The series Dark is set in a fictional town called Winden in Germany. The story begins in 2019 when Michael Kahnwald, portrayed by Sebastian Rudolph, dies by suicide. Michael is the father of the main character of Dark, Jonas Kahnwald (Louis Hofmann). Before taking his own life, Michael leaves a letter with strict instructions not to open it until November 4, 2019, at precisely 10:13 PM—five months after his death. The letter is kept by Michael’s mother, Ines Kahnwald (Angela Winkler). Five months later, Jonas returns to school after being treated at a psychiatric hospital for depression following his father’s death. At school, he reconnects with his friend Bartosz Tiedemann (Paul Lux). Jonas is shocked to discover that Bartosz is now dating Martha Nielsen (Lisa Vicari), the girl Jonas has secretly loved.
Martha has an older brother named Magnus (Moritz Jahn) and a younger brother named Mikkel (Daan Lennard Liebrenz). They are the children of Ulrich Nielsen (Oliver Masucci), a Winden police officer, and Katharina (Jordis Triebel), the school principal. It is revealed that Ulrich is having an affair with Jonas’s mother, Hannah (Maja Schone). Meanwhile, a student named Erik Obendorf (Paul Radom) is reported missing, and Ulrich is assigned to handle the case. Erik is known as a troublemaker for dealing drugs at school. One evening, Jonas, Bartosz, Martha, Mikkel, Franziska Doppler (Gina Alice Stiebitz), and Magnus search for Erik’s stash of drugs, which he had hidden in the woods near a cave. They plan to use some of the drugs and sell the rest.
Initially, Franziska is not invited to join the mission. However, she learns about the plan and arrives at the cave first, finding Erik’s stash before the others. Her actions lead to a confrontation with Bartosz. During their argument, a mysterious sound emerges from within the cave. The eerie noise causes their flashlights to flicker as if malfunctioning. Frightened, the group runs away. Mikkel, however, grows curious about the cave and what lies inside. Jonas manages to pull him along as they flee. Unfortunately, Jonas falls while trying to escape with Mikkel. In that moment, Jonas briefly sees a vision of his father, covered in a black, oil-like substance. When Jonas returns alone, Mikkel is nowhere to be found and is declared missing.
Elsewhere, Ines, who is at her home, decides to open the letter from her son at the exact time specified. After reading it, she discovers a shocking revelation. Meanwhile, a search-and-rescue (SAR) team combs through the forest where Mikkel disappeared, an area near the nuclear power plant (NPP). The next day, the body of a boy about Mikkel’s age is discovered, leading Ulrich to initially suspect it is his son. Upon learning the body is not Mikkel’s, Ulrich continues his investigation, convinced that Mikkel’s and Erik’s disappearances are connected. He also suspects that these cases might be linked to the 1986 disappearance of his brother, Mads Nielsen. The investigation leads Ulrich to a tightly locked door in another cave near the Winden NPP.
He attempts to gain access to search and investigate the location, but Aleksander Tiedemann (Peter Benedict), the plant director and Bartosz’s father, denies his request. Charlotte Doppler (Karoline Eichhorn), Ulrich’s investigative partner, uncovers that the recently found boy’s body is wearing clothing from the 1980s. Following this discovery, strange occurrences begin to plague Winden, including the arrival of a mysterious stranger at the hotel owned by Bartosz’s mother, Regina Tiedemann (Deborah Kaufmann). A new scene reveals Mikkel returning to his home, but something seems off when he arrives. Somehow, Mikkel has traveled back in time to 1986, precisely four weeks after the disappearance of Mads Nielsen, his father’s younger brother.
Mikkel is later found by Egon Tiedemann (Christian Patzold), a Winden police officer and Regina’s grandfather. Egon takes Mikkel to the hospital, where he is cared for by a young Ines, who works there as a nurse. Ines develops a deep affection for Mikkel, which ultimately solidifies her decision to adopt the unfortunate boy. In the 1986 timeline, we are introduced to Claudia Tiedemann (Julika Jenkins), one of the main characters in Dark. Claudia, Regina’s mother and Bartosz’s grandmother, has just taken over the position of NPP director from Bernd Doppler (Michael Mendl), the father of Helge Doppler (Peter Schneider). Helge is later revealed to be a key character in the series. The 1986 timeline also depicts teenage versions of Ulrich and Katharina as rebellious high school sweethearts.
