‘Dark’ Season 2 Recap: All the Confusing Details to Remember Before Season 3

At long last the end will finally begin and the beginning will finally end. This week marks the premiere of Dark’s third and final season, which means one thing: you’re in for one major time travel-inspired headache.

Most sci-fi thrillers are complicated, but few shows can match Dark‘s intense love of being head-scratchingly insane. It’s not uncommon for siblings to be born decades out of order, or for someone to become their own mother. And the craziest part of all is that all of these twists and turns make sense. Trust us, you’re going to need a guide before you jump back into this chaotic world. That’s where we come in. Here’s every major plot point you need to remember ahead of Dark Season 3.

Is Martha Really Dead?

Yes and no. Dark Season 2 ended with a jaw-dropping twist. After Jonas (Louis Hofmann) spent his entire life trying to protect his teenage love Martha (Lisa Vicari), she was shot in front of his eyes. Right before the apocalypse happened the scarred leader of Sic Mundus Adam (Dietrich Hollinderbäumer) appeared, murdering Martha on the spot.

But never count Martha out. While her body laid dead on the ground a second Martha appeared beside the grieving Jonas. When Jonas asked her what time she’s from, Martha corrected him, telling him the better question to ask is from which world. That proves there are at least two worlds in Dark‘s universe. Season 2 ended with Martha taking Jonas to the second one.

Who Is Adam Again?

That scarred man who always acts so superior is actually our sweet Jonas all grown up. That’s right; Jonas has been controlling all of this mayhem.

Noah (Mark Waschke) manipulating Helge (Peter Schneider) to steal children for experimentation? Killing Mads, the uncle of his girlfriend Martha and his own great uncle through time travel? Murdering Claudia (Lisa Kreuzer), Jonas’ longtime mentor in the ways of time travel? That was all done on Jonas’ orders while he was posing as the mysterious Adam.

Why Did Adam Kill Martha?

Long story short it was all a failsafe. By the time Jonas realized that his future self is Adam, he despised Adam. After all Adam was the one who indirectly murdered Mikkel, Erik, Yasin, and Mads along with countless others. At this point in the timeline Jonas was hellbent on never becoming anything like his future self.

And that’s why Adam needed to murder Martha. By killing the love of Jonas’ life, Adam ensured that his past self would take the same steps Adam took to one day save Martha. As a result of this journey, Jonas would also create Adam. As Dark always says, the cycle goes on and on. Martha was murdered by Adam in Adam’s timeline, so she must also be murdered in Jonas’.

Who Are Agnes and Noah?

Surprise! The chaotic priest and the sultry houseguest were actually brother and sister. Noah was born as Hanno Tauber. He’s known in Dark Season 2 as Adam’s righthand man. All of the terrible crimes and murders committed through this complicated series can typically be traced back to Noah. And believe it or not he has a pretty good reason for all this mayhem. But we’re getting ahead of this recap.

Agnes Nielsen (Antje Traue), on the other hand, isn’t an agent of chaos but one of love. The future mother of Tronte Nielsen, father of Ulrich Nielsen, arrived in Winden in the 1950s and took a room in the Tiedemann house. It wasn’t long before she started an affair with Doris Tiedemann (Luise Heyer), a secret that Doris’ daughter Claudia witnessed. But Agnes had another secret of her own. Agnes, much like her brother, was also a time traveler. Season 2 ended with Agnes leaving the Tiedemanns and her son Tronte to carry out the next stage in Adam’s plan.

Who Are Charlotte’s Parents?

Remember how Noah had a pretty good reason for blindly following Adam’s orders and killing all those people? Charlotte (Karoline Eichhorn) is that reason. Charlotte is the daughter Noah has with the deaf Elisabeth Doppler (Sandra Borgmann) in the future. She was taken as a baby from Noah and Elisabeth. Instead of being raised by her parents, Charlotte was raised by the clock maker and scientist H.G. Tannhaus (Christian Steyer) in the ’70s. Noah agreed to Adam’s orders because Adam promised Noah that if he followed his instructions Charlotte would be returned to him and in the next cycle everyone would be saved.

But wait, you may be asking yourself, isn’t Elisabeth Doppler Charlotte Doppler’s daughter? That’s right. After Charlotte was born to Elisabeth and Noah, she was taken to the past to be raised by H.G. Tannhaus in the 1970s. She then grew up to marry Peter Doppler (Stephan Kampwirth) and gave birth to two girls of her own, Elisabeth and Franziska. Charlotte is Elisabeth’s mother and Elisabeth is Charlotte’s mother.

Who Is Aleksander Tiedemann?

Regina Tiedemann’s (Deborah Kaufmann) husband has a mysterious past of his own. In the 1980s a young man arrived in Winden with little more than a passport and a gun. He soon started a relationship with Regina and took her last name along with her family business at the nuclear power plant.

But Aleksander (Peter Benedict) was never this man’s real name. He was born as Boris Niewald before he adopted the identity of Aleksander Köhler. At the moment only Jonas’ mother Hannah Kahnwald (Maja Schöne) knows about Aleksander’s true identity. And she’s just sneaky enough to use this information for evil.

Where Does Future Jonas Take Magnus, Barotsz, and Franziska?

Let’s go back to the apocalypse. As soon as it started The Stranger (Andreas Pietschmann), aka middle-aged Jonas, set up a portal that could save three people. Martha’s older brother Magnus (Moritz Jahn), Magnus’ girlfriend Franziska Doppler (Gina Stiebitz), and Jonas’ former best friend Bartosz Tiedemann (Paul Lux) were the lucky three chosen to escape. By the end of Dark Season 2 we have no idea when or to which world Jonas took these people. But since we’ve seen older Magnus and Franziska before, there’s a good chance Jonas saved their lives.

Does Regina Die?

For years Claudia was a loyal follower of Adam. That changed when it became apparent that continuing to follow his orders would lead to the death of her daughter Regina. By the end of Dark Season 2 Claudia defied Adam all for a chance to save Regina. Since Regina Tiedemann ended the season safely in the bunker, it seems as though Claudia’s sacrifice has paid off — for now.

Has the Apocalypse Happened Yet?

Season 2 ended right as the apocalypse started. While Charlotte accidentally triggered it in the year 2020, Charlotte and Elisabeth purposefully did the same thing in the year 2053. What the effects of June 27, 2020 are and how it can be stopped remain to be seen.

Who’s Related to Who?

That’s one big headache in and of itself. We already outlined the basics of Dark‘s twisting family tree after Season 1. Here are the big developments following Season 2.

As mentioned before Elisabeth Doppler and Noah are actually the parents of Charlotte Doppler. And since Charlotte is Elisabeth’s mother, that puts them in a never-ending circle of motherhood.

This cycle also has a familial connection to Jonas. Noah’s sister Agnes gave birth to Tronte Nielsen. Tronte became the father of Ulrich Nielson, who fathered Martha, Mikkel, and Magnus Nielsen. Since Mikkel traveled back in time to become Michael Kahnwald and eventually father Jonas that makes Noah Jonas’ great great great uncle.

This connection also means that Charlotte and Elisabeth are Jonas’ cousins. Charlotte Doppler is more or less Jonas Kahnwald’s third cousin. Also Elizabeth Doppler is his great great aunt as well as his fourth cousin. At this point the Kahnwald, Nielsen, and Tiedemann families are almost completely intertwined. Someone really needs to marry outside of Winden.

Watch Dark on Netflix