Wake Up Winden

S2 E8 Endings and Beginnings

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:

I was such a sweet summer child when I thought I could do these plot summaries in one paragraph. Here we go.

Wait before I get started: ELISABETH IS CHARLOTTE’S MOTHER AND DAUGHTER! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Yo Oedipus, hold my beer. YA BASIC!

It’s the day of the apocalypse in Winden. June 27, 2020 ( a little bit on the nose Dark creators). Jonas the Stranger makes the truly desperate decision to take Martha at gunpoint to the bunker. He locks her in, but his plan is foiled when Peter and Elisabeth enter. Martha breaks loose in order to find the younger, more age appropriate version of Jonas.

The younger Jonas has teamed up with Red Claudia. He tells her they have to change one grain of sand to make everything different. When they arrive in 2020, Jonas tells Claudia to take the time machine to the bunker. She does, but makes a pit stop on the way to pick up Regina – who hasn’t seen her mother in 33 years. The foursome of Regina, Red Claudia, Peter, and Young Elisabeth make up the bunker crew when the apocalypse hits.

Fransziska, Magnus, and Bartosz can’t find the time machine, but can feel that something is about to happen. They know they can go to the bunker, but they try waiting for Young Jonas. Instead, they get Jonas the Stranger. He comes in with the time machine and transports them at the last minute.

Clausen has now begun his search of the power plant. He is suspicious of a radioactive room that has concrete burying the danger barrels. Charlotte desperately tries to stop him from opening the barrels once he finds them. He goes through with it anyway and this seems to be the trigger for the apocalypse. Charlotte and Elisabeth from the Future see each other from across the portal in the exact same way Young Helge and Jonas saw each other. Charlotte’s fate is unknown, but she appears to be yanked into the portal when they try to touch.

Katharina wanted to take action and bring Mikkel back herself, even though Jonas the Stranger told her it would be impossible. At the time of the apocalypse, she had opened the Sic Mundus Door. Where will she be when we resume Season 3?

So the apocalypse is about to wipe out Winden, but now we have to deal with Adam. Using the help of Older Fran and Older Magnus, he uses the God Particle to go to 2020. He shows up at Jonas’ house where Martha and Jonas have linked up. He very suddenly shoots and kills Martha. He disappears and just when all appears to be lost, an Alternate Martha appears! She says the question is not when is she from, but what world? She pulls out a gold orb and her and Jonas disappear just as the house explodes.

Questions For Season 3

WAIT THERE ARE ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS NOW?
How many different worlds are there?
What will cause the rift between Jonas/Adam and Claudia?
Who is this new Martha?
Is Adam really Jonas?
What time period will Charlotte end up in?
What will happen to Katharina in the cave?
What is Clausen’s deal? Is he a time traveler?
Woller’s eye damn it!
What is Hannah’s plan?
Is Ulrich’s storyline (in this dimension) over?
Who is Aleksander truly?
What becomes of Peter and Regina after the bunker?
Give me a whole series on what happens to Fran, Magnus, Bartosz, and Jonas the Stranger.
So Agnes from the 1950s hangs out with Magnus and Franzsika? Awesome.
Did Doris (Egon’s wife, had to look it up!) time travel with Agnes?
Is Ines part of Adam’s crew? Wait, she brought Noah in to see Mikkel… Oh boy, I feel slow on the draw. I knew she was bad!
What happens to the rest of Germany? (LOL this is probably a stupid question)
Who are all of the people from the Sic Mundus photo?

Whip Around Winden

Clausen

I hope you’re happy, jerk. Thanks for blowing up the town.

Noah (old)

You got played! See ya never, loser. Also EWWWWWW.

Noah (young)

You are going to conceive your daughter with your grandaughter. Enjoy the next 33 years. Did you see how he strutted out of the Sic Mundus HQ?

Claudia and Jonas

It’s hopeless. Give it up you two, 66 years will go by and jack shit will change. You two are hamsters on wheels. (What does that make me, the viewer?)

Jonas the Stranger

Nope, nope, nope, nope! This is where he starts to turn into Adam. When he takes Martha at gunpoint with all of the right “intentions.” Adam always is making excuses like “it had to be this way.”

Adam

Why’d you have to go and do something stupid like that? I hate you. That was bullshit. Fantastic 4 lookin’ ass. You say time plays cruel jokes? Yeah only to your face! ::mic drop::

Bartosz

Talk to your mom and tell her where you are going next time. I can’t believe he comes from the same line as Egon. He’d be rolling over in his grave.

Bartosz more like Fartosz.

(I’m so sorry)

Katharina

Oh I really want to see how this is going to go. Katharina’s bulldozer tendencies are bound to treat her well in another time period. I’m sure she will be nothing but tactful.

Magnus

Magnus, on the sinking Titanic. If they don’t fix the ship in the 30 minutes, then we’ll get on the rescue boats.

Charlotte

You’re perfect. I love you.

S2 E7 The White Devil

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.

S2 E6 An Endless Cycle

Plot:

At least all of the events in this episode happen in one day and mostly in one timeline. There’s a lot to unpack here. Adam sends Jonas back to June 20, 2019 – the day before Michael Kahnwald died. There are two Jonas’ close in age now – I’m going to call the one from 2019 Jonas Alpha and the one that was sent by Adam ‘Jonas Raincoat.’

Jonas Alpha wakes up in his house on June 20, fixed on going to the lake with Martha, Magnus, and Bartosz. Michael is alive and we see how disturbed he is when he hears that Ulirch and Katharina’s party is that night. He’s been trying to forget, but he knows something bad is about to happen. Hannah wishes he would come with, but he has a picture to finish.

Ulrich and Katharina are having a party for their 25th anniversary. In the morning, Mikkel intrudes on their personal space, but only because he is sick. Katharina and Ulirch take Mikkel to the hospital. On the way there, they see Jonas Raincoat, who is now back in 2019. Jonas Raincoat sees his father as Mikkel again. They talk about how Martha loves Jonas. At some point on their drive, they stop by Hannah and Michael’s house to get some supplies for the party. Mikkel goes to use the restroom and sees the older version of himself on the way out of the house. He sprints away terrified.

