As much as i love season 1 + 2, somehow i couldnt really get into season 3. a bit confusing. however someday i will try watch them all in a row.
I was unhappy with the ending of Dark. A lot of these shows that are on Netflix start out great but then by the end they don't seem to know what to do. I just watched "Glitch" which is also 3 seasons on Netflix. So many stories start good then seemingly end without purpose as if they are just filler plots. The ending of that show was disappointing as well (and I'll mention "Man In The High Castle" which also started out great but lost its way by the end). I only hope they don't take "Ozark" in a similar disappointing ending.
My, my how times change. When I tried this by myself, last weekend and this one, I'm really, really enjoying this show. I'm not quite finished Season 1, but boy was I wrong about it. I think it was simply the wrong time for me, the first I tried it, perhaps juxtaposed with what I was watching around that time. So far I find Dark brilliant, actually. I hope it keeps up the standards.
So many things can go wrong with a series once they've established themselves, and the viewer realizes there are layers of story arcs that aren't what they signed on for. Then there's the behind-the-scenes tinkering, such as replacing showrunners, or the producers getting more money thrown at it to stretch it beyond where they thought they were going. I honestly don't know if Dark ended up where they knew they were going when they started telling the story, but Spoiler it felt kind of tepid, making you care about all those people, and then finding out it was all for the salvation of a world of people you had never been introduced to in the first place . As Bullwinkle once said: "Hey Rock - watch me pull a macguffin out of my hat!"
I agree that for the story they told, 3 seasons was too much. Too much padding with one of the secondary female characters. Could have been done in 2 tight seasons. You can see the filler and padding. But I have to say the last scene was brilliant, even if it took me awhile to figure out its meaning.
Well, finished Season 1 tonight. Quite enjoyable. Full of mystery and all that good stuff. I'll probably start the second season next weekend. This show makes As the World Turns appear like cave drawings.
In place of subtitles, I think they could have helped a lot more viewers comprehend what's going on if they'd just run quick ID's as to whom you are looking at, at any given moment. If not, "this is the gal that...only she's 15 years older", then at least: "you'll learn who she is pretty soon - stay with it!" Trying to tell a coherent story spanning decades, alternative realities and characters out of place or time is hard enough, without deliberately trying to confuse the viewer. It's no fair to tell the story and not tell the story at the same time.
I finished watching Season 2 last night. One word: Wow! It's gotten to where I can keep most of it in my head now, but at least every other episode or so, I might pause the show and mull over what's going on, just to make sure my thinking is straight. That said, I haven't watched a single episode "straight," so a little green magic has probably helped my focus stay on target. This is probably the best thing I've watched since The Leftovers or Les Revenants.
Hey man, try it. I can't guarantee satisfaction guaranteed, but when I gave it a second chance something just clicked. I think that I might not have been ready for it when it first came out, but these days I've been thinking a lot about time, so it pressed a button inside of me that needed pressing. Time gives, yet time takes more away. When time takes more away, the less it can give. Now, those two sentences might sound like the same sentiment, only written in different forms. But I assure you they are not. Recite them in sequential order and the code becomes a loop. See what this show has done to my brain?
I finished the series this past weekend. I liked it a lot! I stayed away from reading about the show, so because of this I imbued my own logic to the show, akin to studying a piece of art and gleaning from it your own meaning. I suppose I could read up on it now, because no, not everything was clear, but all of the major plot points were clear. Yeah, in Season 3 I had to stop the film and think about what I was watching a little more, but very quickly I was going "Ah ha! This is what it means and this is how it ties in." It never got too tangled, but almost. More like a total mindf**k. I could go into particulars, but I'll tell you the part that screwed me up the most: Spoiler: Infanticide when Katarina's mother killed her future daughter in 1986/87, and then went home and bitched at her present daughter, Katarina; that was some craziness that I wasn't expecting. That blew my mind!
