Netflix’s Dark
Season 2, Episode 4: “The Travellers”
Directed by Baran bo Odar
Written by Jantje Friese & Martin Behnke

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Ghosts” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “Lost and Found – click here
In a field, Jonas (Louis Hofmann) comes to after passing through the God Particle’s portal. A couple men come upon him. He’s taken back to town, where Agnes is only a little girl on the steps of a storefront. He’s given food and the men ask where he came from, believing he’s from a “labour camp” on the Eastern Front. He’s told it’s 1921.
How will he manage to get back to the present? Can he find the passage?

June 24, 2020. Only 3 days before the Apocalypse.
Charlotte (Karoline Eichhorn) is going through her grandfather’s things again, like she did as a girl. She gets a call from Hannah (Maja Schöne), who’s been back in time with older Jonas (Andreas Pietschmann). Meanwhile, Martha (Lisa Vicari) and Magnus (Moritz Jahn) wonder what to do about their mother Katharina (Jördis Triebel). They get a visit from Franziska (Gina Stiebitz) with her sister Elisabeth (Carlotta von Falkenhayn)— the girls’ parents haven’t been home in days. The teens are wondering what the hell’s happening in Winden. Magnus suggests they go to the caves.
In 1921, Jonas wakes up. Younger Noah is waiting. He already knows the time traveller. He leaves for now. Jonas sees a picture on the table: the Emerald Tablet, upon which is inscribed the phrase he recognises, Sic Mundus Creatus Est.

In current day, Claudia (Julika Jenkins) goes to the power plant. She’s looking for herself in that timeline. She hears Aleksander (Peter Benedict) is the one who works there. Inside, he’s dealing with questions from police. He tells them about the door being sealed shut in the caves. He gets questions about why he came to Winden originally in the ’80s, around when Mads went missing, and his real name.
Speaking of, the cops are next going to see Hannah. She’s got that old passport she’s keeping to blackmail Aleksander. Older Jonas is asking his mother about it when Charlotte turns up. Hannah wants to tell her about the situation. She introduces the Chief to her grown son. Charlotte shows him the picture of the group from 1921, Sic Mundus— they’re known as the travellers.

At the library, Claudia’s searching for history about Winden from the past three decades. She’s trying to blend in, despite being an ’80s woman caught in a 21st-century digital world. She eventually figures out how to use a touch screen, hammering away at it like a typewriter. She finds a marriage notice for Regina (Deborah Kaufmann) and Aleksander, as well as info on the hotel and an article about the death of Egon (Christian Pätzold).
Hannah and older Jonas go with Charlotte to the bunker with Peter (Stephan Kampwirth). They see all the links coming together across time, from the newspaper headlines in the ’50s and ’80s right up to that very moment. They hear about Tronte’s research. There’s a diary with a few pages torn out— the ones older Claudia was supposed to have, that Noah (Mark Waschke) didn’t find. Hannah insists they need to tell Katharina what they’ve found, so Charlotte goes to find her.
It’s a difficult, complex thing for the Chief to try explaining. “You better see it with your own eyes, “she says. At the bunker, the worried mother / wife sees the trail of details, but she doesn’t believe it. Especially not when Jonas has to explain he’s her grandson. But Hannah has seen things herself, she knows it’s true. It isn’t enough to convince Katharina. The mother goes to the school, looking for records. She sees the truth herself— her boy Mikkel is there in a photo from 1987.

The young Jonas is back in the 1920s, exploring the caves. He heads through a tight tunnel to the door, opening it up to cross through to the other side. Only problem is the tunnel’s not fully dug. In current day, the teens are near the same place seeking answers. Elisabeth feels everything shaking, like how we saw Mikkel react in the ’80s. Then they see Bartosz (Paul Lux) come out of nowhere holding a case. They hold him down and tie him up. They open the case and see the time machine.
In 1921, Jonas meets up with young Noah again. He’s brought to the church. The older Noah’s there, too. He and Jonas have seen each other in a different place, a different time. Will there be any answers? Noah opens up a passageway into the caves via an elevator shaft. They head into what looks like old ruins of a temple. Noah tells his younger self that Adam will send Jonas on a path to help usher in the “last cycle.”

Soundtrack note: “The World Retreats” by David O’Dowda plays here

In 2053, the woman leaves the God Particle behind after Jonas is gone. She finds Elisabeth waiting for her, gun drawn. She confronts her leader about the lies, asking what the portal is and why it was hidden from them. The leader says people claim it’s “a piece of God” when it’s really “a piece of the devil.”

Jonas meets Adam. He sees The Fall of the Damned and all the books in the library, the time machine. Adam explains he’s travelled quite a bit, which is why he’s scarred so badly. He tells the young man “everyone‘s end” is coming, soon enough. After that, he opens his shirt to show off the wound around his neck: “I am you.”
Holy. Shit.
Father Gore had guessed last episode the true identity of Adam was Helge, but that’s the best part about a show like Dark, the red herrings are everywhere, allowing viewers to try drawing their own conclusions along the way. So excited for more!

“Lost and Found” is next.