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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Dear Child’ On Netflix, A Knotty Story About A Missing Person Reappearing After Years Of Captivity

Where to stream:.

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Veil’ On FX/Hulu, Where Elisabeth Moss Is A Spy Who Gains The Trust Of A French ISIS Agent

Stream it or skip it: ‘deliver me’ on netflix, about two teens whose friendship is literally blown apart by a small-time gang leader, is ‘baby reindeer’ based on a true story, stream it or skip it: ‘the grimm variations’ on netflix, an anime that turns the classic grimms’ fairy tales on their head.

There are plenty of thrillers on streaming TV and cable that feel like they’re purposely being obtuse. The audience feels tricked in these cases, kept more in the dark than the participants in the story simply for the purposes of extending the story over six or whatever number of episodes the series has. But other shows use fragmented storytelling in a much more organic-seeming way, which is what we see with a new German series on Netflix.

DEAR CHILD : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A man counts out steps as he walks outside. Inside, two kids and their mom play.

The Gist: When the man who’s counting his steps comes into the house — the door is locked from the outside — all three people line up and present their hands to him. Both the girl and the boy have clean hands and fingers. The woman is shaking in fear, and shows a burn on her hand.

Later we see the woman and the girl running through the woods in nightgowns. Off-screen, there’s a thud; the woman is hit by a car, which runs off. In the ambulance, when the girl named Hannah (Naila Schuberth), says her mom’s name is Lena (Kim Riedle), the mom’s heart rate goes up, as if from fear. Hannah also tells the EMTs with confidence that her mother’s blood type is AB negative. Lena’s son Christopher (Sammy Schrein) is still back at the house.

At the hospital, a nurse watches Hannah while Lena is in surgery. Hannah talks about all of the weird rules that she and her mother have to live by at home. During the surgery, the blood type info Hannah gave was wrong, putting Lena at risk, plus Lena’s thoughts while under anesthesia made it seem like it would be better if she let go and rested from the nightmare she was living. She ends up pulling through, but loses her spleen in the process.

Aida Kurt (Haley Louise Jones), the detective working on the hit-and-run, comes to the hospital to question Lena and Hannah. When Hannah starts talking to a hospital therapist, Aida comes in and thinks she can connect with the girl. Most of Hannah’s responses are cryptic and weird, and she asks for the nurse to come back. But she also draws the dark and windowless room where Christopher is still located.

In the meantime, Gerd Bühling (Hans Löw), a CID agent who was assigned to the case of a missing girl named Lena Beck 13 years ago, sees news of the hit and run and calls Lena’s parents, Matthias and Karin Beck (Justus von Dohnányi, Julika Jenkins). He thinks that the woman in the hospital might very well be their Lena, but he cautions them to wait until he looks into it. However, the Becks ignore that and make the drive in the middle of the night, causing a disruption in the hospital as Lena recovers and Aida tries to figure out just what Lena and Hannah were running from.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Dear Child (Original title: Liebes Kind ) has the creepiness factor of a show like The Missing . Our Take: Based on the book by Romy Hausmann, Dear Child sets up a scenario where the viewer is going to be reconstructing what happened to Lena and Hannah along with Aida and Gerd. Director and writer Isabel Kleefeld adapted the book by breaking down the story by presending the perspectives of each of its participants.

For the most part, what we’re hearing in the first episode is Hannah’s view of their lives. And it’s so strange and fragmented, it’s fascinating and frustrating all at once. We have no idea who this person that not only trapped Lena for all of these years but forced her into having two children. And given the fact that Hannah is 13, the horrors of Lena’s captivity started as soon as she was taken.

The fragmented storytelling is an effective device because it forces viewers into a similar mode as the people who are in the story and trying to figure out what happened. Naila Schuberth’s performance as the precocious Hannah brings us into her world, a world where she automatically presents her hands whenever an adult enters a room and where some of the strange and scary stuff that went on were just a fact of life to her.

What we’re not sure about is how the Becks and Gerd will factor in. It’s pretty apparent that the Lena in the hospital is the Lena Beck that went missing 13 years ago. But the way the first episode ends, there seems to be some denial on the Becks part that their daughter is now the injured thirtysomething woman in that hospital bed. It brings up the question of just what the circumstances surrounding Lena’s disappearance actually are. How young was she when she disappeared? And is the mystery person who kept her locked away actually the person who took her?

Again, these are questions that in some shows seem like they’re being held back from the viewers instead of being true organically-created mysteries. But given the storytelling method deployed here, those mysteries don’t feel like they’re being purposely held back. We just hope they lead to twists in the story that make sense instead of a bunch of red herrings.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: After Matthias angrily leaves Lena’s room, claiming that the woman there isn’t their daughter, Karin sees Hannah and screams Lena’s name. That seems to be impossible, right? Meanwhile, we hear Lena in voice over saying she hears everything while she lies unconscious “like a dead lump of meat. Lena, you know what he did to me.”

