Sic Mundus Creatus Est

For the secret society, see Sic Mundus

Sic Mundus Creatus Est
Season	1
Writer	Jantje Friese Ronny Schalk
Dark
← Previous	Truths
Next →	Crossroads

"Sic Mundus Creatus Est" is the sixth episode of Season 1 of Dark. It premiered on December 1, 2017.

Summary

Ulrich looks to the past for answers and dredges up disturbing family secrets. Armed with new tools, Jonas probes the cave's murky depths.

Plot

November 8, 2019

Regina Tiedemann has a nightmare from a memory of the summer of 1986. She was tied to a tree in the forest in front of the caves' entrance. She called out to Ulrich and Katharina to let her go. A roar emitted from the caves, and she cried for help. She finally wakes up from the nightmare, hyperventilating. Her husband Aleksander comforts her by saying that it was just a nightmare. Regina wants Aleksander to tell her everything is alright, and he relents.

Charlotte intensifies the investigation.

Charlotte Doppler addresses the Winden Police: with one dead boy found and now three children missing, they are to widen and intensify the search, work double-time, interview everyone, and search the archives fifty years back for similar cases to find any clue or trace. However, the answer to Mikkel Nielsen's disappearance is at the school photo gallery, where Mikkel is shown in a class photo from 1987.

Jonas Kahnwald—having discovered that his father is Mikkel Nielsen, who traveled back in time—asks his mother about how she met Michael. Hannah explains that when she was fourteen, she met him in the hospital in a bad mood. Jonas then questions what he was like before he got "sick," so Hannah replies that he was different and that it was impossible to tell if he was ever serious. Although Jonas wishes to reveal what he discovered, he changes his mind and remains silent.

In the police station storage room, Ulrich Nielsen takes out a box related to cases in 1986. He finds the file regarding the Mads Nielsen disappearance and a photo of the two brothers together. He plays a recorded conversation on a cassette tape between Egon Tiedemann and Jana Nielsen. In the tape, the two briefly talk about when Mads typically came home. Later, Egon asked where her husband, Tronte Nielsen, was that night. She was hesitant to answer but claimed that he was with her and Ulrich. Stopping the tape, Ulrich tries to recall that night, but in a confused manner.

Family feud between Martha and Katharina

At the Nielsen family home, Katharina is surprised to see Martha and Magnus preparing to leave for school, even after their brother went missing just four days ago. Martha and Katharina argue intensely, with the former saying life must go on and the latter bemoaning their seeming self-centeredness, to which Martha points out that Katharina and Ulrich have ignored her and her brother for days. She tells Katharina to accept that Mikkel is dead, prompting a slap from Katharina. After Martha storms out, Magnus comforts his mother and hugs her.

A different drama is underway at the Tiedemann household, where Regina steels herself to open a letter from the Mammography Screening Center. It does not appear to be good news, as she is appalled by its contents. Meanwhile, Jonas gets up from his bed after his personal contemplating. He then takes out the map from his drawer and is startled to find a new annotation (which was written by the Stranger) in red which says "follow the signal" with a red line that connects the message to a certain point in the caves.

Family feud between Ulrich and Tronte

Ulrich goes to his parent's apartment, where he is greeted by Tronte, who claims that Jana is asleep. Ulrich asks him about Mads' disappearance and whether Egon ever found anything. Tronte tells him that Egon was an idiot who only cared about retiring. Ulrich, unperturbed, reports that the dead boy was dressed in '80s clothing, which insinuates that the disappearances were related, history was repeating, or the same perpetrator was at it again. Ulrich then asks where Tronte was on the night of Mads's disappearance because even though Jana claimed he was at home, Ulrich accurately remembers him coming home late. Tronte resents the implication that Ulrich suspects him of all people, and the latter seizes him by the throat and asks where he was the night of Mikkel's disappearance. They are interrupted by Jana, who contends that Tronte was home. Tronte scowls at Ulrich before striding off.

Jana reminisces with Ulrich about Christmas 1985, when he and Mads were fighting over action figures, and the latter had smashed through a glass table, leaving a scar on his chin. After the accident, Jana remembered that her boys just laughed about it since they were still the best of friends at that time. Ulrich isn't nostalgic and asks why she lied about Tronte being home the night of Mads' disappearance. She replies that she had been planning to leave him because of his serial infidelities. The night Mads disappeared, he was sleeping with Claudia Tiedemann, and the last person to see him alive was her daughter, Regina.

