History YMMV / Dark2017

** The ending of the entire series: [[spoiler: Jonas and other Martha prevent the accident that causes HG to create the time machine, at the cost of them, Adam and Eve, and arguably ''every'' character in both universes to finally cease existing. The only sliver of happiness however is the main universe is free of suffering now, with half of the surviving cast such as Hannah, Katarina, Woller, Peter, and the like living much happier and healthier lives, even Hannah expecting a child which decides to name Jonas (due to some deja-vu memories from the universes)]].

** Season 3 involves [[spoiler:[[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies a relentless barrage of character deaths]] (most of them caused by other characters murdering them to try to manipulate things in their favor), the whole lot of them being horrible, and the revelation that all of the universes are doomed to be in an endless StableTimeLoop of misery [[InSpiteOfANail with only minute changes]]. By the time the ending comes, which comes at the cost of [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse two universes being sacrificed]], the audience probably will believe it to be an EsotericHappyEnding.]]

** "What's with Torben's eyepatch", which is echoed by majority of the fanbase wondering why [[EyeScream he has an eyepatch]].

** Season 3 involves [[spoiler:[[CharactersDroppingLikeFlies a relentless barrage of character deaths]] (most of them caused by other characters murdering them to try to manipulate things in their favor) and a lot of them being horrible. By the time the ending comes, the audience probably will believe it to be an EsotericHappyEnding.]]

** The ending of the entire series: [[spoiler: Jonas and other Martha prevent the accident that causes TG to create the time machine, at the cost of them, Adam and Eve, and past Martha and Claudia disappearing as the knot breaks, with it cutting to a different future where the original four set families are now much closer together]].

** The ending of the entire series: [[spoiler: Jonas and other Martha prevent the accident that causes TG to create the time machine, at the cost of them, Adam and Eve, and past Martha and Claudia disappearing as the knot was breaks]].

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Noah becomes this by the end of Season 2, upon realizing he was being manipulated by Adam/Jonas and is killed by Agnes, all while Adam/Jonas makes it clear that everything happens because it's been predetermined. The gradual learning of this is rather pitiful for someone who killed three kids just to reunite with his daughter.]]

* TheScrappy: Initially, Magnus and Franziska were rather unpopular among the fandom due to their apparent lack of contribution to the series' main plot and taking up screentime that could have been spent on more intersting characters. However, the second season remedied this by giving them more significant roles and implying that they will be of even greater importance to the story in Season 3.

* {{HSQ}}: Episodes 5 and 10. ''Holy hell''.
** Season 2 made it more intense with [[spoiler: the revelation that Noah's entire reason for doing what he did for all of Season 1 was to find his daughter, ''Charlotte Doppler'' and the revelation that Noah works with a man known as Adam leading a sect known as Sic Mundus who want to recreate the world without restriction by time even if it means ''causing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt'', with Adam actually being '''Jonas'''. And it's also revealed that Charlotte's mother... ''is an adult Elisabeth'']].
** [[spoiler: The Season 2 finale revealing that not only does time play a role, so does '''alternative realities''']].
** The writers say they deliberately scheduled "holy shit" moments around three-quarters of the way through each episode. This can also be seen on a season level, with season 1 episode 8 and season 2 episode 6 being notable Wham Episodes.

** [[spoiler: Noah, as it's made clear that he was manipulated by Adam/Jonas when all he wanted was to reunite with Charlotte]].

** [[spoiler: Noah, as it's made clear that he was manipulated by Adam/Jonas when all he wanted was to reunite with Charlotte]].

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Whereas his sympathy is in the eye of the beholder, [[spoiler:Helge Doppler]] qualifies as this. His life was shattered beyond repair after a murder attempt when he was just a little boy, for [[spoiler:crimes he hasn't even committed yet]]. The broken man is then manipulated by Father Noah [[spoiler:into committing the very crimes he was almost killed for]], and while his past doesn't excuse his actions, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he eventually comes to realize what he's done]]. [[spoiler:He dies in a futile attempt to stop his past self from listening to Noah any longer, a sad, lonely old man consumed by guilt.]]