Sleeper Star: Haley Louise Jones’ character of Aida Kurt will likely be the person who pieces all of this together, with Gerd’s help. We already see that she’s a pretty effective investigator just by how she questions Hannah.

Most Pilot-y Line: The nurse reports to Aida that Hannah gave her last name as “Goliath”, as if that was true, then adds that Hannah told her she just picked the name. Seems like a different take on that line was warranted.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Dear Child presents its audience with a confounding puzzle and fragmented perspectives, but in a way that draws viewers in instead of ticking them off, which happens less often than you might think.

Joel Keller ( @joelkeller ) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com , VanityFair.com , Fast Company and elsewhere.

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• Entertainment
• Why Netflix’s German Thriller <i>Dear Child</i> Is the Show of the Moment

Why Netflix’s German Thriller Dear Child Is the Show of the Moment

W hen a severely-injured woman and an unhurt young girl are discovered in a German forest following a hit-and-run, a dark web of secrets surrounding their identities begins to unravel.

Based on Romy Hausman ’s international best-selling novel of the same name, Dear Child (or Liebes Kind in its original German) explores the connection between the pair's harrowing escape from captivity and a 13-year-old missing persons case. The gripping six-part miniseries, adapted for the screen in German, interweaves investigators' desperate present-day search to solve the multiple mysteries at play with flashbacks to the years the woman (Kim Riedle), young girl (Naila Schuberth), and a young boy (Sammy Schrein) spent locked in a windowless house at the mercy of their male captor.

Since it began streaming on Netflix on September 7, Dear Child has garnered an 86% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned the No. 1 spot on FlixPatrol's list of the most popular Netflix shows globally. Some viewers have even taken to social media to encourage others to start watching the show, with one X user calling it "one of the best binges I've had in years" and another describing it as "a must-watch if you're into psychological thrillers [and] murder mysteries."

The show opens with a chilling scene in which the woman and two children are joyfully playing a game before hearing the telltale signs of the man arriving home. The three rush to stand in front of the door with their open hands held out to show they're not hiding anything. After the man inspects the children's hands, he gives them each a snack bar to eat. But when he looks at the hands of the woman, who is shaking in fear, there's a strange mark imprinted on her palm that he seems to disapprove of. "You shouldn't cry in front of the children, Lena," he ominously tells her. "You know the rules."

However, it's quickly established that the question of who Lena actually is is one of the series' central puzzles. As the series progresses and delves into the trauma at its center, the truth about Lena's past and her relationship to the two children is slowly revealed. It's a story that combines elements reminiscent of a variety of renowned thrillers, from 2014 ' s Gone Girl to 2015's Room (both of which were also adapted from novels), but with its own unsettling twists and turns.

Read More: The 14 Most Anticipated Horror Movies of Fall 2023

“These are all damaged characters: people who are severely scarred by a crime and deal with it very differently," co-writer and co-director Julian Pörksen told Netflix’s Die Woche . "The perpetrator is often the focus of such series and is glorified as a mysterious, dark force. That's not the case with us. And there is a main character who is extraordinary in every way. A girl who has a special view of the world, a special way of speaking, thinking and experiencing.”

Dear Child is especially interested in exploring the internal pain that stems from traumatic experiences, according to co-producer Friederich Oetker. "I found the motif of the inner and outer prison particularly interesting: Even if you manage to escape, you take your inner prison with you," he told Netflix . "You have to free yourself from it."

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Where to Watch

Watch Dear Child with a subscription on Netflix.

Cast & Crew

Jasmin Grass

Naila Schuberth

Sammy Schrein

Gerd Bühling

Haley Louise Jones

Justus von Dohnányi

Matthias Beck

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Series info.

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A mysterious woman's escape from her harrowing captivity points investigators toward the dark truth behind an unsolved disappearance 13 years earlier. A mysterious woman's escape from her harrowing captivity points investigators toward the dark truth behind an unsolved disappearance 13 years earlier. A mysterious woman's escape from her harrowing captivity points investigators toward the dark truth behind an unsolved disappearance 13 years earlier.

• Naila Schuberth
• Sammy Schrein
• 108 User reviews
• 27 Critic reviews

• Jasmin Grass

• Gerd Bühling

• Matthias Beck

• Ines Reisig

• Dr. Benedikt Hamstedt

• Dr. Alexandridis
• Security Guard
• Detective Bujevic
• [Ruben] Child at Care Home
• Mrs. Hardert
• Nurse Shari
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• Trivia Based on the international bestselling novel of the same title, Dear Child (original German title Liebes Kind) written by Romy Hausmann.

