#/cut to claudia's s1 'i mean eventually you will die. i assume. but who knows?' line while the x-files theme plays

[kradogsrats]

I genuinely love how the line "tomorrow the sun will rise, and you will not" just slaps so incredibly hard that we all hyperfixate on the metaphorical implications of that single statement and forget that only seconds before that Aaravos literally says

[shakethispeare]

DARK : S1-EP3 [ GESTERN UND HEUTE | PRESENT AND PAST ]

NOTE: I’m only pouring my thoughts into this post. I’m taking notes every time I watch Dark since I heard the story-line is complicated. Also, my memories suck. It’s not spoiler-free, of course. So, only read if you have seen this episode.

The episode picks up where episode 2 left off, where Mikkel has time-travelled from 2019 to 1986.

The camera zooms out of a television, which was playing a music video. Adult Jana lies on the couch. Meanwhile, Mikkel still stands outside the door. He quietly enters the house and looks around before calling out to Jana as 'Mama'. Jana woke up and thought Mikkel was Mads. Looking distraught, she asked who Mikkel is. Mikkel asked her where his parents are. Jana didn't answer and instead walked over to Mikkel to inspect his clothes. Desperate, she asked Mikkel again where Mads is and if he knows where he is. Jana forces her questions on him, and Mikkel struggles against her tight grip. When Jana finally let go, she dropped to the ground and wonders if Mads is ever coming back. Mikkel uses this chance to run away.

Mikkel goes to Winden's high school in search of his mother. There are a bunch of missing person poster on the school's entrance door. Mikkel stops in front of a group of friends comprised of Katharina, who is actually his mother and later introduced in the episode, young Hannah. Katharina noticed him for being at Ulrich's place earlier in the morning. Hannah asks if he's a new student, to which Mikkel answered he isn't and that he's there to find his mother. He doesn't know that he's back in the past and that both of his parents are not adults but teenagers. Katharina mentioned that the principal is a male and not female, making Mikkel even more confused.

Mikkel is still in Egon's office, completing the Rubik's Cube. Then, he looks around the room. First, he tries to call his house's telephone, which is out of service. Second, he pocketed Egon's lighter. Then, he examined some papers and the police report on Mads disappearance. A knock is heard from the door and Mikkel immediately tidies the newspapers and stands. Ines walks in and introduces herself to him. Mikkel stays silent as she offers him her hand, where it wasn't shown whether Mikkel accepted it or not.

At the hospital, a doctor is overlooking Mikkel's condition and finds that he does not sustain any critical injuries. But whenever questions are asked, Mikkel is always silent, refusing to give any information. The doctor leaves and gave a paper of patient record to her. Ines bandages his wounds. Mikkel softly cries, and Ines reassured him that everything will be okay.

The hospital's lights are also flickering. Meanwhile, Mikkel escapes from the window. I think he recognizes this is his chance to go back home because he ran into the woods to find the cave that he came out from. He uses Egon's lighter to light his way inside.

CHARLOTTE DOPPLER (1986) POV

A young Charlotte is cycling down a road by the woods. She stopped cycling when she finds a dead bird on the ground. She picked up the bird and placed it in her bag to examine it later.

Charlotte is in the woods, examining the dead bird and makes a detailed drawing with notes and measurements.

Charlotte puts the dead bird on a chest freezer and it reveals she had different types of birds. The lights flicker in her house too.

Near the ending of the episode, after Charlotte finishes sketching the bird, she adds the date on top, 05/11/86.

INES KAHNWALD (1986) POV

1986 version Ines is walking down a hospital's hallway wearing a nurse's uniform. One of her colleagues asks if she can do the night shift again because she has to take her son to soccer. Before finishing her sentence, Ines already knows that she will be able to take the night shift because she has no family. Though her colleague did not mean to offend her, Ines lightly smiles and tells her it's not a problem. Her colleague also pleads her not to report it to their boss. Ines responds with a gesture by sealing her lips with an imaginary key and placed it on her chest pocket, which bares her name-tag Ines Kahnwald.