* FriendlyFandoms: Netflix and the corporate media have marketed ''Dark'' to fans of ''Series/StrangerThings'', due to similarities such as children vanishing under mysterious circumstances, a small town haunted by seemingly supernatural phenomena, and references to the popular culture of TheEighties. Though many ''Dark'' fans see a FandomRivalry between the two shows, typically angered by ''Stranger Things'' having [[ItsPopularNowItSucks greater popularity]] and more [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible straightforward]], [[TrueArtIsAngsty lighthearted]] writing.

* TheScrappy: ''Hannah''. She spends most of her time plotting revenge against Ulrich because [[spoiler:he rejects her for Katharina in two time periods]]. She also is a false friend to Katharina, blames her [[spoiler: false rape accusation against Ulrich]] on the already bullied Regina, blackmails [[spoiler:Aleksander]], and constantly lies to everyone including the police for her own selfish reasons. She becomes more and more unlikable until the fanbase seems to universally ''loathe'' her, which is a surprising feat considering the flawed nature of ''most'' characters in ''Dark''. It was first implied by Season 2 that Hannah would go through a redemption following some [[spoiler: callouts from Future!Jonas...only for [[ThenLetMeBeEvil her to agree with his belief that she doesn't need no one due to her selfish reasons]], going back to 1954, leaving Ulrich in the institution and deciding to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leave her present day life and start anew in the past]]]]. It's gotten to the point where fans just want her ''dead'' considering how unlikable and unbearable she is.
** Magnus and Franziska, mainly due to their lack of contribution to ''anything''. Others believe that they will be of greater importance to the story in Season 3.

* {{Narm}}:
** It's a very dramatic scene in 1953 when two boys from 2019, [[spoiler:Yasin and Erik]], are found and appear to be from the future. It's a little less dramatic when one of the things that tip off the coroner is a ''Franchise/MyLittlePony tattoo.''
** The fact that two of the missing boys are named Mads and Mikkel can become a constant source of amusement if you happen to be a fan of Creator/MadsMikkelsen. That one of the main characters looks like he could be Mr. Mikkelsen's brother makes it even funnier.

* WhamLine: "I am you", said by multiple characters.
** The very last line of the first season: [[spoiler: "Welcome to the future". The scavengers may be[[BrokenMasquerade aware of the existence of time travelers]], and are ''[[OhCrap not]]'' friendly to them.]]
** Likewise the very last line of the second season: [[spoiler: "The question is not from what time, but from what world."]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation / BaseBreakingCharacter: Within a show of depressive, broken, or downright sociopathic people... well...:

** [[spoiler:Father Noah]] himself also qualifies: Is he a WellIntentionedExtremist who genuinely believes that his ruthless actions are ultimately for the greater good of mankind, or is he just a self-serving ManipulativeBastard who enjoys having power over others? [[spoiler: Season 2 seems to imply that it's the former, by revealeing Noah was manipulated by Adam (Jonas). Of course, this just moves the question back a step to Adam.]].

** [[spoiler: The show finally began to use Magnus, Franziska and Elisabeth much more properly, with the former two being integral to the show's timeline plot (as well as [[FaceHeelTurn their future counterparts working with Adam/Jonas]]) while Elisabeth in 2053 is part of the scavengers who survived the 2020 disaster, a bit of a brutal ActionSurvivor]].
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The soundtrack by Ben Frost is ''beautiful'', and that's not even getting to the haunting opening with the song "Goodbye" by Apparat featuring [=Soap&Skin=].

** The Kreator song "Pleasure To Kill" that teen Ulrich Nielsen is listening to in the 80's is definitely this. The quoted lyrics "My only aim is to take many lives; The more the better I feel" also serve as arch words for adult Ulrich in 1953 after being arrested by adult Egon Tiedemann.
*** This becomes FridgeBrilliance when you find out that the lyrics appear at the 33 second mark of the song.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin True to its title]], the series is relentlessly grim, with common criticisms being that ''nothing ever goes well for anybody'' (especially since [[spoiler:all attempts to set things right are inevitably doomed to fail thanks to the concept of everything being a StableTimeLoop]]) and that most characters come across as unlikable jerks. This began to get acknowledged with Season 2, in which the lines between (anti-) heroes and villains are much more clearly defined, but even the more heroic characters retain at least some unsympathetic or morally ambiguous traits. (Also because Season 2 introduces [[spoiler: new reasons to hope things might be changeable]].)

** "What's with Torbin's eyepatch", which is echoed by majority of the fanbase wondering why [[EyeScream he has an eyepatch]].