User reviews 108

• gillypidler
• Sep 13, 2023
• How many seasons does Dear Child have? Powered by Alexa
• September 7, 2023 (United States)
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Dear Child Ending, Explained: Who Is Papa? Does Jasmin Escape From Him?

Netflix’s ‘Dear Child’ is a psychological thriller mini-series directed by Isabel Kleefeld and Julian Pörksen. Originally titled ‘Liebes Kind,’ the German-language series is based on author Romy Hausmann’s novel of the same name . The series revolves around Lena, a mother and a wife who lives in a high-security residence with her two children, Hannah and Jonathan. However, when an accident forces Lena and her kids to venture into the outside world, several mysteries regarding the family slowly start to unravel. Hence, viewers must be seeking an explanation about the ending of ‘Dear Child,’ especially the fates of Lena, Hannah, and Jonathan. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Dear Child Plot Synopsis

‘Dear Child’ opens with a mother, Lena, and her two children, Hannah and Jonathan, living their daily routines in a locked-up house. The trio is greeted by the family’s “Papa,” whom they must always obey. Although the children are obedient and follow all the rules, Lena is often punished for breaking the rules. One day, Lena escapes the house and into the forest surrounding the house. She is hit by an oncoming car and transported to the hospital in an ambulance with Hannah. Detective Aida Kurt arrives at the crime scene to investigate the supposed hit-and-run case while Lena undergoes surgery at the hospital.

Meanwhile, Hannah is looked after by Nurse Ruth, who learns that Lena had attacked Hannah’s father before escaping. Hannah also reveals her brother, Jonathan, is at the house with her Papa. As a result, Aida quickly starts a search and rescue operation at the military complex close to where Lena’s accident occurred. On the other hand, State Police Officer Gerd Bühling learns of Lena’s attack and informs Matthias and Karin Beck. The Beck family’s daughter, Lena, went missing nearly thirteen years ago, and her description matches the victim of the hit-and-run case in Aachen .

When the Becks arrive at the hospital, they are shocked to learn that the woman is not their daughter. Furthermore, Hannah looks exactly like a young Lena, making the case baffling for the Becks and the investigators. While Lena recovers after her surgery, Hannah is moved into the care of a psychiatrist. Matthias becomes convinced that Hannah is his granddaughter and visits her at the psychiatrist’s clinic. At the same time, Gerd tells Aida about Lena’s disappearance, and they investigate the link between the two cases.

After Lena regains consciousness, Gerd interrogates her, but she refuses to reveal anything because of a voice in her head. The woman identifies herself as Lena, while Aida finds Jonathan with a disfigured dead body, presumably the children’s father. Jonathan is also left in psychiatric care with Hannah. Meanwhile, the case takes another turn when a DNA test reveals that the children have the same mother but different fathers. However, the children’s DNA does not match the women in the accident. Eventually, Lena reveals her real name is Jasmin Grass, and she was abducted by “Papa” roughly five months ago and forced to become the children’s mother.

Soon, Jasmin is discharged from the hospital and tries to return to a normal life. However, the voice in her head continues to torment her. Matthias wants to look after Hannah because of her resemblance to Lena, leading to an argument with Karin. Nonetheless, Hannah comes to live with the Becks. Meanwhile, Aida and Gerd believe the dead man found in the family’s house was the captor. Later, they discover the dead bodies of other women near the military complex and interrogate the employees of the surveillance company that looked after the base. As the case becomes even more entwined, a mysterious figure, keeping tabs on Jasmin, Hannah, and Jonathan, makes their move.

Dear Child Ending: Who Is Papa? Does Jasmin Escape From Him?

Eventually, it is revealed that Jasmin was kidnapped by the mysterious figure “Papa” following a job interview. She was forced to become the replacement for Lena, the biological mother of Hannah and Jonathan. Her captor sexually and physically abused her. Over time, Jasmin developed a close bond with the children. One day, Jasmin attacked Papa with a snow globe and escaped. She was hit by a car while Hannah and Papa searched for her. They found Jasmin, and Hannah convinced Papa to let her take Jasmin to the hospital as the children loved their new mother. Ultimately, when the time is right, Papa returns to collect his family and picks up Hannah from the Becks’ house.

When Papa arrives to take Jasmin, she is prepared, with her hair dyed blonde like Lena’s. Jasmin also dresses in a white blouse and long skirt, as she did when she was held captive. In the final episode, it is revealed that Papa is none other than Lars Rogner, the owner of the security company that runs surveillance for the military base. He used his company’s surveillance tech to keep tabs on his family. Aida and Gerd had interrogated all the employees but missed out on Lars. Just as Gerd learns that Jasmin has been kidnapped and Hannah is missing, he realizes that Lars is behind the entire case.

