Netflix Dark Season 2 Episode 5 Recap: Lost and Found

Dark is one of the best Netflix original series to date. To see a description of the show and all of my episode recaps, go here.

The last episode shows many of our characters traveling or preparing to travel through time for the first time. Claudia discovers her dad is destined to die very soon and seems set on stopping that from happening. Jonas realizes that getting home will not be possible without assistance. He will need to partner with Adam and Noah. Katharina learns that her son is in the 1980s. Martha and Magnus now have a time machine, although they don't know that's what it is. Hannah also knows how to travel, and she may have access a portal of her own through the Stranger's machine. Where will all of this new knowledge and power lead? 

Episode 5 Lost and Found

The episode begins similar to the last episode. Starting with the feet, the camera pans up to show two bodies entwined in slow, passionate lovemaking. Martha, bathed in sweat, is the person lying face up. The person on top stays in shadow until the light reveals Stranger Jonas, rather than teenage Jonas. Martha's face registers shock, and then she looks at her belly in horror as a black blob appears that grows larger. The blob is a miniature version of the Higgs' field that Jonas travels through. 

This time, it's the Stranger who wakes up, gasping for air. Now it's the older Jonas who is dreaming of Martha. He wakes in the time of 2020, trying to get his bearings after the shock of the dream. 

Cut to the Dark title credits and theme music

[L-R]: Louis Hoffman as JONAS, Dietrich Hollinderbaumer as ADAM in DARK

Cut to: 1921, Teen Jonas wakes up in bed again, with the bandage still visible around his neck. Instead of Noah, it's Adam who lounges in a chair nearby, as if he has been waiting for Jonas to wake up. Adam muses how people often feel aversion for those most like us. He knows that Jonas is still in shock to learn that Adam is his future self. Jonas reiterates that he just wants to get home. Adam instructs Jonas that he should get dressed and leaves the room. Jonas notices that Adam has laid out khakis, white sneakers, and a yellow raincoat, which is the outfit he wore at the beginning of the show. But since he has been lost in time, Jonas hasn't worn the bright  yellow coat, which can represent his hope and his feelings about life before he became a traveler. 

Cut to: June 25, 2020. It's two days before the apocalypse. The Stranger stands next to Hannah's bed. She lies there fast asleep. He seems to be considering her. After a moment, he walks down the stairs and out of the house, suitcase in hand. We aren't sure if he's staying in this time or just leaving to talk to someone.

Cut to: The Nielsen house. Katharina clutches the class photo of Mikkel from 1986. Magnus and Martha come downstairs with the time machine. Katharina asks them to wait because she needs to tell them something. More than likely, she planned to show them the photo of Mikkel and confide in them. Martha is mad that she has waited this long to talk. She's not interested in what Katharina has to say. At this point, she hasn't talked to them in months. Martha walks out of the house and Magnus soon follows. So Katharina is left alone. 

Cut to: The Tiedemann house. Aleksander is on the phone, trying to get more info on Inspector Clausen. He wants someone -- probably an associate -- to check the record. Apparently, Aleksander has contacts, and he believes he can leverage that to figure out why Clausen is so interested in Winden and his background. As he hangs out the phone, Regina comes in, looking frail. She is worried because Bartosz's bed hasn't been slept in. Aleksander tries to assure her that things are fine, believing he's with Martha. Regina isn't convinced because she knows they broke up (mothers always know!). He hugs her; she says, "Tell me that everything will be alright." 

The photo board in Adam's Sic Mundus lair

Cut to: 1987, Ulrich is in the psychiatric hospital. He watches as an orderly uses a keycard to open a locked door. The creepy music lets us know he has something on his mind. 

Cut to: Claudia sits in her office, reading through the news clippings about Egon's death. Her assistant comes in to tell her that the French delegation is all here and waiting. Abruptly, Claudia stands up and announces that she wants the meeting rescheduled and all her appointments cancelled. The assistant looks shocked. Claudia is wearing a bright red shirt, which may be the color of passion or travelers in the show. 