** The fact [[spoiler:Mikkel becomes Jonas's father and Jonas fancies Martha, who's ''his aunt'']]. Brr.
*** Building on this, we see [[spoiler: Jonas and Martha having sex]] ''four times'' in season 2. They also continue to [[spoiler: kiss even after knowing the their relationship is incestuous.]]

* TearJerker: "An Endless Cycle" of Season 2 has [[spoiler: us see Michael/Mikkel before his suicide. Suffice to say... Michael is shown to be emotionally damaged from living in the past and seeing his future self grow up without his real parents. This is especially made apparent when he encounters Mikkel and is left a shaking mess]].

** Season 2 establishes Egon as one of the most pitiful characters in the entire series: an honest small-town cop who becomes entangled in a conspiracy too vast and complex for him to grasp, loses his wife to another woman, turns into an alcoholic out of depression, and suffers from cancer in his old age. His valiant, but futile attempts to solve the mysteries surrounding him despite being LockedOutOfTheLoop only make him an even more tragic character, and just when [[spoiler:it looks he finally found the answers he was looking for, he is accidentally killed by his own daughter]]. The sheer injustice of his fate is emphasized by old Claudia when she travels back to 1954 and preemptively apologizes for what he is about to endure:

** The writers say they deliberately scheduled "holy shit" moments around three-quarters of the way through each episode. This can also be seen on a season level, with S1E8 and S2E6 being notable Wham Episodes.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation / BaseBreakingCharacter: Within a show of depressive, sociopathic, or downright broken people... well...:

* TearJerker: "An Endless Cycle" of Season 2 has [[spoiler: us see Michael/Mikkel before his suicide, suffice to say..Michael is shown to be emotionally damaged from living in the past and seeing his future self grow up without his real parents. This is especially made apparent when he encounters Mikkel and is left a shaking mess]].
** It gets worse when [[spoiler: Jonas arrives at the house to prevent Michael's suicide. He hugs Michael and slowly reveals that he knows he's Mikkel through the "ultimate fist bump" that Mikkel would always do to him. While Michael is shown horrified, Jonas however...tells him it's okay and embraces him, all while Michael cries in Jonas's arms and to forgive him. [[TheWoobie Ouch..]]]].
** [[spoiler: The episode's ending is much more painful with contrasting scenes: Katharina caring for a sick Mikkel as Ulrich and Hannah start their affair, Past-Jonas and Martha finally making love while Bartosz sits with his family depressed, Magnus realizing his love for Franziska while she learns about her father's affair with the transgender prostitute, all while Jonas is forced to let Michael commit suicide to preserve the timeline and leave with Claudia.]]
** [[spoiler: Martha's death at the hands of Adam, all to finally give Jonas the push to become him. Makes it more disgusting when he says Jonas can save her [[ThenLetMeBeEvil if he lets himself become him]]]].
* TheScrappy: ''Hannah''. She spends most of her time being obsessively cruel towards [[spoiler:Katharina]] over the fact that [[spoiler:Ulrich breaks up with her after realizing he loves his wife more]]. She becomes more and more unlikable that the fanbase seems to universally ''loathe'' her, which is a surprising feat considering the unlikable of ''most'' characters in ''Dark''. It was first implied by Season 2 that Hannah would go through a redemption following some [[spoiler: callouts from Future!Jonas...only for [[ThenLetMeBeEvil her to agree with his belief that she doesn't need no one due to her selfish reasons]], going back to 1954, leaving Ulrich in the institution and deciding to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leave her present day life and start anew in the past]]]]. It's gotten to the point where fans just want her ''dead'' considering how unlikable and unbearable she is.

* WhamLine: The very last line of the first season: [[spoiler: "Welcome to the future". The scavengers may be[[BrokenMasquerade aware of the existence of time travelers]], and are ''[[OhCrap not]]'' friendly to them.]]

