History YMMV / Dark2017

** The reveal that [[spoiler:Charlotte and Elisabeth are each other's mother and daughter]]. Not only is the concept itself pretty loopy even for this show, but the reveal is done in such an offhand, understated fashion that you could easily miss it. And then it's hardly ever referenced again for the rest of the show, coming off like it was just randomly thrown in to be a MindScrew.

* H.G. Tannhaus, who is at first shown to be a typical clockmaker and scientist and [[spoiler: Charlotte's adoptive father]] to be normal and inconsequential...until [[spoiler: it's revealed in Season 3 that ''he'' [[UnwillingInstigatorOfDoom is the reason the entire events of the series occur in the first place]] when he attempted to [[spoiler: prevent the deaths of his son, daughter-in-law, and niece]], showcasing that [[spoiler: both universes were a reflection of his pain, sadness, guilt, and overall suffering that he endured from the incident]].

---> '''Claudia:''' You're too good a person. But you always have been. The world doesn't deserve you. You don't deserve any of this. But sometimes the good ones get hit the hardest.

** Noah is pretty well-liked in both his older and younger incarnation. Avoids turning into DracoInLeatherpants, since his reasons for kidnapping and murdering three children turn out to be a lot more complicated than it seems at first, making him more of an AntiVillain and at times even AntiHero throughout the series.

** The reveal that [[spoiler:Charlotte and Elisabeth are each other's mother and daughter]]. Not only is the concept itself pretty loopy even for this show, but the reveal is done in such an offhand, understated fashion that you could easily miss it, and doesn't seem fitting at all for such a major development. And then it's hardly ever referenced again for the rest of the show, coming off like it was just randomly thrown in to be a MindScrew.

The reveal that [[spoiler:Charlotte and Elisabeth are each other's mother and daughter]]. Not only is the concept itself pretty loopy even for this show, but the reveal is done in such an offhand, understated fashion that you could easily miss it, and doesn't seem fitting at all for such a major development. And then it's hardly ever referenced again for the rest of the show, coming off like it was just randomly thrown in to be a MindScrew.

* 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 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, [[spoiler: which was fitting when she afterwards was strangled by Adam]].

** The Stranger/[[spoiler:Future!Jonas is very liked due to his badass appearance and the interest of ''what'' drives him to be TheStoic]].

* 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, [[spoiler: which was fitting when she afterwards was strangled by Adam]].

** The reveal that [[spoiler:Charlotte and Elisabeth are each other's mother and daughter]]. Not only is the concept itself pretty loopy even for this show, but the reveal is done in such an offhand, understated fashion that you could easily miss it, and doesn't seem fitting at all for such a major development. And then it's hardly ever referenced again for the rest of the show, coming off like it was just randomly thrown in to be a MindScrew.

---> '''Claudia:''' You're too good a person. But you always have been. The world doesn't deserve you. You don't deserve any of this. But sometimes the good ones get hit the hardest.
* 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.]]
** [[spoiler: Noah, as it's made clear that he was manipulated by Adam when all he wanted was to reunite with Charlotte]].
** Ultimately, all of Jonas' actions [[spoiler:(and those of his older incarnations The Stranger & Adam)]] come down to this. When he learns in season 3 episode 7 [[spoiler:that he CannotSelfTerminate because his older self already exists]], he starts down the path that [[spoiler:The Stranger and Adam are already on, one that leads to him desperately seeking a way to end his cycle of pain by destroying the world. [[EsotericHappyEnding He eventually succeeds.]] ]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Silja first appears at the end of season one. She reappears in seasons two and three, and there’s teased to be more to her than just being one of [[spoiler: Elisabeth]]’s henchwomen. Ultimately, she’s revealed to be [[spoiler: Bartosz’s eventual wife and Hannah’s second child. These relationships, and the character herself, receive essentially no development. It’s not even explained how a version of her winds up in post-apocalyptic timeframe]].

