Note: The following article might contain certain spoilers to the Netflix Series ‘Dark’. Readers are advised to proceed accordingly.


The story of Adam and Eve as original inhabitants of the Forest realm- the Garden of Eden is a tale passed down for eons. Outcast from their original abode to the quagmire inhabited by humans, their tale is one of irreversible tragic fate. Their one sinful act serves as an everlasting stigma, a flaw upon their lineage. A flaw that is passed onto their offsprings- Cain and Abel. If their sin was greed and temptation, their son’s relationship with each other was marred by unbridled jealousy.


This kind of characteristic traits can be found depicted in the characters of Jonas and Martha- mere puppets at the hands of their older selves- Adam and Eva. Tragedy mirrors itself through the dimensions as the Original Sin is tinged with the bane of science in Jonas and Martha’s tale.

If the apple was the source then, the time-machine is the source now; as the portal of their downfall exists as a man-made construct, a willing decision responsible for forsaking the realms of Eden and Winden.


The forest is the source of origin, the beginning and end of their tale as a glitch in the matrix, as a stain on existence itself. Dark, foreboding and central to the character’s flawed sense of being, the forest is a manifestation of a dark design- the intention to tamper with the sands of time. The forest is a labyrinth, a rabbit hole leading into the perversion of reality.


The trees indicate the forbidden family trees that arose out of a single glitch, doomed, and barren. The chain of events set in motion by Tannhaus in the origin world causes a ripple effect that echoes through the eternity of Jonas and Martha’s existence.


Adam traverses through the forest paths several times, each time- a changed man. A self-proclaimed saviour, who takes it upon himself to free mankind from the impact of relentless time. A world without Jonas, is the world representative of Eden, the original forest, unblemished by the cavernous darkness that engulfs the inhabitants of the parallel worlds.

The origin of mankind is what Jonas and Martha search so desperately for, failing to realise that the fault lies in front of each other’s eyes. Their existence itself is a sin and so is their relationship, forbidden. The forbidden fruit of their relationship is what triggers off the entire cycle of an endless time-loop, where akin to Adam and Eve, they are made to repent for their sins, unable to escape towards the path to salvation.

Sic Mundus Creatus Est proclaims ‘so the world was created’, reflected in the alternate world’s Erit Lux- ‘Let there be light’. The only light that Jonas and Martha claim is when they eradicate any semblance of their existence, fading away into specks of light upon the horizon of time. Seeing themselves for who they really are, this light shines as an epiphany, which breaks through the forest of enchantment and absolves them of their biggest sin- existence itself.

The forest is the abyss whose depths cannot be ascertained, for it is beyond the edge that often lies the realm of eternal recurrence, where time reigns supreme.