Damn! Dark, the trilogy as a whole is a very well written show with a captivating story. This only becomes more apparent when you realize how consistent the series has been throughout the three seasons and how everything was so well thought out beforehand. Granted, calling it immensely complicated would be an understatement as it may require careful attention or multiple viewings to grasp and remember everything but once you clear this hurdle and understand this show, its brilliance will readily become apparent.
This show may very well go down in history as one of the greatest Sci-Fi content both in terms of films/tv ever made. We will be darn lucky if anything ever comes close to the greatness of this show in future. Or maybe considering how it is a sleeper hit, it inspires studios to order more thought provoking contents, but who knows.
I think , once they prevent the deaths and time-travel from being invented, Jonas'(Split Reality 1) and Martha's(Split Reality 2) universes(realities) are annihilated, the Scientist's "Original reality" splits/branches again, to form another "3rd" Split Reality which is the one shown in the end.
Since "Endings are beginnings and beginnings are endings or everything is predetermined and past/future can't be changed", this would make the most sense without breaking the show's rule because if the Scientist didn't try to invent time Travel, there wouldn't be 2 split realities and with that no Jonas or Martha coming to change the past, and if they didn't come, he would invent time Travel, a Paradox.
So the original reality still exists alongside the new 3rd reality. However Jonas and Martha are erased from existence since their universes no longer exist.
Hannah deciding to name the unborn child 'Jonas' was also a nice way to spare us a completely sad ending.
But hey who knows! The series is open for multiple interpretations.
Here's something you might find helpful:
How To Understand Dark
1. Determinism:
I. Watch Predestination (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2397535 ) to acquaint yourself with the general idea of a closed time loop. Also maybe give Triangle (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187064 ) a shot.
II. Arrival is also great.
III. Watch Devs (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8134186 ) [Ignore the last episode, unfortunately Alex Garland still can't stick a landing] to really get the essence of a deterministic universe on the quantum level.
2. Split/Parallel Realities:
I. Rick&Morty has several episodes dealing with the concept. However, S02E01 A Rickle In Time(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4462494 ) and the recent S04E08 The Vat Of Acid ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10655692 ) both do the best job of explaining IMO.
II. Steins Gate is a masterpiece if you are into anime (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1910272 )
Average rating based on all episodes: 7.9
This show deserves that and more. It's great in all kinds of little ways. I actually tried to watch the show as slowly as possible to prolong the experience. That there was only one season is such a shame!
Looking back at my ratings, there was only one episode out of the ten that didn't quite live up to expectations. Achieving 90% "Good" or better episodes is an achievement for any show, no matter its genre or country of origin.
The big thing with Time Taxi (also known as Great Selection Taxi in English, or Suteki na Sentaxi in Japanese) is that the individual episodes aren't necessarily meant to be memorable on their own. They all contribute to the experience of the show as a whole, building on what's come before to enhance (or twist) the overall effect.
Eda-san's incremental attempts to "enhance" the time-slip experience are hilarious. They get more and more ridiculous as the season progresses, and it's all because he's driving the latest Sentaxi model that eliminated the time-slip noise from the previous generations.
I also really liked how we gradually got to know more about the other characters that hang around at Café Choice. The show didn't try to introduce everyone right at the beginning. We found out who was who at the appropriate moments.
Fair warning for certain viewers: There's a considerable amount of "fourth wall" obliteration. If you dislike characters talking directly to the audience, this show will annoy you. Personally, I think breaking the fourth wall is great when done appropriately, and it is so done here. A tongue-in-cheek comedy like this (which it is—a 「ドラマ」or "drama" in Japanese television terms is a type of program, not a story genre) is perfect for that sort of aside.
(Cross-posted from season 1 for visibility, since additional seasons aren't likely to happen.)
I gave this series a 10/10 for the first 3 seasons, but could only watch 20 minutes of episode 1, season 4 before being completely disinterested and bored. Even the "previously" on.." didn't bring me up to speed on what was going on from season 3. It's only been a couple of months since I watched season 3. Something to be said for binge-watching a series after its ended.
