02x01 - Beginnings and Endings

[bunniefuu]

And if you gaze long into an abyss,
the abyss also gazes into you.

[oppressive music]

JUNE 21, 1921

[metallic hammering]

The beginning... and the end.

I think it seems a strange idea

that maybe there's no difference.

Sic mundus creatus est.

And thus the world is created.

Sic

mundus

creatus est!

[breathing heavily]

You've stopped believing the prophecy?

I believe in the irony of fate.

Adam says that all things must happen
in the same manner they always have.

We have to bear the cross,
no matter how hard it may seem.

In six days this will be paradise
and hell on earth will end.

Sometimes I ask myself
whether paradise and hell

are one and the same.

Adam was right.

You've lost your faith.

And is that why he sent you?

I've waited for this moment for ages.

Interesting that it should be you.

I hope eventually a day will come

where you won't believe
everything Adam tells you.

You should...

ask why he took you in.

And why he chose to call you Noah.

[threatening music]

[Noah gasps]

[pants heavily]

[ominous music]

[gasping]

[oppressive music]

JUNE 27, 2020
BEGINNING OF THE LAST CYCLE

["Goodbye" by Apparat plays]

♪ Fold out your hands ♪

♪ Give me a sign ♪

♪ Put down your lies ♪

♪ Lay down next to me ♪

♪ Don't listen when I scream ♪

♪ Bury your doubts and fall asleep ♪

♪ For neither ever ♪

♪ Nor never ♪

♪ Goodbye ♪

♪ Neither ever ♪

♪ Nor never ♪

♪ Goodbye ♪

♪ Neither ever ♪

♪ Nor never ♪

♪ Goodbye ♪

♪ Goodbye ♪

♪ Goodbye ♪

[quiet moaning]

[heavy breathing]

[quietly]
You and I are perfect for each other.

Never believe anything else.

[gasps, breathes heavily]

DO NOT OPEN BEFORE NOVEMBER 4,
10:13 P.M.

JUNE 2020

[wind howls]

[helicopter whirs]

[muffled bang]

[dismal music]

[muffled banging from outside]

[muffled banging in the distance]

[hatch creaks and falls shut]

[woman] My name is Claudia Tiedemann.

I am one of the few survivors
of the apocalypse on June 27, 2020.

Almost three months
have passed since the catastrophe.

It's unclear what exactly caused
the events in Winden.

But the God Particle...

If we can stabilize it,
it might provide a way back.

Back to the past.
Maybe we can save them.

All of them.

[atmospheric female singing]

JUNE 21, 2020

SIX DAYS UNTIL THE APOCALYPSE

[man on radio] Morning, sleepyheads!
It's the first week of the summer holiday.

The weather couldn't be nicer
for a day at the beach.

In local news, more than half a year
after the mysterious disappearance

of four teenagers, a senior citizen
and a local police officer

from the town of Winden

there are no clues as to their whereabouts
or what might have happened.

A federal police task force
will now assist with the investigation.

[grave music]

[doctor] How are you today?

Still having joint pain?

Nausea?

To be honest, your lab results
are worrying me a bit.

I think we should admit you again.

No.

Of course not.

I'm staying at home.

Fine. We'll wait for the results
of the last MRI.

We may have to stop the hormone treatment
and switch back to chemo.

MARTHA: COME TO THE BRIDGE.

[man] "He that has eyes to see

and ears to hear

may convince himself

that no mortal can keep a secret.

If his lips are silent,

he chatters with his fingertips.

"Betrayal oozes out of him at every pore."

That was Freud,

and I'm Clausen,
head of the task force for Winden.

As of today I'm in charge of
the past year's unsolved missing cases.

This task force's aim is to reinvestigate
the case from the beginning,

To assess all the circumstantial evidence

and make sense of the secrets
that remain hidden,

undiscovered until we find them.

[indistinct chatter]

In the coming days
some of you will receive subpoenas

to appear for another
round of questions.

- Yes?
- You keep saying "we."

- What do you mean by that?
- Myself and Mrs. Doppler.

- Who is still assigned to these cases.
- Six people have been missing for months!

And this is what they send us?
This is what you call a task force?

One person?
And the woman who hasn't found anyone.

- [murmurs]
- [woman] She hasn't done anything.

Ten people

who see an elephant

from ten different angles

will give you ten different descriptions

of the size and shape of that elephant.

But a single person
who looks at that same elephant

from all ten
different perspectives instead

will be able to piece together
all of his observations

and eventually arrive
at the only reasonable conclusion.

My son is still gone.

The next time I need to find
an elephant, though, I'll be in touch!

- [woman] That's right.
- [murmurs, clapping]

[Magnus] Does your mother talk at home?
About the investigation, I mean.

[Franziska] Not to us.

So we just sit and wait.

And nothing happens.

We've been clueless for eight months.

Sometimes I think it'd just be better
if they were dead.

