So the thing in 1899 is that people don't understand each other bc they speak different languages. But what's really cool is that the writing takes into account instances where characters that shouldn't have a clue what another character is saying actually can decipher the meaning from similarities between languages.
Look at this scene in ep5, when Anker tells Iben and Tove that Krester has jumped overboard. He obviously does so in Danish, and most of the surrounding characters are nonplussed or confused.
But Eyk understands them.
At first glance this might seem weird. It makes sense he'd be able to tell something bad is happening by the way the Danes are acting, but he comes to a very precise and correct conclusion without having seen where the "controlled" passengers are going himself. He doesn't know Danish as far as we know. But he doesn't need to.
In both Danish and German the words for "overboard", "jump(ed)", "no" and "everyone (together)" are very similar, so if you're smart you can still put it together, which is exactly what Eyk does, and then translates for the other characters that know German.
Intricacies like this is what makes me love the show. It would be easy to overlook this in the script, but the writers really did their homework. They looked at what particular scenario they were dealing with and created specific plot points accordingly. It's fucking brilliant.
