Lies

## *Dark*

*"Whatever happens, you'll tell me the truth. Don't lie to me. Whatever it is."*
―Katharina Nielsen to Ulrich Nielsen
***Lies*** is the second episode of the first season of *Dark*.

## Synopsis

When a grim discovery leaves the police baffled, Ulrich seeks a search warrant for the power plant. A mysterious stranger checks into the hotel.

## Plot

It's November 5, 2019, the morning after the disappearance of Mikkel Nielsen. A Stranger with a briefcase arrives in Winden, observing the Winden Police Department search the field. He notices a dead bird lying by his feet. At the Kahnwald Home, Jonas Kahnwald has a nightmare where his ear is leaking a black substance, and Michael Kahnwald's spirit appears.

After the dead boy with charred eyes and dressed in 1980s clothing was discovered, the body was sent to the Winden Police Station to be inspected by the pathologist Edda Heimann. During this time, Ulrich Nielsen navigates the Winden Caves to continue his search for Mikkel until he finds a sealed metal door constructed by the Winden Nuclear Power Plant. After Charlotte Doppler presents the evidence found on the unidentified dead boy to her officers, Ulrich privately explains his discovery to her. He theorizes that Mikkel has somehow accessed the grounds of the power plant. Although Charlotte is doubtful, Ulrich convinces her to request a search warrant, adding that all three Winden missing person cases that occurred over the years are somehow connected.

The rest of the Nielsen family grieves over Mikkel in their own manner. Magnus Nielsen is suspicious of Franziska Doppler's reasons for appearing on the night of his disappearance, Katharina Nielsen hopes for the best, and Martha Nielsen fears Mikkel would never be found – akin to Mads Nielsen's fate. At Jana Nielsen's apartment, her husband Tronte – skeptical about Mikkel being found – returns and struggles to wipe the blood off the hem gusset of his sweater before Jana enters, unaware. Jana quizzes Tronte about his whereabouts from last night, and he claims that he had gone to the gas station. Before he can join a search party, Jana concludes that Mikkel's disappearance has parallels with Mads'.

At the power plant, Director Aleksander Tiedemann informs Jürgen Obendorf of the search warrant and orders him to remove "them" tonight. Meanwhile, the Stranger with the briefcase arrives at the Waldhotel Winden, asking the nervous Regina Tiedemann for a room. He settles himself by pinning and taping many pictures, drawings, notes, and diagrams on every room wall. He also owns a book called *A Journey Through Time* by H.G. Tannhaus. He opens his briefcase and takes out a complex brass device.

Charlotte sends Ulrich a voice message that Aleksander has rejected the warrant. Hannah Kahnwald tries to call Ulrich, but he doesn't accept the call, too upset to handle anything else. Katharina is standing outside her house, staring into space. Martha has been ignoring Bartosz Tiedemann whenever he tries to call her. Magnus is in his room, overwhelmed with grief. He punches holes in his wall with emotional frustration, to the point where his knuckles bleed. Meanwhile, Jana visits Mads' grave near the Winden St. Christopher's Church, placing one of his old toys on his tombstone. In the Kahnwald home, Jonas comes across a hidden intricate map of the caves in Michael's attic, with a note saying, "Where is the crossing?".

Ulrich and Aleksander argue from opposite sides of the power plant's gate. Aleksander points out that Mikkel wouldn't be able to gain access to the heavily patrolled section of the caves, provoking an emotionally driven Ulrich to berate Aleksander and threaten that he'll return with a search warrant. Hannah approaches him upon arriving at the police station, and when they start kissing in the storage room, Ulrich turns her down due to current circumstances. He searches through evidence and finds out that Jürgen had driven his van near the power plant on the night of Erik Obendorf's disappearance.

Ulrich trespasses into the Jürgen Obendorf's Junkyard, where he finds a hidden sack of drugs. Jürgen, who is armed, confesses that he and Erik were selling them at the Winden Comprehensive School. Ulrich dismisses the confession and asks him if he was at the power plant the day before, which he denies. They share a moment for the fact that they're missing their sons until Ulrich exits. He shows up at home to mourn with Katharina, who makes him promise to tell the truth.

In the decorative torture room, the cloaked kidnapper is restraining Erik onto the electric chair. On the old-fashioned television, H.G. Tannhaus is asking about the possibility of ever seeing what lies behind a black hole and how far scientists would go. Later, an incident costs Erik his life, burning his eyes in a similar fashion to the dead boy. The cloaked kidnapper drags his corpse through the Winden Forest at night.

