As the series progressed, it became clearer that Dark revolves around a long-standing conflict between two characters: “Adam” and “Eva.” These are the older versions of Jonas Kahnwald and Martha Nielsen, who were once teenage lovers.
Eva is intent on keeping the time loop going, preserving her version of Winden and the parallel universe. Adam, on the other hand, is determined to end the cycle and destroy both worlds. Amid their clash stands Claudia Tiedemann, the “White Devil,” who is a chaotic wildcard in the grand scheme of events.
Eva seeks to preserve the cycle, while Adam fights to break free from its grasp (Photo: Dark Season 3/Wiedemann & Berg Television)The origin of the time loop holds the key to the ultimate showdown between Adam and Eva
Adam believes that the way to break the time loop is to find its origin—the moment it all began—and stop it from happening. He is convinced that the child born from Jonas and Martha is the center of this knot, thinking that the birth of a child from two different realities is the key to continuing this endless time war.
This is why Adam attempts to kill a pregnant Martha in the wormhole, thinking that this will destroy the child and, with it, the loop. However, Adam is wrong. Claudia reveals that there exists a third version of Winden—an original Winden—where the events all began.
The true origin of the time loop is tied to the time machine built by H.G. Tannhaus, who hoped to prevent the death of his family. Instead, his machine caused an apocalypse, creating two alternate versions of Winden.
To end the loop, Adam must travel to the original Winden and prevent the creation of the time machine in the first place.
How Did Jonas and Martha Alter Time?
Trying to alter time proves to be a challenge, as time travel stories often highlight the struggle between fate and free will. In Dark, characters who attempt to change their fates are almost always stopped. For instance, Jonas tried to commit suicide, but since his older selves were already part of the time loop, he couldn’t change his fate.
The wormhole, which briefly halts time, allows characters to act outside the established timeline, which is why two universes exist within the same loop. One universe exists because Martha saved Jonas before the apocalypse, while the other exists because Jonas was left to die.
To end the time loop in the finale, Jonas and Martha from different worlds must come together. Just before the apocalypse, Jonas from the first world intercepts Martha from the second world, and they are transported outside of time, where they briefly meet their younger selves.
In this timeless state, they find themselves in the original Winden, on the night Tannhaus’s family is destined to die in a car crash. No longer bound by the time loop, Jonas and Martha intervene to save the family, preventing Tannhaus from ever creating his time machine and setting off the apocalypse.
Did Jonas and Martha Get a Happy Ending?
Dark can be considered to have a happy ending, but only to an extent. While the Tannhaus family is saved, and the disaster that threatened to end civilization is averted, the cost is immense. The price of ending the time loop is that both Jonas and Martha cease to exist.
Claudia Tiedemann’s role as the wildcard shifts the balance in the time war (Photo: Dark Season 3/Wiedemann & Berg Television)They could not have existed without the loop in the first place. Jonas was born because Mikkel Nielsen (Martha’s brother) was taken back in time and grew up to be Michael Kahnwald, who married Hannah Kruger and fathered Jonas.
Since Jonas and Martha’s son is implied to be the father of Tronte Nielsen, Martha’s existence is tied to Jonas. Thus, Martha is both Jonas’ aunt and descendant due to the loop. The majority of characters in Dark exist because of this intricate and twisted family tree.
Once the wormhole is removed, these characters simply vanish. The final dinner scene is poignant as it shows the few characters who exist outside the loop—Regina, Katharina, Hannah, Peter, Benni, and Wöller.
Season 3 makes numerous references to the 1999 film The Matrix, particularly the famous line “a glitch in the Matrix,” which is used to explain the feeling of déjà vu.
However, Dark suggests that déjà vu occurs when a person experiences memories of an alternate universe. This theory seems to apply to Hannah in the final moments, as she dreams about the end of the world and names her unborn child Jonas, hinting that although the time loop is gone, traces of the two alternate Windens still linger.
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