Ulrich Nielsen

* Adult
* Young
* Old

*"Do you know why I became a policeman? When my brother vanished back then, they made every mistake in the book. The chief investigator was a drunken moron. And I... I swore I'd do everything differently. That I'd do things right. That I wouldn't become an incompetent asshole pig like him. That was 33 years ago. And now look at me. I'm a joke. I cheat on my wife. My son has vanished. I can't do anything. Thirty-three years. Everything is the same. Just that now I'm the incompetent asshole."*
―Ulrich Nielsen to Charlotte Doppler[src]
**Ulrich Nielsen** was a headstrong police officer whose brother Mads Nielsen went missing when he was a rebellious teenager. Throughout the times he mourned for Mads, Ulrich was dating Katharina Albers and held a grudge against the chief investigator Egon Tiedemann for his lack of results. He was once arrested for false accusations of raping Katharina, but was released upon his charges being cleared. Eventually, Ulrich married Katharina and had three children named Magnus Nielsen, Martha Nielsen and Mikkel Nielsen. His childhood friend Hannah Kahnwald started an affair with him, and one fateful night, Mikkel went missing. Grief-stricken, Ulrich was hellbent on finding his son, going to great lengths such as intruding the Winden Nuclear Power Plant. Upon finding out about Helge Doppler's strange behavior, Ulrich started investigating him, which led him entering the wormhole in Winden Caves that sent him to 1953. Ulrich was stunned to realize that he had traveled through time, and later found young Helge, who he deducted was the killer of his brother. Attempting to change the past, Ulrich bludgeoned Helge to try and kill him, but he only managed to physically and mentally scar the boy for life. This led to a younger Egon Tiedemann arresting him under suspicions of killing two children whose bodies were dumped in 1953.

Ulrich was sentenced to life at the Winden Psychiatric Facility, and when he was once visited by a time traveling Hannah, he pleaded for her to help him escape, but since Ulrich cared more about Katharina, Hannah left him behind. Over thirty years later, Ulrich was visited by Egon for questioning about the recent disappearance of Mads, and he finally revealed his identity to his old nemesis. When Egon informed him about Mikkel's presence in 1987, Ulrich became frantic and escaped to find his son. After finally reuniting with Mikkel, the two attempted to use the wormhole in the caves, but Ulrich was apprehended by the Winden Police Department. Three months later, Ulrich was visited by a time traveling Katharina, who tried to break him out, but she was tragically murdered by her mother, much to Ulrich's utter dismay. However, when the Knot was finally destroyed, Ulrich was erased from existence.

## Personality

Rebellious and resentful as a teen, Ulrich grows to become a carefree and loving (albeit unfaithful) family man. However, after his son Mikkel disappears and memories of his brother's disappearance resurface, he becomes unequivocally committed to finding them. Eventually, he turns reckless and obsessive to the point of attempting to murder a child.

## Biography

### 1971

Ulrich was born to Tronte and Jana Nielsen.

### 1986

Ulrich is seen as a troublesome youth in 1986. The disappearance of his brother, Mads Nielsen, and the inability of the police to locate him leaves him deeply resentful. He channels this emotion in rebelliousness, from wearing a jacket with the punk slogan "No Future" to listening to loud, aggressive music with lyrics like

*My only aim is to take many lives
The more the better I feel*
He becomes friends with young Hannah Krüger after both meet during a stormy night at a bus stop. Hannah has a profound crush on him, but he is oblivious to it, and his romantic interests are directed to Katharina Albers.

#### November 7

Jealous of the relationship, Hannah later presents a false testimony to police investigator Egon Tiedemann, accusing Ulrich of rape after seeing him and Katharina have sex. Egon was already suspicious of Ulrich in the case of Mads' disappearance, thinking he might be involved with Satanism. Katharina's physical injuries, actually inflicted by her mother, also seem to corroborate the report. As a consequence, Ulrich spends several days in jail.

#### November 11

Ulrich is finally released and his mother, Jana Nielsen, vows to get Egon off Mads' case following the unjust arrest. Ulrich, seeing Egon as a drunk incompetent, vows to become a police officer himself to do it the right way.

### 2019

Ulrich has become a police officer and family man, having married Katharina and fathered three children by her: Mikkel, Martha, and Magnus.

#### June 20

On the morning of their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Ulrich tries to pressure Katharina into having sex, but is interrupted by Mikkel, who enters their bedroom having developed a red rash all over his body, which his mother recognizes as rubella. As they go to the hospital, they find Jonas Kahnwald, who has really just traveled from another time. They are surprised he is not at the lake with the others and offer him a ride but he declines. Ulrich, Katharina, and Mikkel stop at the Kahnwald home to pick up some glasses for their party that evening.

Later, as the anniversary party draws to an end, Ulrich and Hannah kiss passionately, starting their affair.

#### November 4-10

Following Mikkel's disappearance, Ulrich becomes obsessed with finding him, taking him from Jürgen Obendorf's garage to the grounds of the Winden Nuclear Power Plant, the latter leading to his suspension from the police force. He tries to end his affair with Hannah, but she warns that she will not be gotten rid of so easily. During the course of the investigation, he finds parallels between his son's and his brother's cases, which eventually leads him to conclude a body found in Winden's forest was, in fact, Mads'.

As his marriage and personal life deteriorate, Ulrich further concludes that the elderly Helge Doppler is somehow connected to the disappearances occurring in Winden in 1986 and 2019. He confronts Helge in his room at the nursing home, then later follows him into the Winden Caves.

