25 Best Quotes From Netflix's Dark

Set in the fictional small town of Winden, Germany, Netflix’s Dark had thought-provoking storylines and quotes filled with complex narratives on time, fate, and free will. Dark follows several characters through mind-bending events after the disappearance of Mikkel, the youngest child of the Nielsen family. The show explores, through three gripping seasons, the secrets and fate of four main families and the choices and sins that each character makes. As thrilling and suspenseful as the show was, some of the dialogue from Dark has made the biggest impact of all with audiences.

Dark was an instant global success for Netflix as viewers engaged with the show for its mind-bending events, series soundtracks, remarkable scenes, and gut-wrenching dialogues. Though sometimes compared to shows like Strangers Things, it is certainly its own unique story that continues to find new fans. Many characters delivered profound quotes on fate, reality, and the freedom of choice. This results in some of the best Dark quotes from the first season of the show all the way to Dark‘s ending in season 3.

25 “There Is No Such Thing As Magic, Just Illusion.”

Mikkel Nielsen (Sebastian Rudolph)

In season 1 of Dark, Mikkel is a mystery, and no one knows what to make of the man. In a scene from 1986, Mikkel is sitting on a bench, and Hannah sees him there. Feeling unsure about herself, she walks over as he is opening a present and starts to talk to him. She sees that his present is a children’s book, I Am Not Afraid. Hannah admits to him that she likes to pretend that she can do magic, and if she wants something bad enough, it happens.

“Things only change when we change them. But you have to do it skillfully, in secret. Then it seems like magic.”

She even claims she can move objects with her mind if she wants it bad enough. This finally gets Mikkel to talk to her and he delivers this line. He asks if she has heard of Houdini (she hasn’t) and then shows her a magic trick with a bottle cap disappearing and reappearing in his other hand. This is highly important as he admits to her that he is from the future and the two introduce themselves to each other. The idea of magic not existing is important to the idea of science and fate.

24 “There Was This Sadness In His Eyes. The Kind You Sometimes See In Those Who Want To Die, But Life Won’t Let Them.”

Noah (Mark Waschke)

In 1986, Helge is talking to Noah and their discussion turns to the idea of God. When Noah contradicts himself by saying he believes in God but knows there is no God. it confuses Helge. That is when Noah breaks down what he believes in and why it is so important to him. According to Noah, people prefer to believe in a lie rather than to live in pain. He said that he met a stranger years ago and this quote was how Noah described the person who came to see them.

”
Nothing is in vain, not a single breath, not a single step, not a single word. Not pain
.”

This man with sadness in his eyes lived with Noah, and it is this man who taught Noah what he would grow up to believe in and what would help him get by in the years as he became a man. The man explained, “Nothing is in vain, not a single breath, not a single step, not a single word. Not pain.”

This is what Noah brought back into his mind when he experienced great pain and realized that he should use it to be stronger, not weaker. There can be sadness, but always believe in moving forward.

23 “What If Everything That Came From The Past Was Influenced By The Future?”

H.G. Tannhaus (Christian Steyer)

In 1953, H.G. Tannhaus was operating a clockmaker’s shop and this is when he began his obsession with time travel, the future, and the past. A girl brought a watch and encountered Ulrich Nielsen from the future. This is when Tannhaus was given blueprints to build a clockwork apparatus. After 33 years, Tannhaus is still working in the same shop and has become more obsessed with the idea of the past and future. That is when The Stranger shows up, and things tie together.

The Stranger needed Tannhaus to repair his apparatus (a machine powered by the fluid form of the God particle), but Tannhaus couldn’t. However, he then pulled out the device he had built from the old blueprints and was able to finish it. This leads to the quote here, where he admits that he received blueprints from the future to make a device in the past to help replace it again in the future. The entire idea of interconnected time travel is explained perfectly in this Dark quote.

22 “But Every Now And Then It’s Good To Question Those Who Question Things.”

Noah (Mark Waschke)

Noah has a lot of advice for Mikkel when it comes to his place in the world and the idea of faith in the face of doubt. In the episode “Truths,” Mikkel is talking to Noah about the idea of religion, and the boy says, “My father says religion is the brainwashing of the masses.” That is when Noah plays it smart and doesn’t dismiss what Mikkel’s dad said, or even talk down about the man. Instead, Noah decides to use his skill to logically debate and explain things to the boy.