In 1986, teenage Hannah secretly harbored feelings for Ulrich. This explains why, over 30 years later, they end up having an affair. Meanwhile, teenage Regina was a victim of bullying by Ulrich and Katharina. Regina was targeted because Hannah falsely accused her of being a snitch, reporting Ulrich and Katharina’s inappropriate behavior, which resulted in Ulrich being detained by the police for several days. Back in 2019, Ulrich continues his investigation by exploring the mysterious cave where his son disappeared. Meanwhile, Charlotte becomes increasingly convinced that the strange events in Winden are connected to the nuclear power plant. During her investigation, Charlotte also uncovers a painful truth about her husband, Peter Doppler (Stephan Kampwirth), who is having an affair with a transgender individual.
Still in 2019, Charlotte’s youngest daughter, Elisabeth (Carlotta von Falkenhayn), returns home late from school, causing her mother to panic. When she arrives, Elisabeth brings with her a pocket watch, claiming it once belonged to her mother during her teenage years. Elisabeth explains that she received it from a man named Noah (Mark Waschke). Like Helge, Noah is revealed to be another pivotal character in Dark. The scene then shifts to the 1986 timeline, where Noah is shown as a priest visiting Mikkel at the hospital. Back in 2019, Yasin Friese (Vico Mucke), a close friend of Elisabeth, goes missing, just like Erik and Mikkel. Meanwhile, the mysterious stranger staying at Regina’s hotel leaves behind a cardboard box for her to give to Jonas upon checking out.
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Elsewhere, Bartosz meets Erik’s drug supplier, who turns out to be Noah—the same Noah who visited Mikkel in 1986. Shortly after, Jonas receives the cardboard box left by the stranger at Regina’s hotel. The package contains various strange items, including lamps, unfamiliar tools, and another letter from his father. This means there are now two versions of Michael’s letter in the 2019 timeline—one held by Jonas and the other by his grandmother, Ines. Jonas reads the letter and learns a shocking truth: Michael Kahnwald and Mikkel Nielsen are the same person. This revelation means that Mikkel, who vanished in 2019, is Jonas’s father. Consequently, Jonas is the grandson of Ulrich and Katharina, and Martha, the girl Jonas loves, is his aunt.
It is revealed that after Mikkel Nielsen was transported to 1986, his name was changed to Michael Kahnwald upon being adopted by Ines. As Michael, he befriends Hannah, and the two eventually fall in love and marry. Armed with this newfound information, Jonas heads to the cave where Mikkel disappeared. There, Jonas discovers a clue in the form of a rope leading to a door inscribed with the phrase Sic Mundus Creatus Est (Thus the world was created). When Jonas opens the door, he is transported to 1986, just like Mikkel. Meanwhile, back in 2019, the police finally identify the body found shortly after Mikkel’s disappearance. The mysterious corpse is none other than Mads Nielsen, Ulrich’s younger brother who vanished 33 years ago. Everyone is stunned to discover that Mads’s body, despite being lost for decades, appears as though it was freshly deceased.
The investigation continues, and the police finally gain access to the nuclear power plant (NPP). While reviewing old files from Mads’s disappearance 33 years earlier, Ulrich discovers that Helge was once suspected of being the abductor. Ulrich visits the hospital where Helge is being treated and finds a book titled “A Journey Through Time” by H.G. Tannhaus (Christian Steyer). The story then introduces a new timeline: 1953, which is 33 years before 1986. In this timeline, the bodies of Erik and Yasin, reported missing in 2019, are discovered. The officers who find the bodies are a young Egon Tiedemann and his superior, Daniel Kahnwald, who is the Winden police chief in this period. Leaving the hospital, Ulrich spots Helge walking toward the cave where his son disappeared.
