Dark (TV Series) Sic Mundus Creatus Est (2017) User Reviews

The first episode to let us know for sure: Dark is a masterpiece

[Revalopod · 10/10 · 12 October 2020]

The very previous episode had an incredible plot revelation that no one could have predicted, and established the series as an amazing scifi mindbending show with meticulous and genius writing. But writing alone does not make something a masterpiece hence why I only gave that episode a 9.

Sic Mundus Creatus Est, in my own opinion, is a genuine masterpiece. No other TV show has ever had an episode of this calibre in only the first season. This episode is like Breaking Bad's Ozymandias, but at the beginning of a show instead of at the end. Now obviously it's not as good as Ozymandias buuuuuut my point is that the whole episode is scene after scene of moving and powerful moments, and more emotionally charged than it has any right to be for such an early episode.

This is also the episode that includes the Martha Ariadne play scene, which is among a great number of people's favourite scenes (not mine though) and is one of the most heavily analyzed scenes in the show. And that was before s2 and s3 came out. Now more than ever especially after watching the entire show, we can see just how important and full of foreshadowing that one scene is and just how well it ties (pun intended) into the core themes. That scene is almost irrefutably a master stroke and contributes towards this episode being the masterpiece it is.

Like (almost) all episodes in the show, it has a music montage scene that features one of the nicest songs in the whole series. Too bad the scene is short and doesn't show a lot, but nonetheless it is still beautiful. Dark has a knack for utilising the perfect song, almost as uncannily as the casting.

Overall this episode is indeed a masterpiece and is series 1's magnum opus.

First 10/10 episode so far.

[TheFirst01 · 10/10 · 25 June 2020]

This episode really brought in the goods. It's the darkest episode yet (pun intended), and although the plot hasn't developed much, the answers are starting to arrive. I give this episode a 9.2/10.

Best episode of season and whole series

[Soroush_AJ · 10/10 · 28 July 2019]

After seeing season 2 i still remain on my opinion. Martha scene is the best thing you can watch in whole series. When you see this episode It looks like you look at masterpiece work.

Ariadne's thread

[TheDonaldofDoom · 31 December 2019]

It's the most impressive episode yet, not necessarily in how much it develops the plot, as there isn't a huge amount of unexpected things happening. But it is impressive in how it builds tension and hints at what is to come.

First, the play. That whole scene is chilling the way other events are interspersed with Martha's performance. But the play clearly also means something integral to the show. It's hard to work out at this point exactly what all of the symbolism means. Perhaps the Theseus and Minotaur myth is somehow represented by the characters in this show? At least it seems obvious what the minotaur's maze represents: time. After all, what Dark has been trying to impress on us is the idea that time is not linear, and a maze perfectly represents that idea. What's at the centre of the maze though? Interestingly enough, the other current great sci-fi mystery series, Westworld, also used a maze to explain its own central concept.

Ariadne's thread is clearly symbolised by the thread that is there for Jonas to make his way to 1986. But the point of Ariadne's thread is to stop Theseus getting lost and backtracking. Jonas does backtrack, he goes back to the future in the next episode. So what *does* the thread suggest about the nature of time in that case?

Some of the plot points in this episode sag a bit. We worked out Mads was from the past several episodes ago, so Ulrich working it out doesn't have that oomph. And it was obvious that Jonas would travel into the past at some point too, however well executed the scene is. I kind of wish his story had been moving a little faster, because he hasn't actually done that much until this episode. Jonas meeting his mother though... that is creepily weird.

8.5/10

Incredible

[diego1222 · 10/10 · 24 December 2020]

My favorite episode of the first season and one of the best.

Startling

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 23 May 2021]

This is it - the episode where it all starts to come together and become extremely rewarding, not to mention thrilling. The character beats are deeper and starker, the emotion is real, and the scene in the tunnels is one of the most suspenseful and claustrophobic that I've ever watched. Startling stuff.

Now we're talking.

[akhil027 · 10/10 · 19 October 2020]

Finally, the series got interesting. The previous episodes didn't have much interesting things and felt so boring. The ending of this episode is really cool.

Best sci fi show ever made.

[rishabjn · 10/10 · 28 June 2020]

This is the most complicated and mindblowing series. I

More drama and intensity!

[and_mikkelsen · 10/10 · 4 June 2023]

This was an amazing character centered episode, that reminds us what kind of people our characters are and what kind of dark deeds they might have commited or will!

This episode had an intense undertone as characters confronted each other! Amazing dialogue as well! It got emotionally dark qt times adding a layer of drama that we had not seen previously!

The scenes in the tunnel was great! It was creepy and claustrophobic and had me on edge! Amazing use of symbolism and proof that all the small details matter!