Lars drives Jasmin and Hannah to their new home, but they stop at the beach as Hannah demands. Jasmin makes an excuse to go to the loo, only to faint. However, as it turns out, she fakes unconsciousness to draw Lars close and uses the glass piece given to her by Hannah to butcher Lars for tormenting her and the children. Over the show’s course, Jasmin is plagued by Lars’ voice in her head and cannot move on from the traumatic experiences. Hence, it is a major surprise that she willingly agrees to return to Lars. However, Jasmin only played along with Lars’ plan so she could kill him, as she no longer wanted to live in fear. Thus, with Lars dead, Jasmin finally earns her freedom and moves on. Gerd finds a dying Lars and learns the location of Lena’s dead body, finally closing the case and bringing closure for the Becks and himself.

Why Did Lars Kidnap Lena and Jasmin? How Did Lena Die?

The series slowly builds up the sinister “Papa,” as he appears in several scenes tormenting Jasmin and the children, but his face is never shown. In the finale, it is revealed that the culprit is Lars Rogner, the owner of a security company. Lars was abandoned by his mother and raised by his grandparents as a child. He became infatuated with Lena after he did a job for the Becks. One night, Lars kidnapped Lena and held her captive. Lena was already pregnant when Lars kidnapped her because of a hookup with an ex-boyfriend. Although it is never revealed how Lena died, Hannah confirms they had a younger sister, Sara, who died as a baby. It is implied that Lena died from the shock of pregnancy or from the grief of her daughter’s death.

Later, Lars kidnaps several women to replace Lena, but Jasmin proves to be his undoing. It is later revealed that Lena resembled Lars’ mother, who had left him for unknown reasons. Hence, it is implied that Lars is a psychopath whose unresolved feelings about his mother led him to torment Lena and several other women, including Jasmin. Ultimately, Lars is killed by Jasmin, bringing his reign of terror to an end. Moreover, Aida and Gerd determine the connection between Lars and the victims whose bodies were found at the military base. Therefore, it is safe to say that the officers classified Lars’ death as self-defense, allowing Jasmin to walk free while Lars faced the consequences of his actions.

What Happens to Hannah and Jonathan?

Hannah and Jonathan are Lena’s children who suffer at the hands of Lars. Although the children appear to have affection for their “Papa,” they live in fear of punishment as they are somewhat aware of Lars’ crimes. In the finale, Jasmin kills Lars, implying Hannah was also a part of the plan. Hannah convinced Lars to let her go with Jasmin to the hospital. Moreover, Hannah gave Jasmin the piece of glass she later used to stab Lars and kill him. In the final moments, Hannah and Jasmin spend time on the beach like Lena told her children in their bedtime stories. The moment solidifies the bond between Hannah and Jasmin, further hinting that they worked together to escape the life of captivity. Ultimately, Hannah and Jonathan are given a chance at a normal life as we see Hannah living with the Becks and Jonathan continuing to work on his mental health at the psychiatric facility, making a new friend. Hence, it seems like the worst is behind the children, and they can look forward to building a happy life for themselves.

Read More: Where is Netflix’s Dear Child Filmed?

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The Ending Of Dear Child Explained

At the crossroads of true crime and murder mystery is "Dear Child," a 2023 Netflix original miniseries by way of Germany. It's based on a 2020 book by author Romy Hausmann and kicks off with the discovery of a woman (Kim Riedle) who calls herself Lena and is accompanied by an enigmatic little girl named Hannah (Naila Schuberth). As their situation unfolds, however, we quickly realize that the pair — ostensibly mother and daughter — are actually victims of a dangerous man who is still on the loose and who has kept them imprisoned in a remote house away from the outside world

A six-episode story, "Dear Child" opens when Lena and Hannah escape their captor, and flashbacks throughout the series give us a glimpse into their lives under the tyrannical rule of a twisted madman. But not everything is as it seems, and questions arise as to whether Jasmine and Hannah are telling the truth, and who else might be involved in their captor's crime. And when the series came hurtling to its end, shocking revelations turned the story on its head. If you're still reeling from the devastating ending, this one's for you. So prepare to untangle a web of lies and deadly crimes, as we explore the hidden mysteries and lingering questions left behind from "Dear Child."

What you need to remember about the plot of Dear Child

The mystery in "Dear Child" begins with the discovery of a seriously injured woman in the middle of the road. She's been struck by a vehicle that has apparently fled the scene, and a child found with her named Hannah claims this is her mother, Lena. But nothing about her case makes much sense: Lena doesn't seem related to the disaffected Hannah, who hints that they are victims of an unknown captor. Worse yet, Hannah says she has a little brother, Jonathan (Sammy Schrein), who is still at home and may be in danger.

Meanwhile, Dusseldorf police officer Gerd Bühling (Hans Löw) arrives believing that the injured woman may be a kidnapping victim he has been looking for for the past 13 years. With him is Karin (Julika Jenkins) and Mattias Beck (Justus von Dohnányi), who believe Lena is their long-missing daughter — and possibly Hannah's biological grandparents. When Lena awakes, though, there is doubt cast on her identity.