I loved all three seasons of the show and thought it was fantastic, but I don't dispute that it was so complex, every character had 3 different versions (young, adult, and old), and you needed a scorecard to figure out who was who, and also when a character existed. It got even more complicated when the young people went back to the late 1800s and got stuck there. What was funny for me is I got about 3 episodes in and then said, "well, this makes absolutely no sense... unless the cave allows them to time travel, and we're dealing with different versions of the same characters." And eventually we figure out <minor spoiler> that's exactly what was going on. It's bizarre when you realize some of the key characters could have made small changes at key moments -- even stopping them from making a major mistake -- which would've given everybody a happy ending. But... that's not what ultimately happens.
one of the best TV shows of the last 5 years , along with The Leftovers / Succession / Halt and Catch Fire
Found it extremely difficult to follow at first (& second & third) with tons of unknown actors (to me), playing the same characters throughout 3 different times of their lives, having to read subtitles instead of being able to try to keep the characters straight in a very confusing time jumping way, but really enjoyed it. Had to watch it at first every episode twice in a row, write down questions/things I did not understand, think about it, let go the things that made no sense to me, keep going, then after each season watching that season all over again, plus discuss it with a friend. So it was work watching this but I liked that and found the ending to be a great way to tie it up and explain the things that made no sense. Did this ever come out on DVD or blu-ray????
It’s on par with Twin Peaks, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad IMO. One of my 5 favourite series ever. It’s that good.
I like all those other shows you mentioned, but as challenging as Dark was - or maybe BECAUSE of how challenging it was - I think it might be above those others in my list of best TV ever. Mr Robot is up there as well for headrush/mindfcks & I put it in the same type of category as Dark, although I didn't like some things about the last season or Mr Robot would be my fave series ever.
I know I’m in the minority based on the handful of members of this board that watched Dark, and other show review ratings sites out there but I’m actually pissed off about season three and the ending of this show. I power watched the entire three seasons over the last two weeks and what a let down. The first season was so good I watched the first 4 episodes way past my normal bedtime. Acting, directing, cinematography, the script….it was all top notch. I was a bit worried during season two as there were warning signs the show was losing its focus and going off the rails but it was still very good overall. Season three was so tedious and unsatisfactory…by the middle of season three I just wanted to fast forward and be done with it. I stuck it out and now I’m sitting here wondering why I actually thought a show about time travel would end up making sense and have a great ending. I thought the ending was a cop out… a typical we don’t know how to explain everything so we’ll just forget all of that. Characters that we connected with in earlier seasons like Magnus and Franzsika were tossed away. All that apocalypse stuff… ugh. How many scenes where Martha and Jonas would say “ what do you mean” with tears running down their cheeks did we need?!! How many times did we need the actors to repeat the same dialogue over and over and over?!! For me season three was like the Matrix sequels. I’m so sick of shows that start out great and can’t ever seem to make it to the finish line. I’m baffled that so many people think this was brilliant with a brilliant ending. It had the potential… and season one in particular was outstanding but damn it once again IMO they blew it. Ive read a lot of reviews where people state how happy they were that Dark had a clear ending from the get go or something similar. There is no way that is true. Way too many unexplained plot holes and the fact that season three was so much post apocalyptic futuristic nonsense proves it. That’s where writers go when they don’t know where to go. My two cents. Really disappointed.
Enjoyed watching S1 when it originally came out but never got round to the rest. Just binged the lot. Enjoyed it for the most part, but was definitely a case of diminishing returns as it went on. S3 was a grind as the show got too smart for its own good and disappeared up its own singularity.
I don't know, man, there are maps and timelines out there, and it all makes sense, for a show that's intent is to span the past, present, and future. You mentioned your disinterest, so perhaps you missed some key parts somewhere in there. To me, the show telegraphs, early on, that the viewer has to be on their toes to catch all of the time jumps. Nobody gets tossed aside. The story ultimately peels secondary characters away from the main plot, as needed, to expose the main characters more, but plot holes? Of course it's all subjective perspective, and that's the best way to interpret art. I'm merely wondering if you gave the show enough attention as it moved along through the more challenging parts of time travel.
There’s a good chance I’d rate Dark as the best TV program I’ve ever seen, but that doesn’t change the fact that the way the primary antagonist in tge first series behaves is completely inconsistent with the way he and the rest of the characters behave in the remaining series (1). Aside from that, there aren’t many loose ends and I can live with the fact we never find out who Peter’s mother was, for example. (1) I think I’ve already mentioned this in the thread, because it does bug me.
Loved the ending & the way it explained why everything didn't have to make sense etc....that it was about something different than what we thought was actually going on (only way I can explain it).
