Ghosts

## *Dark*

**"Ghosts"** is the third episode of Season 2 of *Dark*. It premiered on June 21, 2019, and is the 13th episode overall.

## Summary

In 1954, a missing Helge returns, but he'll only speak to Noah. In 1987, Claudia brings the time machine to Tannhaus, and Egon questions Ulrich again.

## Plot

### June 23, 1987

In the bunker, decorated like a nursery, Noah straps young Helge Doppler into the chair, telling him that having seen what lies ahead for him, God has chosen him. He inserts a vial into the chair and pulls a lever. Helge is enveloped in a chamber. Noah utters, "Tick, tock," and Helge repeats him.

### Four days until the apocalypse (June 23, 1954)

Agnes Nielsen and Doris Tiedemann share oral sex and laugh. Young Claudia walks in on them, saying she forgot her milk money. Agnes gives her some money to buy a sweet. Doris worries Claudia will suspect, but Agnes tells Doris every family has its secrets. They then kiss; Agnes tells Doris she is beautiful and leaves. Doris then laughs uncontrollably.

On June 23, 1954, a scarred Helge suddenly walks into the Doppler mansion, otherwise unchanged, as if nothing happened. His mother, Greta, is overjoyed and thanks God for returning him. At the police station, Egon Tiedemann and his chief Daniel Kahnwald are surprised to hear he is still alive. They wonder why, after seven months, they still have no clue about the suspect's identity (Ulrich) and why no one has come looking for him. Egon then asks the chief whether he and his wife are still intimate. He laughs and says once a couple has kids, the wife is preoccupied with them, and the husband should look elsewhere.

Claudia complains to Tronte Nielsen that her mother acts like she doesn't understand anything. She says when she becomes a mother, she will be different. Then, Claudia asks him about his time before they came to Winden. He says his mother was sad all the time and that she has a brother, but they seem to hate each other. She asks him if she is happy here, but Tronte shrugs. She then asks him if now is a good time, and he pulls down his pants.

### June 23, 1987

Thirty-three years later, Claudia looks at the time machine she dug up the night before. She suggests that Regina skip school and spend the day with her. Regina, however, says she has an exam and has planned to go swimming. Claudia hugs her and compliments her hair. Regina says she has no time and has to go. This makes Claudia think of the book Helge gave her—*A Journey Through Time*—and she takes it out.

Egon looks at Kreator's *Pleasure to Kill* album. He opens it up and sees the lyrics, "My only aim is to take many lives; the more, the better I feel."

### June 23, 1954

Egon goes to the Doppler house to question Helge. Greta informs him that since returning, he has not spoken. She allows Egon to question him, but Helge remains silent. She yells at Helge to talk to the inspector.

### June 23, 1987

Claudia takes the book and visits Helge in the hospital to ask why he gave it to her. He replies that he thought she might be the only one who can understand him, saying: "Time is always with you." Claudia says she does not understand this. Helge tells her that Noah said there is a struggle between good and evil and that the Travelers can undo everything. He grabs her tightly by the arm and tells her she must never trust Noah.

### June 23, 1954

Agnes goes to the bunker where the elderly Claudia waits. Claudia tells her that they sent Helge back today and that Noah has returned. Agnes tells her that she is not afraid of her brother Noah anymore. Claudia then reports that Sic Mundus is preparing for the next cycle, which will begin in four days. She tells her that all the suffering that Noah causes will come to an end. She hands her a newspaper clipping. Claudia thanks her and tells her that her mother loves her. They hug.

### June 23, 1987

Claudia takes the book and time machine to H.G. Tannhaus's shop, asking him whether he wrote the book. He observes that she has different colored eyes—heterochromia. He tells her he has been waiting to meet her again. Claudia is surprised to hear this. Claudia tells him that she doesn't know him. He tells her he knows her—an endless cycle.

Egon takes the record and goes to the closed psychiatric hospital, showing it to the elderly Ulrich. He asks how he could say the lyrics in 1953 when the record was released many years later and how he knew he was dying of cancer. He asks him who he is, and the Inspector, at last, reveals himself to be Ulrich Nielsen, coming from the future.

Tannhaus tells Claudia that some things have no origin, existing without ever being created. The book traveled back in time before he even wrote it. A bootstrap paradox. Is there a beginning? He tells her that her older self told him she would come so that he could explain the device to her.

### June 23, 1954

The younger Egon goes to visit the adult Ulrich, who is in a straight jacket, heavily medicated. His identity remains unknown. He tells him Helge has returned home and asks where Ulrich took him or if he has an accomplice. After Egon departs, Ulrich silently states his name.

### June 23, 1987

Egon returns home and picks up the file of Michael Kahnwald. He finds a transcript of an interview in which the boy claimed his father was Ulrich Nielsen.