At the lake, the teens have fun messing around. Jonas Alpha and Martha find the coin of St. Christopher – patron saint of travelers. When Jonas Alpha leaves, Jonas Raincoat enters. He tells Martha “You and I are perfect for each other. Never think anything else.” They share a magical kiss (you can tell by the music and camerawork how magical it was). Magnus also finds Franziska naked at the lake and they share an awkward moment.

Charlotte and Peter are going through their marital problems – Peter says Charlotte is dead inside. Charlotte knows he’s been cheating. When he goes to see the sex worker at the end of the episode, Franzsika is there to witness.

The party is a joyous scene – everyone there is happy sans Charlotte. The police chief has been having marital problems with Peter. He calls her dead inside and visits the sex worker with the trailer. Katharina dances, Magnus chats with his grandparents, Ulrich pops champagne. They were forced to party inside because of the rainstorm. Mikkel still isn’t feeling well so Katharina goes to comfort him.

Meanwhile, Jonas Raincoat goes to speak to his dad. Jonas RC confesses to Michael/Mikkel that he knows everything. He has come back to tell him not to do “it.” This confuses Michael and Jonas asks him if he’s already written the letter. He shows him the letter and Mikkel theorizes that if he doesn’t kill himself, then Jonas will never be born. Enter the eldest version of Claudia. She tells them that Adam sent Jonas to trigger the event (oof). She is the light and Adam is the shadow. Michael must make sacrifices still because she has seen a world without Jonas and it’s not what he’s expecting.

Back at the party, Martha and Jonas get intimate in her room. Ulrich and Hannah have a mirror image scene replay of the bust stop in 1986. Their lines are reversed and Hannah imagines a world without Winden. The rain starts, they run for cover, and commit adultery.

During the musical montage, Jonas RC goes with Claudia through the cave. Michael begins to write his letter. Charlotte comes home to an empty house, while Peter snuggles in the trailer. Bartosz is sad.

We circle back to Adam. Two people in their fifties enter the room. The man says that he could have at least told Jonas the path he was sending him on. Turns out that this couple is Fransziska and Magnus!

(Geez, I know this episode is called An Endless Cycle but I sure didn’t need an endless recap)

Whip Around Winden

Ulrich and Hannah

Remember the bus stop scene of a young Ulrich and Hannah in 1986? It was in Season 1, Episode 3 “Past and Present.” We had almost a mirror image of that scene with Hannah and Ulrich’s dialouge reversed. Ulrich asks her if the world started anew tomorrow, what would you wish for? Hannah responds “A world without Winden.” The exact same thing Ulrich said to her 33 years ago.

Boy, they must have had some connection to be able to recite these lines back to another. Do they meet up and recreate this scene every year? Maybe when they really get the delivery right, it leads to a hook up like this one! I think we are to believe this is the first time they commit adultery.

Katharina

Nothing snarky from me because it’s so nice to see her happy! She’s dancing to her favorite song (Heaven is a Place on Earth), she’s buddy/buddy with Hannah, she’s sipping champagne. So sad that when she was being a good and selfless parent, it leads to Ulrich cheating on her. Ulrich, you slimeball!

Not gonna lie, I did like it when Ulrich called Jonas “Romeo.” (Hey fella this is Katharina’s section)

Claudia vs Adam

Light vs. shadow. Good vs. Evil. Claudia vs. Adam. Blah blah blah, I always get slightly disappointed when these two are on screen in their eldest version. They know everything, but can’t tell us, the audience, anything. When we do get information, who knows if it’s even reliable? Adam makes Jonas go back to trigger his father’s suicide and then Claudia makes sure he goes through with it. Am I supposed to like one of these people? As far as I’m concerned, the light vs shadow thing is a smokescreen and these two are in kahoots.

Mikkel/Michael

I’m wondering why Michael hid in the corner while Mikkel was in the restroom. Why not simply run back to his creepy paint studio? Did he remember this moment and remember seeing himself there and thus he had to be there? It doesn’t seem like there’s any free will in this world, everything is stuck in a cycle.

It was really nice to get to see the actor for Michael, Sebastian Rudolph, get some time to work in this episode. He had good chemistry with Jonas and I wish we could have seen more from him before this episode.

Random Thoughts

Who lost the traveler’s coin at the beach? That’s got to come into play in the future.
Jana and Tronte were happy for the first time in this series.
How did Charlotte and Peter ever get together in the first place?
If Michael noticed Jonas’ longer hair, I have to think Martha would as she was making out with him. Good thing she didn’t unzip that yellow jacket, eh?
I thought whoever was in charge of costume/makeup did a fantastic job to get us back before the events even started. Did they film this while they filmed season 1? Magnus has such short hair and looks like a child. All of the youth look a lot younger.
Charlotte has friends and socializes? I almost died when Katharina asked her to dance. She is the best, but I couldn’t see her at the club.
No invites for the Tiedemann’s (no surprise there)
Bartosz said they were having a party, but it looked like just a family dinner. Bartosz’ face while Jonas and Martha do it:

S2 E5 Lost and Found

Plot:

1921

Jonas and Adam spend their whole portion of the episode having a conversation about changing time. Adam thinks that if Jonas stops the beginning – Michael hanging himself – everything will be reordered. 1921 also has a God Particle – this one will allow him to go to any time in history. Jonas steps into the God Particle in an attempt to travel to June 20, 2019 – the day before his father died.

1987

Claudia visits Egon for the first time in probably decades and invited him to live with Claudia and Regina. She also visits Bernd Doppler, the former boss of the plant. Doppler warns against making the God Particle public information, while Claudia thinks it can change the world. Nurse Innes continues to drug Mikkel by stealing pills from the hospital. Old Ulrich escapes his prison by knocking out an orderly. He escapes and finds Mikkel for a brief reunion. Just before they get to the caves, they are stopped by police gun fire. Mikkel makes no attempt to help his father – is he too drugged? Ulrich sees his other two children while in the cop car because they had just used the time machine to travel back to ‘87. He gets strapped back in his bed.