The only suspect, meanwhile, seems to be the employee of a nearby security agency whose criminal record includes stalking women years before. With Bühling's help, lead detective Aida Kurt (Haley Louise Jones) tries desperately to catch a kidnapper who may be looking for new victims. Meanwhile, the Becks struggle to find justice and make sense of their new life with Hannah, who strangely doesn't seem interested in rejoining her real family.

How the investigation unfolded

A call from an unknown good samaritan is what sent an ambulance to pick up known as Lena after she'd been struck by a car. Investigator Kurt's search for information is complicated by Bühling, who has brought Mattias and Karin Beck to the hospital. They quickly determine that the woman is not their daughter Lena at all. Eventually, the woman awakes and though she at first insists she is Lena, she eventually reveals that her name is Jasmin Grass. Jasmin had been abducted five months earlier to serve as caretaker for her kidnapper and two young children who called her their mother.

During their investigation, Bühling and Kurt head to a structure on a military base thought to be housing Hannah's brother, but one of Kurt's men is critically wounded when the property is found booby-trapped with explosives. Inside, they discover Jonathan alive, as well as a mutilated man who they initially suspect is the kidnapper. Confusing statements from Jasmin and Hannah about the identity of the dead man make the police believe that the kidnapper is still alive, and the discovery of multiple bodies in the forest suggests whoever they are, they may be targeting a new victim as they speak. Now, it's a race against time to unravel the truth and stop the man who kidnapped Jasmin and may be the father of Hannah and Jonathan.

What happened at the end of Dear Child

As "Dear Child" reaches its sixth and final installment, Jasmin has attempted to re-enter her old life, getting an apartment that local police keep a tight watch on to ensure her safety. But Jasmin has been hearing the voice of her captor and seems compelled to find her way back into his grasp. At the same time, we realize that Hannah is simply biding her time, determined to escape her grandfather's care and reunite with the madman she believes is her father. Soon, Jasmin and Hannah both leave their new homes and wind up in the care of their abuser, who wants to take them to a new home.

Fortunately, investigator Bühling gets wind of Jasmin's flight and makes chase, following her and her kidnapper to a nearby beach. But just as he's ready to confront them, Bühling finds the man dead in the sand: He's been stabbed in the neck by Jasmin using a large shard of glass. In his final breath, the man reveals to Bühling the place where he buried the real Lena's body years ago, and the Becks are finally able to put their daughter to rest.

What really happened to Lena, Jasmin, and Hannah?

Throughout "Dear Child" we're never quite sure what happened to Lena and how Jasmin escaped. Flashbacks in the final episode shed new light on both, beginning with Lena's abduction more than a decade earlier. Taken captive and kept imprisoned, Lena Beck was already pregnant and soon gave birth to Hannah. The kidnapper fathered her second child, Jonathan, but in a disturbing twist, we learn that Lena had also given birth to a third child, Sarah. Tragically, Lena and Sarah both died when their abuser refused to get them medical attention after they became sick.

Without a dutiful captive wife, nor a mother for his children, the kidnapper abducted more women to serve him, and each either died or was killed attempting to escape. Jasmin, however, became a favorite of Hannah, who wanted a new mother just like her original. So when Jasmin tried to escape — using Jonathan's toy snowglobe to bash her captor over the head and creating the very shard of glass she'd later use to murder him — Hannah told her "papa" not to kill her, convincing him to call an ambulance for her after she'd been struck by a car.

Hannah, however, having been raised in captivity, didn't want to escape. It was Hannah who attacked the helpful good samaritan, and her papa who mutilated his face and dumped his body back at their home to later be discovered by police. 

Who was Lena's kidnapper?

The mystery of "Dear Child" starts with the identity of the man who kidnapped Lena Beck and raised two young children in forced captivity. He's kept them isolated from the world, in a carefully constructed prison, and when Lena died, he abducted more women to play the role of their mother, the latest of which was Jasmin Grass. But while police had been zeroed in on security guard Klaus Reinhart of Rogners and Son security — who had a history of preying on young women — he was ultimately a red herring.

The real perpetrator of the horrendous kidnappings and murders was Lars Rogner, president of the security firm. Using his business, he's been able to keep track of his victims after they'd escaped and has slowly been luring them back into his web. He's been monitoring Jasmin — who may be pregnant with his next child — and Hannah from afar and sets his plan into motion to bring this twisted "family" back together.

The truth about Hannah's memories

One of the most perplexing mysteries of "Dear Child" is Hannah, a young girl who has lived her entire life in the clutches of a diabolical kidnapper and murderer. She's tight-lipped when we first meet her, seemingly unexcited to explore this new world after her rescue, and unwilling to even tell anyone her last name. But after she grows fond of a hospital nurse, she confides that she has memories of a childhood with her mother Lena that involve Mattias and trips to a lighthouse, which makes police suspicious of her grandfather's possible involvement in her abduction. 