Cut to: 1921, The Great Room or Sic Mundus lair. Jonas looks at the Fall of the Damned painting on the wall, by Peter Paul Rubens. He's wearing the yellow raincoat. Adam tells Jonas that men live 3 lives. One lasts until the loss of naivete; the next until the loss of innocence; and the third, until the loss of life. Jonas tries to stop him. He wants to return to his time and be done with this nonsense. He mentions that he has seen the graves and knows what will happen if nothing changes. Adam counterpoints that it's only 1921, so there's plenty of time. The apocalypse won't happen for 99 years. 

Cut to: 1987, the orderly bring Ulrich a snack and starts to yammer on about Ronald Reagan's speech at the Berlin Wall, which took place in June of 1987!  Ulrich is looking at the picture of Mikkel, which apparently Egon either left or gave to Ulrich. As the orderly talks, Ulrich pulls a large bowl from under the pillow and proceeds to knock the security guard on the head with it. He takes the man's key card and walks outside the hospital. 

Cut to: Egon Tiedemann's apartment. Claudia has popped in for a visit. Egon is surprised because she rarely comes to visit. Claudia tries to play it off that she just wanted to see how he was holding up. Egon mistakes her awkwardness as concern about the cancer. He mentions how proud he is of her. Claudia shakes her head. She isn't interested in this topic. Abruptly, she announces that she wants Egon to move in with them. And that tomorrow would be best. Egon is shocked. Egon says, "You're acting like I'm on my deathbed." -- a chilling line under the circumstances. Egon seems happy but also confused. 

Cut to: 2020, Hannah sits at the kitchen table, reading a note of some kind. The table is still covered in pictures of the family. Katharina knocks on the door. She asks to see Stranger Jonas, but Hannah tells her he has left. She then asks Hannah how she can see Mikkel, too. Hannah mentions that you need a time machine. Katharina kind of laughs, thinking Hannah is joking. Hannah reiterates that it doesn't matter anyway because the Stranger has taken the suitcase and left with it. Katharina notices the pictures on the table and picks up different ones of Michael. Now that she knows this is her son, she looks at these pictures intently. She muses that, "He was right here the whole time." She then rants at Hannah a little, shaming her for sleeping with her husband and her son and wanting everything that belonged to her. They exchange more words about Ulrich and argue over who he really loved. 

Another knock at the door. This time it's Inspector Clausen. He chides Hannah for missing her appointment yesterday to talk to him. Hannah says she forgot. Clausen finds that interesting since her own son is missing. He is interested that Katharina is visiting and says she she is the last person he expected to see. We know that in the last episode Woller told him that Hannah and Ulrich were having an affair. So he's lowkey hinting that he knows things about them. He then holds up a sketch of the Stranger and asks if either of them knows who this man is. Surprisingly, Katharina looks him dead in the eye and says no, giving Hannah a meaningful look. This is a fascinating moment. These two are rivals, but for the moment, they stand in unity against the outsider. No matter how much they don't value each other, they like Clausen even less. With only the two of them left, Clausen asks her if she knows the man in the sketch. Hannah also says no. 

Cut to: the Nielsen house. We hear the sound of breaking glass. Stranger Jonas walks inside the house. He walks upstairs to Martha's room and sits down for a moment, breathing in the scent of her. I suppose it has been 33 years since he has seen her. He places the St. Christopher's pendant on her pillow -- the patron saint of travelers. The pendant is a time loop because Martha and Jonas keep giving it to one another. 

Cut to: 1921, Adam and Jonas are in conversation still. Jonas asks if Adam knows everything that will happen. Adam says he knows where Jonas begins and ends. I won't repeat the whole conversation here, but Adam teases the possibility of a loophole -- a way to change time. Otherwise things will happen as they always have. 

Sylvester Groth as CLAUSEN; would you want to talk to this man? 

Cut back to 2020: Clausen and Hannah continue to converse. Clausen mentions that no one in the town wants to talk and that everyone may have secrets. Hannah says nothing. He then turns his attention to the topic of Aleksander Tiedemann. He shares that he knows that she is no longer Aleksander's therapist yet he is still paying her the same amount of money each month. Hannah counters that people in Winden stick together, and Aleksander wanted to help her out after Michael's suicide. Clausen isn't buying it. He picks up a photo of Hannah, Katharina, and Ulrich as teenagers. Ulrich has his arms around both girls. Clausen muses that people in Winden seem to share beds, too. Clausen hasn't seemed taken any classes in subtlety or rapport building. If he wants people to confide in him, he should take a less harsh tone. Nope. If Clausen will learn anything, it won't be by questioning the townspeople. 