Hey, don't say that.

[phone notification]

I better go.

- Where are you going?
- Elisabeth's staying at her friend's.

I'll call you later, okay?

[oppressive music]

[ominous music]

[wind howls]

ALEKSANDER TIEDEMANN
d*ed JUNE 27, 2020

JUSTYNA JANKOWSKI
d*ed JUNE 27, 2020

TORBEN WÖLLER
d*ed JUNE 27, 2020

MICHAEL KAHNWALD
BORN NOVEMBER, 5, 1975, d*ed JUNE 21, 2019

MARTHA NIELSEN
d*ed JUNE 27, 2020

[melancholy music]

I tried calling you these last few days.

There's a lot going on.

I wanted to talk.

- I have for a while.
- Don't worry about it.

I think it's better this way.

I guess...

that's it, then.

It's 'cause of him.

- Because of Jonas.
- What?

What does that have to do with it?

We hardly ever see each other.

I don't...

[sighs]

You've really changed.

I...

I've been thinking
that you're hiding something.

I...

- I have no idea what's going on with you.
- What do you mean?

For f*ck's sake, my mom is dying.
That's what's going on. And...

- There are things I just can't tell you.
- And why the hell not?

I just can't!

Okay? If you had any idea of the sh*t
I've been dealing with.

- I mean...
- The sh*t you've been dealing with?

In case you forgot,
my father and brother are still missing.

My mother is crazy
and doesn't give a sh*t about me.

And you're telling me about
how much sh*t you've been dealing with?

[sighs]

[Martha sighs]

It's better this way.

[gloomy, melancholy music]

[phone notification]

MESSAGE FROM UNKNOWN SENDER:
THIS EVENING.

[threatening music]

[Aleksander] Energy creates community.

Nuclear power was, is,
and always will be the only viable option.

Nothing is more reliable,
cheaper or as safe.

The outside world, however,
demands progress.

In seven days
our plant will close for good.

This will be
a life-altering adjustment for all of us.

I would like to thank you
for your loyalty.

Without all of you
the Winden plant as we know it

could never have existed.

And so, for the last six days,
let us fill this place

with the spirit of our community,
as we always have.

[tense music]

[man] Everything is ready for transport
on schedule.

And the decommissioning?

What is at ground level will be untouched
and become part of the greenfield.

Any radiation will be traced back
to the previous use of the pools.

[door opens]

Hello?

Who are you?

Why are you here?

How did you have a key?

It's my key.

What are you saying, your key?

I know this is all going to sound
like it makes no sense.

But hear me out.

Do you remember the yellow bike?

The bike you and Dad
gave me for my eighth birthday.

I drove it into a ditch
on the very first day.

I got that cut on my arm, here.

Get out! [inhales sharply]

Here...

Dad was making pancakes.

He dropped the pan
and spilled hot oil right there.

I disappeared from your life
over half a year ago.

And you found me over 33 years ago.

I knew it was you right away.

It was raining that day.

You and Grandpa
wanted to drive me there in the car.

You said there was still acid rain
because of Chernobyl.

I was wearing my yellow jacket.

It's me.

It's me, Mom.

Jonas.

How can it be you?

[crying]

[emotional music]

[Noah] There are no coincidences.

Every path is predetermined.

Everything happens when it is supposed to.

At the right time.

At the right place.

As if the world was a carpet

made up of a network of infinite threads.

Each in its place.

But only a handful of people know
where their journey will take them.

You've taken your first step.

Adam will be proud of you.

I had that same feeling.

It will pass.

Adam...

- Why did he take us in?
- Certain things are still hidden from you.

But they will come to light.

Little by little.

[gloomy music]

It's all a matter of timing.

How do we know
what's right and what's wrong?

What's good

and what's evil?

By listening to our inner voice.

And choosing not to follow anyone

but ourselves.

Our true character shows not only
in our deeds, but also in their purpose.

I am you.

I am your inner voice.

Never forget.

Everything's connected.

You,

me,

the past

and the future.

[g*nf*re in the distance]

[distant shouts]

[man shouting in French]

[man continues in French]

[man speaking in French]

[speaking French]

[whimpers]

[rope creaks]

- [choking]
- [speaking French]

[men gasping, choking]

"Any passage
into the dead zone is forbidden."

Any attempt will result
in the death penalty.

Those are the rules.

We are the future!

"Sic mundus creatus est!"

[crowd] Sic mundus creatus est!

[girl] "Where were you?"

"There is nothing out there."

"Our only hope is in the passage.
Those without faith are already dead."

The prophecy will be fulfilled.

"The passage will open
and lead us to paradise."

Those without faith are already dead?

They are all dead,
my family, my friends.

Everybody dies!
In my time, in six days.

I don't need your f*cking paradise.
I just want to go home.

What's behind that wall?

Why did Mom keep it all?

Great-Grandpa d*ed ages ago.