Now the final part was crazy as past and present once again connects.. as everything is connected!

I am clinched with hope that its all Worth it in the end

[mzaid716 · 8/10 · 3 May 2020]

Its going and going we all know its all connected and now its getting confusing. But you can't stop here because you'll forget it all.

This is a tremendous masterpiece in its all details

[Neptune165 · 10/10 · 5 June 2022]

Man no matter how many time l watch dark the intricacy of this show never ceases to amaze me. They are so many characters even different versions of the same person yet they each fit so well into the story and have so much depth to them whether they are involved in the time travel or not. The creators of this show deserve all the awards. I think this is the point in the series where you truly realize how convoluted the timeline/family tree really is. Brilliant writing and even better acting. This show doesn't get talked about enough amongst greatest shows ever. Did you notice that the weird globe lantern was the only artificial light source that wasn't glitching when the passage opened? Convenient of the hooded stranger to leave Jonas such a toy. The role that Martha was playing in her play was Ariadne, who is associated with Labyrinths in Greek mythology. Nice parallel with Jonas exporing the cave. I like how the show plays with the concept that every character only acts on what he knows. Like we as the viewer can piece stuff together, because we follow all the characters, but we also see the effects of different characters having only partial information and how that effects their life's. Like Katarina: She still thinks it was Regina that lied to the police, meanwhile Ulrich figured it out that it was Hannah all along. Furthermore, Regina found out that she has breast cancer, so with her realizing that she is probably going to die, she is more open towards being risky, aggressive and big mouthed, confronting Katarina in the school. Maybe she also was angry that all these years their friendship from earlier days died because Ulrich and Katarina were played by Hannah, and not because of her actions. I love that the show knows exactly what each character knows at which point in time and how to play with that and move the story along. It truly is perfectly done, This is probably going to be the best time travel show/story ever created.

Revelation and problems

[AvionPrince16 · 8/10 · 7 September 2021]

Events of episode 6:In 2019, Mikkel's family struggles not to turn against each other, Regina discovers that she has breast cancer, and Ulrich learns that his father was having an affair with Claudia at the time of Mads' disappearance. After learning that Regina was the last one to see Mads in 1986, Ulrich confronts her, and while she admits to resenting him for bullying her during their childhood, she also makes him see that Hannah was the one framing him for rape. Visiting the morgue, Ulrich finally realises that the dead boy is Mads, not aged since 33 years ago. Meanwhile, Jonas fails to tell his mother about the suicide letter but enters the caves armed with his father's notes and the equipment from the package sent by the Stranger. Within the caves, he finds a door with a Latin phrase, Sic mundus creatus est ("Thus the world was created"), and after crawling through to the other side, he notices flyers put up for the missing Mads Nielsen. A van drives by and stops; in it are 14-year-old Hannah and her father Sebastian, offering Jonas a ride in the rain, warning him about contaminated rain from the recent Chernobyl disaster.

Review:

Ulrich know more about what happened with Hannah and who witness the rape of Ulrich. One teenage boy is stucked now in the past and make us wondering what will happen next? Did he will find the little boy stuck in the past? We know also that the little boy find in the present was from the past and that was nielsen, the missing boy in the past. Was dead in the present.

Another very strong episode

[snoozejonc · 9/10 · 19 April 2024]

Ulrich digs into the past as Jonas continues to explore.

This is a great follow on from the reveal in the previous episode, with all central characters used very well by the writers. Scenes involving Ulrich, Regina, Katharina, Hannah, Martha, Magnus. All the actors are excellent and it is difficult to pick standouts, but for me I think Debra Kaufmann just about edges it. She is fantastic in one dialogue exchange with Oliver Masucci where she has to react to one false assumption his character makes.

The use of Theseus and the Minotaur ties in well to the plot and themes, and these scenes are captured brilliantly by the filmmakers. I love the cinematography, sound, and editing. In this one they enhance the sense of dread and general emotional impact of certain scenes and not just created the eerie atmosphere.

The plot includes another strong reveal and ends at a point that makes you want to find out what happens next.

Unparalleled

[Hitchcoc · 10/10 · 28 November 2023]

There is so much substance to this series. First of all it is so intelligent. The writers are so adroit at themes and archetypes. The use of the labyrinth is so in tune with what goes on here. The incredible performance of the myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur is so raw because while she delivers it, the world is collapsing. The people everywhere are so raw. We hardly ever see a smile in this show and maybe could use a little lightness. Maybe not. Another thing is the score. The music in this is so full of emotion and so important to the depths of insanity that are foundations for virtually every character. It is correct. Each is in it for his or her self, but they all must stand naked as human beings in the end, as Ariadne says in the play. The town is sick and decaying, but most are quite oblivious to the shambles they trod each day. I am stunned.