2020

Magnus, Martha, Fran, and Elii return to the cave where Bartosz is finally more forthcoming with information. Martha makes him prove that he has a time machine, which he does by showing them 1987. They return by episode’s end. After being yelled at by her kids, Katharina goes to Hannah’s house to let some steam off. Hannah doesn’t know where Jonas Stranger went and Clausen interrupts the happy chat by coming to interview Hannah. She lets him know that people look out for another in this town. Stranger Jonas leaves a necklace at Martha’s house. Upon his return, he shames his mom about not loving her husband and being a CHEAT! In the episode’s biggest revelation, we learn that Noah is Charlotte’s father – but no indication of her mother.

Whip Around Winden

Nurse Ines

Nooooooope. Don’t like this. I think Ines thinks she is doing the right thing, by dosing Mikkel with sleeping pills. It seems that she is doing it to him during the day time and also without him knowing it. This has to cause long term damage, right? His organs would be all messed up surely (look, I’m a health expert). He recognizes Ulrich but doesn’t make an attempt to defend Ulrich with his words. It might have all been in vain – he probably wouldn’t have been taken seriously. One thing to consider is Egon’s recent research – if Mikkel had spoken up, would everything have crystalized for Egon? I’d like to know more about what was going through Mikkel’s mind.

Something to consider from Season 1 – Nurse Ines was the one who brought Noah to Mikkel’s bedside in the hospital. Her motives may not be so pure.

Damn it Ines, that’s the 4th time you’ve gotten iodine today

Ulrich

Ok getting caught feet away from the caves has to be getting pretty old. Where is the sense of urgency? He had been planning to see Mikkel for 33 years – too much thinking! The cup trick wasted precious seconds – they could have been on their way home! For Ulrich, it was far too late – what kind of life would he have upon returning? Mikkel could have escaped Innes’ drugging though. Then Jonas would have never been born and all of this could have been avoided. It is very heartbreaking though. Ulrich was a good guy right? (Checks notes from Season 1, rips them up)

The 2020 Teens

First of all, Martha is way too harsh on Katharina. She can’t be literal with the “you haven’t spoken to us in months” thing right? She means “you haven’t talked to us much,” hopefully. Katharina is about to share the time travel news with them but they’re like “BEAT IT MOM, WE DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!”

Bartosz reveals information about how he knew things were going to happen because of Noah. All the teens do in 1987 is go back and confirm that Bartosz is correct. No mission to find Mikkel or Jonas, nothing! Maybe they want to form a plan. I feel like they could have poked around a bit more.

Elli’s sixth sense makes her aware of Noah – her grandfather after the bombshell drop in this episode. Martha has taken the lead of the group, even though Magnus walks around all big and tough with his time machine.

Hannah

I love how petty she is – she is ripping Michael Kahnwald out of her picture when Katharina knocks on her door. Katharina does not rat her out when Clausen shows her the picture of Stranger Jonas. I thought Hannah was gonna smack Clausen when he said people in this town are so close they even share beds. Hannah is probably thinking “REALLY, even this guy from an ambiguous time period knows? I mean REALLY?”

Charlotte

Roller coaster episode for Wake Up Winden’s patron saint. First she finds out Noah is the one that killed the kids. She knows Noah encountered her daughter Elisabeth. So that has to be terrifying. Then, Noah shows up at her grandpa’s abandoned place and yeah he’s scary, but he’s also like “I’m your dad.” Why did I start writing like I was Ryen Russillo? He has a polaroid picture of the two of them. To be fair, how does Charlotte know that’s her? It could be any old baby.

Random Thoughts

Aleksander is way too casual about Bartosz being missing in a town where children go missing all of the time. He’s been the distant father the whole time – I’m surprised he knew the name Martha at all.
I think Claudia has rescheduled the French Delegation meeting 7 times by now.
According to Adam, a man lives 3 lives – the first one, you lose your naivety. Then, you lose your innocence. Last, your physical life. I guess I could see how he evolved from The Stranger. He was always fond of riddles and deep thoughts.
More Adam – God is time. From the second we are born, our life begins to trickle away like grains of sand in the hourglass. I guess if you have 66 years, you can come up with some beautifully sad and poetic shit.
Recurring images – don’t know how many episodes have started with some version of Jonas and Martha in bed together. The two pictures we see – Ulrich with Hannah and Katharina mirror the pictures of Jonas, Bartosz and Martha.
I forgot Bernd Doppler was still alive in 1987 – where is his wife?
Who is Charlotte’s mother?
Who is Regina’s father? The only known lover for Claudia is Tronte. Regina’s father is out of the picture.

S2 E4 The Travelers

Plot:

1921:

After an absence in the previous episode, Jonas wakes up in the middle of a field still wearing the hazmat suit. Two men find him thinking he is a refugee from the war. He is brought back to Erza’s house, where Agnes and Noah live as youths. Noah readies a room for Jonas. Jonas has a quick chat with Noah where Noah is very cryptic – Noah knew Jonas would be coming. Jonas tries to escape but the cave portal isn’t built yet – not for another 32 years according to Noah. Noah takes Jonas to meet Adam at the Sic Mundus HQ and Adam reveals that he is actually Jonas (AHHHHHHHHHHHH!)

2020:

Claudia becomes acclimated to 2020 and she researches what has happened in Winden. She finds out Aleksander is now a Tiedemann and he runs the Power Plant – also he is married to Regina. Turns out Claudia disappeared without a trace according to the tablets in the library. Egon died on June 26, ‘87 – two days after Claudia left. She prints out the information and then returns to ‘87 where she sees her sleeping daughter.

Charlotte calls in sick to discuss time travel matters. Clausen takes Woller under his wing and they investigate Tiedemann. Remember, Woller and Tiedemann have been working together since Season 1 when Tiedemann needed dirt on Ulrich. Clausen is very suspicious of Aleksander. Their next interrogation is with Hannah, but on the way there, Claudia pops out in the middle of the street causing Woller to swerve and crash.