Ulrich follows him into the cave and finds a door similar to the one Jonas encountered. However, unlike Jonas, who was transported to 1986, Ulrich ends up in 1953. He meets H.G. Tannhaus and shows him the book “A Journey Through Time”. H.G. Tannhaus is baffled because he hasn’t written the book yet. After leaving H.G. Tannhaus’s home, Ulrich encounters a 9-year-old Helge. Believing that stopping Helge will prevent the chaos of the future, Ulrich attempts to kill the boy. He repeatedly strikes Helge’s head with a rock until Helge loses consciousness. Assuming Helge is dead, Ulrich leaves but is soon discovered by a patrolling Egon Tiedemann. Ulrich is arrested and becomes the prime suspect in the murders of two unidentified boys (Erik and Yasin) whose bodies were recently found.
Switching to 1986, Claudia hires Aleksander Köhler (Bela Gabor Lenz), a young man who once saved Regina from being bullied by Ulrich and Katharina. Aleksander is tasked by Claudia with hiding dozens of metal barrels containing radioactive waste from a minor explosion at the nuclear power plant that year. Back in 2019, Bartosz meets his grandmother, Claudia, whom he believed to be dead. Meanwhile, Regina, while cleaning her hotel, discovers numerous important clues left in the room previously occupied by the mysterious stranger. Returning to 1986, H.G. Tannhaus is visited by the same stranger who stayed at Regina’s hotel in 2019. During their meeting, Tannhaus and the stranger discuss time travel theories, focusing on a mysterious phenomenon they call a wormhole.
The stranger discusses time travel theories with Tannhaus, referencing a “wormhole”. The stranger explains that Winden is home to a mysterious “wormhole” allowing people to travel 33 years into the past or future. The “wormhole” can even transport individuals 66 years into the past, as Ulrich experienced. The stranger then reveals a device he claims can destroy the “wormhole”, though it is currently in need of repair. He asks H.G. Tannhaus to fix it. After the stranger leaves, Tannhaus compares the device to a blueprint he received in 1953 from Claudia. This encounter inspires Tannhaus to write the book “A Journey Through Time” and ultimately create the time machine described in the blueprint.
In a flashback scene, on the night Mikkel disappeared, Peter Doppler, who is in his basement, witnesses a mysterious portal. The portal suddenly transports the body of Mads Nielsen from 1986 to 2019. After identifying the body, Peter contacts Tronte Nielsen to view the remains of his son, who had disappeared decades earlier. Both are shocked to see that Mads’s body appears as though he had died only recently. At that moment, Claudia arrives and advises Tronte and Peter to move Mads’s body to the location where it is supposed to be found. Meanwhile, Jonas resolves to return to 1986 to bring Mikkel back to 2019. However, his initial attempt to retrieve Mikkel fails when he is stopped by the mysterious stranger who had been staying at Regina’s hotel.
The stranger warns Jonas that if Mikkel returns, Jonas will cease to exist because Hannah would never have married Mikkel. On his second attempt to bring Mikkel back, Jonas is thwarted once more when he is captured by Noah and Helge in the basement, where they are conducting experiments with a time-travel chair. Elsewhere, Helge from 2019, who had been pursued by Ulrich, successfully travels back to 1986. There, he meets his younger self to warn him not to repeat the same mistakes. Tragically, the older Helge is killed in a car accident involving his younger self. Back in 2019, Charlotte investigates old police archives and uncovers shocking revelations. Among the records of an attempted murder of young Helge in 1953, she finds a photograph of 2019 Ulrich as the prime suspect.
Jonas, still imprisoned in the basement, wakes up and speaks again with the mysterious stranger through a window. The stranger finally reveals that he is Jonas’s future self. Adult Jonas explains to teenage Jonas that he plans to destroy the wormhole using a device repaired by H.G. Tannhaus. However, when activated, Tannhaus’s machine creates a new portal instead, linking teenage Jonas to the year 1953. Through the portal, Jonas sees young Helge waking up after being attacked by Ulrich with a rock. When Jonas and Helge attempt to touch fingers through the portal, the contact propels them into entirely new timelines—Jonas to 2052 and Helge to 1986. And thus, the first season of Dark concludes.
