Netflix’s 1899 Timeline Explained. This article discusses the many time periods found in 1899 and contains spoilers.
The creators of 1899, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, are most famous for their previous Netflix original series, Dark, which constructed complex storylines involving time travel, multiple characters in multiple iterations, and of course, multiple timelines. Their follow-up, 1899, also experiments with different eras and boasts another intriguing ensemble of cast members, each with their own distinct backstories. This time around though, we swap the intricate world of time travel for the equally perplexing world of simulations.
The big twist in 1899 is that the events occurring on the Kerberos and the Prometheus are all just part of one big simulation. The bad guy overseeing this simulation, Henry Singleton, is also in another simulation – it’s a simulation within a simulation. Both of these worlds are within one larger simulation, set in 2099 on a spaceship. Therefore, the series has three separate settings, three separate eras, and three separate timelines to play with. This could be seen as a past, present, and future, but theoretically, all the events take place in the year 2099. For ease, I am going to keep the three eras separate. This article is here to help map out all those different narratives into one overarching timeline.
Netflix’s 1899 Timeline Explained
1899 Timeline
The series tricks viewers into believing that this is a period piece set aboard a steamship at the end of the 19th century. 1899 is the first setting, the first era, and the first simulation. The events on board the Kerberos take place over 8 days, starting on October 19th. However, the characters talk of events that took place long before this date and experience flashbacks or visions from prior dates, reliving awful moments from their past once again. First of all, let’s discuss the events which took place prior to the Kerberos journeying toward New York.
Traumatic past events (unknown dates)
Each main character on the Kerberos has their own, distinct backstory. These all relate to traumatic events and dark secrets, which all explain why they were escaping Europe and heading for a new life in America to begin with. Most characters are either escaping from some horrid past that involves murder and manipulation or they are heading to New York for some specific, personal reason.
Lucien and Clemence are heading to New York as newlyweds. Lucien is dying from a seizure-inducing illness though and needs urgent medical attention. He is hoping to partake in an experimental medical procedure over in the States, but time is running out. He has a traumatic history too, which links with Jerome’s. Lucien stole the identity of a dead Lieutenant and left Jerome for dead in the desert to cover his tracks. Stealing this identity allowed Lucien to live an upper-class lifestyle, but he ultimately regrets this decision.
Ling Yi also stole a person’s identity, after poisoning her friend Mei Mei, so that she could take her place on the Kerberos. Ling was escaping a life of prostitution with her mother, yet is guilt-ridden by the accidental killing. Angel and Ramiro killed a priest and are running away to America as well, presumably to escape any prison time. Viewers don’t get to see this event occur, but it is implied that the killing is Angel’s fault and that Ramiro took the priest’s clothes and identity after killing him.
The Danish family leaves Europe after a horrendous event in their past, which left Krester disfigured and possibly caused Tove to become pregnant. She was raped by a gunman in front of her family. The gunman accused Krester of taking his son’s innocence, and he seeks his own twisted revenge. The family is clearly trying to escape this traumatic past and are wanting to start a new life in America, where they hope to build a new church.
Olek’s past isn’t specifically explored either, but there are hints at a murder causing him to run away too, with Ling Yi stumbling into Olek’s vision at one point. Then there’s Eyk, the Captain of the ship. His wife killed herself and their children in a fire almost two years previously, which has left Eyk a broken alcoholic.
January – June 1899
It appears everyone is trying to escape their past lives, but Maura is heading to America for answers. Maura went to the Southampton docks to meet with her brother Ciaran, who wanted to discuss their father Henry’s diabolical plans. Ciaran never showed though, but she believes he had left on the Prometheus a day earlier. She is sent a letter, addressed to Henry (her middle name is Henrietta). Inside the envelope was a newspaper cutting about the Prometheus, a letter imploring her to meet with him in New York, and a locket containing a key.
A few other passengers are seen holding an envelope containing similar information. These letters include a personal message pressuring them to board the Kerberos and a newspaper cutting about the Prometheus. The headline on this cutting states that the Prometheus steamship has been missing for four months now. If the newspaper cutting is up to date then that means that the Prometheus set sail around June time of 1899. In those four months that followed, nobody has been able to find the ship or the 1,423 souls on board. It is later revealed that it was never discovered because the Prometheus had drifted off-course in the wrong direction, heading south instead of north with the current.
Captain Eyk Larsen says that a few months ago a British investor called Henry Singleton bought three German ships and then commenced large-scale alterations on the fleet, which includes the Kerberos and the Prometheus. The Captain explains how the ships were docked for three months whilst they had a new communications system installed and each boat was entirely refurbished. During this time they must have fitted these secret tiled shafts and the machine Eyk was told was for measuring steam pressure.
October 19th 1899
This is classed as day one of the series and the Kerberos’ journey, a date that Maura repeats to herself in the mirror. On the 19th the Prometheus communicates with the Kerberos, sending out coordinates of its location. Eyk decides to change course and they head toward the Prometheus. He informs the first-class passengers of his decision and there is obvious uproar. Eyk, Maura, the priest, and a handful of shipmates board the Prometheus to look for survivors. The ship is completely abandoned, although they find a mute boy locked in a cupboard and one strange passenger (Daniel) swims in secret across to the Kerberos.