As she's bandaging Mikkel's hand, she gently tries to get Mikkel to tell her more about himself. Mikkel is still silent. Fruitless, Ines tells him that she will be around all night if he wants to talk. Then, she gives him a comic to read and starts to leave. Suddenly, Mikkel speaks that he's from the future. Ines finds it hard to believe when she sees the comic she gave was titled, Captain Future.

Ines enters the room where Mikkel is supposed to be in but doesn't find him there. She notices the window is open and looks outside, of course, no sign of Mikkel anywhere.

EGON TIEDEMANN POV

A radio is on, telling the news of the missing boy, Mads Nielsen. An aged man is seating behind a desk and receives a phone call. He was hesitant to pick it up at first but eventually answered. He introduces himself as Tiedemann. The conversation between him and the person on the phone isn't audible, but Tiedemann says he'll be on his way before hanging up.

The phone call earlier was for Egon to come and witness the mysterious deaths of 33 sheep. He assumed a wolf did it. But the other man, later introduced as Hermann Albers, claimed there are no bite marks. When he assumed poison is involved, the other man claimed that they were lively yesterday. The other man is concerned with the situation the town is facing. First was Mads' disappearance and now the sheep, because it had never happened before. The chilling question is, who would kill 33 sheep?

And then, Hermann quotes a line from a bible; Gospel of Mark 13:33, bewildering Egon, who didn't take him as a churchgoer. He explains the parish has a new priest, who he thinks is a good man.

Egon is back in his office to write his report of the dead sheep. All of a sudden, Mikkel arrived by his office, startling him. Mikkel asked for his father, who we know, hasn't worked as police yet. Egon asked for his name, to which Mikkel replies Ulrich Nielsen. The mention of Jana's son surprised him, where he's also sure that Ulrich will ever work as a policeman. He thinks this is one of Ulrich's mischiefs. Then, Egon walks over to inspect Mikkel's wounds, inquiring if Ulrich has hurt him into doing his practical joke. Mikkel shook his head. Egon asked for his name and surname. Mikkel told him that he is Ulrich's son. Egon still thinks that Mikkel is lying to him and insists him on telling Mikkel's parents' real name. Mikkel asked for today's date and Egon confirmed that the date is 11/05/1986. Mikkel stares at the floor with disbelief. Egon calls for someone from the hospital to come and take a look at Mikkel's wounds. Meanwhile, he picks up his jacket to go to Ulrich's house. 

Egon arrives at Nielsen's family house. From outside, he can hear heavy metal music is being played. When he rings the doorbell and no one answers, he knocked, only to find the door is unlocked. He kept calling to catch the attention of the people in the house, but no one answered him. He reaches Ulrich's room, who's playing a game on his computer. Egon then proceeds to turn his music off, alarming Ulrich of his uninvited presence. Ulrich stands up and condescendingly asks what Egon is doing in his house. Egon accuses him of sending Mikkel to the police station. But Ulrich knows nothing about it. Then, Ulrich accuses Egon of drinking on the job. When Egon turns around, he notices a certain object and picks it up. He then again interrogated Ulrich if he killed the sheep in the pasture, while Ulrich taunts him by mentioning his over-drinking tendencies is the reason why Mads is not found yet. Just then, Jana walks in between the two. She calls out to Tiedemann. Egon says the door is unlocked, and Jana explains that it's for Mads, because he forgot his key. Ulrich tells his mother that the sheriff has some new findings regarding Mads. Egon didn't answer, but Ulrich breaks his silence by mocking him, that in reality, he has no findings or clues whatsoever. Egon reluctantly leaves their house.

Egon is in the examination room to check on one of the sheep's corpse. The medical examiner makes small talks with him while cutting the sheep's skull open, mentioning Claudia, who is his daughter and Regina, his granddaughter. The medical examiner claims the sheep died of cardiac arrest and that sheep are prone to group frights. Egon hopes to find his suspicions will lead to Ulrich, but the medical examiner doubts that one man can cause all 33 sheep to die at once. Then, he finds that the sheep's eardrums are ruptured.