** Almost every conversation in the show has very long, very awkward pauses during which someone who was asked a question just stares at the questioner for an agonizing amount of time before finally gracing them with a reply. While this can work as a dramatic tool when used sparingly, the show overuses it to such an extreme that most characters simply come across as dimwitted, making even the most dramatic conversation nearly impossible to take seriously.

* {{Narm}}: The reveal that [[spoiler:Charlotte and Elisabeth are each other's mother and daughter]]. Not only is the concept itself pretty loopy even for this show, but the reveal is done in such an offhand, understated fashion that you could easily miss it, and doesn't seem fitting at all for such a major development. And then it's hardly ever referenced again for the rest of the show, coming off like it was just randomly thrown in to be a MindScrew.

** It is hard to say when [[spoiler: Hannah]] crosses it. [[spoiler: She had already accused Ulrich of raping Katharina when they were you bacause of her envy. But as an adult she definitely crosses it when she travels back in time to 1954 to visit Ulrich at the police station, where she HAD the chance to save Ulrich and bring him back to their present time, only to torment him further for not loving her and decides to leave him in that year to live in solitary for the rest of his life. While Ulrich wasn’t exactly a saint himself, it was only done out of her selfish reasons.]]

* CatharsisFactor: [[spoiler: Hannah spends most of Season 2 being chewed out by other characters 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]].

* 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.

* {{Narm}}: The reveal that [[spoiler:Charlotte and Elisabeth are each other's mother and daughter]]. Not only is the concept itself pretty loopy even for this show, but the reveal is done in such an offhand, understated fashion that you could easily miss it, and doesn't seem fitting at all for such a major development.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler: In season 3 Hannah starts becoming kinder and wants to make things right, so she travels to the 1910s in order to do so. [[KilledOffForReal That doesn't end up well for her]]. ]]

* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler: Due to the ending where the time knot is prevented from happening, practically ''everyone'' who ceased to exist qualifies. But special mentions goes to Jonas & Martha who pulled a HeroicSacrifice to achieve said ending. Their older selves Adam & Eve qualifies as 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]]]].
** [[spoiler: The ''many'' deaths in Season 3, such as Peter dying to protect Elisabeth from an intruder, Regina being killed by Tronte ala MercyKill due to slowly dying of cancer, Katarina being murdered ''by her own mother'' in 1987, and of course, ''Jonas'' being killed by another future version of Martha in order to put the second-timeline Martha on the path to become Eve]].
** 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. On the uplifting side, the apocalypse has been prevented, the erased characters are spared their unending time loop of suffering, and the surviving cast such as Hannah, Katarina, Woller, Peter, and the like are living much happier and healthier lives, with Hannah expecting a child which she decides to name Jonas (due to some deja-vu memories from the universes)]].

* NightmareFuel:
** The concept of children vanishing without a trace and a SerialKiller being on the run is already unnerving on its own and invokes AdultFear, but the idea that [[spoiler: everything is predetermined by a StableTimeLoop makes it all the more chilling, implying anything the characters will do will be for naught]].
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rb52qRwdCc The teaser for Season 2]] is rather unsettling, showing the CrapsackWorld of 2052, with [[spoiler: Winden in ruins, ''some bodies hanging from trees'' and the implication of we as the audience ''witnessing'' the Power Plant explosion. And then there's the ending that shows ''a strange black orb'', implying to be another black hole]].
---> [[spoiler: '''[[WhamLine The Apocalypse MUST Happen!]]''']]
** The entire concept that Time ''predetermines'' your choices in life, even to the point of your ''thinking'', is an existential crisis fear. [[spoiler: Made worse when it's implied in the show that ''it isn't the case''.]]
** The ending of Season 2: [[spoiler: the Dark Matter enclosing the powerplant and then expanding, causing the Apocalypse]].
** [[spoiler: Adam]]'s [[NightmareFace appearance]]: He dresses very elegantly...but his face is ''horrifically'' burned, explaining it was [[spoiler: from the endless time travel he did as Jonas]].

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

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

** Hannah, Jonas's mother: BrokenBird or full blown [[TheSociopath sociopath?]]