Taunhaus discussing the nature of time. Their discussion mostly serves to establish some of the central themes of Dark: time loops, and determinism vs free will. The actual scientific accuracy of 'chicken and egg' reference is obviously not important, rather it is used to explain the concept of time loops. And that theme is highly relevant to the main event of the episode. All this creates a sense of foreboding as we know something big is going to happen.
Sure enough, it does. Ulrich's murder of young Helge is stunning in the way that it does the thing time travel films seldom dare to do: it dives headfirst into the grandfather paradox. If Ulrich kills Helge, then he will never be alive in 2019 in order for Ulrich to suspect him and kill him. What makes this moment so shocking is not just that it is the brutal murder of a child; it is that this is uncharted territory with seemingly no possible solution. How will the writers get out of this one?
9.5/10
