'Dark' season 2 is about to premiere and it's time we revisited the past to know where Jonas is
Towards the end of its first season, which first debuted on Netflix on December 1, 2017, the German time-traveling thriller 'Dark' had us completely mindblown. The first season ended on a cliffhanger leaving all our questions about time-travel and the kidnapped children unanswered.
The second season is all set to premiere on the streaming service on June 21, 2019. But considering how there has been such a gap in between the two seasons, you might need a little recap of the first season.
It is 2019 and the series begins with the suicide of Michael Kahnwald (played by Sebastian Rudolph), father of Jonas (played by Louis Hofmann) and husband to Hannah (played by Maja Schöne). He leaves a note with very specific instructions saying 'not to be opened until 4 November at 10.13 pm'.
Getting to November 4, we learn that a red-haired boy called Erik Obendorf has been missing for two weeks and the Ulrich Nielsen (played by Oliver Masucci) is investigating the case. This case is all the more personal for Ulrich, who lost his brother 33 years ago and could never find him.
Also on the 4th, Ulrich's young son Mikkel also goes missing in the woods near the caves. The following day, the dead body of a young kid wearing 80s clothing and wearing a nickel with '1986' on it around his neck is found. Along with this, he is also carrying a Walkman and has severe burns around his eyes. Plus his eardrums are completely ruptured.
This is only the beginning of the time traveling saga.
Another central element to the series is Noah (played by Mark Waschke), a mysterious priest, who is trying to figure out time travel with a machine he himself has built in an underground cellar. This machine opens wormholes in 33-year gaps. Noah uses the missing kids to test the time machine, which, considering how it isn't entirely foolproof, always ends in a mishap killing the child. Noah then simply kills them dumping them in the cellar in another era.
The body that is found in the first episode is that of Mads, Ulrich's brother who goes missing as a teenager in 1986 and ends up in 2019.
In the first season, we also learn that the mysterious Stranger is, in fact, Jonas as an adult. The Stranger hopes to close the time loop with the help of a machine built by the clockmaker H.G. Tannhaus. At the same time, Noah claims that the very reason the time loop is created is actually because of the Stranger's attempt to close it.
Towards the end, Jonas leaves the bunker and finds himself in the future, where a woman says 'Welcome to the future' before knocking him out with the butt of her gun. Since everything on 'Dark' moves in 33-year cycles, Jonas is in 2052 - 33 years after 2019. But how does the gang know that Jonas is from 33 years in the past - were they expecting him to make an appearance in 2052?
We'll have to wait for season 2 to give us the answer to that question.