Regina is at the Waldhotel Winden reception counter, pondering about whatever she read. She tries to call Aleksander, but his phone is set to voicemail. Under the railroad bridge, Magnus unburies Franziska's box, but it is empty. He then notices used condoms trashed on the dirt and a pendant in the shape of some bird. In the Kahnwald home, Jonas packs up to go for another trip in the Winden Caves.

Bartosz and Martha kiss in the dressing room.

Bartosz visits Martha in the dressing room at the high school as she prepares for the play. He kisses her and asks why she did not return his calls, saying he is sorry about what happened. Bartosz admits that he thinks she blames him for wanting to go to the cave in the first place. Martha denies hating him, but when he goes to kiss her, she pulls away. He offers to run away with her, but she says the play is about to start. Before departing, Bartosz asks if she has seen Jonas, who stood him up last night, which angered him.

Katharina arrives back home after putting up missing posters of Mikkel. She sees Ulrich's phone bill on the dining table and notices a recurring number. She decides to call it. Hannah answers and says, "Ulrich?" Katharina hangs up immediately, too shocked to speak, realizing that Ulrich is having an affair with Hannah. Meanwhile, Jonas follows the map's directions in the caves and uses the orb light to travel.

Ulrich and Regina have a taunting conversation.

Ulrich visits Regina at the hotel, and they are both irked just by seeing each other. He demands to know what she witnessed on the night of Mads' disappearance since she was the last to see him alive. He asks whether she knows of Claudia and Tronte's past affair, and she nods. She refers to Mads as the only perfect person she knew and wishes that Ulrich had disappeared instead of him. She says he might never have disappeared if Ulrich and Katharina had not terrorized her in the forest and made her afraid to walk home alone. Mads had been walking her home through the woods since then until he disappeared. Ulrich says tying her up in the forest was just a child's prank; Regina points out that he never apologized. Ulrich is aggravated, mainly because he believes Regina made the false testimony that he raped Katharina. Regina marvels at this accusation, pointing out that it came from Hannah, who had been obsessed with Ulrich since she was fourteen and still is. She says that she never had intentions of being worse than him. Ulrich then departs, leaving Regina to shed a hidden tear.

It's already nighttime, and Katharina is listening to the radio in her car. The speaker offers people to share their opinions on the current situation, which piques Katharina's interest. She decides to call their hotline number and suggests that she can make a statement. She is now on the air as she speaks; she wants everyone to notice that there is a murderer among them and stop trying to hope the opposite. Katharina questions if people know one another well and if everyone isn't keeping secrets. She calls the town of Winden "sick."

Peter and Tronte have a shared secret.

(Her speech narrates through multiple scenes.) Ulrich goes to the police station and pulls out the files of the rape case, confirming Hannah as the witness. Aleksander returns home and finds the letter from the mammography center in the pocket of Regina's coat. Martha peeks through the stage curtains to see the audience. Tronte and Peter Doppler exit the Doppler hunting cabin and head to the bunker. Regina listens to Katharina on the radio in the hotel.

After reading the letter, Aleksander calls the center. He reminds them about her cancer examination on October 27 and claims that the results haven't arrived, much to the call receiver's confusion. He is told that they have discovered invasive carcinomas that have metastasized and that she must immediately make an appointment with her doctor. He is frozen in shock at this discovery and staring idly into space. Meanwhile, Jonas is still venturing through the caves. He finally finds a long red cord attached to specific points on the rocky walls.

Ulrich pounds furiously on the door of the Kahnwald home. Hannah answers it, and he storms inside without prompt. She is confused by his repeated question, "What do you want from me?" until he grabs her by the throat and pins her to the wall. He states the realization that she was the witness in the false rape case in 1986, calling her a sick person, and asking her if all she wanted was to destroy his family. He asks what she wants, and she replies, "You." Ulrich releases her, and the two of them are enraged. He tells her she is poison and it is no wonder her husband killed himself, a statement that receives him a slap from her. Ulrich growls that he thought he knew her, but he was deceived. He leaves the house and slams the door. Meanwhile, Peter and Tronte are waiting in the bunker for 9:17 PM to strike.

Katharina comforts a depressed Martha onstage.

Aleksander calls Regina, who is at the school parking lot, ready to pick up Bartosz after the play. Before hanging up, he tells her he is there for her and loves her. During the school play, Martha, as Ariadne, begins her monologue about her suicide. While performing well at first, she ultimately becomes overcome with her emotions, collapsing in tears in front of the audience. A sympathetic Katharina rushes onto the stage to comfort her.