By the end of "Dear Child," though, we learn the truth: Hannah's memories aren't real, but simply stories that her mother had told her growing up in captivity. Her mother had drawn pictures of Mattias and told stories of trips to the beach so vividly that Hannah — not understanding the difference between stories and memories — told people they were real.

Why did Lena and Hanna go back to their tormenter?

Coming out of the horrifically abusive situation — held as prisoners by a killer — Hannah, Jasmin, and eventually little brother Jonathan — all struggle to adjust to the world after their liberation. Jonathan seems to struggle the most, unable to communicate much at all, though he does eventually form a bond with his biological grandmother, Karin Beck. Hannah, however, remains convinced that she is headed back to life with her "papa," because it's the only life she's ever known.

Jasmin has her own problems, though, that go far deeper than an unwillingness to adjust, but an inability. So shaken by her abduction and life in captivity, Jasmin is still hesitant to reveal details about her kidnapper to police when she is first rescued. And when she is released to society, she's unable to break from the carefully constructed daily routine set by her tormenter. Soon, her grip on reality begins to slip as she hears the incessant voice of her abuser repeatedly urging her to return to his side. 

Eventually, Jasmin does just that and seems unable to be free of his psychological control. The truth is, though, that she went back to him for revenge, biding her time in order to kill Rogner thanks to a gift from Hannah: the shard of glass from the broken snow globe.

What was the connection between Lena and her kidnapper?

A lot of time is spent in "Dear Child" examining the trauma faced by Jasmin, Hannah, Jonathan, and Lena's surviving parents Karin and Mattias. In the end, though, it's revealed that Lena's kidnapper Lars has trauma of his own, and it's his own childhood troubles that led to his targeting Lena Beck.

During her investigation, Officer Kurt discovers that Lars was once working in a lower position at the security firm and had visited Lena Beck to fix a faulty burglar alarm. Lena apparently held a strong resemblance to Lars' mother when she was young — before she'd run off and left Lars a motherless child. Seeking to take out his childhood trauma on an innocent woman, Lars began stalking Lena, kidnapping her after she'd left a party, and keeping her captive in a secure building on a government facility his company had been hired to provide security for. 

Alone and unable to escape, Lena found herself forced to dress in the same white blouse and blue skirt as Lars' mother and to provide a pair of children for him, in addition to giving birth to Hannah not long after her arrival. 

What were the themes of Dear Child?

Given the disturbing story of a kidnapped woman and a pair of young children who are left traumatized by life in captivity, it's not hard to spot some darker themes at play in "Dear Child." But ultimately, the series is about more than just the appalling ordeal endured by Hannah, Jonathan, and Jasmin. Rather, the series shows how trauma can shape and destroy so many lives and keep us under its spell. "Dear Child" shows all of the work we must do to break free of that torment, even if we can never truly be rid of the pain of our past experiences.

"Dear Child" is also about redemption. Both Kurt and Bühling have deep regrets surrounding the case. For Bühling, it's his inability to find closure for the Becks for all these years after having promised to find out what happened to their daughter Lena 13 years earlier. And for Kurt, it's the guilt of having rushed into the investigation of Lena's kidnapping that critically injured one of her own men. Through saving Jasmin, Hannah, and Jonathan, though, both find atonement for their sins, while the victims, themselves, are finally able to move into a bright, but uncertain future.

What does the ending of Dear Child mean?

The ending of "Dear Child" makes a number of startling revelations. This includes the reality that Jasmin has yet to be free of her kidnapper's hold over her and that the killer himself is the product of trauma too. And what we learn from this is the cycle of abuse and generational trauma that haunts so many lives. From Lars to Lena, from Jasmine to Hannah, and even Mattias and Karin, a single trauma from decades earlier — as Lars' mother ran away from her responsibilities because she was too young to be a mother — has upended all of their lives.

Now, the trauma threatens to repeat itself as we learn that Hannah — just a little girl — has become a sinister force that has the potential for violence. We learned that it was Hannah who attacked the good samaritan and helped Lars re-capture her "mother," Jasmin, in an effort to force her back into imprisonment. The question now is whether Hannah be able to heal and stop the cycle of violence and abuse. As the series closes out we see Hannah in therapy, which is a good sign that the future may hold a glimmer of hope for them.

What the ending means for Jasmin, Hannah, and Jonathan's future

"Dear Child" doesn't answer every question, and leaves the fate of many of the characters up in the air. So what's going to happen to Jasmin, Hannah, and Jonathan? Though we're not quite sure, the ending does suggest that they'll all get some form of normality. Having gone through a traumatic experience together — even if Hannah didn't realize she was a victim and a prisoner — Jasmin and the two children have grown close enough that they are almost a genuine family unit. And when Lars is killed, it seems that Jasmin is as close to Hannah as she would be if it were her own daughter, playing on the beach.