Cut to: the Winden caves. The teen team walks with purpose into the caves. Elisabeth looks behind her, seeming to sense they might be followed. She turns around and follows the group. We see that adult Noah is indeed hiding behind a tree, watching the teens enter the cave. 

Cut to: the bunker. Charlotte and the Stranger are together inside the caves. Charlotte questions him about Noah again. The Stranger reiterates that Noah is a traveler and Adam's puppet. He also confirms that Noah has killed children: Mads, Eric, and Yasin. Aside: it's interesting that Noah and Helge only captured boys. Why is that? Is it because Noah is looking for a daughter and doesn't want to take the risk of hurting the wrong child? Or is there a different reason? Charlotte shares that somehow she thinks this all has to do with her. She asks if Jonas knows who her parents are and look very scared and fragile. Jonas says no but that he knew her grandfather. Charlotte reveals that Tannhaus is not her real grandfather. He took her in at a young age. 

Charlotte asks if Tannhaus traveled. Jonas says that Tannhaus is just a pawn like the rest of them. That Claudia used him just like she used Peter and the Stranger. It's Claudia that influenced Tannhaus to build the time machine. Stranger Jonas paints Claudia as the real kingpin and the person who is at fault for the suffering. 

Carlotta von Falkenhayn as ELISABETH

Cut to, the Winden caves. The teens arrive and find Bartosz still tied up. He's in bad shape and hasn't had water or a bathroom for at least 12 hours. They continue to berate him about the machine in the suitcase and what it does. Bartosz doesn't want to say. But they force his hand when they threaten to leave him there again. He blurts out that it's a time machine. Of course, they think he's pulling their leg. Martha is the only one who stop them from leaving and demands Bartosz show him how it works. Reluctantly Bartosz does, using Martha's phone as the signal. The machine ignites and the group vanishes into the time portal. 

Cut to: 1987, Claudia and Bernd Doppler are have a one-on-meeting at his home. Not at the office. This is intended to be a private meeting. She brings up the accident that happened last summer at the power plant. According to Bernd, he claimed the issue was a reaction in the volume control system. But she checked the data and everything is normal. So what really happened. Claudia is still wearing her bright red shirt, and Bernd appears to have his arm in a sling. 

He pushes a black folder across the table to her. He knew she wouldn't let that issue alone so he had samples taken and analyzed. Claudia opens the folder and looks incredulous. These numbers can't be possible. Bernd agrees, which is why he did the experiment a second time and got the same exact results. They continue to converse and agree that the numbers match those of Englert, Brout, and Higgs in 1964 ... but not exactly. Claudia seems really excited and references "The God Particle." Apparently, the numbers mean that a God Particle exists in the nuclear power plant. Of course, we already know this from the 2053 timeline, but this scene reveals that as early as 1987, Bernd and Claudia knew about the Higgs' field or black blob that lives in the plant. Claudia wants them to go public. Whether for fame or precaution, Claudia's enthusiasm is genuine. Both she and Bernd are nerding out together about the discovery, but Bernd makes a request: She can do anything with the data but leave him and the power plant out of the discussion. He wants to protect his legacy from any hint of scandal. Claudia will respect the decision. 

Michael Mendl as BERN 1987; where did the sling come from?

Cut to: Ulrich rushes to the Kahnwald house. This all happened so suddenly, and he doesn't really have a plan. He comes to a halt when he sees Mikkel playing with a Rubik's cube at the picnic table. Mikkel is only one year older when he disappeared, but for Ulrich, it's been over 33 years since he has seen his son. Overcome with emotion, the moment renders him speechless. Mikkel, ever the sweet and sensitive child, asks Ulrich if he's okay. He doesn't know it's his father -- just that someone looks lost. Mikkel knows that feeling well. 

Cut to: the hospital. Ines walks down the hall and stops purposefully next to a cart. She grabs some pharmaceuticals and hides them in her smock. A colleague catches her in the act, and Ines quickly covers up what she's doing with an easy excuse. Her co-worker shares a rumor that a local madman broke out of the psych hospital. Ines looks scared and rushes off. 