Meanwhile, Jonas finds the end of the red cord, which is connected to a metal ouroboros. He makes his way through a crawl space and finds a metal door engraved with the Triquetra symbol and the message "Sic Mundus Creatus Est" embedded on it. He opens the door, and the inside emits a strong wind before he can enter. His presence inside initiates a series of flickering lights all over Winden. They are flickering at school, affecting Charlotte's car blinkers when she parks near a power line and in the bunker. Peter and Tronte are surprised to discover that the leather triquetra notebook, which predicted this event would happen at 9:17 PM, is correct.

Katharina walks Martha outside until Regina shows up, mocking her words on the radio. Regina tells her she should leave if she thinks the town is sick. Katharina walks over to Regina and starts violently hitting her, much to Martha's fear. Eventually, Magnus arrives to drag his mother away. Meanwhile, Jonas reaches an intersection in the carved tunnel. Two pathways lead in different directions, so he chooses to turn right.

Jonas finds the same metal door he opened when he entered the passage. After he passes it, all the lights in Winden stop flickering. The three Nielsens leave while Regina (with a bloody lip) taunts Katharina one last time, telling the teenagers that that's "who their mother really is." She says that Katharina and Ulrich truly deserve each other. Regina later goes home to see that Aleksander has discovered she has cancer. She goes over to hug him tearfully.

Sibling conversation

Ulrich is in his car, searching nostalgically through the family photo album of the 80s - namely through photos of him and Mads. At the Nielsen home, Martha cannot sleep, so she goes to Magnus's room. Even though he refuses to let her stay, he agrees to have a conversation. The despairing siblings lie together in bed. Magnus asks what happened during the fight at school, which she doesn't know. She then asks if things will ever be the same again and later wonders if they really know what their parents are like. When they are about to go to sleep, Magnus stares at the bird pendant on his bedside drawer.

November 8, 1986

Jonas exits the cave and takes sight of the difference in scenery. It is raining, and he notices flyers for the missing Mads. At a bus stop, he is approached by a van driven by Sebastian Krüger. He and his daughter offer him a ride since the rain is possibly acid due to Chernobyl. Jonas then realizes that the girl is Hannah, his mother. After that, he awkwardly declines.

November 8, 2019

Ulrich discovers the identity of the dead boy.

Ulrich returns to the morgue to examine the dead boy. Looking at a photo of him and Mads, he notices physical similarities between the boy and his brother. He recalls Jana's description of the cut under Mads's chin, and the dead boy has the same cut. Ulrich gapes at the realization that the dead boy is his missing brother.

Cast

Main

• Lydia Makrides as Regina Tiedemann 1986
• Deborah Kaufmann as Regina Tiedemann
• Peter Benedict as Aleksander Tiedemann
• Oliver Masucci as Ulrich Nielsen
• Jördis Triebel as Katharina Nielsen
• Karoline Eichhorn as Charlotte Doppler
• Louis Hofmann as Jonas Kahnwald
• Maja Schöne as Hannah Kahnwald
• Moritz Jahn as Magnus Nielsen
• Lisa Vicari as Martha Nielsen
• Walter Kreye as Tronte Nielsen
• Tatja Seibt as Jana Nielsen
• Paul Lux as Bartosz Tiedemann
• Stephan Kampwirth as Peter Doppler
• Ella Lee as Hannah Kahnwald 1986
• Anandhan R Nair as Traveller 1994

Supporting

• Denis Schmidt as Sebastian Krüger
• Leopold Hornung as Torben Wöller
• Mieke Schymura as Police Officer Justyna Jankowski
• Sammy Scheuritzel as Student #1 Theater
• Leon Lukas Blaschke as Student #2 Theater

Quotes

"One dead boy... three missing children. We're widening the search. I want you to knock on every door. Start with the residential areas close to where the children were last seen. I want you to question everyone. Everyone. Someone must have seen something. Coordinate with other departments in the district. I also want you to search the archives for similar cases in and around Winden over the last 50 years. Even if a child went missing for just 24 hours, I want to know. I want you all working double shifts. Leave no stone left unturned in this town. Search every single basement. Everyone leaves some kind of trace somewhere. We just have to find it."

―Charlotte Doppler

"What was he like, earlier? Before he got sick?"
"He was… different. You never knew if he meant something seriously or not."

―Jonas and Hannah

"Great. So everyone is just thinking of themselves."

―Katharina

"You're no different! Did you once think about us these last few days?"
"That's enough!"
"And how many more of these damned will you put up?"
"She didn't mean it like that."
"Yes, I did! I meant it like that. This is so fucked up! Everyone's waiting for Mikkel to come back through that door, as if nothing happened. Dad doesn't even dare come home anymore. And no one gives a shit about us."
"That's not true. But for once, this isn't about you, Martha."
"You're so blind. Everyone's thinking it, but no one dares say it. Mikkel is dead!"

