DARK Season 3 Review: One of the Most Ambitious Sci-Fi Narratives Ever Put Together On-Screen!

Breaking new ground, reinventing, and elevating the concepts of science fiction and time travel altogether, Dark on Netflix is a beast of its own, and one of the most ambitious and enigmatic pieces of art ever put together on-screen. Created and written for television by Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese, innovation is the name of the game in this German Netflix Original as the narrative has the liberty to explore and create different possibilities to put together a story and portray it uniquely like never before.

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Starring Louis Hofmann and Lisa Vicari in the lead roles, the narrative of Season 3 of Dark picks up right after the events of Season 2 with Martha saving Jonas from the apocalypse as she replies “not what time, but what world!?” when Jonas asks “from what time are you?” Subsequently, when this Season sets out the general premise, we are introduced to a different world, almost identical to the original one, with the same characters, but struggling with separate issues, and staying true to the show’s context – “no one is happy in Winden.”

As the apocalypse is also menacing threat in this parallel world, a new leader, Eve, takes charge and orchestrates the time travel trials to make sure that her world endures the wrath. And on the other hand, in the original world, we already know from the previous seasons that Adam is also working his best to end this vicious cycle, and is making sure that his comrades are present at the right time and the right place when the time comes. The remainder of the plot details who reigns supreme in this battle of time travel as both sides try to alter and manipulate their inner workings and dig themselves deep into a dark, enigmatical black hole with no escape.

With 26 episodes in its entirety, Dark on Netflix is nothing short of a solid masterclass as it flawlessly showcases how an utterly convoluted plot can be portrayed to the audience by keeping them entertained and compelled at the same time. To elaborate further, the progression of the complexity from Season 1 to 3 is something I did not expect to ever happen. The first season began and ended on a nonchalant note with that little introduction to the future by the very end.

The second season introduced us to various other timelines and iterations of characters positioning themselves and filling in the vacant roles in the past and the future. However, Season 3 kicks it up a notch and makes things more complicated for the viewer to interpret, understand, and follow along, especially when there are parallel worlds involved. And this how the labyrinthian mess designed by creators – Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese relates to the actions and the intentions of the characters and details how far did they go to undo the mayhem.

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From jumping back and forth between two existing worlds to the timelines within those realities, Dark Season 3 launches everything against the wall, and it is hard to keep up with everything going on narratively. But, the complex narrative does have a pay-off in the form of some exceptional storytelling that displays the race between the two worlds led by Adam and Eve to discover the best outcome. Structured as a brilliant game of chess played by both teams, most of the eight-episode narrative relies on its players expanding their horizons from 1886 to 2053 to find, create or nurture a possibility that could give them an edge.

And with that amount of narrative miscellany, Season 3 of Dark demands your attention through and through as you cannot afford to miss even a single scene or a detailed dialogue from start to finish. Coupled with the intricacies of the storyline, the series also moves on a rapid pace, to and fro in its chronology, but makes sure it takes plentiful of moments to stop and embrace the character’s stories.

But then again, Dark doesn’t disappoint as far as concluding the series go, the final two episodes of the show tie everything together fabulously with no loose ends which have the potential to spoil the ending. The multitude of themes and emotions explored from love, betrayal, devastation, to fate and guilt enhanced the narrative and provided the characters with an arc and explained the unimaginable struggle that they sustained to achieve or to the least get close to this illustrious paradise.

On the technical side of things, Dark once again raises, sets and maintains the standard that is relevant to its narrative. Simone Bär’s casting choices continue to fascinate me inside and out alongside the astonishing production design that remained consistent from the very beginning of the show. In regards to the performances, the entire cast knocks the ball out-of-the-park as everyone had a moment to shine or had the opportunity to contribute something to the overall storyline. The two main leads – Louis Hofmann and Lisa Vicari in particular, impress the most as they are offered the best stories out-of-the-bunch.

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Overall, Season 3 of Dark on Netflix explores and utilizes every plausibility to make the story dense, perplexing, compelling and enjoyable to watch. It undoubtedly deserves to be in the conversation of one of the most astute and ambitious sci-fi stories ever portrayed on-screen. But, all the brilliant and the astrounding storytelling prospects come with a price as this is not an easy show to sit back and binge. It manages to successfully launch a myriad of curve balls to throw off your game and requires your complete attention consistently. And on a much lighter note, the series ends on a simple and a lighter note, inclining more the lines of happiness, which is not a natural thing in Winden.

Watch ‘DARK’ on Netflix here

Images via Netflix YouTube

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