Each recap aims to be spoiler free. I won’t speculate too much on the future but will get you up to speed in the current episode. Thank you for reading and you can contact the show by emailing wakeupwinden@gmail.com. I am putting this part at the top of the recaps to prevent spoilers from the posts. Cheers!
Plot:
Dark has a old school episode, ditching the present and future for a past full of secrets and sex.
1954:
Helge returns home after a brief seven months of being tortured and primed by Noah. His father Bernd has seemingly vanished from Winden. Greta is disturbed that Helge won’t speak. More info is needed on her relationship with Noah – the only person who gets Helge to speak. Egon is eager to interview the boy, but can’t get anything out of him. Ditto for when he tries to see Ulrich, who is being sedated and held in a straight jacket.
Basic Egon has a way more complicated story than I thought after Season 1. The time traveller Claudia visits Egon and apologizes for all of the messed up things that are going to happen in his life. “You’re far too good of a person, the world doesn’t deserve you,” she tells him before leaving. When he gets home, the child Claudia tells him the exact same sentence. Particularly unsettling to Egon considering the rare heterochromia condition that causes Claudia’s eyes to be two different colors. Oh, and his wife is cheating on him with Noah’s sister.
Old Claudia meets up with Agnes and gives her a newspaper clipping that turns out to be about Claudia’s death. Agnes appears to be a double agent helping Claudia as she gives Noah the newspaper clipping. After a final visit to H.G. to give him the book that he will later write, she meets Noah in the woods. Noah shoots her and steals the pages to her notebook. Noah has a shit conniption when he reads the pages and its unrevealed contents leads him to lose faith in Adam.
1987:
Power Plant Executive Claudia is reeling from her visit with the older version of herself. So much so that she compliments Regina! She visits a recovering Helge, who tells her to never trust Noah. Meanwhile, Egon is getting closer to the truth. He keeps visiting Ulrich and wonders how Ulrich knew the line from the Kreator song. Ulrich uttered the line 32 years before the song came out. Ulrich tells him his true identity and that he comes from the future. This leads Egon to visit Innes to try to talk to Mikkel, who is being DRUGGED by Ines (seriously WTF). He obtains a picture of Mikkel instead. At the power plant, he reveals to his daughter that he has prostate cancer. Tough conversations continue for Chief Tiedemann as he comes up with the genius idea to show Ulrich, causing the prisoner to start choking him when he finds out Mikkel is 1987.
Claudia and H.G. Tanhauss talk about the bootstrap paradox – the objects seemingly have no origin because they were brought back in time. He received the book on time travel before he even wrote it. At the end of the episode, she decides to use the time machine and she travels ahead 33 years to see her daughter suffering from cancer and chemotherapy.
Whip Around Winden
Egon
I thought he was such a villain my first watch through Season 1. He’s still got problems like never speaking to his wife (so many communication problems in Winden; probably due to the gene pool). Ultimately, he actually seems like a good guy. The scene where he tells Claudia he has cancer but he doesn’t want to bother her is heartbreaking. This version of Claudia has been a bit of a monster emotionally, but even she breaks down and hugs him. They talk about who is who’s pawn in this episode – Egon has been a pawn in this time game without even realizing a game was being played.
Noah
Looks like he’s getting played. His distressed reaction is the first time he has lost control of what he wanted to be the entire series. He’s usually got the same stoic demeanor, saving anger for manipulation of Helge. When he reads the missing pages, his face is one of pure panic. He’s been such a source of terror for the show – but he has been working for Adam, maybe the true big bad? He lies to Adam at the end – is this how it was always supposed to happen? My brain hurts.
Agnes
She’s now in an extramarital relationship with Egon’s wife (still no name, infuriating). A mysterious aura has already surrounded her and we get confirmation that Noah is her brother. She knows about the torture room and visits Old Claudia there (mere moments after young Claudia caught them in a compromising position). Old Claudia knows what will happen and is seemingly okay with it. Claudia tells her that Noah and Adam are preparing for the next cycle and that Noah is a blind fool, causing suffering to so many people. When Agnes visits Noah, she is setting him up to kill Claudia because Claudia wants things to happen as they always happened – but until when? The apocalypse?
I want more information on some of these characters from the ‘50s – Agnes, Greta, Egon’s wife (her name would be nice), and Bernd. We haven’t seen them in other time periods but since everything in this show is connected, I’m waiting for them to pop up.
Claudia
I like Old Claudia because she’s against Noah and I find him unbearable. Young Claudia is figuring things out (cough Tronte), but she seems kind enough. What happened to Claudia to make the heartless robot finally buckle emotionally in this episode? As a child, she wanted to do things differently as a mother – instead she was as distant as can be. Regina’s reaction to a compliment from her is basically “Mom are you feeling ok?”
Does she realize how bad things are – no relationship with her daughter, a dad that is dying of cancer – and is that why she decides to time travel? I’d love more insight to her motivation.
Random Thoughts
- Egon’s cop buddy is a real winner. Basically endorses cheating on his wife after Egon reveals that he and his wife hardly ever get intimate any more.
- Did Kreator’s albums spike in Germany after the release of this show? What a great promotion.
- The episode is called “Ghosts.” All of the missing children and Ulrich essentially became ghosts in Winden. Regina is also reading the book The Ghosts, by Adam Lang. She had previously discussed with with young Aleksander Tiedemann.
- I missed Charlotte in this episode. Helge’s mom made up for the lack of sternness.
- Why is Noah muttering Charlotte’s name while reading the pages? “That can’t be” is also heard. We know he gave Elli a pocket watch that said “For Charlotte” so they have some connection.
- Time is an illusion. No such thing as free will. So nihilistic.
- Claudia’s mom after getting caught by Claudia… “maybe she didn’t notice.”
- Time chose Helge. So many of these characters are victims of time’s “choices.
- Pretty disturbed by Ines drugging Mikkel – I know he must sound deranged, but does this lead to struggles with mental health? Like many things in this show, it’s like the chicken and egg. Time travelling 33 years in the past and living there would surely have an effect on your well-being. Still, a bad look for Innes. No wonder Hannah hates her. (I stand with Hannah!)
- Mikkel should just make a fortune betting on the Bundesliga. Sports knowledge would be huge!
Wake Up Winden 
Great job Bryan
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