### June 23, 1954

Greta tells Noah that Helge still hasn't spoken and seems an empty shell, which frightens her. Her husband, Bernd, is gone, and she does not know how to handle the situation. Greta wonders if Helge is possessed by the devil. She calls Helge to come downstairs, and when he sees Noah, he runs to him and embraces him. Noah tells him that "time is always with you… it sees and hears everything you do and say." He tells him to show his mother there is no reason for her to be worried about him. He tells him to read from the Bible, which he does. Greta is relieved to hear him finally speak. Noah tells her to give him time; he carefully chooses his words. Noah tells Helge to keep the Bible and tells Greta that his return is a miracle. Later, Helge prays.

### June 23, 1987

Egon goes to visit Ines Kahnwald. He asks whether the boy has mentioned anything about his family or the name Ulrich or a white devil, but she claims he wants to forget the past and has a new life now. He notices a packet of sleeping pills and asks for a photo of the boy.

### June 23, 1954

Agnes goes to the church. Noah enters and asks whether Claudia sent her. He tells her Adam will not take her back and there is no salvation for her. Agnes tells him Claudia has the last pages that Adam is looking for. She hands him the newspaper clipping. Agnes tells him she wants Adam to take her back before the next cycle begins. Noah is surprised she would forsake Claudia; Agnes says it is a peace offering and that he should place his sister over Claudia.

The older Claudia visits Egon at the police station. He observes she has different colored eyes, like his daughter. She tells him he is too good a person and the world doesn't deserve him. She asks for forgiveness, saying he never deserved any of what happened and that he will understand someday. He is unsettled by her remarks and orders her out.

### June 23, 1987

Egon visits Claudia at the nuclear power plant, telling her he has something important to discuss. She tells him she is too busy, he can't show up unannounced, and should set up an appointment with the secretary next week. He tells her he has cancer. He didn't want to worry her, but the cancer is spreading. Claudia is shocked and does not know what to say. He gets up to leave, and she hugs him.

### June 23, 1954

Egon goes home with flowers for Doris, but she is not home. He tells his daughter Claudia that he believes he met a witch. She tells him he is too good a person and the world does not deserve him. Egon is shocked to hear these words for the second time coming from a person with different colored eyes. He tells her he is having déjà-vu. Later he observes Agnes and Doris sharing a moment.

### June 23, 1987

Egon revisits Ulrich at the psychiatric ward, telling him about the strange boy who turned up in Winden. He shows Ulrich the photo of Mikkel that Ines gave him. Ulrich is shocked, demanding to know where he is. He grabs Egon by the throat.

### June 23, 1954

The older Claudia visits the younger Tannhaus, but he tells her the time machine has yet to be ready. She tells him it will take thirty-three years. He says he needs help understanding the blueprint. She hands him a copy of his book *A Journey Through Time*, saying she will be dead soon and no longer needs it. Claudia says they will meet again *after* she dies, which perplexes him. She then says that when he next sees her, he will have to show her how to use the time machine, and someone else will explain it to him. Tannhaus needs clarification and has more questions to ask. She tells him everything will happen as it always does.

### June 23, 1987

Claudia activates the time machine into the chamber containing the radioactive barrels from the 1986 incident. She travels to 2020.

### June 23, 2020

Claudia goes to the Tiedemann house of 2020 and observes Regina remove her scarf, revealing her hair loss and causing Claudia to burst into tears.

### June 23, 1954

Noah, who brandishes a shotgun, meets the older Claudia at the Doppler cabin. He says Agnes has betrayed her, that she took it all from him, and that she will die. Claudia responds that she knows she will die, and meeting him is part of a game he still doesn't understand how to play. He says he is not one of her pawns anymore. Claudia says Adam manipulates Noah, and the promised paradise is a lie; he is not free. Nevertheless, he shoots her. Agnes pulls out the newspaper article: it is about an unidentified woman's body found in the woods and presents a drawing of the older Claudia. Noah looks for the missing pages he has been seeking, which he finds on her. Looking through them, however, he is deeply disturbed, insisting: "That can't be. Charlotte? That's not... No, this isn't right. This isn't true."

### June 23, 1921

At the Sic Mundus headquarters, Adam asks Noah if he found the missing pages. Noah shakes his head. Adam tells Noah that Claudia got what she deserved, as will everyone.