This could mean that Jasmin, Hanna, and Jonathan will become a family one day. For now, though, it's likely that Hannah and Jonathan will join Mattias and Karin to be raised by their grandparents, ironically in the same way that Lars was raised by his father's parents. But with the Becks apparently committed to therapy — both for themselves and their two recently discovered grandchildren — it's just as possible they'll allow Jasmin to act as a mother figure for them, making her a part of their lives as everyone adjusts to a new normal.

What has the series creator said about the ending of Dear Child?

Based on a novel by Romy Hausmann, "Dear Child" was inspired by similar stories like "Gone Girl" and "The Girl on the Train." And though the Netflix series does remove some key elements from the novel, the ending largely sticks to what was on the page. When it came to crafting the ending, it may be surprising to learn that Huasmann didn't have it all planned out.

"I just set up the initial premise and try to create the characters as defined as possible," Hausmann said in an interview with BookWeb . "I make sure that my characters stay true to themselves and keep thinking back to their motivation: What are they about? What do you want to keep or bring back? What is it that drives them?... As a result, my stories basically tell themselves." When it came to "Dear Child," the very premise of the story informed how it all tied up in the end, and it was important to leave the characters as more than just survivors of trauma.

"Without giving too much away, I knew from the start I was going to write this particular epilogue because the person from whose point of view it is written shouldn't just remain a victim. I would have found that unfair," Hausmann said. And in the TV adaptation, what we're left with at the end is no longer Jasmin and Lena suffering the scars of their abuse, but two young women ready to look forward, with their own strengths to guide them.

Could there be a second season of Dear Child?

"Dear Child" is based on a mystery novel by Romy Hausmann, and the adaptation would seem to be all the story there is to tell. That doesn't mean a second season can't happen; we've seen hit shows continue stories beyond their source material before and there are plenty of loose ends left to be tied up when the final episode ends. If "Dear Child" were to continue, there are plenty of places the story could go.

Shows like "Broadchurch," for example, have solved their mystery and focused a second season on the fallout of the crime. "Dear Child" could similarly focus on the struggles of Jasmin, Hannah, and Jonathan as they try to adjust to a new life, and flashbacks to their time in captivity could provide new revelations that are a catalyst for a new mystery. At the same time, there's nothing to say that investigators Bühling and Kurt can't be working on a new case that ties back to the events from Season 1.

Given the success of "Dear Child" — where it reached a top spot on Netflix's most-watched shows even in the United States — it stands to reason that the streaming service may be considering continuing the story beyond the original novel. 

Dear Child on Netflix will be your new TV obsession. This is why.

Drawing parallels with other kidnapping stories like Room  and Cleveland Abduction, Netflix's German-language thriller series Dear Child is the latest series to send a shiver down the spines of viewers.

The six-part series revolves around a woman named Lena (played by Kim Riedle), who has spent a long time being held captive with two children, Hannah and Jonathan.

Dear Child  begins as Lena escapes, but the story is much more complex than it seems at first glance. And clearly, the series has hooked viewers as it's shot up to one of the top 10 shows in Australia and around the world.

Is Dear Child based on a true story?

Luckily, no. Dear Child is a work of fiction. 

The series is based on the international bestselling novel of the same name (original title Liebes Kind ) by German author Romy Hausmann. The novel has been compared to Gillian Flynn's thriller Gone Girl and Emma Donoghue's terrifying tale,  Room .

In the book, the story is told through three narratives by 'Lena', a woman forced into becoming a surrogate wife/mother while being held captive in a windowless shack in the woods. Lena and the two children must follow a strict set of rules enforced by their captor, known only as 'Father', such as eating and going to the bathroom at set times, and presenting their hands for inspection each time Father enters.

But one day Lena manages to escape, setting in motion a shocking series of events that will involve local police digging up a missing person's case from 14 years ago, and two young children caught in the crossfire. 

Watch the trailer for Dear Child here. Post continues after video. 

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Hausmann told BookWeb that the story came to her organically without a set narrative. “Even if no one believes me, I don’t plot... I just set up the initial premise and try to create the characters as defined as possible. Then I start to write, asking myself again and again how this character should behave next, what is realistic, and above all: How would I behave in this situation?”

The TV adaption's head writer Isabel Kleefeld felt an immediate reaction to the book. “I read the book in one night and saw the whole story very vividly in my mind," she  told Netflix .

"The material fascinated me immediately. Dear Child  is told from the point of view of each of the participants, and the perspective changes again and again. The result is an exciting game with reality, a puzzle that the audience can always add to and reassemble. It is the story of a crime that has many victims, directly or indirectly.”