The two generations are getting together to work on the Winden Puzzle. Charlotte, Peter, Hannah, Katharina and Jonas the Stranger form the adult group. Martha, Magnus, Franzsika and Elli form the teen group. The teens go to the cave where they find Bartosz sneaking around with a time machine. They beat him up, tie him up, take his time machine and leave him there. Justice! The adult group tries to come to grips with this strange reality – Katharina doesn’t believe them. Only when she goes to her school and finds Mikkel’s picture in ‘87 does she accept the truth.

Whip Around Winden

Katharina

The school board let her keep her job as principal? By all indications she’s been MIA for 7 months – I know we skipped those months in the show but I didn’t get the impression she had been working. First time we see her at work in a long time is her going to get the year book.

I appreciate how she reacts to the time travel info – as a joke, as bullshit. I suspect that would be how most people would react. She sums it up perfectly: “My husband is trapped in the ‘50s, my son in the ‘80s, and you (Jonas) left him there because he’s your father.” The response:

Jonas/Adam

I still hate Adam’s makeup but at least they explained he has the scarring because of all of the time travel. Adam looking so different than Jonas definitely makes the reveal surprising. I know the point of it is “look at the price of what time travel can do to you,” but he looks like such a monster, it kind of takes me out of the show. But I can deal!

Jonas the Stranger said the Claudia wanted to stop the bad things from happening but she became the thing she was fighting. The same thing seems to have happened to Jonas. With the portal being closed for 32 years, is this how Jonas becomes The Stranger? Does he live out his life starting in 1921 and then start time travelling around the time the show begins? Or will he find some other way to leave 1921?

Claudia

What an advertisement for iPads – so intuitive that even someone from the ‘80s can figure it out (with a little help from smug Gen Z-ers). I thought this was going to be Claudia’s disappearance, but she returned back to the ‘80s at the end of the episode. She has gained an appreciation for her daughter after learning about her fate.

Claudia thinks she will find herself in 2020 running the power plant. She is shocked to find out who is really in charge.

Clausen:

Clausen is hot on the trail of Aleksander Kohler/Tiedemann/Niewald. He seems to suspect him above everyone else as he plastered his name above his vision board. When Woller asks him if he volunteered for the special task force, Clausen responded with a creepy “Oh yes.” Clausen knows way more than we think and he is interviewing people that definitely have connections the time travel events

Woller:

The show is mocking us. Everyone wanted to know what happened to Woller’s eye and just when he was about to tell us, he almost crashes into Claudia. We see he is conflicted while interviewing Tiedemann – the two share a look at the end of the scene. He knew about Hannah’s affair, although he seemed to have a pretty big crush on her himself. Seemingly the only person who didn’t know was Katharina. Woller’s grave is seen in 2053 when Jonas is going through the graveyard. I think Woller has a bigger role to play in all of this.

Noah:

Stop trying to make cutting an apple with your knife menacingly a thing! It’s not a thing! I thought apple imagery was associated with Adam, not Noah. Does this mean Noah aspires to be Adam? This is after he read the pages that cause him to lie to Adam. Noah still seems to be doing Adam’s bidding because he brings Jonas to see him. Is Noah just a glorified henchman or more?

Bartosz/Teen Drama

I’m glad the younger generation is getting together to figure out the mystery. I was even happier when they serve some justice to Bartosz. Bartosz is Noah’s puppet and he very well could have some involvement with the missing kids. Are they going to come back for him to make him talk? They take the time machine with them. Elli has to go with them because Charlotte and Peter haven’t been home for two days. My question – why? Do they have to sleep at the bunker too?

Random Thoughts

Aleksander changing his name is probably an effort for him to gain further distance from his fake name, Kohler. He’s legitimized by taking Regina’s name – he tells Clausen he took the name because the Tiedemanns have been a staple in the community – didn’t want the name to die out. Where does Aleksander say he’s from if not from Winden?
Jonas sees his great-great grandmother Agnes as a young child sweeping up the home.
Boris Niewald…. Niewald is a combination of what two names? Nielsen and Kahnwald… verrrrrrryy interesting.
I’d be so bummed about being stuck in 1921.
Regina had to close the power plant in between seasons 1 and 2.
Noah talks about Jonas coming to 1921 in S1, E10 Alpha and Omega. He uses this story to convince Helge to continue working for him. Noah says (paraphrasing a little) “When I was a boy, a stranger came to us. He looked as if he had been in a war. There were sadness in his eyes. The sadness you see in someone who is about to give up. But life won’t let us. This boy didn’t talk much, confused words in his sleep. He slept in the room next to me. One night, he spoke to me clearly in the hallway. He said ‘nothing is in vain. Not a single breath. Years later when I experienced pain did I finally understand what he meant.” Will we see Jonas deliver this speech to Noah in 1921? How did Jonas come up with such a profound statement?
Quick check in with 2053 in the end – Elli tells The Translator that the thing Jonas travelled in is part of God or part of the Devil.
Who are we to root for and believe in this battle over time? They all talk trash about each other. I’m rooting for the team that ends up with Charlotte or Franzsika.

S2 E3 Ghosts

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!

S2 E2 Dark Matter

Plot:

1987:

Tiedemann Time! Claudia receives a time machine and information dump from the older version of herself. Egon’s health is failing, but he wants to take one more look at the case of Mads Nielson one year later. A visit with Helge makes him think of the man he arrested some 34 years ago. He goes to see Ulrich, now The Inspector, at the closed ward. Ulrich tells Egon he doesn’t have long to live and that the police chief is going to die clueless. We get a glimpse into the love life of Regina and Aleksander and it is actually quite wholesome and sweet.

Aside from the Tiedemann’s, we get some focus back on Mikkel. He looks like he is trying to leave 1987 through the caves but is distracted by Noah. He ends up not leaving and appreciating Innes more.

