Was dead set against subtitles for years, then 'Dark' changed my mind last month

A friend kept pestering me to watch that German show on Netflix, and after 20 minutes of the dubbed voices sounding like a bad cartoon, I switched to subtitles just to see the actual acting. Four episodes later I was hooked and now I'm actively seeking out foreign shows, so has anyone else had a show completely flip their stance on reading vs. dubbing?

4 comments

4 Comments

pat_moore16d agoMost Upvoted

It's funny how once you give subs a real shot it changes how you watch everything, even regular shows - I've noticed I actually miss less dialogue now than when I was relying on just audio. @king.eric nailed it about Dark being a mind-bender, but honestly that show made me realize how much dubbed content strips away the soul of the performances.

king.eric16d ago

Whoa, wait - you actually stuck with the dubbed version for the first 20 minutes? I would have bailed in the first five, that's some serious dedication right there. Dark is such a mind-bender even with subtitles, I can't imagine trying to follow that timeline stuff with mismatched lips and flat voice acting.

kim_ramirez316d ago

Did you even catch who was who in that first episode @king.eric, or were you as lost as I was?

sage_moore3716d ago

Drop the dubbed version and switch to subs immediately. I made that mistake with Dark too and it just made everything harder to follow since you're already fighting the timeline. Once I turned on the original German audio it clicked way better even though reading subtitles takes some getting used to. Pro tip is to watch with subtitles on but keep the volume low at first if the language feels distracting. Dark really rewards you for paying attention so don't mess with the dub.