## Cast

* Tom Philipp as Helge Doppler 1954
* Mark Waschke as Noah
* Luise Heyer as Doris Tiedemann
* Antje Traue as Agnes Nielsen
* Gwendolyn Göbel as Claudia Tiedemann 1954
* Cordelia Wege as Greta Doppler 1954
* Florian Panzner as Daniel Kahnwald
* Sebastian Hülk as Egon Tiedemann 1954
* Joshio Marlon as Tronte Nielsen 1954
* Julika Jenkins as Claudia Tiedemann 1987
* Lydia Makrides as Regina Tiedemann 1987
* Christian Pätzold as Egon Tiedemann 1987
* Peter Schneider as Helge Doppler 1987
* Lisa Kreuzer as Claudia Tiedemann
* Christian Steyer as H.G. Tannhaus 1987
* Winfried Glatzeder as old Ulrich Nielsen 1987
* Oliver Masucci as Ulrich Nielsen
* Anne Ratte-Polle as Ines Kahnwald (1987)
* Arnd Klawitter as H.G. Tannhaus 1954
* Deborah Kaufmann as Regina Tiedemann
* Dietrich Hollinderbaumer as Adam
* Lea Willkowsky as Jasmin Trewen

## Deaths

* Claudia Tiedemann (from Adam's world) - Shot by Hanno Tauber (from Adam's world) - June 23, 1954 (in Adam's world)

## Quotes

*"I've seen you grow up, become a man, the whole cycle of your life. Time chose you. God chose you. Don't forget that we are your home now, too. No harm will come to you. We're watching over you. Time is always with you, wherever you go. You carry it in you, and it carries you. It sees and hears everything that you do and say."*
―Noah to the young Helge before sending him back to 1954

*"Why did you never tell us what your name is? Who you are?"
"Ulrich. Ulrich Nielsen. And I come from the future."*
―Ulrich at last reveals his identity in Egon in 1987

*"I think I saw a witch today."
"There are no witches."
"There are! This one was very real."
"How did she look?"
"Long white hair. Like in books."
"And what did she say?"
"That she was sorry."
"That doesn't sound like a witch."
"How would you know? You've never seen one."*
―Egon recounts his encounter with his elderly daughter with his eleven-year-old daughter

*"The blueprint: I don't really understand what it is. I've seen this before."
"All our lives we wonder what our journey will be. This is yours. Keep it. I don't need it anymore."
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"I'll be dead soon."
"I don't understand."
:You will—one day. And then we'll meet again."
"Before you die."
"No. After that."
"How… How can that be possible?"
"Time is just an illusion. Then you'll have to explain the device to me."
"But I don't know what it's for. Why don't you tell me what it's for?"
"Because you told me someone else explained it to you. Things take their course, as they always have."
"No, I didn't tell you anything. No one explained anything to me."
"Not now, but in the future. All this will come to an end soon. But until then everything must remain as it always has been."*
―Tannhaus and the elderly Claudia speak in 1954

*"You took everything from me. You're going to die! And everything you stand for will die with you."
"I know that I am going to die. But am I going to lose this match? Or is this here, our meeting, you and your gun, only part of a game you still don't know how to play?"
"You think you can manipulate me with your words. I'm no longer one of your pawns."
"But you're still one of Adam's."*
―Noah confronts Claudia at the Doppler cabin
## Trivia

### Mysteries

* What has Helge been doing with Noah for the past seven months?
* Are the sleeping pills truly for Ines?
* Why does Noah hate Agnes?
* Who are the father and mother of Noah and Agnes?
* What is Claudia sorry for?
* What "everything" did Claudia take from Noah?
* When was Noah a pawn of Claudia, during which he was "manipulated by her words"?
* Why is Claudia so confident in the face of death? What does she know will happen after hers?
* What from the final pages has Noah so disturbed: "That can't be. Charlotte? That's not... No, this isn't right. This isn't true."?
* Why does Tannhaus say he is an imposter?
* Which is the real ultimate plan of Noah?

### Answers

* Helge returns to 1954 by the time travel chair, which has been upgraded so that it does not kill its riders.
* Claudia and Tronte's sexual relationship began very young.
* Helge ends up the care home immediately after his accident last November. This was already partially revealed in the previous episode Dark Matter, when Egon went to meet and question him.
* Agnes is working with Claudia. She was once a member of Sic Mundus, as is visible in the photograph that Elisabeth found in the first episode. By the end, however, she has defected back to Sic Mundus, "betraying" Claudia by giving the newspaper clipping foretelling her death to Noah. Claudia knew the whole time she would die, however.
* Noah and Agnes are siblings. It was suggested in "Everything Is Now" that the two might be husband and wife, since Agnes said she had been married to a pastor who was no man of faith. However, for now this seems to have been a misdirect.
* Ulrich ends up in a solitary cell in the psychiatric hospital in 1954, heavily sedated and bound in a straitjacket. He can barely speak.
* Noah betrays Adam by lying about having found the final pages.
* Now we know the origin of the words TIK TOK TIK TOK : these are Said by Noah in 1987 to Helge before the time travel to 1954 with the chair.

