Netflix’s Greatest Sci-Fi Show Masters The Art Of Time Travel Storytelling

by

Netflix has a fantastic science fiction series that really excels at telling time travel stories. While the show uses familiar time travel ideas, it stands out because it presents time travel as a complex and carefully built puzzle.

Stories about time travel often don’t focus on the details of how time travel works. Instead, they use it as a simple way to move the plot forward, and frequently ignore the rules they initially set up.

While Netflix’s popular time travel series has a few plot holes, it’s mostly a well-crafted story. It’s not just a clever time travel adventure; it’s also a moving exploration of loss and how trauma affects families across generations.

Netflix’s Dark Is A Masterclass In Time Travel Storytelling

Most time travel stories let characters easily change the past to create a different future. However, the show Dark takes a different approach, suggesting that everything is predetermined. This idea, known as a causal loop, becomes clearer as the series unfolds, as nearly every event is revealed to be both a result of and a cause of something else.

Dark feels like an ancient Greek myth, where characters are trapped by the relentless flow of time. Ironically, their attempts to gain control of their own destinies often lead them to tragic ends.

Despite its dark themes, Dark offers a subtle sense of hope in how it depicts time. The series begins with a narrator speaking these words:

We generally think of time as a straight line, moving forward forever at a steady pace. However, the idea of a clear separation between the past, present, and future might not be real. Instead of following one after another, yesterday, today, and tomorrow are actually linked together in a continuous loop. Ultimately, everything in existence is interconnected.

As the series unfolds, the writing starts to echo Albert Einstein’s famous idea that our sense of past, present, and future being separate is just an illusion. This gives the show a hopeful message: nothing and no one is ever truly lost. Every moment and every person continues to exist somewhere in time, lasting forever even though we can’t always perceive it.

I was really struck by the casting in this Netflix sci-fi series – it’s so spot-on that you immediately believe the younger and older actors are the same person. And the music! Ben Frost’s score is incredibly atmospheric and haunting, really adding weight to the show’s already dark and immersive world. It’s a fantastic combination that pulls you right in.

Above all, Dark is a thought-provoking show that trusts its audience. While it can be quite intricate and confusing, it cleverly provides enough hints and information for viewers to unravel its complex relationships and time jumps.

Dark’s Creators’ Second Netflix Show Deserved A Better Fate

The success of Dark on Netflix established Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese as talented sci-fi storytellers, creating high expectations for their next series, 1899. While 1899 may not have reached the same heights as Dark, it definitely had a lot of promise as a story.

Similar to Dark, the first season of 1899 felt like the beginning of a much bigger and more complex story.

Despite its potential, the Netflix series 1899 was canceled after just one season, unlike Dark. Looking back, it’s clear 1899 could have become something truly special with more time. Hopefully, the creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese will have future projects that are as successful and long-lasting as Dark.

Read More

2026-02-27 06:38