2020:

Clausen hones his focus in on Regina Tiedemann for his investigation. He drags Charlotte to go interview her and they ask questions about Ulrich and why he came to visit her the night before he disappeared. She reveals information about Jonas the Stranger staying at the Forest Hotel Winden. She has a box with all of Jonas’ vision board crap, which matches things from Charlotte’s book written by her grandfather. She ditches them quickly to go find Peter and they meet in the bunker. She wants to know why her grandfather never told her about her parentage.

Jonas the Stranger wants to show Hannah what he means by time travel. He brings her to the caves because it is safer to travel there. They do end up going back in time to get a glimpse of Mikkel through the window.

2053:

Jonas is trying to stabilize the God Particle to make a portal. He doesn’t have enough power so he concocts a plan to lure the militaristic rebels to a building by blasting Elvis songs. While they go check the building out, Jonas siphons gas that he uses to create the portal. As he is going back to the God Particle, he is caught by Elli’s translator. The penalty for going beyond the wall is death, so he is to be hanged. Elli shoots him the leg, lets him hang for a few tense seconds before shooting the rope to release him. He’s put in a cage until The Translator busts him out and asks him to show her the Dead Zone. Jonas very quickly stabilizes the God Particle and leaves The Translator in 2053. We are left in the dark to Jonas’ fate.

Whip Around Winden

Clausen

Did he notice Charlotte’s picture of Noah on the desk? Charlotte, why would you leave it half sticking out like that?

The show also draws attention to the fact that he does not drive for the second straight episode. Charlotte (Queen) tells him he ought to take a taxi home in one of the most satisfying moments of the entire series.

He also digs into Regina’s past by asking about Aleksander and when he came to Winden. These questions are all too knowing. What is in Clausen’s past?

Elli’s Translator

Ok so who is she? Am I the only one who thinks she bears a small resemblance to Martha? Maybe it’s just because they both have brown hair and are of a similar age. She seems to be second in command to Elli and I have no idea about her real name. She helps Jonas by breaking him out of his cage, but she had to have some regrets after he just ditched her for the God Particle. Jonas didn’t even offer for her to come. I bet her face was pretty red when he disappeared.

Ulrich

Give it up for casting! I was certain that the older Ulrich was the same actor but they are different people! Nothing in this show hits me harder than Ulrich being trapped in the prison all this time. The consequences of his actions were so real, even if the show has an unrealistic premise. No extraordinary event happened to save him and if this were real life, prison is where he would remain. Tiedemann has now heard the line “My only aim is to take many lives, the more, the better I feel” from all three Ulrich’s now. Ulrich has managed to make the people at his ward like him, as the receptionist calls him a nice guy and the “The Inspector.”

I want a series where Ulirch stars in an Orange is the New Black style spin-off of German ‘50s prison.

Claudia

Busy episode for Claudia as we get another meeting between the same character, aged 33 years apart. Old Claudia lets Red Claudia know that she is going to have to make a sacrifice and she won’t understand now, but she will soon. The elder Claudia is much like Stranger Jonas or Noah – she can appear in any time zone.

Her story is more believable because of the rare circumstances surrounding her. Claudia has heterochromia – two different colored eyes. Obviously, both versions of Claudia display that trait. If Gretchen coming back didn’t slam the truth home, digging up the time machine after reading the instructions surely did.

Random Thoughts:

Why do all of these 1986 kids grow up to live in the house their parents grew up in, even if their parents are still alive? Is this common in Germany?
I wish Mikkel would have just shrugged and kept on walking to the caves as Noah walked away throwing the apple.

2 Elvis references in one episode – and 2053 would be 100 years after his heyday. Long live the King!
Who else wanted Toast Hawaii after watching Innes talk about cooking it?
Ulrich drops the line “Everybody gets what they deserve.” Coming from him… bone-chilling.
Charlotte is so progressive! She stonewalls Clausen when he asks her if she thinks it’s strange that Aleksander took Regina’s name.
The time machines that Jonas and Claudia have allow you to travel back and forth 33 years just like the caves – a more portable version.
Why is it safer to use in the caves? Claudia doesn’t use it in the caves.
First mention of the White Devil from Helge in 1987… who is the White Devil?
What is Elli promising to her followers about a paradise?
How did Jonas get that gasoline back after his capture? Did they let him bring it to the cages? I thought this plot was airtight!
Thunder by Rx is our musical montage song.
Jonas is going to feel pretty silly if he ends up in the Stone Age.

S2 E1 Beginnings and Endings

Plot:

And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you – Nietzsche

He was referring to recapping Season 2 of Dark as we are now covering five timelines. Gulp.

1921:

The episode starts off in 1921 with the forging of the tunnel to the crossing. A young Noah and an unnamed acquaintance work on the tunnel and then have a conversation about prophecy and fate. The acquaintance badgers Noah by asking him why Adam even took him in and called him Noah. Noah’s response is to kill him with the axe. We learn that the apocalypse will happen on June 27, 2020 from Noah’s notebook. Later, Young Noah speaks with Priest Noah who tells him that everything is connected.

1953: N/A

1986: N/A

2019

Six months have passed since the events of Season 1. It is now the summer holidays and the sun has come out for the first time ever in Winden. The government has assigned a federal task force to Winden in response to the six missing people cases. They sent one man named Clausen, who wants to examine everything, including the possibility of Ulrich’s involvement. Peter and Elli find a picture of Noah from 1921 that immediately gets added to Charlotte’s vision board.

Regina is deep into her chemo treatment and not responding well. She wants to remain at home as opposed to returning to the hospital. Bartosz and Martha break up. Martha looks into Ulrich’s police files. Katharina already had been looking at them and she searches the caves with no luck. Bartosz meets up with Noah and follows him into the caves. Magnus still doesn’t trust Fran and further spies on her. The sex worker from Season 1 picks up the money. Magnus follows her and gets frightened when he learns who had been picking up the money from Fran. Woller is her brother.