### Themes and Motifs

#### Time

* The dates featured in this episode are: June 23, 1954; June 23, 1987; June 23, 2020 (briefly); June 23, 1921 (briefly).
* This episode continues the countdown to the apocalypse. It is now 4 days until the apocalypse.

#### Time travel

* There are a lot of time travel but now all of these ae done with the time machine, since the passage in the cave has been blocked by the Stranger. The limit is always 33 years but you can use more than one time in the same direction, like Noah does. The limit is only the fuel.

#### Determinism

* Old Claudia keeps repeating that for now things must go as they always have

#### Historic Recurrences

* It is the second time we see the marks on Tronte's arms, the first was in series 1 (November 1953, "As You Sow, so You Shall Reap")
* Adult Tannhaus sees the book about time twice within a few months (Nov. 1953 to June 1954)
* In 1987 Ulrich tells Egon to come from the future as Mikkel also tells Ines in 1986

### Soundtrack

* **"Pleasure to Kill"** - Kreator
* **"Melody X"** - Bonaparte

## Observations

* This episode takes place mostly in 1954 and 1987, generally following the characters between each time period.
* Helge was transported from 1953 to 1986 in Alpha and Omega. He is now returned successfully with Noah's time machine to 1954 and walks back home after being missing for 7 months, unharmed.
* Noah's time machine requires in any case a vial of fuel to work.
* Most probably, Noah has been instructed by Adam on how to use the time machine and about the needing of fuel. So Noah most probably has taken it in 2020 (on the truck ,as done by the Stranger). It is not probable that Noah's knows about fuel barrel in the caves.
* Noah asks Greta if Helge has said a few words in the meantime. It's been a few hours since they broke up but Noah wants to make sure Helge doesn't tell anything about the Bunker and his experience with Noah.
* In 1987 Adult Claudia charges the time machine with a vial of fuel in the caves but without using the electromagnetic pulse of Mobile's phone.
* Helge has the 1 pfenning coin during the time travel from 1987 to 1954
* This is really Claudia's episode. She has given the time machine to his younger version and she is blocked in 1954. She takes this opportunity to meet some key persons  : Egon, Tannhaus, Agnes. It is clear that, even if she is going to die, has a plan and she is making the last moves.
* Claudia recognizes her daughter as an adult, and learns she has cancer.
* During the conversation with Ines, Egon refers to the Boy calling Michael. Most probably Ines has Changed his Name just once entered Together in the house as a sign to cut definitely with the past.
* In 1987 It is quite strange that Egon remembers the verse of the Kreator song that Ulrich told him as an adult in 1953 and not when he read it in young Ulrich's room, a few months earlier in November 1986.
* H.G. Tannhaus' book “A Journey Through Time” was given to him from the future- by Ulrich in 1953 (As You Sow, so You Shall Reap) but he never wrote it. It has no point of origin. The time machine was completed in 1986 when The Stranger/ adult Jonas brings a completed version to fix (Alpha and Omega).
* We hear the speech that Time is always with us 3 Times: two by Noah to Young Helge in 1954 and one by adult Helge to adult Claudia in 1987.
* In 1954 Ulrich reveals his name immediately after Egon closes the cell door. In 1987 this time Ulrich says it in front of Egon.
* In 1987 Ines does not reveal anything to Egon about Mikkel because, even though Egon is retired, she is afraid that somehow Mikkel will be taken away from her.
* Old Claudia apologises to her father in 1954 about an event which is about to occur soon.
* In 1954 It is quite clear that Egon is in a marriage crisis where Doris is moving away and going towards Agnes. At the same time, Claudia tells Agnes that Doris (Claudia's mom) loves her and they can have a future together. However, Claudia is saddened by what happens to her father, who deserves a better fate.
* It is the first time we see Noah together with Claudia. Did they meet also in the Past or in the Future?
* Claudia dies at Noah's hands due to the latter being extremely angry on Claudia regarding her manipulations.
* Noah lies to Adam about missing pages from the Triquetra book. This is a content effect. It is clear that Claudia's speech has manipulated him and his relationship with Adam will likely change.
* Adam says Claudia got what she deserved, Claudia says the world doesn't deserve Egon

## Gallery

*→ See **61** images from Ghosts at **Images from Ghosts**.*
2x03 0037 Asylum1954.jpg2x03 0052 ClaudiaOffice.jpg
## Navigation

 Season 3 | "Deja-vu" **·** "The Survivors" **·** "Adam and Eva" **·** "The Origin" **·** "Life and Death" **·** "Light and Shadow" **·** "Between the Time" **·** "The Paradise"