10 Best Dark Episodes, According To IMDb

Netflix has churned out many hits in the past few years, one being the German time-travel series, Dark. The series raised the bar for sci-fi storytelling, especially within the time-travel subgenre.

The series ran for a tight, impeccably planned three seasons, and was met with consistently, overwhelmingly positive reviews. The series is known for its many plot twists that deepen the drama and don’t just exist for shock value.

10 2.3 – Ghosts – 9.2

In 1954, Egon is trying to solve the mystery of the missing and murdered children, when Helge returns to his own time. While he’s busy working on this case, his wife, Doris, is having an affair with Agnes, Noah’s sister. In 1987, Egon visits Ulrich at the asylum, trying once more to piece together the mystery he never could solve.

Claudia is busy doing all kinds of time traveling, getting things off her chest before being shot and killed by Noah, who finally manages to get his hands on the pages he wanted from Claudia’s book. The performances are quite good throughout the episode, but Julika Jenkins is a standout as middle-aged Claudia, who visits her dying daughter in the future.

9 2.7 – The White Devil – 9.3

In 1954, Claudia’s body is found by Egon, her father. Hannah takes Jonas’ time machine and travels back to 1954, where she poses as Katharina and visits Ulrich in the asylum, under the pretense of possibly identifying him as her husband. She asks him to choose between her and Katharina, and he tells her that if she gets him out of there, he’d leave Katharina for her. Hannah doesn’t believe him, and leaves him to stay in the asylum. In 1987, a middle-aged Claudia is desperate to prevent the death of her father, Egon. Her attempt chillingly and heartbreakingly is actually what causes his death. In 2020, Martha finally discovers that Jonas is her nephew, which complicates her feelings for him significantly.

8 3.6 – Light And Shadow – 9.3

In Eva’s world, Ulrich is beginning to piece things together. Aleksander tells his son, Bartosz, the truth about his identity. Despite Martha’s best efforts, she’s unable to prevent the apocalypse from happening, as she’s unknowingly working against her future self, Eva. Eva, of course, is working against Adam, who wishes to put an end to the infinite loop they’re all stuck on. Eva believes that this is the wrong course of action, as it would mean the destruction of her world.

7 2.5 – Lost And Found – 9.4

In 1921, Adam attempts to explain his way of thinking to Jonas, who is appalled at what he will one day become. In 1987, Claudia tries to figure out a way to prevent her father, Egon, from meeting his death, which is promised to come soon. Ulrich escapes the asylum in a desperate attempt to get to his son, Mikkel, who is living with Ines. Ulrich and Mikkel reunite and attempt to go back to their own time together, but the police arrive before they can escape and return Ulrich to the asylum. In 2020, Katharina finds unexpected help in understanding time travel from Hannah, while Noah finds Charlotte and tells her that he is her father. Despite being just over halfway through the second season, this episode makes one realize how far the show has come from the relatively simple intrigue of season one.

6 3.5 – Life And Death – 9.4

The intricate web that Dark weaves is brought to greater depths in this season three episode. In 1987, Katharina tries to free Ulrich from the asylum he’s stuck in, where her mother works. She can’t resist following her mother, who responds by beating her to death. In the 2020 post-apocalypse, Peter continues to search for his wife and daughter, while continuing to look after his youngest, Elizabeth. While he’s gone, Elizabeth is attacked by an intruder, who kills her father when he returns and attempts to defend her. She reacts by bashing the man’s face in with a fire extinguisher. Claudia is set on her path by a visit from herself – not from the future or past, but from Eva’s reality. Meanwhile, in Eva’s world, Jonas and Martha try desperately to change things, which leads them into a trap in which an older Martha shoots and kills Jonas.

5 2.4 – The Travelers – 9.5

In this episode of season two, Jonas is stuck in 1921 when he realizes that the portal to his own time hasn’t been built yet. He’s brought to Adam by Noah. In one of the most shocking reveals the series has to offer, Adam reveals himself to be Jonas from the future, which horrifies the protagonist and gives him something truly horrific to grapple with. In 2020, an older Jonas and his mother, Hannah, try to convince others of the truth of time travel. Katharina is angry and unconvinced, but later locates a photo of her missing son, Mikkel, in 1987.

4 2.8 – Endings And Beginnings – 9.5

Jonas teaches middle-aged Claudia what she will later have to teach his younger self about his older self (which is as confusing as it sounds but still very, very cool). After discovering the whereabouts of his daughter, Charlotte, Noah confronts Adam, who tells him that nothing can be meddled with, because Charlotte is Elizabeth’s mother. Following this revelation, Noah’s sister arrives and kills him, taking her brother’s place at Adam’s side. Jonas and Martha reunite as the apocalypse is hours away, but Adam arrives and kills Martha in front of his younger self’s eyes, setting him down a path to become Adam. As Jonas mourns his love, a different Martha appears out of a random portal, declaring herself from an alternative universe and asks Jonas to come with her. This finale left fans guessing about what to expect in season three.

3 2.6 – An Endless Cycle – 9.6

“An Endless Cycle” was easily the best episode of Dark upon its release, which is really saying something, given the quality of the show up to this point. The episode retreads ground we’ve seen before, but offers a more in-depth look at what kicked off the series. Adam sends Jonas back to 2019 with the task of preventing his father, Mikkel, from committing suicide. Mikkel is already struggling before the conversation with his son, as he watches his younger self approach the day that he will unwittingly go back in time. Jonas tries to convince his father not to kill himself but realizes he’s been tricked by his older self when his plea ends up being the thing that gives Mikkel the idea to kill himself in the first place.

2 3.7 – Between The Time – 9.6

This episode offers yet another look at familiar events from a different point of view. The apocalypse is about to happen, and Martha from Eva’s world arrives to whisk Jonas away after witnessing the murder of his Martha. In another world, separate from the two that exist in the time loop, Tannhaus suffers in the aftermath of the death of his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild in a car accident. This is the origin that everyone has spoken about and searched for so long; both Adam and Eva’s worlds were created out of the grief of one man.

1 3.8 – The Paradise – 9.7

The series finale remains the best-reviewed episode of all. Now that it’s clear how Adam and Eva’s worlds were created and are connected, there is a path to destroying them and putting an end to the endless cycle of pain, violence, and very messy family trees. Adam and Eva make amends as their younger selves travel to the original reality to stop the deaths of Tannhaus’ loved ones, thus preventing him from creating their worlds and wiping themselves out of existence. In a bittersweet epilogue, the only remaining characters are those who would have been born without the influence of time travel. Hannah and Katharina are friends, free from the drama that came with Ulrich’s existence. Peter is with Bernadette, instead of in a loveless marriage to Charlotte, and Regina’s life seems pretty free of drama as well. Hannah is pregnant and says that she wishes to name the child Jonas.

About The Author