Hannah receives a visit from Jonas the Stranger and he is able to convince her of his identity. Aleksander gives a rousing speech to his employees and then does something shady in the back with the danger barrels. I don’t know, he’s pouring cement on them or some shit. Ready for transport. Here’s me attempting to follow the nuclear plant scenes:

2052

Another episode where Jonas wanders for at least ten minutes of screen time. At least we get a lot of world building for 2052. He splits his time between his old house and the torture room, which he has been using as his personal conspiracy lab. Elli, Charlotte’s daughter, is the only other person we know from 2019. Many people died in the apocalypse, including Martha, Aleksander, and Woller. Claudia survived and recorded a statement that leads Jonas to want to find the God Particle. Problem is, it’s on the other side of the wall. In this future, to cross the wall is punishable by death – a Frenchman gets hanged by a group led by Elli. Jonas risks it and at the end he does find the God Particle (which I describe as a glowing orb plus Tangela the Pokemon).

Unknown Time

We see a few scenes with Adam and Noah where they don’t specify the time period in any way. They put all other vision boards to shame with the holy grail of vision boards in their mansion. Adam is asking Noah if he has any doubts. They have to burn down everything like a dead forest in order to rebuild. Adam should have looked closer at Noah’s angry face.

Whip Around Winden:

Katharina

Katharina looks for the steel door but seems to be pretty inept at searching. At least she is doing something now! She spent a majority of Season 1 trapped in her house ignoring her other children. Since six months have now passed, maybe she has had some time to process things.

Hannah/Jonas the Stranger

Poor Hannah is a mess at the beginning of the episode, and possibly about to end her life when Jonas the Stranger walks in with his own key. He talks about a scratch on his arm, a spot on the floor where Dad spilled pancake oil, ~~and the kitchen table where Jonas had seen Hannah and Ulrich banging.~~ Sorry.

Hard to tell how Hannah feels about all of this, even if she is starting to believe him. This face might be a clue.

Charlotte/Clausen

Oh I bet Charlotte is missing the days when she would simply have to listen to Ulrich’s guilt about cheating. Now, she’s got the mysterious Clausen and his dumb elephant metaphors. Clausen instructs her on interviewing techniques and Charlotte is over it. He also has no driver’s license and has to ask Charlotte for a ride the next day. Charlotte agrees because she is in such a hurry to go to the bunker to see what Peter found.

What gave you the impression that would be okay?

Adam

New character alert! Introduced as Noah’s boss. I’m not sure I love the design of this character. Why does he look like a less muscular The Thing from The Fantastic 4?

This has to be intentional…

Random Thoughts:

I think it rained for the entire second half of season 1. Nice to see the sunshine in Winden.
Martha has a line summing up the sadness in her life:

“My brother and father are missing and my mother is crazy and won’t speak to me.” Well… I guess there’s Magnus? Ah, he’s a dirtbag.

Can’t really make fun of Bartosz though with his mom going through the chemo treatment. They both are going through a rough time. Bartosz has been hiding his secret of communicating with Noah.
Only one name from the graves I didn’t recognize: Justna Jankoski. Now I’m gonna be looking for her name to show up way too much.
Love seeing Elli as the leader of the future rebels. The girl that hit Jonas with the butt of the gun at the end of season one is her translator. Together they rule the future.
Woller buys the truck from the sex worker, who is his sister. He wants her to call Mom. This truck had the danger barrels in it during Season 1. Woller was working with Tiedemann to bring down Ulrich. All I want to know is how he lost his eye.
Who is the man Noah kills in the beginning of the episode? Someone we know or a new character?
Isn’t this title basically the same thing as Alpha and Omega? They are really hammering this theme of beginnings and endings home.
If they add 1887 and 2085 to the mix, I’m flipping over my computer.

S1 E10 Alpha and Omega

Plot:

Revelations are made about the night Mikkel disappeared. While Peter was sitting in the cabin bunker, a tear in time opens up in front of him and out falls a dead boy – Mads Nielson. Immediately, he calls Tronte (Mads’ dad) and they are both puzzled and disturbed. The older version of Claudia walks in and she says she has a lot to explain – but first they need to move Mads to where he is to be found.

In 1986, Older Helge visits Middle Aged Helge and tries to get him to stop working with Noah. This doesn’t work because Noah can manipulate Helge like putty. They make Jonas their next target.

In 2019, Jonas confronts his grandma about the truth, tells his mother that everything will be ok, and then he travels back to 1986 hellbent on saving Mikkel. When he reaches Mikkel’s hospital room, Noah is there. Helge sneaks up behind Jonas and knocks him out with a chloroform rag.

Jonas wakes up in torture room. The Stranger talks to him through the door. Turns out, The Stranger is Jonas! Bad news though – according to the Stranger, none of us are free and we all follows the same path over and over. Bummer. Until now. The Stranger is attempting to change everything. He has to leave Jonas there.

Back in the ’50s, Ulrich realizes he is in the custody of a young Egon Tiedemann. He gets beaten but we don’t see him reveal info about Helge’s location. Charlotte does some digging and she puts the clues together to find a newspaper clipping of Ulrich’s mug shot in 1953. She finally meets with Peter down in the basement and they hug.

Ines speaks to the social worker about adopting Mikkel. Bartosz fights Jonas and banishes him from school (watch the tape). Bartosz reconciles with Martha (whyyyyyy) and he also gets a front row seat to Noah’s monologue about The Stranger at the end. You see, Jonas Stranger thinks he is destroying the wormhole, but he is actually creating its existence. A paradox. Noah tells Bartosz there are two groups fighting to control time – the light and the shadow. He says he is part of the light and Claudia is part of the shadow.

Stranger Jonas tries to destroy the wormhole by placing the time machine at the fork in the tunnel and doing some hocus pocus with Ulrich’s phone that he left in 1953. The device causes multiple phenomena. A small black dome/bubble appears over the time machine. Lights are flashing in every time period. A massive version of the dome appears over Winden. Young Jonas and Young Helge see each other as if through a television. When they extend their hands to touch, Young Helge is transported from ‘53 to ‘86. Jonas is transported to the future where he is bashed in the head with a gun as a masked rebel tells him “Welcome to the future.”