### 1953

#### November 10

After following an elderly Helge Doppler through the forest, Ulrich ends up finding the wormhole and traveling back to 1953. There, he meets the child Helge and, convinced he can change the future by preventing Helge from kidnapping his brother and son, attempts to kill him. He fails to kill him, however, and paradoxically sets in motion the events that would lead Helge becoming Noah's henchman.

Ulrich also encounters a younger Egon Tiedemann, who later ends up arresting him, but his ranting and raving lead the police to think he is a maniac. He is arrested on suspicion of being connected to the disappearance of Helge Doppler; he refuses to say where he left Helge's body, or who he is, and is beaten up in his jail cell. He does inform Egon that his marriage is about to break.

### 1954

Ulrich is eventually committed to a mental asylum, where he is subjected to wearing a straitjacket and the administration of heavy medication. Other than an unheard attempt on June 23, 1954, he has never revealed his name.

#### June 26

Hannah travels from 2020 to 1954 and inquires to the police about her missing "husband". She introduces herself as Katharina Nielsen and Egon takes her to the institution where Ulrich is being held.

Ulrich is taken to Hannah in his straitjacket. He asks if she is real. He asks about Katharina and his children. Hannah, sensing that he cares more about Katharina and his family, asks him who he would choose between her or Katharina, or if he ever loved her. He tells her he loves her and will leave Katharina if she can get him out of there. But his words sound hollow and desperate, just in the hope she will get him out. She tells Ulrich he does not need her now and turns around as Ulrich is brought back, yelling in desperation. She tells Egon that despite a slight resemblance, Ulrich is not her husband. Bitter that he still loves Katharina instead of her, however, Hannah leaves him there.

### 1987

Ulrich spends the next 34 years locked in a psychiatric hospital, gaining a bit of notoriety among the patients and staff who call him the “Inspector” since no one knows his real name.

#### June 22

An elderly Egon Tiedemann visits Ulrich in the hospital. Egon has been revisiting his old cases, trying to understand the unusual events that unfolded in Winden. Ulrich again refuses to give his name and dismisses the retired officer. He spooks Egon when he informs him he knows when he will die.

#### June 23

Egon returns to Ulrich and tells him he recognizes the lyrics Ulrich repeated to him first in 1953 and then the day before. Ulrich at last reveals his name and that he is from the future. Later that day, Egon shows Ulrich a picture of a boy who he suspects might be Ulrich's son Mikkel from the future. Ulrich flies into a rage that Egon has been hiding this from him and attacks him. He makes plans to escape the institution to find Mikkel.

#### June 25

Ulrich finds Mikkel at the Kahnwald residence, where Ines Kahnwald has taken him in, and Mikkel recognizes him as his father. Ulrich attempts to return to the Winden Caves to take him back to their proper time but is stopped by the police and Ines. An enraged Ulrich vows to kill Egon before he is taken back to the hospital, where he is strapped down to his bed.

#### September 22

Katharina arrives in 1987 from 2020 and learns that Ulrich is a patient at the psychiatric ward where her mother worked.

The elderly Ulrich is playing chess by himself. Katharina sits down in front of him; at first, he is unaware of her. She calls him by name, he looks at her and realizes it is Katharina. He becomes emotional, his hands tremble Katharina steadies his hands and promises to get him out of there.

#### September 23

After convincing her mother to let her see Ulrich, she tells him to wait by the door so she can get him out later. Ulrich only nods. Katharina tells him they will go home and bring Mikkel with them. Ulrich apologizes for everything, and Katharina nods understandingly.

That evening, Ulrich waits by the door as instructed by Katharina. Looking at a clock, he sees that Katharina is half an hour late, which saddens him. Katharina never shows up, getting killed by her mother at the lake before she can.

## Trivia

* He is the only character to appear in all of the 10 episodes of the first season.

 Appearances

### Season 1

* Episode 1 "Secrets" (2019)
* Episode 2 "Lies" (1986, 2019)
* Episode 3 "Past and Present" (1986, 2019)
* Episode 4 "Double Lives" (2019)
* Episode 5 "Truths" (1986, 2019)
* Episode 6 "Sic Mundus Creatus Est" (2019)
* Episode 7 "Crossroads" (1986, 2019)
* Episode 8 "As You Sow, so You Shall Reap" (1953, 2019 --> 1953)
* Episode 9 "Everything Is Now" (1986, 2019 --> 1953)
* Episode 10 "Alpha and Omega" (2019 --> 1953)

### Season 2

* Episode 2 "Dark Matter" (1987)
* Episode 3 "Ghosts" (1987, 2019 --> 1954)
* Episode 5 "Lost and Found" (1987)
* Episode 6 "An Endless Cycle" (2019)
* Episode 7 "The White Devil" (2020 hallucination; 2019 --> 1954)

### Season 3

* Episode 1 "Deja-vu" (2019 alternate)

* Episode 2 "The Survivors" (1987)
* Episode 3 "Adam and Eva" (2019 alternate)
* Episode 5 "Life and Death" (1987)
* Episode 6 "Light and Shadow" (2019 alternate)
* Episode 8 "The Paradise" (2019 alternate)

## Gallery

*→ See **95** images of Ulrich Nielsen at **Images of Ulrich Nielsen**.*
Kissing HannahAt the gateGaming awaySmoke breakWaking upHooded figureWith KatharinaAt the stationA sad momentLeaving the caveMother's Day 1986Through the cavesMeeting familyWith murderous intentA smirkStopped by EgonMug shotHappier days