He delivers this quote, which says a lot about Noah’s beliefs and his respect for others. “I’m sure your father knows a lot, but he doesn’t know everything,” Noah begins. He then compliments Noah’s dad on teaching the boy to question things. However, he then says this, and he explains that everyone needs to be questioned. This is also the start of Mikkel discovering the truth because when someone is so determined to disbelieve something, there must be a reason.

21 “I’ve Woken Up And I No Longer Know If I’m A Person Who Dreamed He’s A Butterfly Or If I’m A Butterfly Who’s Dreaming It’s A Person.”

Ines Kahnwald (Angela Winkler)

There is a lot to unpack in Dark, both for the viewers and for the characters themselves. Many characters know this and admit as much, allowing the audience to breathe a sigh of relief when they struggle to figure out what is in the series. Ines Kahnwald is Michael (Mikkel)’s adoptive mother and Jonas’s adoptive grandmother, and she is talking to Mikkel in 1986 when she recounts the story that this quote comes from.

When she is talking to Mikkel, he shows Ines a magic trick, talks to her about Houdini, and says he wants to be a magician like his hero. With that said, Mikkel just wants to “wake up” and return to his reality, and can’t. Ines then explains Master Zhuang’s paradox, and she asks Mikkel what he would be in that situation, to which Mikkel replies he would want to be both. That is a large theme for his story arc and a very important part of his and Ines’s story and relationship.

20 “What We Know Is A Drop. What We Don’t Know Is an Ocean.”

Adam (Dietrich Hollinderbaumer)

This is a repeated line throughout Dark and speaks to the complexities of the mind-bending mystery show. The quote is typically attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, but it is used by various characters in the series to explain that they are just scratching the surface of what the universe has in store for them. It is also a note to the audience that, just as they think they might have figured things out, Dark introduces a new element to the story.

The time travel element of the show exposes various characters to the larger and connected universe, revealing terrifying and overwhelming new truths. However, it is never enough as there is always more that these characters can learn. As Adam, seen as the one with all the answers to the universe, repeats this line in the finale of the series, it is a sign that there will never be a complete understanding.

19 “But In The End, Every Death Is Just A New Beginning.”

Eve (Barbara Nüsse)

While reaching the finale and events are getting closer to the conclusion, Martha explains the cycle of death and rebirth that both Jonas and Martha’s worlds are trapped in. They both want to keep their loved ones alive, and thus they keep repeating the same sacrifices they thought were needed to save others.

She believes that death is not the end but the beginning of another cycle in time. Even though everyone is destined to repeat the same mistakes, there’s hope to end the cycles and get a new beginning for all.

The show plays on the idea of faith often and this quote is directly tied to it. There are beliefs throughout the world that death is only the beginning of a new stage of existence. In Dark, with the show’s time travel element, that idea is shown to be a literal starting over of the timeline and attempting to fix the mistakes of the past.

18 “You And I Are Perfect For Each Other. Never Believe Anything Else.”

Jonas Kahnwald (Louis Hofmann)

This is one of the most significant quotes in the show, said by Martha Nielsen and Jonas Kahnwald several times in different timelines. With the forbidden love hook and their struggles with their feelings for each other, it serves as a reminder that love is stronger than all constraints. As events unfold, the show reveals that both their worlds were not meant to be created; this quote also speaks of the tragedy of their love.

Both Martha and Jonas are destined to play their part in their time loops, continuously failing to change the course of time until they realize that their stories are not the origin of their worlds. The quote starts as a defiant promise that their love will overcome everything, only for it to take on a sadder meaning as the two gradually discover the weight of what they are up against.

17 “The End Is The Beginning And The Beginning Is The End.”

Adam (Dietrich Hollinderbaumer)

Another one of the Netflix show’s most significant quotes, it summarizes Dark‘s emphasis on predetermined fate and interconnected realities. Throughout Dark Season 3, the actions of Adam and Eva continue to challenge the notion of free will. With each decision they make, hoping to disrupt the show’s time loop, they are unable to let go of the past or change the course of the future, constrained by time and fate.

The duality of the beginning and the end confirms that in order to start a new life, one must end the old, and every end inevitably leads to a new beginning. The show’s endless look ideas are confusing concepts for some viewers to wrap their heads around, however, the show does an excellent job of immersing them in these ideas in exciting and vivid ways for the viewers.