Alpha and Omega

~~Located down the street from Sigma Alpha Espolon, Alpha and Omega is the oldest fraternity in Winden.~~

Sorry, it really references the beginning and the end. In this series, they are difficult to distinguish. Did Jonas really trigger the whole thing into existence? I don’t really believe Noah when he is talking to Bartosz. Noah has his own narrative but nothing I’ve seen from him in the show leads me to believe he is truly on the “light” side. He has been the big bad of season 1. Getting meta with the show, the last episode circles back to the first episode. The end started the beginning.

Music Corner

The song played over the final montage is called “A Quiet Life,” by Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld. It is an absolute masterpiece.

The hunter is now the hunted. Hearing that line makes me think of Ulrich every time.

You think this song is going to end a few different times and then it keeps going and you pump your fist. My 3 favorite songs from Season 1:

A Quiet Life
Familiar by Agnes Obel
Me and the Devil Soap & Skin

Whip Around Winden

No trending up or trending down this week. Instead, I’ll issue final thoughts on the characters and where they stand heading into Season 2.

Ulrich

He is such a scumbag in so many ways, but damn it if I didn’t feel bad for him as he sits defeated in the 1953 prison cell. He could have avoided this. After he dropped Helge in the cellar, he needed to high tail it back to the caves. Then, he foolishly walks by the side of the road leading to his capture. To add insult to injury, his captor is none other than Egon Tiedemann. Ulrich remembers getting arrested by him falsely 33 years ago. This has to sting. He remains in prison in the ‘50’s heading into season 2.

Claudia

Claudia is crucial to the story and we are missing a ton of information about her. Noah labels her as the leader of The Shadow. She works with Peter and Tronte to insure everything happens how it is supposed to until the moment Jonas triggers the device. She uses Jonas as a pawn according to Noah. We know she has been gone for a long time because Bartosz tells her that she was dead before he was born. She has links to the Journey Through Time book, the notebook with predictions as to what happens.

Jonas

This might be the best line in the show so far (besides Where’s my lipstick?)

“Now I have another grandma and she’s the principal of my school! Her husband, who’s fucking my mom, is looking for his son, who’s my father! A few days ago I kissed my aunt. And the crazy thing is, there’s nothing wrong with any of them. They’re ok. I’m wrong.”

Poor Jonas – and he had to say this to his grandma. This leads him to try to bring Mikkel back no matter the consequences. He says goodbye with finality to his mother and gets captured in 1986. Due to the Jonas Stranger incident, he finds himself in the future (2052 by the plus 33 rule). He is currently captured by a futuristic military brigade. Extremely rough go for Jonas this season.

Helge

A soul that was ripped apart by time travel, an evil priest, a strict upbringing, and maybe a touch of evil? Maybe he never had a chance with an ultra strict mother and a father who basically gets the Imperial March played every time he is on screen. Helge’s dementia was caused by this accident. Middle Aged Helge sees Old Helge in a body bag, probably recognizes his ear. Helge’s last hours were the most lucid he has been since the accident. He commits the ultimate sacrifice and crashes into Middle Aged Helge, which he knows is the only reason he stopped helping Noah. That must have messed up Middle Aged Helge pretty good. Old Helge died in the car crash, but will see more from the two younger versions in season 2? We still have yet to see him be returned to his 1953 home.

Hannah

She is in a rough place at the end of the season. Jonas says goodbye and now he is way in the future with no viable way to return because the older version of himself blew up the tunnel that leads to time travel crossing. Hannah is last seen pointing a gun at her kitchen wall. With Ulrich trapped in 1953, where does her story go from here?

Bartosz and Martha

Martha, it didn’t work out with your nephew Jonas. Here’s what I have to say to you re: getting back together with Bartosz:

Seriously why did you have to go back to Bartosz? It shouldn’t have to be a binary choice between Jonas and this loser.

Bartosz beats up Jonas at school and banishes him from ever coming back. I didn’t think they gave that power to students. True, Katharina probably hasn’t been doing much work lately, but surely she didn’t abdicate expulsion powers to Bartosz. ::spit::

Also, why does Bartosz seem so close with Noah now? I have a couple of theories:

Bartosz is the new Helge.
Bartosz is…. Noah? Hey, if Jonas can be The Stranger. I mean, why would you seek out Bartosz of all people? Why not make him a guinea pig? We see Jonas help himself throughout the season; maybe Bartosz is doing the same.

Charlotte and Peter

For at least the 3rd time this season, Charlotte dismisses Peter about having a talk. He was going to tell her about Mads the whole time maybe. The love between them seemed to be gone, but they do share a tender hug during the musical montage. Peter is…. Off the hook?

Young Charlotte had a funny interaction with Young Jonas. She calls him crazy after he talks about saving someone’s life before they die – when they’re younger. Is she able to put the time travel theory together because she remembers stuff like this from her past? More people in Winden should be walking around like “Wait a minute…. You look awfully familiar….”

Peter didn’t come to Winden until 1987 and we have yet to see him in the flashbacks. Hmmmmm.

Noah

Random Thoughts

Unsettling scene when Jonas wakes up and has Mikkel’s hand on his back.
For such a Houdini Stan, Mikkel only knows the one trick with the cups.
Oliver Massuci sounds so cool as Ulrich when he is delivering the English lyrics to the 80’s metal song. This triggers a lifelong obsession with Satanism for Egon Tiedemann.
Ulrich hits Tiedemann hard with some futuristic knowledge of his wife leaving him.
We see Egon’s wife hold hands with Agnes Nielson during the incident.
The pseudo science of the time travel goes right over my head. If you can figure out the connection between the CS-137, the Cesium Radioactive Isotopes, and Higgs Field, then God bless you. I’m gonna stick to shitting on Bartosz.
Noah seems to have the full notebook and Claudia gives Tronte and Peter a notebook with missing pages. Perhaps there are duplicates, just like with the letter and the time machine.
It took me three viewings, but I think I finally have a firm grasp on what happens in Season One.
Here’s me worrying about the plot summaries for season 2:

S1 E9 Everything is Now

Plot:

When you have three different time periods to recap

1953:

Ulrich decides to linger in 1953. His delay gets him arrested by a young Egon Tiedemann. He raves about how he should have changed the past because Helge is dead. The mysteriously dark Bernd Doppler urged Egon to find Helge no matter the cost. It turns out that Bernd may not be the father of Helge. Greta Doppler (Helge’s mom) confides in Noah. Helge was not born out of love. Is Noah Helge’s father? In the Tiedemann household, Agnes is getting closer with Egon’s wife as Agnes has her try on an elegant dress. Claudia wants to know more about Tronte’s past and we find out Agnes’ dead husband was a priest.