October 20th 1899
The Kerberos informs the company of their finding and the company orders them to sink the ship. Whilst this odd request sinks in, they discover that their compasses aren’t working anymore and the ship remains stationary as they await Eyk’s next move. Eyk then informs the first-class passengers that they are turning the ship around and are to tow the Prometheus back to Europe. Again, there is further outrage at Eyk’s unpopular decision. Then Franz finds Ada dead.
October 21st 1899
The Kerberos continues to tow the Prometheus back to Europe, but they are stopped by a fog. Eyk heads back to the Prometheus to check for alterations and to find their logbook. Both ships contain the tiled shafts and that futuristic machinery. Franz finds six more dead bodies on the Kerberos. Franz leads a rebellion, arming the lower-level passengers with weapons. They take over the ship, locking Eyk and his companions in the brig. Daniel activates the futuristic machine and teleports the Kerberos to another destination.
October 22nd 1899
More dead bodies are found on the Kerberos. Franz takes over the ship and orders all the guests to remain in their cabins. The mutineers blame the mysterious boy for all the deaths and hunt him down. Eyk and his companions escape the brig. A fight breaks out between the two armies. The boy is thrown overboard by Iben.
October 23rd 1899
A siren and then a ticking sound can be heard throughout the ship, this causes most of the passengers to fall into a trance-like state. They all march onto the top deck and jump overboard, killing themselves. Maura is taken through a portal to another realm and slowly starts to realize that this place isn’t reality. Daniel manages to turn off the noise, and the ship comes to a halt.
October 24th 1899
The remaining survivors work together to try and fix the engines. A black substance spreads throughout the Kerberos. The first mate searches for the boy and a strange pyramid object he protects. Daniel follows Eyk and Maura into the portal, he reveals that he has been married to Maura for twelve years. She doesn’t trust him though and locks him in a room. Eyk is teleported to the Prometheus, which is now in a graveyard of other, similar ships.
October 25th 1899
The Kerberos is hit by a violent storm. The survivors try to steady the ship. Maura goes into another simulation and discovers that she has a son with Daniel, it is the mysterious boy and he is called Elliot. Daniel tells her that she is inside a simulation and they need to escape. Most of the survivors are killed in the storm. The simulation ends and a vortex opens up, swallowing the Kerberos whole. The ship is taken to the graveyard, where it joins the Prometheus.
October 26th 1899
The survivors search for a lifeboat to escape in. Daniel hacks the simulation and starts to alter things. Maura is taken to Henry’s office. He explains the truth behind the simulation. Maura wanted to create a world where her dying boy could live forever. They are all now trapped inside the same simulation. Daniel manipulates the coding to help Maura escape. The Kerberos simulation is deleted. Maura wakes in a different simulation and then fully awakens in 2099, her reality.
Modern timeline (1960s – 1980s)
There is a simulation outside of the 1899 simulation, which is overseen by Henry Singleton. This world is confined to two buildings and the desolate landscape that surrounds it. Henry lives in the mental institute and is primarily found in his office. Whilst Daniel and Maura resided in the black pyramid, which is adorned with 60s, 70s, and 80s style décor. Outside these two buildings is a dark and foreboding world.
Alongside this modern décor is a fitting soundtrack that includes songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. This includes 60s songs by Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix; 70s songs by Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Cat Stevens, and David Bowie; as well as the Echo & the Bunnymen’s The Killing Moon from 1984.
This simulation was built by Maura and Daniel to home the memory of their dying son, Elliot. Her father Henry is also inside this simulation and from there he controls the 1899 simulation whilst located in his office. He makes sure that every 8-day-long loop is played out in full. He hopes the characters on the boat will make different decisions and get to New York unharmed, but they always make the same mistakes and end up dying before reaching American soil. Henry is tortured by the repetitive nature of the loops and wants out. He believes that Maura has a failsafe to end the simulation, which comes in the form of a key. He uses the first mate to retrieve this key, but Daniel changes the coding, so Henry cannot escape the simulation. Henry might be part of the simulation himself though.
Every loop is then archived, which explains the ship graveyard that Eyk witnesses. There are ships as far as the eye can see, which imply that the loop has been running for months, possibly years now. Somehow Maura became trapped inside the 1899 simulation. Both Daniel and Elliot try to save Maura from the infinite loops and manage to get her out of the simulation entirely in the end. It is insinuated that Maura’s brother Ciaran is the true puppet master controlling the simulation from elsewhere, keeping Maura trapped inside these endless loops.
2099 timeline
Maura eventually escapes both simulations and finds herself on a spaceship, floating in deep space. The spaceship is named the Prometheus and is journeying to a new world. It’s assumed that planet earth is dead or dying and that this is a survival mission, heading for a safer world. The simulations are used to keep the passengers entertained or distracted on this long, perilous journey. Certain viewers have contemplated the idea that these simulations are being used as a way of helping the characters deal with trauma or that they are a test for the passengers to overcome before they reach their new lives.
Daniel warns Maura not to trust Ciaran. He needs to be stopped or everything will be lost. What is Ciaran’s endgame here? What does he want to achieve? And why did he keep Maura trapped inside her own simulation for all that time? These are all questions that I hope will be answered in a second season if Netflix is to renew the show for more installments.
And that completes Netflix’s 1899 Timeline Explained, which we will update every season. What are your theories? Please comment below.