I think it's because it's the only thing
that reminds her of her family.

Some things it's impossible to let go of.

It's a shame
I never met Grandpa and Grandma.

Does Mom remember them?

Your mother was still little
when they passed away.

Come.

[chuckles softly]

[Clausen] Were you born here?

My grandfather was.
He was the one who raised me.

Is your grandfather still alive?

No.

Have you considered
it could've been him?

- Who? My grandfather?
- No.

Your colleague, Ulrich.

No.

Why?

He called you right before he disappeared.

The call lasted exactly 12 seconds.
Most likely a voicemail recording.

What did he want?

Nothing.
He had the wrong number.

Did you keep the recording?

No.

- Of course not.
- [door opens]

The parents' testimonies are in this one.

Thank you, Wöller.

Sure thing.

[door closes]

I had them set up an office for you.

Just down the hall.

Expectations lead to disappointment.

"Have hope," my mother used to say,
"not expectations.

You might just be surprised,
but not disappointed."

You expected a different kind of colleague
and got me instead.

Coincidence?

I don't believe in them.

I believe things come together
as they're supposed to.

Shall we?

- [knocking at door]
- [Martha] Mom?

[door opens]

[quiet, sad music]

INVESTIGATION FILE

[quiet, tense music]

STEEL DOOR?

[sighs]

[sighs]

[man] It's remarkable
that people don't go crazy

knowing the futility
of their own existence.

And endless cycle of life and death.

What is the origin of all this suffering?

Did you show Bartosz?

And he doesn't suspect anything?

He was always naive by nature.

The apocalypse

must come to pass.

Do you have doubts?

What must one do with a dead forest
so that new trees may grow?

One burns it all down.

There's very little time.

You must find

the missing pages.

[door opens]

Adam, they're waiting for you.

Six days left.

[threatening music]

[twigs snap]

[mysterious music]

[door opens]

I'm on my break.

["Jeanny" by Falco
plays in the background]

Whatever.
Blow job is 40 euros, a**l is 85.

Kinky games are extra.
But first I need to eat.

Go on, take them off.

[older Jonas] You could say
that I exist infinitely.

I'm here now,

and I exist for every second
between my birth and my death.

But I am always Jonas.

I'm the same as I was,

and yet not the same.

Just as you're not the same person
who came through that door an hour ago.

But where is Jonas?

Where is my Jonas?

In the future.

In the future?

Yeah.

But he can't get back.

I tried to destroy the passage,
but I only managed to close it.

That's why he's still there.

So why are you here?

To put an end to everything.

Once and for all.

[threatening music]

[clattering]

- That's the man!
- Which man?

The man with the watch. That's Noah!

Noah?

[disturbing music]

POLICE

Look out for the tiniest discrepancies
when people talk.

Every detail counts.

[cell phone buzzing]

I'VE FOUND NOAH.
COME TO THE BUNKER.

[Clausen] Something wrong?

I have to go.

I don't have a driver's license.

I assume it'd be all right
if I rode with you tomorrow?

Yes.

[dismal music]

[oppressive music]

Mom left it open.

What's that?

Dad's stuff.

Police documents
and maps of the cave.

That's why Mom goes in there every day.

I think she's looking for this.

A door.

In the cave?

It leads to the plant.

Everyone out there knows something
we're not supposed to.

Mom, Bartosz,

the police, too.

They all have a secret they're keeping.

[dismal music]

Are you prepared?

[tense music]

Thanks for the coffee.

I'm glad to get rid of that thing.

Get in touch with Mom, okay?

Bye.

Ciao.

[door closes, engine starts]

[breathing shakily]

[Peter] That's Noah.

[shakily] Elisabeth found it. In a book.

It was at the store.

She said that was the man
who gave her the watch.

[Charlotte] "January 8, 1921."

Sic mundus creatus est."

These people, who are they, Charlotte?

- Why does your grandfather have this?
- I don't know.

[disturbing music]

["It's Happening Again"
by Agnes Obel plays]

CALL REJECTED

♪ I swear it is true ♪

♪ The past isn't dead ♪

♪ It's alive, it is happening ♪

♪ In the back of my head ♪

♪ No future, no past ♪

♪ No laws of time ♪

♪ Can undo what is happening ♪

♪ And I close my eyes ♪

♪ With the stars and the moon ♪

♪ I woke up in the night ♪

♪ It's happening, it's happening
It's happening, it's happening ♪

♪ It's happening ♪

[soft, melancholy music]

[song fades]

[whirring and buzzing]

[muffled din in the distance]

[quiet, tense music]

[Geiger counter crackles faintly]

[crackling increases]

[crackling wanes]

[crackling intensifies]

[Geiger counter crackling]

[oppressive music]

[crackling of Geiger counter intensifies]

[oppressive music]

[heavy breathing]

[eerie music]

[heavy breathing]

[intense music playing]