16 “Perhaps I’m Just A Small Part Of A Huge Cancer That Is Much Bigger Than Any Of Us Can Imagine.”

Mikkel Nielsen (Sebastian Rudolph)

In 2019, Mikkel says this to Jonas while contemplating whether to take his own life or not. Jonas thought that his mission was to convince his dad to continue on living and not to give up, thus preventing Jonas’s birth in the future and stopping the apocalypse from happening. However, after meeting his dad, he finds that he himself had a role in sending the younger Mikkel back to 1986 through a tunnel in the caves.

Mikkel suggests that they cannot begin to imagine what the universe has written for them. Going back in time to prevent one thing or allow something else to happen may simply be removing a tiny piece of a much bigger problem. This great Dark episode is among many in which viewers feel bad for Jonas and what life keeps throwing at him as he fights for survival.

15 “Our Thinking Is Shaped By Dualism. Entrance, Exit. Black, White. Good, Evil. Everything Appears As Opposite Pairs. But That’s Wrong.”

H.G. Tannhaus (Christian Steyer)

Dark has strong themes of mystery, time travel, and some philosophical dilemmas about fate and free will. In Dark’s season 1, episode 8, “Dualism”, Jonas Kahnwald goes back in time to speak with H.G. Tannhaus about his book on time travel theories. Tannhaus explains the duality of humankind and how opposites attract. He then mentions the Trinity Knot and how it’s going up, down, and center. Tannhaus talks about Einstein and Rosen overlooking that a wormhole connects three dimensions, not two.

Tannhaus’s theories were pivotal to the whole plot, though at this point he himself wasn’t aware of how big his role was in the grand scheme of things. It is also another that speaks to free will in a more relatable way as Tannhaus points out that how society has been trained to look at the world is wrong and that knowledge comes from being able to look at it differently.

14 “We All Face The Same End.”

Martha Nielsen (Lisa Vicari)

This is the conclusion of everything. No matter how different events, alternate realities, and time travel happen, the same end faces all of humanity. All humans must die. That’s one of the undeniable facts of life. In both Jonas and Martha’s quest to save others, they all end up making the same choices and reaching the same conclusion: everyone dies in the apocalypse.

Dark’s thrills and horror come from the idea that the heroes are fighting against the inevitable. They can change things in ways they think will save the world, but they still don’t understand the vast universe they are in and the things that have been put in motion which is beyond their control. While it gives the show a darker and more cynical vibe at times, it also makes the attempts to fight against fate all the more heroic.

13 “Most People Are Nothing But Pawns On A Chessboard Moved By An Unknown Hand.”

Noah (Mark Waschke)

Noah said this to Bartosz in the Dark season 1 finale, signifying how most people move in their storylines and take certain actions without knowing what happens behind the scenes. It is a metaphor about the fight between light and shadow. Noah himself feels that he has been awakened and is no longer one of these people who are not in control of their own destiny.

He believes he now has the power to change things which leads him to think that all the murders he commits are necessary sacrifices in the battle to change the timeline and save everyone. It is an eerie sentiment from one of the show’s darkest characters who believes he is the hero of his own story. It is another way the show uses the complex idea of free will while showing the dark aspects of that power.

12 “The Question Isn’t From What Time, But What World?”

Adam (Dietrich Hollinderbaumer)

This is another Dark quote that is repeated in the series and gives more emphasis to the themes of the story. In the Dark Season 2 finale, Martha from the second world appeared to Jonas, right after the original Martha was killed by Adam. She took him right before the apocalypse happened. When asked what time she came from, she revealed the first introduction for the viewers to another reality, Martha’s world.

In The Dark‘s season 3 finale, Adam goes back to Jonas and tells him about the two worlds that should not have been there. He finally finds a way to destroy the knot and convinces Jonas to take the other Martha to the original world and attempt to change the one event that created the split in time and reality. In that moment, Martha’s earlier line is made clearer as the hope of saving the world was not found in a different time but in a different reality.

11 “I Thought I Had More Time. Why Does Everyone Say That? ‘To Have Time.’ How Can We Say That, When It’s Time That Has Us?”

Jonas Kahnwald (Louis Hofmann)

While there are many good time travel shows that explore the concept in various ways, the musings of Dark on the subject of time are some of the most thought-provoking. When Jonas teleported from the future, he waited until his old self left Martha at the beach. He decides to take this opportunity to share one more moment with her as time continues to rob them of their future together.