Egon returns to the farm's field to investigate. All of a sudden, there's a strange boom, almost resembling a thunder. Then, something hit his shoulder and his flashlights began to flicker. Hundreds of birds rain down from the sky and Egon runs to his car.

CLAUDIA TIEDEMANN POV

In an ongoing car, Claudia is applying her lipstick while practising a speech. But she paused to lecture her daughter, Regina, about her lack of grooming, ambition and character while also insulting her appearance. Claudia tells Regina that her position at work is crucial. Because she's the first woman to have been chosen. Claudia is probably implying that not only her image but also Regina's as well will become a prominent concern if they ever show up in public. However, Regina remains dismissive of her mother's words and continues to look out the window.

Claudia works in the nuclear power plant. As she walks to the gate, young Helge warmly greets her. But Claudia avoids eye contact when greeting him back. It turns out that Claudia is the power plant's new boss, and Helge gives her a book as a congratulation gift. Claudia accepted it. Claudia has to cut their conversation short and rushes inside. Helge seemed supportive of her. From above, Helge is sweeping the giant painted letters spelling out 'NO FUTURE'.

Once Claudia is inside, she stopped by a secretary who was excited to have a woman as the new boss. She informs Claudia that Tronte Nielsen, who's a newspaper reporter, has arrived to interview her. The secretary also hands her a thick binder which recorded the power plant's financial records in the last two years. She looked dismayed when taking a quick look.

Tronte Nielsen is waiting for Claudia on the couch. Claudia arrives and exasperated to see him. She tells him to make a new appointment with her secretary. But before she could leave, Tronte stood up and halts her. He brushes his hands against her, whispering he misses him. Claudia refused to give in to his advances, sternly telling him that we have talked about this before. But Tronte is desperate to meet her because he couldn't stand his wife, Jana, who's constantly deep in grief over their missing son. Claudia still doesn't give in. He begs once more and Claudia answers perhaps he will see him since it seems like the only way he'll leave without causing a scene.

In the director's office, a man who I think is Helge's father is packing his stuff. Claudia then enters, demanding him to tell her why the figures in the binders, which are the true records for the plant, are different from the numbers that have been publicly reported. The man, later introduced as Bernd Doppler, tells her that there are things that are worth knowing, and things worth not knowing.

He continues to explain that ever since the Chernobyl incident, people have lost faith in nuclear power energy. But the people of Winden depend on the power plant to live. It will be Claudia's job to keep it going. Claudia accepts her new responsibility, saying that she needs to fully understand the financial figures and where they come from.

Bernd takes Claudia to an underground cave to see things for herself. He says what we know is a drop, what we don't know is an ocean. Claudia climbs down the cave with a rope, then turns her flashlight on before going in.

Claudia follows the gorge as it turns into a deep cave. The deeper she goes, she finds stacks of steel barrels from the power plant marked with the radiation symbol.

Claudia is back in her car. She sees Helge's gift on the passenger seat and takes it. Unwrapping it, the gift was a book A Journey Through Time by H. G. Tannhaus. The same book Raincoat Man No. 1 has in his room at Regina's hotel.

REGINA TIEDEMANN (1986) POV

Regine comes home only to find her mother hasn't arrived yet. Claudia leaves a voice note saying she'll be home late so Regina has to cook by herself. As she looks in the mirror, she seems unwell. Then, she rolls up her sleeve, revealing scars from cutting herself.

ULRICH NIELSEN / HANNAH (1986) POV

Ulrich is sitting in a bus stop shelter, smoking. Hannah finds him and sits together with him. The streetlights are still flickering while they talk. They wonder if the lights flickering is a sign of the apocalypse. Ulrich wishes for a world where Winden doesn't exist and Hannah goes along with him. When the lights stop flickering, Hannah says Winden doesn't give up easily. Ulrich says maybe next time.