Cut back to: the Kahnwald house. Ulrich looks a little better. Mikkel comes out of the house with two glasses of orange juice. He hands one to Ulrich, and they both take big gulps. Ulrich looks really nervous. As he's about to speak, Mikkel says that he looks familiar. Ulrich says he has waited 33 years for this moment. He turns his glass upside down and says, "The question is not how, but when." He asks Mikkel if he remember, and Mikkel nods yes. They embrace; it's a very emotional moment. Mikkel calls him Papa. 

Cut to: 1921, back to Jonas and Adam. Jonas says in the future there's a prophecy about a new world, and that Sic Mundus will lead them to paradise. He asks Adam if Sic Mundus is a religion. Adam says no; Sic Mundus is the opposite of that. They are waging war on time. They want a world without time and without God. That people actually worship time. And that until you master time, you are at the whim of that god. God is time. 

The photo that NOAH showed CHARLOTTE

Cut to: 2020, Charlotte walks inside Tannhaus' store. She begins to sort through the papers again when in walks adult Noah. Charlotte stands up and looks nervous. Remember, she thinks he's a child murderer and someone to be feared. Noah calls her by name. He tells her his name is Noah, and Charlotte says she knows who he is; that he killed the children. We have never seen Noah look so undone. He tries to explain his actions. That he did it all for her -- so that she would not be taken away from him again or her mother. Charlotte looks like she will cry. He opens his leather notebook and takes out a picture of Charlotte as a baby. He holds out a picture of her and shares memories of her birth. She begins to cry and begs him to stop. So, Noah is Charlotte's father. This is not the news she wanted. And he shares his sorrow that she's been there in Winden the whole time and he never knew. Adam knew though. Charlotte doesn't know what to make of all this, of course. Noah concludes by saying that the apocalypse will happen in two days, and that he knows what he must do. He will end Adam so everyone lives and not just those in the bunker. Charlotte asks who her mother is. He just says that she loves you very much. Charlotte cries as he leaves. Aside: Noah's reference to saving more than people in the bunker reminds of the story of Noah's ark. He has called the bunker and the chair an ark before. 

Cut to: 1987, the teen team comes out of the Winden Caves, only things look different. For one thing, the armchair is gone. The group turns to interrogate Bartosz. Magnus is the most surly about this whole thing. He's not really buying the time travel is real. Bartosz shares that he had doubts, too, only "he" kept predicting things that would happen, like Jonas and Martha kissing and his mother getting cancer. Magnus wants to know who he is. Bartosz says Noah. Franziska jumps in because she recognizes the name Noah and mentions that Elisabeth knows him. Bartosz says Noah said there is a war on time and that Jonas will be coming back. Martha then seems interested because she still wants to know where Jonas is. The only thing she seemed to hear is that Jonas is coming back. Magnus walks off with Franziska and Elisabeth in tow. Martha again looks at Bartosz and he begs her to believe him. Martha, too, walks off. 

Cut to: Ines comes home and yells up the stairs for Michael. But no one is home. She sees the door ajar and finds the two glasses on the table. In a panic, she calls Egon, reporting that Michael is missing and that she's afraid the man at the hospital got him. Egon interrupts. Apparently he hadn't heard that Ulrich had escaped yet. He is going to pick her up to hunt them down. 

Daan Lennard Liebrenz as MIKKEL hugs ULRICH and calls him Papa

Cut to: Mikkel and Ulrich run towards the caves. They both keep checking behind to see how close the pursuers are. We see the police cars on the road. They reach the caves and are about to run inside, when voices instruct them to halt. Ulrich starts to ignore, but the police fire guns in the air, threatening to shoot. Ulrich tries to protect Mikkel, but they catch both of them, returning Mikkel to Ines, and Ulrich gets tossed back in the police cruiser. A frustrating thing about this to me is that Mikkel doesn't say anything. Doesn't cry or call his Dad's name. It just reiterates the belief that Ulrich is a childnapper that was going to hurt Mikkel and dispose of his body like the other boys. I will never get over why Mikkel didn't say anything. It makes me wonder what he was thinking. Was he happy to go with his dad, or did he feel like he was being forced into it. Even if they had made it back to the caves, as we have seen, there is no guarantee they would have returned to 2020. And what would old Ulrich have done there? Still, it's a frustrating scene. Ulrich yells at Egon and blames him for everything that has gone wrong. Next time, he will kill him. 

