Dark – ‘A Gritty Mind-Bending Sci-fi’

Netflix has always been applauded for its originals which are a bunch of variegating shows with assorted genres and undauntable performances. They range from being hardcore Hindi series like Sacred Games to bold feministic movies like Bulbbul to mind boggling time travel shows like Dark.

SPOILER ALERT

Dark, a series which held the audience in its enigmatic grip and was acknowledged worldwide as one of the best series ever made. With an impressive IMDB rating of 8.8 this show makes sure to keep its viewer hooked to their seats till the very end of every episode. It entails a mind blowing cast with implausible performances. It portrays the wonders of science in an artistic manner and blends the two ever so beautifully. The pick of actors for every time zone is so flawless that one would deter in denying the fineness of the director’s choice.

Talking about the show itself, it depicts the possibility of time travel through wormholes, time machines and dark matter combined. A conflation of several characters and three time zones in the first season, it makes sure for the audience to sit with a pen and paper to keep a record of the ongoing events. Not to disagree there a comes a time when the brain refuses to give in to the complexity in the way the show flares out but the subtle chemistry of Jonas and Martha, the mystery of the caves, the nuclear power plant  and the eerie disappearance of children from the town of Winden binds us to its brilliance. The second season goes on to become more exciting and confusing as more children go missing and the mystery of the caves eventually unravels. It takes us through different time zones simultaneously and explains the uncanny phenomenons of the cosmos which engages the four families of the town Winden in the most unanticipated way possible. The theory of wormhole creation due to the god particle that enables time travel at an interval of about 33 years has been well explained and expressed. In the third season the show unfolds to a different dimension altogether with the audience gasping at the possibility of a parallel world. A world where everything happens in the same( or different) manner but it always leads to the same consequences. As soon as the audience boast about being accustomed to all the versions of the characters and their respective fates which goes on in a cycle the show takes the most abrupt turn. A third world. The world which is responsible for the creation of the other two worlds.

A show encompassing wormholes, time travel, dark energy and god particle settles on the basic aesthetic of love and selflessness. The show’s complexity only resolves the most simple feelings of affection and longingness which is rendered in the most exhilarating fashion. As the show unfolds one stops using their brain to keep a track of the time zone or the world in which the characters are. One just adjusts to the stealthy yet genius pace of the masterpiece and inevitably gives into the brilliance unfurling before them.

Hadiqua Jabeen is a student pursuing Biotechnology from Jamia Millia Islamia.

edited by: Yusuf Aziz

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Jamia Review or its members.