While the series stays true to the source material, there is one big difference between the book and Netflix show.

"There will be many things that are familiar from the book, and at the same time it will feel totally new," author Hausmann told Netflix. 

"There also is, for example, a new character (Aida Kurt), who really excited me because she lives the complete opposite of the perpetrator’s imagination. It’s subtle and incredibly well told. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Who are the cast of Dear Child ?

The cast of  Dear Child is made up of some of German's most talented actors. 

The cast includes: Back for Good's Kim Riedle as Lena,  Bird Box: Barcelona's Naila Schuberth as 12-year-old daughter Hannah, Sammy Schrein as 8-year-old son Jonathan, Hans Löw as Gerd Bühling, Justus von Dohnány as Matthias, and Julika Jenkins as Karin.

Where can I watch Dear Child ?

Every episode of the six-part series can be streamed on Netflix.

Feature image: Netflix.

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Netflix's New German Thriller 'Dear Child' Will Give You Nightmares

But if that's your thing, this six-episode psychological thriller is a must-watch.

Netflix's German six-part miniseries Dear Child begins with an unsettling scene. A blond woman (Kim Riedle) and two children, a 12-year-old girl (Naila Schuberth) and a younger boy (Sammy Schrein) are playing a learning game, running from wall to wall in a living room. They’re interrupted when a sound alerts them that “Papa” has arrived home, and the woman instantly looks terrified. We see the trio line up and extend their hands as a man unlocks the heavily secured door and locks it behind him. He inspects the kids’ hands, front and back, caresses their faces, and gives them energy bars. When he gets to the woman, she’s shaking. Her upturned hand reveals a scar. “You shouldn’t cry in front of the children, Lena,” the man tells her. “Remember the rules.” We don’t see him enforce these rules, but we can imagine what comes next. What we want to know is what came before.

Adapted from Romy Hausmann’s internationally bestselling book of the same name, Dear Child ( Liebes Kind in the original German) explores the connection between this strange “family” and a 13-year-old missing persons case. Some time after the above prologue, the woman, called Lena, will escape from captivity, fleeing the windowless home only to be struck by a car. When the severely-injured Lena and an unscathed Hannah are discovered, authorities begin to unravel a dark web of secrets, as the mystery grows more unnerving and urgent with every new detail. The expertly-paced series switches between the present-day investigation into the mysterious trio and flashbacks to their time locked away under the mercy of their meticulous and cruel captor.

Dear Child arrived on Netflix on September 7, and it’s since garnered acclaim from both critics and viewers who have shared their recommendations on social media . (It’s also in the streamer’s no. 1 spot as of Sept. 18.) It’s been lauded for evoking contemporary mystery-thrillers like Gone Girl and Room (both also book adaptations), while pulling off several jaw-dropping twists per episode. The show is best when watched with absolutely no idea of what will happen (all details included so far are from the show’s synopsis and its preview before you press play on Netflix), but prospective viewers should know that fans are not exaggerating the show’s disturbing, compulsive central mystery. It’s a good thing that it’s only six episodes long because most watchers will find it extremely hard to pause their binge until they figure out who exactly Lena is and what’s been happening in that bunker all those years.

Perhaps this show’s most effective decision in TV’s current saturation of true-crime content—both docuseries and scripted shows—is its focus on the victims and families affected by these crimes rather than the monster perpetrating them. The bulk of the series’ time is spent with Lena and Hannah as they adapt to their newfound freedom, and both of them—especially Lena’s struggles with her trauma—are treated empathetically rather than as spectacle or plot device. As series director and head writer Isabel Kleefeld points out in an interview , the story is told “from the victim's perspective, never from the perpetrator's perspective.” Why this man did what he did isn’t nearly as important as the effects in this series. (If anything, the lack of an in-depth explanation into the man’s motivations is the most divisive part of the show, as some viewers are left wanting some sort of comprehensive explanation that often doesn’t exist in real-world events.)

In an interview with Netflix’s Die Woche , co-writer and co-director Julian Pörksen told the outlet, “These are all damaged characters: people who are severely scarred by a crime and deal with it very differently. The perpetrator is often the focus of such series and is glorified as a mysterious, dark force. That's not the case with us. And there is a main character who is extraordinary in every way. A girl who has a special view of the world, a special way of speaking, thinking and experiencing.”

Honestly, it’s hard not to get into the weeds about the show’s every detail. The acting, the cinematography, now this deftly-woven story is presented and then unspooled bit by bit by bit. For thriller and mystery fans, Dear Child is an instant must-watch the likes of which haven’t been seen in a while. Just make sure that you have a full six hours free to watch. (And maybe that the lights are on.)

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Quinci LeGardye is a Contributing Culture Editor who covers TV, movies, Korean entertainment, books, and pop culture. When she isn’t writing or checking Twitter, she’s probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car.

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