"Mads crashed into the glass table in the living room. There was so much blood, like in a horror movie. But in the end, it turned out to be just a small cut. On his chin. You both laughed yourselves silly. That's how you were. One minute you hated each other's guts, the next minute you were best friends."

―Jana Nielsen

"Mads was the only person I knew who never said a bad word about anyone. I've always asked myself, why him, of all people? I always thought it should have happened to you instead of him. But there's no justice in this world. And the absurd thing is... had it not been for you and Katharina, maybe Mads wouldn't have disappeared. Mads knew I was afraid to walk home alone because of you two. Because of what you did to me. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone with me and returned through the forest. And the whole thing would have never happened."

―Regina Tiedemann

"I want people to finally understand what's really going on here. We're all so blind. There's a murderer among us. No one actually dares to say it. But it's the truth. We cling to the hope that it won't happen here. We all know one another. We think we know everything about each other. But do we really? We live right next door to people we know almost nothing about. And behind one of those doors... is my son. It could be anyone's door. The man behind the cash register. Someone we invited for cake on a Sunday, who plays with our children. I don't want to look away anymore. And you shouldn't either. This city is sick. Winden is like a festering wound. And we're all part of it."

―Katharina

"You know what? You're poison. You snuggle up close, like you're honey. But it's just poison. How did your husband put up with you for so long? No wonder he couldn't take it anymore, in the end."

―Ulrich to Hannah

"Now you have heard her, the daughter of Minos. You think you know her. Is she not beautiful and good? You have let yourself be enchanted. By her words. By her pretty gaze. But believe me. Everyone, whether the daughter of a king or not, has one foot in the shadow and only the other in the light."
"I have not eaten in days. My eyes are turning black. The end is nearing. Just as he once descended into the maze, I now descend into mine. Now I stand before you. No king's daughter. No man's wife. No brother's sister. A loose end in time. And so we all die alike. No matter into which house we are born. No matter which gown. Whether we grace the earth briefly or for a long time. I alone tie my bonds. Whether I have extended hands or slapped them. We all face the same end. Those above have long forgotten us. They do not judge us. In death, I am all alone. And my only judge... is me."

―Martha and her classmate in the play

Trivia

Mysteries

• What's the significance of the pendant Magnus Nielsen found?
• Why are Peter Doppler and Tronte Nielsen working together? What is that leather book the latter had? Who gave it to them?
• Who placed the red string in the Winden Caves? Could it be The Stranger?
• There are 3 pathways in the wormhole cave intersection. 2 of them go to 1986 and 2019. When does the 3rd one lead to?
• How is there a wormhole in the caves? What is Sic Mundus Creatus Est?
• When, in the past, Ines changed the name of Mikkel into Michael?

Answers

• The Stranger was editing clues in the Winden Cave map to help Jonas Kahnwald in his journey.
• The wormhole that Mikkel Nielsen traveled through to get to 1986 is revealed.
• The rusty-lit room that Tronte was sitting in during "Past and Present" was the Doppler bunker.
• The reason why lights flicker at certain point in time is because someone is traveling through the cave wormhole. In "Secrets", the reason why Jonas and his friends heard a roar from the cave was because someone was opening the heavy metal door. This could also explain the deaths of certain animals that happen simultaneously.
• The unidentified dead boy is Mads Nielsen, meaning that he was killed by Noah and his cloaked kidnaping henchman, in a similar fate to Erik Obendorf.

Themes and Motifs

Time

• The dates featured in this episode are:
  • November 8, 2019
  • November 8, 1986 (night)
• Ulrich and Katharina Nielsen pulled their cruel prank on Regina Tiedemann during the summer of 1986.
• Mikkel, as Michael Kahnwald, is a student at Winden Comprehensive School during 1987. This further depicts how he would never return home.
• It is quite strange that nobody in 2019 looks at the old class of the past and notices the presence of Mikkel in the pictures of class 6b
• Ulrich listens to a recorded interrogation during 1986.
• Mads would usually return home just after 6:00 PM, so Jana Nielsen knew something was wrong when he didn't come back by 7:00 PM.
• Jana remembers a memory from Christmas 1985.
• Tronte was with Claudia Tiedemann during Mads's disappearance.
• Regina had a cancer examination in October 27.
• Peter and Tronte were waiting for the lights to flicker at 9:17 PM, due to Jonas traveling through time.