Helge wakes up inside the bunker. Elderly Claudia visits H.G. Tanhauss giving him the blueprints for a time machine.

1986:

Aleksander Tiedemann’s origin story revealed – he used to be Boris Niewald and then changed his name to Aleksander Kohler via illegal passport. We are introduced to him running from barking dogs and he is nursing a bullet wound. He happens upon a young Regina who is being tormented by ~~Crabbe and Goyle~~, I mean Katharina and Ulrich. They are beating her up because Hannah placed it in Katharina’s head that it was Regina who lied to the police. Aleksander stops it by pointing a gun at Katharina and making them leave. Regina helps bandage Aleksander and he buries his old passport and gun. Hannah is lurking in the forest for some reason and sees him.

Old Egon investigates Helge by going to his house when Helge doesn’t show up for their interview. Helge questions Noah about killing the children and Noah gives a spooky people are evil and I’m trying to save humanity speech.

Claudia is trying to find out more about the danger barrels. The old boss says Helge is one of the few people who knew about them. Claudia hires Aleksander to work at the power plant for some discreet metal work.

2019:

Hannah took the bag and kept it a secret for 33 years. She reveals it to Aleksander and blackmails him to destroy Ulrich. Tiedemann has an inside man, the one-eyed Woller, on the police staff. He tries to get information on Ulrich. Katharina looks for Ulrich at the police station and at Hannah’s house. She is hyper aggressive at both places and Hannah digs the knife further into Katharina’s back by telling her that it was Hannah that ended the relationship. Bartosz gets a visit from an elderly Claudia – according to Bartosz, Claudia had died long before he was born. Regina goes to clean up The Stranger’s room and she sees his deranged work. The Stranger finds the danger barrels on a truck. Bartosz meets up with Noah having reconsidered Noah’s offer (which we know nothing about).

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Hannah:

Wow wow wow wow wow. Scary stuff from Hannah. She is ruthless towards Katharina when the principal storms in. First, she is like “Oh why would Ulrich be here?” I’m surprised Katharina didn’t throw her through a window. Then, after Katharina takes a moment to be vulnerable, Hannah lets her know that it’s over. “Because of me! I ended it even though Ulrich is so pushy, oh you know how he is! I didn’t even want it, but Ulrich just needed to have me.” (That’s the jist)

“Hannah, you are a no good, back-stabbing, two-timing, scheming scary lady. I yield my time, FUCK YOU!” – Katarina Nielson on a yelp review for Hannah Kahnwald’s Massage Business.

But not you Maja Schöne, I think you are fabulous. I am truly terrified of Hannah.

P.S. I didn’t even mention the fact that she’s blackmailing someone with info she has sat on for 33 years. Long con!

Katharina:

How did she become principal? Add another assault to her record. She also is rude to Charlotte, a Wake Up Winden favorite. No need to slam the door on Charlotte! Not only that but,

She talks about Ulrich’s adulterous acts. Now Charlotte is getting it from both sides.

Noah:

Anybody else rolling their eyes listening to his bullshit? He is appearing all over the timeline. When Helge tries to question him about their horrific behavior, he goes on a rant about how all people are evil. He is trying to build a time machine using the dead children’s energy. Noah – one – there’s a cave that lets you jump between 33 years. Two, there’s this dude in town who wrote a book about time travel who has access to not one, but two time machines. And he has the blueprints! They don’t look like your death chair!

Jonas:

I feel bad for putting him here because I don’t know how he is supposed to handle the information that Martha is his aunt, but this is brutal. Martha is trying to call him from her dirty living room and he won’t answer for three days. He tries to get away with a quick Hello – welp gotta go that Martha blocks. He tells Martha that they aren’t right for eachother. Come on Jonas! Oh no, am I rooting for incest?

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Aleksander:

I really like how he stood up for Regina. Classy. I don’t know what he was running from or why he had to change his name, but I want to find out. I’m wondering if he was time travelling. We see him in the forest before the 1986 chiron appears, leading me to think he was in 1953. However, later in the episode, we see a modern Hannah pull out the blackmail bag and then the 2019 chiron appears. Perhaps each little story this episode had its own cold open. Anyway, I would guess that Aleksander is some sort of time traveller. He also works his way into a Power Plant gig. This leads a marriage, another name change, and ultimately Aleksander becomes the boss of the whole plant.

Claudia:

I like this older version of Claudia owning up to her mistakes. She gives Bartosz a nice picture of Regina and herself. She says she wants to set the course of time right. What has happened to her in the time since she disappeared? Was she time hopping all over the place?

Random Thoughts:

There is a Kahnwald working for the police in 1953. Could it be Ines’ father?
Why is Bernd Doppler getting the Noah treatment when it comes to sound production?
I love how they kept showing the time machine and the different parts rising as they went between time periods.
What is middle aged Helge doing with those acorns? Does he leave those little statues as traps for children? I think that is what Yasin picked up right before Noah took him.
Regina is able to heal Aleksander’s gunshot wound with bandages at her house. Riiiight.
Magnus is trying to press Franzsika for further details on her money box, but she doesn’t want to share.
I cackled when Katarina mocks Hannah with the “I… I… I… I….”
Thought the dust was a bit dramatic at the Winden Forest Hotel. What does Regina do all at the front desk, just stand there? And is she the only one who works at the hotel? It seems to be a one woman operation.
What is The Stranger going to do with the Danger Barrels?