** Jonas is deeply traumatized by his father's suicide, finds himself alienated from his friends and family after returning from the psychiatric ward, and unknowingly has an affair with [[spoiler:his own aunt]]. And according to [[spoiler:his future self]], things aren't going to get any better for him.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/BaseBreakingCharacter: Within a show of depressive, sociopathic, or downright broken people... well...:

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Within a show of depressive, sociopathic, or downright broken people... well...:

** [[spoiler:Father Noah]] himself also qualifies: Is he a WellIntentionedExtremist who genuinely believes that his ruthless actions are ultimately for the greater good of mankind, or is he just a self-serving ManipulativeBastard who enjoys having power over others? [[spoiler: Season 2 seems to imply that it's the former, and was revealed to be manipulated by Adam (Jonas)]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Helge. You either will sympathize with him and like his attempts to become TheAtoner or [[spoiler:you find him deplorable for the same reasons with no redemption]].
** Bartosz as well. There's two divisions with him: Either he's a likable JerkWithAHeartOfGold who slowly performs a FaceHeelTurn who didn't get what the heck was wrong with Jonas ''or'' he's a cock who [[spoiler:knew about Jonas's crush on Martha and took her from him]].
** Magnus and Franziska are well, mainly due to their lack of contribution to ''anything''. Others believe that they will be of greater importance to the story in Season 2.
** Elisabeth, Charlotte's deaf daughter. Either she's a brat who is completely unsympathetic when she bluntly admits she doesn't wish for Mikkel to return home, or she's just a first grader who probably doesn't fully understand or hasn't really thought through what she's wishing for.
* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler: Hannah has most of Season 2 having people chew her out over her shitty behavior from Season 1, which acclimates in "Lost and Found" where Future-Jonas calls her out over her sociopathic behavior, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion if she truly loved Michael/Mikkel]] and how she ruins everyone's lives with her abhorrent and selfish behavior]].
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin True to its title]], the series is relentlessly grim, with common criticisms being that ''nothing ever goes well for anybody'' (especially since [[spoiler:all attempts to set things right are inevitably doomed to fail thanks to the concept of everything being a StableTimeLoop]]) and that most characters come across as unlikable jerks. This began to get acknowledged with Season 2, in which the lines between (anti-) heroes and villains are much more clearly defined, but even the more heroic characters retain at least some unsympathetic or morally ambiguous traits.

** Season 2 made it more intense with [[spoiler: the revelation that Noah's entire reason for doing what he did for all of Season 1 was to find his daughter, ''Charlotte Doppler'' and the revelation that Noah works with a man known as Adam leading a sect known as the Sic Mundus who want to recreate the world not restrictive by time and God even if it means ''causing TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt'', with Adam actually being '''Jonas'''. And it's also revealed that Charlotte's mother... ''is an adult Elisabeth'']].

* FriendlyFandoms: There’s significant fandom overlap with that of ''Series/StrangerThings'', due to multiple similarities between the two series (such as children vanishing under mysterious circumstances, a small town haunted by seemingly supernatural phenomena, and references to the popular culture of TheEighties), and both series being regarded as some of the best original TV on Netflix.
** Though there is a minority ''Dark'' fans who try to force FandomRivalry between the two shows, typically angered by ''Stranger Things'' having [[ItsPopularNowItSucks greater popularity]] and more [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible straightforward]], [[TrueArtIsAngsty lighthearted]] writing.

** Ulrich and Katharina. Both are ''definitely'' scummy people but in regards to what we see of [[spoiler: the timelines]], it's hard not to sympathize.

** The fact that the first two missing boys are named Mads and Mikkel can become a constant source of amusement if you happen to be a fan of Creator/MadsMikkelsen. That one of the main characters looks like he could be Mr. Mikkelsen's brother makes it even funnier.

** The entire concept that Time ''predetermines'' your choices in life, even to the point of ''thinking'' is considered by it is already an existential crisis fear. [[spoiler: Made worse when it's implied in the show that ''it isn't the case''.]]

* TheScrappy: ''Hannah''. She spends most of her time being obsessively cruel towards [[spoiler:Katharina]] over the fact that [[spoiler:Ulrich breaks up with her after realizing he loves his wife more]]. She becomes more and more unlikable that the fanbase seems to universally ''loathe'' her, which is a surprising feat considering the unlikable of ''most'' characters in ''Dark''. It was first implied by Season 2 that Hannah would go through a redemption following some [[spoiler: callouts from Future!Jonas...only for [[ThenLetMeBeEvil her to agree with his belief that she doesn't need no one due to her selfish reasons]], going back to 1954, leaving Ulrich in the institution and deciding to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere deciding to leave her present day life and start anew in the past]]]].