Time Travel

• Jonas traveled from November 8, 2019, to November 8, 1986, via the cave's wormhole.
• Mads, as the dead boy, likely traveled from 1986 to 2019.
• There is a three-way wormhole in the caves.

Determinism

• The mystery behind the missing children pushes Charlotte Doppler to take things seriously.
• Ulrich's desperation led to him suspecting his own father, and later, the discover of the dead boy's identity.
• Martha Nielsen is overcome with grief due to the Nielsen family depression. She initiates a fight with Katharina, and later her emotions brought her to tears during the school play.
• Jonas's curiosity led him to unearthing the wormhole.
• Katharina's suspicion led her to discovering Ulrich's affair with Hannah Kahnwald, which has ended.
• Hannah's false accusation of Ulrich raping Katharina is finally exposed (after she felt rejected). This leads to Ulrich becoming hostile toward her.
• Regina can't let go of her dreadful history with Ulrich and Katharina. This initiates fierce tension during adulthood.

Colors

• Regina's shoe laces are colorful. They also consist of red and blue.
• The stands for the Nielsen swing set are red. However, the bar that hold onto the seats is blue.
• The extra annotation in Jonas' cave map is written in red.
• Martha, as Ariadne, ties a red rope around the forearm of Student #2 Theater.
• Jonas finds a long red cord in the caves, leading him to the passage.
• In the picture of 1986, Mads is wearing a yellow sweater with the writing "Atomenergie? Nein danke!"

Historic Recurrences 

• Ulrich believes it's the same culprit who's responsible for the current circumstances.

Religion and Mythology

• According to Ulrich, on the night of Mads's disappearance, Jana was praying for Mads to come back.
• The red cord Jonas found in the caves were tied to a metal ouroboros. The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a serpent eating its own tail. It is associated with the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth. This is connected to a scene in "Double Lives", where Helge Doppler was chanting "The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning".

Observations

• The title of the episode, "Sic Mundus Creatus Est," is a Latin phrase translating to "Thus, the world was created." Its source is the Hermetic Emerald Tablet which is referenced in the series.
• Ulrich doesn't seem fond of his father. When he was greeted, he appeared slightly fierce at Tronte, and his first question was where his mother is.
• Most of this episode takes place in 2019.
• Katharina claims Winden is sick. The episode exposes long-standing infidelity and conflicts, particularly between the Nielsens, Tiedemanns, and Hannah. The lives of Regina, Ulrich, Katharina, and Hannah in 2019 are falling apart. Her speech also involves the untrustworthy of some people, that you don't know who they really are. This concept is used in Magnus Nielsen and Martha's conversation, as well as Franziska Doppler's confession to Magnus in "Double Lives".
• The conductor of Martha's play is named Mr. Meinel.
• Judging by Tronte calling Egon Tiedemann an idiot, it appears that the Nielsens during that age had similar opinions with Ulrich.
• Jonas spent a whole day searching for the passage.
• In "Double Lives", the narrator states that if people were to follow "Ariadne's thread", then they would find the right path. This could related to how Jonas found a long red thread that leads him the Sic Mundus Creatus Est door.
• This episode marks the first time Jonas travels through time.
• Ulrich is quite fool to leave the mobile phone bill on the table. In addition, whoever in 2019 still receive paper bill? Everything is on the App.
• Martha's monologue is synchronized with Jonas finding the passage in time.
• In the monologue, Martha is referring to the centre of Labyrinth. The same reference is done by the Stranger to Jonas the first time they met.
• Magnus seems suspicious of Franziska's drug dealing.
• This episode reveals the grudge Regina has against Ulrich and Katharina. Despite this, she allows Bartosz Tiedemann to be friends with their kids, namely Martha.
• Regina is the only person who, up to now, makes a description about Mads behaviour. Ulrich never makes a referrence to him and Jana is only reporting aboutMads and Ulrich together, but not about Mads.
• This is the first episode Regina and Ulrich are seen together. This is also where Regina's cancer is first established.
• In Season 3, Actor Sammy Scheuritzel (who portrays Student #1 Theater in this episode) portrays Kilian Obendorf (the brother of Erik Obendorf). It's possible that Kilian is the true identity of Student #1 Theater.

Soundtrack

• "Goodbye" by Apparat
  The opening song.
• "Enter One" by Sol Seppy
  The Nielsens return home. Ulrich looks through memories. Regina cries to Aleksander Tiedemann. Jonas exits the cave in 1986.

Gallery

→ See 49 images from Sic Mundus Creatus Est at Images from Sic Mundus Creatus Est.