DARK and scientific theories it flourishes on

Couldn’t resist some plot spoilers as its impossible to describe what it is without them.

Netflix’s DARK which concluded with season 3 recently is one magnificent colossal maze build upon strong writing, powerful performances, gorgeous cinematography, deep philosophy which could make us vulnerable about our existence and most importantly mind-boggling scientific theories!

DARK explores idea of time travel in unique possible way; a fictional town called Winden in Germany witness disappearance of few boys and conquest to find them back.

Between 3 seasons and 26 episodes, DARK has taken basic plot device of time travel to the level which looks difficult to match from now. Creators Daran Bo Odar and Jantje Friese deserve every applause for this magnificent achievement.

What I most liked about DARK is it presents itself as scientific or mathematical problem, to solve or conclude it you will need numerous theories and analytics. This is the reason DARK is one of those few shows which manages to end quite perfectly, there can hardly any argument about how it could have ended differently. Every event that occurs, every action that has been taken to solve this puzzle concludes as logical end. Major characters Jonas, Martha and Claudia appear like variables or catalysts each of them having them own purpose and significance while solving this colossal puzzle.

        

DARK deep dives into Bootstrap Paradox, alternate reality and multiverse, Schrödinger's cat theory, and unchartered dark lanes of time travel. Without basic understanding of these theories one might struggle to apprehend what is going on there and end up into calling them plot holes.

Bootstrap Paradox was first coined in 18th century with reference of task of pulling yourself over a fence by holding onto your bootlaces and tugging upwards.

An example of a bootstrap paradox involving information would be if a time traveller went back in time and taught Einstein the theory of relativity, before returning to his own time. Einstein claims it’s his own work. We cannot say that time traveller invented theory of relativity as he learned it from Einstein, but we also cannot say that it is from Einstein, since he was taught it by the time traveller.

In DARK, every character whose existence is originated from Jonas and alternate world Martha are trapped in Bootstrap paradox. They do all the stuff which causes apocalypse in their respective world and keep repeating the cycle. The portable time machine which strangers seen carrying in season one first and henceforth is also example of bootstrap paradox here as the origin of it can not be traced. H J Tannhaus repairs it in cycle of 1986 but stranger who brought it from future, where it already exists. Another example is Elizabeth is her own grand daughter as her and Noah’s daughter was brought back in past which eventually became Charlotte and gave birth to Elizabeth. Bootstrap paradox was earlier used in movies like Predestination and Interstellar, but they only scratched the surface, DARK goes full throttle as time allows it being web series.

From science fiction to science fact, there is a concept that suggests that there could be other universes besides our own, where all the choices you made in this life played out in alternate realities. The concept is known as a "parallel universe," and is a facet of the astronomical theory of the multiverse.

Concept of alternate reality was well illustrated in Matrix franchise where characters lived in illusion of world which didn’t exist at all.

In DARK, H J Tannhaus accidently creates two universes or worlds while creating time machine in original world. These alternate worlds are inversely identical to each other; buildings, furniture, people are inversely and cleverly placed but both these worlds are doomed. Apocalypse is inevitable in both worlds due to experiment of creating God particle in nuclear power plant going haywire, creating time travel tunnel in cave adjacent to plant.

Characters which are trapped in cycle of both worlds always keep trying to stop apocalypse but eventually doing everything to make it happen.  

Both these worlds are attached to each other like infinity symbol (∞) where knot between them is apocalypse which triggers infinite cycles of bootstrap paradox which these worlds are incapable to stop on their own.

Claudia in third season figures out a way to break this knot, going in original world and stop Tannhaus from creating time machine in first place so that both these world cease from their existence!

Another clever placing of characters is all those characters which are present in original world and inherited in these doomed worlds must die either in apocalypse or by some means so that they can keep living in their original world! Insane plot!!

Schrödinger's cat theory which deals with superimposed realities (two different realities existing at same time) also used in DARK quite cleverly.

Schrödinger's cat: a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box. If an internal monitor detects radioactivity (i.e. a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison, which kills the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when one looks in the box, one sees the cat either alive or dead, not both alive and dead. This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality collapses into one possibility or the other.

In DARK, multiple version of Claudia or Martha happen to exist at the same time each being representing different set of reality and controlling their own ‘cause and effect’ cycle.

So, many times whatever Claudia does actually does not happen as both being superimposed realities and can be true depending on perception of third dimension (Tannhaus’ original world). Gosh! Beauty of quantum physics!!

DARK is full of such mind-bending scientific theories and their extraordinary use in creating mind boggling work of fiction!

Do not afford to miss it any cost if you love science and curious about possibilities how multiverse if ever exists can shape up!