The episode ends with Ines looking out the window, and a montage featuring Agnes Obel's Familiar shows the comparison of the characters side by side in 1986 and 2019.

2019 Ulrich is seen leaving his home, gets into a car and brought a crowbar with him to the cave. He is not giving up on Mikkel. At the same time, Mikkel is wandering around the cave. He didn't watch his step and fell into a steep hill, injuring himself. Ulrich, on the other side, tries to force the door open with a crowbar but it still wouldn't budge. He hits the door in pure anger. The sound of his hitting reaches Mikkel. In pain, Mikkel loudly cries for help, hoping someone would hear him. Ulrich hears his cries somewhere inside the cave. At the same time, Mikkel and Ulrich pick up their light source. They both give up and exit the cave and sit near the entrance in anguish. They could've found each other.

Just before the end credits, somewhere, an elderly man is done fixing the same machine Raincoat Man No. 1 has. What is this machine?

MY COMMENTARY:

So, what we know so far:

Regina’s mom is Claudia. Claudia’s father is Egon. Claudia possibly had an affair with Tronte, maybe way before Mads went missing. Claudia didn't go to meet with Tronte, despite his coercion. I haven't seen her face in 2019, so I still don't know what happened to her. Regina’s future husband, Aleksander, is an outsider and when he came to Winden and married Regina, he adopted her family surname.

Ines doesn’t have a family? But I though Michael is her son since Hannah never addresses her as mother. Did she adopt someone?

Mikkel is utterly lost. He doesn't know anyone in 1986. All efforts of contacting his actual family, who are still teenagers going to high school are fruitless. He's definitely scared, but Mikkel has always been a tough boy. Luckily, Ines was kind enough to introduce herself to him and takes care of him. I think Mikkel knows that when the lights are flickering are the signs where he could time-travel. That's why he escaped the hospital. Somehow, I don't think he'll be able to go back. Because, back in episode 2, I think, the Raincoat Man who stayed at Regina's Hotel was still trying to find out 'Where is The Crossing' question. So, I think an individual can accidentally time-travel but wouldn't know when and where is the exact moment to do that.

It was mentioned at the beginning of the episode that Ines doesn't have a son. I automatically thought, well, what if she adopted one? Possibly Mikkel? Because I do have a feeling that Mikkel will not go back to 2019. At the same time. I realize that Jonas' father's name is Michael. Mikkel and Michael sound almost the same. Also, Michael had his research on time-travel. Why ended his life with suicide is also another puzzling question.

The sheep's body that was examined in the autopsy room shared a similarity with the boy found in the woods in 2019. Both eardrums are ruptured. So I think both died due to heavy noise exposure. But the difference could be that the boy died in the torture chair, while the sheep indicates that the sound radiation travels far, possibly covering all of Winden. Where is the sound actually coming from and what or who is causing it? Where does it go?

Egon seems to have revenge against Ulrich. He doesn't like the boy for some reason. Also, Ulrich mentioned he was an alcoholic. Despite being a police officer, he doesn't look like he cares about his job.

The steel barrels Claudia found in the cave, what's inside them? Are they empty? Could they possibly be filled with spent nuclear fuel, or even sinister, dead bodies or strange items? I do have a hunch that the power plant is also connected to the time-travel conspiracy. And then, what is written in the financial records? Who and why did they reported it differently? In the last episode, Aleksander is seen getting rid of something in the middle of the night. It could be those barrels since it's in his time that the power plant is about to shut down. Why was he the one getting rid of it and not Claudia? Why and how did he become the director of the power plant in the first place?

1986 Charlotte is mysterious and also scientific. Back in episode 1, she says that something is happening all over again. She knows this because she has been investigating the incident since 1986 through her extensive observation through the birds. She could possess more knowledge than any other characters in the story. What does she know?

Ulrich is such a tragic figure. First, he lost his brother and now his son.

This Crossing could be a thin veil within the cave that thickens and thins. To the characters, the time-travel is still a huge mystery, but I think to do that, one has to be in the right spot and right time to reach another time.