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:
Hannah is the scariest villain of all time. For me, it used to be the clown from the ’90s version of It. No longer. Now it’s Hannah K.
It’s June 26, the day before the apocalypse in 2020.
1954:
The chief of police sends Egon to interview Helge, thinking he might have a clue about the unidentified dead woman at the morgue (Claudia). Helge sees the picture and let’s Egon know that she is “The White Devil” and she is trying to kill them all. Worst part – she hasn’t even started yet.
A ruffled Egon drives back to the station where Hannah is waiting for him, having just arrived from 2020. She inquires about the picture of Ulrich and tells Egon that it might be her husband. She is posing as Katharina Nielson. Egon reluctantly agrees to watch from down the hall – he wants her to persuade Ulrich to confess. At first, Ulrich thinks he is saved. He unfortunately asks about Katharina and that seemed to turn the tide against him. Hannah says she needs no one and leaves him there, telling Tiedemann “there’s a resemblance, but he’s not my husband.” Back at the station, Tiedemann and Hannah share a cigarette. Hannah is there to stay.
1987:
Claudia stays up all night recording data about the time traveling goo. After blowing off the French delegation for 97th time, she goes to visit her father. She believes this is the day he will die in his apartment, so she wants him out of there. Egon is starting chemo, but is delighted that Claudia will join him.
At the chemo session, Egon wonders if he was a good cop. He tells Claudia about the Ulrich incident in the ‘50s and how he thinks time travel is possible. It all had to do with Mads and Helge somehow. This is disturbing Claudia because she doesn’t want the time travel to be disrupted so she can save Regina and be the founder of the time travel research.
When they return to his apartment, Claudia is rushing him to get his pills so they can leave. He starts to wonder about the caves and as Claudia is getting increasingly pushy, he has a revelation. He asks why Claudia is there and states that she has something to do with it all. Egon goes to telephone the cops but Claudia wrestles with him. She pushes him and his head hits the corner of the counter, causing his death. He calls her the White Devil with his dying breath.
Claudia returns home where she finds a note saying that Regina is at a friends for a sleepover. As she is crying in her kitchen, OG Jonas walks in. He tells her things don’t have to happen like this next time and they leave.
2020:
Clausen arrests Aleksander on suspicion of identity theft. We get more info on Clausen – his brother disappeared without a trace in 1986 in Marburg. He’s been looking for him for years and one day he got a mysterious letter that said the answers would be found in Winden. Previously he had found out that Aleksander used to be Aleksander Kohler – before he took his wife’s maiden name. Aleksander Kohler happens to be the name of Clausen’s brother. There was only one entry for an Aleksander Kohler in Marburg, 1986 and he was 5’8’’. Aleksander is only 5’6’’ and he is not Clausen’s brother.
Meanwhile, the time traveling teens are plotting their next move. Bartosz is scolded by Martha and seemingly kicked out of the group. Martha meets Jonas the Stranger and accepts the truth. Katharina catches them talking and is offended – tells her grandson to keep his paws off her daughter.
Later, the parents and kids share information at the Doppler House. Fran yells at her parents for being incompent. Hannah stole one time machine, but Magnus has the other. Katharina takes the time machine and tries to figure it out. Martha is happy that at least Mikkel and Ulrich are alive in a different time.
Whip Around Winden
Hannah
Obviously Claudia being the White Devil is a misdirect. Come on. It’s Hannah. She travels to the ‘50s just to taunt Ulrich! I think she mostly went back with an idea to mess with his head – but maybe holding out a slight hope that he loved her? She hedged her bets with Tiedemann saying that it might be her husband. Ulrich mentioning Katharina’s name was his death blow. He tried to cover for it by quickly asking after Martha and Magnus but the damage was done. Hannah recalls that he never said “I love you” to her (just you’re beautiful). As she leaves him, he’s trying to say that he loves her, but then drops in an F-Bomb C-U- Next Tuesday! She had to feel justified when she heard that. Hannah walks away so calm and collected as Ulrich is being dragged away to where we know he will spend the rest of his life. To stick a knife even further in Ulrich’s back, she starts flirting with Egon at the end of the episode. Egon and Ulrich are sworn enemies in two different eras. Never cross Hannah.
Clausen
You gotta really pay attention to these Clausen parts. Had to rewind to catch all of the dialogue as I was too busy rolling my eyes over his Freud quotes. He has this picture of him and his brother:
He wanted to come to Winden because of some anonymous tipster. He arrests Aleksander on some flimsy evidence – Aleksander is 2 inches shorter than what the documents from Marburg say. If I’m Aleksander, my lawyer is getting me out of this. First of all, I doubt that raising your height a couple of inches is uncommon. Aleksander could say he wanted to list himself a little taller to give him an edge in an aspiring water polo career or some shit. 5’6’’ is close enough to 5’8’’ – it’s not like there is a full foot in disparity. Secondly, he’s the most powerful man in Winden with access to what should be the best lawyers in Germany. Aleksander is right, this is a crock of shit.
Now, Aleksander is probably guilty because we saw him looking at the newspaper all nervously in the last episode. He was reading about the Marburg murders and how they were still unsolved. We know he is doing some shady stuff at the power plant. Doesn’t matter. I’m still rooting for him over Clausen.
Claudia
Oh, I did not appreciate the Claudia/French Delegation joke my first watch through. Every time they show her at the plant, she is rescheduling the meeting. This time, she just ignores it completely!
On a more serious note, we get another example of not being able to change the past. In fact, going back to change the past has been the trigger for many events. Ulrich beating Helge. Jonas talking to his father. Now Claudia wants her Dad out of the house because she knows that’s where he dies. When he is going to jeopardize her precious power plant findings, she shows where her true priorities lie. She refuses to let him call and he calls her heartless. He tries again and they fight over the phone. She is the one who murders him (manslaughters him?). It’s got to be pretty affecting to have your dad’s last words be “You are the White Devil.” Extremely tough stuff.
Random Thoughts
- Adam and Claudia are supposed to be a battle of light vs shadow. Each claims to be the light. It’s strange to see their “first” meeting. Young Jonas and middle aged Claudia is such a weird pairing. I still say Adam and Old Claudia are working together.
- Hannah and Egon did not seem strange to me. They actually hit it off right away and is definitely something to monitor going forward. If they end up having a child, I bet it is someone we know.
- Franzsika should be the leader of the teen group. She has the idea to share information and she scolds her parents for keeping secrets. She wants them to all be more open.
- I love when Martha tells Bartosz “There’s no ‘we’ anymore.” LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!
- Unfortunately, I think we are going to need Bartosz. Magnus admits he doesn’t know how to use it and I don’t think I have faith in Katharina’s ability to crack the code.
- All of these multiple objects are so hard to keep track of – the St. Christopher coin, the letter, the notebook, the time machine. Damn bootstrap paradox.
- It was nice to see Martha, Magnus and Katharina all talking. It was almost like they were related for a moment!
- We need a flashback scene in Season 3 of Egon watching Back to the Future and absolutely losing his shit as he thinks back on his life.
- I’m still shook from the Hannah-Ulrich scene. I don’t think I’ll ever recover.
Wake Up Winden 