While the Kahnwald house is blacked out, Jonas asks Hannah if she thinks Michael was keeping secrets from them. Hannah admits that she does when asked if she misses him but says he never revealed his true self. She concludes by saying nobody can know what a person really is like. The moment he asks if she loved Michael, the lights loom around the house, so she ignores the question. At her apartment, Jana witnesses Tronte sneaking out of the house late at night.

Meanwhile, Aleksander's men are transferring large items into a truck. He hears a roar from the caves. Lights flicker everywhere in Winden; throughout this, Charlotte goes outside the station and catches a glimpse of a swarm of dead birds lying around the car park. They appear to be connected to the flickering lights. The Stranger pastes the newspaper saying "Where is Mikkel?" on his wall. He then crosses out the "Where" and writes "When."

Meanwhile, in a different time, a scarred and filthy Mikkel limps out of the Winden Caves and notices a slightly different atmosphere outside. He arrives back "home" and stares at the different scenery. He tries to open the door, but it is answered by a teenaged rebellious Ulrich Nielsen, who calls him a fool. He witnesses Ulrich riding on a motorcycle with teenage Katharina Albers. Mikkel then notices a newspaper with the lead story about the Chernobyl disaster. He looks at the date – November 5, 1986.

## Cast

**Main Cast:**

* Andreas Pietschmann as Adult Jonas Kahnwald/Stranger
* Louis Hofmann as Young Jonas Kahnwald
* Karoline Eichorn as Adult Charlotte Doppler
* Oliver Masucci as Adult Ulrich Nielsen
	+ Ludger Bökelmann as Young Ulrich Nielsen
* Gina Alice Stiebitz as Young Franziska Doppler
* Moritz Jahn as Young Magnus Nielsen
* Stephan Kampwirth as Adult Peter Doppler
* Walter Kreye as Old Tronte Nielsen
* Tatja Seibt as Old Jana Nielsen
* Lisa Vicari as Martha Nielsen
* Jördis Triebel as Adult Katharina Nielsen
	+ Nele Trebs as Young Katharina Albers
* Paul Lux as Young Bartosz Tiedemann
* Peter Benedict as Adult Boris Niewald/Aleksander Tiedemann
* Deborah Kaufmann as Adult Regina Tiedemann
* Christian Steyer as Old H.G. Tannhaus
* Maja Schöne as Adult Hannah Kahnwald
* Daan Lennard Liebrenz as Young Mikkel Nielsen
	+ Sebastian Rudolph as Adult Mikkel Nielsen/Michael Kahnwald (hallucination; Guest Star)
* Valentin Oppermann as Mads Nielsen (corpse; uncredited)
* Peter Schneider as Adult Helge Doppler (uncredited)

**Guest Stars:**

* Anna König as Pathologist Edda Heimann
* Nieke Schymura as Justyna Jankowski
* Leopold Hornung as Torben Wöller
* Tom Jahn as Jürgen Obendorf
* Cornelia Lippert as Search Party Woman
* Paul Radom as Erik Obendorf

## Appearances

### Locations

* Winden
	+ Winden Nuclear Power Plant
	+ Kahnwald Home
	+ Winden Police Station
	+ Winden Caves
	+ Winden Forest
	+ Winden Comprehensive School (mentioned)
	+ Doppler Cabin
	+ Tronte Nielsen's Apartment
	+ Nielsen Home
	+ Aleksander Tiedemann's House
	+ Waldhotel Winden
	+ Winden St. Christopher's Church

### Events

* Search for Mikkel Nielsen
	+ Kidnapping of Mikkel Nielsen (mentioned)
* Noah's Campaign (mentioned)
	+ Kidnapping of Erik Obendorf (mentioned)
	+ Sacrifice of Mads Nielsen (indirectly mentioned)
* Search for Mads Nielsen (mentioned)
	+ Kidnapping of Mads Nielsen (mentioned)

### Items

* Erik Obendorf's Drug Stash
* Walkman
* Pfennig Coin Necklace
* *A Journey Through Time*
* Portable Time Machine

## Music

 Industry
 Anthracite Fields: IV. Flowers

## References

The Dark Wiki has a collection of images and media related to **Lies**.

## External Links

*To be added*

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