The quote signifies the fight against time that occurs throughout the series. Jonas is able to see what the future has in story for him and Marth, looking back on a time when he thought they had their whole lives ahead of them. He laments that, even with his time traveling, they are pawns to the greater power of time and it controls their fate.

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10 “Your Pain Defines Who You Are, But It No Longer Holds Power Over You.”

Noah (Mark Waschke)

In the Dark season 1 finale, Noah stands next to Helge Doppler in 1986 and answers him when asked why people believe in a lie if God doesn’t exist. He tells him, “Because we prefer any lie to the pain“. He then recounted how he met Jonas in the past, without revealing who he was to Helge, and told him no pain anyone encounters is in vain. Noah understood that the pain that people endure gives them strength and determination. He then told Helge that the pain he faced throughout his life should no longer hold power over him.

It is a powerful idea and a reminder that a person’s past, whether it be good or bad, does not have to set them down a preordained path. Using the lessons and determination that come from suffering allows them to build a new future for themselves.

9 “Time Is An Infinite Field. Millions And Millions Of Interlocking Wheels. We Have To Be Patient To Be Victorious.”

Noah (Mark Waschke)

Noah’s presence in season 1 cannot be missed. He was perceived to be the main villain in that first season, responsible for kidnapping and murdering three children and spreading havoc across the small town of Winden. Noah contacted Bartosz and convinced him of time travel when he predicted several events with a high level of detail, knowing already how they would happen.

Noah’s confidence in Adam and the bigger plan is so stubborn, it is part of what makes him such an unsettling villain in the early part of the story on Netflix. He believes he has a greater purpose and his conviction in those beliefs is unwavering. A villain who is capable of doing horrific things to achieve his goals while also having the patience to see them come to fruition is a formidable threat, and he remains a scary antagonist as a result.

8 “Our Mistake In All Of Our Thinking Is That We Each Believe Ourselves To Be An Independent Entity; One Self Beside Countless Other Selves.”

Eve (Barbara Nüsse)

While In Reality, We’re All Just Small Fractions Of An Infinite Whole.

Stories about the multiverse have become extremely popular to the point of some feeling the concept has grown stale. However, Dark was early to the trend, using the concept for some of its biggest twists and most exciting storytelling developments. It also introduced the idea that each person is connected to their existence in other realities.

Eva brought Jonas to her world, Martha’s reality. She told him about the other reality and the countless versions of him and Martha. Eva then revealed that she is the older Martha in the future. There are countless versions of each of them, and each of their actions has consequences for others. While the show deals with the fight for free will, this idea flips the concept to reveal that free will affects the will of others beyond one’s own reality.

7 “The Question Isn’t How, The Question Is When.”

Mikkel Nielsen (Daan Lennard Liebrenz)

By far, this quote was one of the most important lines in the series, among many packed lines in Netflix’s Dark Season 1 that viewers might have missed. Mikkel Nielsen loved magic and in one of the early scenes in season 1, he was playing a magic trick for his impressed dad, Ulrich. He asked Mikkel how he did the trick, to which he replied that what matters is not how but when.

It was a strong foreshadowing moment and one of the lines that will help Ulrich later figure out time travel. The show takes this small and charming moment between father and son and uses it to speak to the themes of the series and give a hint of the mind-bending places the story will go. It is one of the moments that makes Dark a fun show to revisit and discover all these hidden clues.

6 “The Distinction Between Past, Present, And Future Is Nothing But An Illusion.”

Opening Narration

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Are Not Consecutive, They Are Connected In A Never-Ending Circle. Everything Is Connected.

This was a strong, cryptic introduction to the mysteries and tragic events that will follow in the first episode of Dark. The opening narration immediately throws audiences into the mystery story while serving as a warning that concepts of time and linear motion will be played around with in some big ways. It is a quote that is linked to a similar idea suggested by Albert Einstein and the notion that humankind must break their preconceived ideas about time being so simple as “before”, “after”, and “now”. Indeed, that is a lesson the characters of the show need to learn.

Throughout different timelines and realities, viewers have to follow the various connections between characters as they time travel and go through interconnected paradoxes. Everything is a never-ending connected cycle for Dark‘s characters, from the first to the last line in the show.