Cut to: 1921, Adam is still talking. He mentions his that Mikkel, or Michael is just one part of a greater knot. Jonas remarks that Adam has had this conversation before but that now he's in the opposite position. Adam remembers that day and that he couldn't imagine wanting what he now wants. Some pain you don't forget. Jonas is still mad. If there's really a way to change things, why hasn't it happened yet? Basically Adam tells him that things have to happen in the right order. 

Cut to: 1987, Claudia at the Winden power plant in 1987. She thanks a man in a blue coat for his time. She hands him a small vial of the cesium and asks him to test it -- but keep it quite and confidential. If it's what she thinks it is, it will revolutionize things. 

Cut to: the Winden Forest. The teens come out of the woods near the bus stop we see throughout the show. They walk to the bus stop. There are posted advertisements at the stop -- one is for the Modern Talking tour of 1986 for the album Middle of Nowhere. The other is a political ad for Helmut Kohl, who was a prominent Chancellor of Germany during the reunification  phase. All things that prove they are in a different time. It's not clear whether the teens take much note of it. Then two police cars drive by that might look older than the current models. Ulrich is in the back seat of one, and he begins yelling that his kids are there. No one notices, of course. 

The teen team explore 1987

Cut to: 2020, Hannah looks at the photo Clausen showed her earlier of Katharina, Ulrich, and her. She folds over one side to hide Katharina's face, leaving just her and Ulrich together. In walks Stranger Jonas. Hannah looks really happy. She thought Jonas had left. She seems to be trying to bond with him, but he's standoffish. He looks at all the pictures of their family. He knows about Ulrich now and wonders if she even loved his Dad. Hannah says she knows she ruined everything. Jonas feels no pity. His words: "Maybe you always have. You need no one." He goes upstairs, leaving her alone again. 

Musical interlude: May the Angels by Alev Lenz

During the musical break, the teens come out of the cave. Martha looks at Bartosz again for a moment, but turns to walk away again. Bartosz is always being left. Ines carries Mikkel home in her arms. Egon looks down, confused by what just happened. Ulrich is bound tightly to a hospital bed. Charlotte looks at the photo Noah gave her of the two of them. Ines is making hot cocoa and adding drugs to the mix. Martha comes home and finds the St. Christopher pendant on her pillow. Finally Adam leads Jonas into the room that holds an elaborate machine.

Once the music ends, Adam tell Jonas that this isn't the same one in 2053 but that it's the twin of that contraption. The one they are looking at is part of the infinite. Jonas asks how it came to be. Adam says that the one in the future is caused by the disaster you want to prevent. That they produced this "God particle" themselves. That they can use this one to go anywhere. And finally we get to the rub. This can break the 33-year cycle.

Adam confesses that there might be a loophole. Go back through the portal back to June 20, 2019 -- the day Michael Kahnwald kills himself -- and stop the cycle from happening. He tells Jonas that he should stop his dad's suicide and martyr himself. Jonas decides to listen to him for once. He dons a gray suit and walks into the God particle. Compared to all he had to do in 2053, this must be quite an adjustment. He now knows it's possible to create a God particle. Only time will tell if Adam is telling the full truth. 

JONAS prepares to enter the God particle to visit 2019; ADAM on the right. 

In the 1980s, we follow Claudia and Ulrich as they try to stop the inevitable. Both of them have emotional arcs because their motivations are narrow-sighted. Ulrich just wants Mikkel back and thinks if he can return his son, all will be right again. Claudia wants to stop the bad from happening to both her dad and daughter. In 1921, our gaze is firmly locked on Jonas as he tries to stop calamity from happening to him, those he loves, and the whole earthly realm. His gaze has transcended his own good to those around him. He seems more willing to accept he may no longer exist if it results in a greater good. But will he be brave enough to do so? 

Burning Questions:

• Who is Charlotte's mom and what circumstances lead to her being with Noah, a man that is seeming less like the grandmaster and more like a pawn every episode. 
• Why does Egon die and can Claudia really change that? 
• How does Mikkel feel after seeing Ulrich again? 
• Does the medication Ines gives him impact his memories?
• Is Adam really helping Jonas save his friends or using him as a pawn?
• Will Jonas be able to stop the suicide

Sic Mundus Creatus Est