An interesting stylistic exploration Review is for season 01 only.
First episode somehow goes against the grain in that it reveals what would usually be ''the whole plot''. I found this was an interesting way of doing as it suggests that the plot is going to be somewhere else. However, it gives you so many clues from the get-go that you are put in an omniscient position which tends to become more of a contemplative one. That is to say, you witness the actors slowly gathering together everything that you know already and for the viewer that I am, this is extremely annoying. There are a lot of back and forth to the caves that always seem to follow the same pattern. You may think the storyline is not a linear one and granted, it is not, but the way season 01 unravels, it does still present a linear storyline except it is duplicated and meant to not be focused on.
After being aware of everything, you are then being dispossessed of your knowledge where only the characters have the answers as to where they come from, how they are related, etc. This is where it becomes more of a stylistic experience, the direction/scenario acting more as a hindrance to the development of the story, retaining clues so that the viewer is kept in the dark.
I will give the directors that - it is a new approach to storytelling that I have not seen yet stretched into a series format. The closest approach to this I found is in the French literary movement ''Nouveau Roman'' which is worth pondering over.
Now about the pseudo philosophical/scientific dialogues. This was one of the biggest let down for me. The series is crushed by the overuse of cheap symbolism that makes little to no sense (only does on a surface level). It's over-explained too. I have in mind a split screen that was used as a present/past parallel when it was obvious already. This has a very tautological ''what you see is what you see'' approach and so it suggests from the series title ''Dark'' to the naming of each episodes which are direct commentaries on their content. This could pass as a nihilistic attempt but it has to be supported by more substance. Instead, you are given a very conventional imagery and vocabulary, i.e. ''circles'', the underground cave system, the cold-war aesthetics, the birds, the hooded man in the forest, etc. So I was left with this dilemma, knowing I was going to be confronted with growing complexity while at the same time thinking that the reasons behind this were supported and conveyed through a blatantly simplistic reasoning. Which eventually meant asking myself, do I want to be a part of this and is it even worth to be?
On the plus side, they developed a very neat work on the atmosphere and the filming + directing had some innovative angles that are worth mentioning. Some of the flaws I found this series had also turned out to be the most pleasant. I didn't like the overall contemplative thing nor did I enjoy most of its symbolism BUT most scenes have a certain rawness to them which is refreshing for a series to have a more frontal and unapologetic approach to filming, exploring narratives and portraying characters.