The first German Netflix Original concludes within three-seasons, raging against the pain, death, destruction, and betrayal experienced by the characters whose lives are witnessed in all three stages of life, childhood, adulthood, and the stage of an elder. The characters preach, sacrifice themselves for love, connection, and taking away the pain from not just themselves, but others as well. The confusion begins from the beginning of the series, when the disappeared child goes back home, and realizes the year he is in. The ending will either leave you with the feeling of satisfaction, or the longing for a different direction a series should have or would’ve taken. The mind-bending nature of the series will leave the viewers theorizing throughout the story.
The first two seasons can be recapped by focusing on Winden, an obscure place in the depths of a nuclear power station, that harnesses the potential of radioactive materials to travel through time. Though time-traveling can be a means of fixing things from the past, the attempt to alter the present always ends up in a disaster. At the end of season two, an alternate universe can be accessed, which is the display of events discussed throughout the show by the characters, as well as how things would potentially look if the attempt to alter the present would be a success.
The other world is relatively calm, and this is where we land. The world is a relatively irated realm where the community is blighted by secrets, lies, and most importantly, the disappearance of two children. The first scene of the show is replayed in the same sequence and characters with some alterations. The dad who is committing adultery is with another kid’s mother, and another family’s daughter is deaf.
The most intriguing part of the story is the main character, Jonas, played by Louis Hoffman, because he never existed in this world, which makes him an outsider, as he struggles to put the pieces together in the search of some sort of conclusion to the dramatic events which take place in the present world.
Image Credit: indiewire.com
The hopping between decades including the 2050s and going as far back as the 1880s accelerates, when the finale finally explodes in front of your eyes. The whole show adds up to destiny, death, and a person’s feeling of regret to mourn over the paths not taken, questioning whether everything really does happen for a reason, or not. It will leave you contemplating and reflecting your own life, thinking to yourself: What if?
Published by: HOLR Magazine.