What does “remedium hominibus” mean? Severance Season 2 term explained
Apple TV+Severance Season 2 Episode 2 turns focus to the Outies, where we get another flash of the term “remedium hominibus” – the same mysterious two words on Mark’s car in Season 1. And its meaning could lift the lid on Lumon’s true motive once and for all.
Watching Severance is like cutting an onion; there are layers upon layers to get through and it’ll make you cry. Each episode only deepens the mystery further, and with Season 3 in the pipeline, don’t go expecting all the answers about Lumon anytime soon.
It’s arguably half the fun. The Apple TV+ show’s subreddit is a breeding ground for speculation and fan theories, and thanks to its expert writing, each episode is packed full of eyebrow-raising quotes and sinister Easter eggs.
Season 2 Episode 2 is no different. Not only do we learn more about Cold Harbor, but there’s an unexplained word pairing that first made an appearance in Severance Season 1.
What does “remedium hominibus” mean?
Remedium is the Latin word for cure or remedy, while hominibus is Latin for the phrase to men or mankind. Put them together and you’ve got “a cure for mankind.”
Apple TV+So, what’s it got to do with Severance? Well, in Season 1, we see “remedium hominibus” on the license plate of Mark’s car. Then, in Season 2 Episode 2, it’s in the same spot on Mr Milchick’s motorbike.
The phrase appears to be a motto for the fictional town in which Severance is set and where Lumon’s headquarters are: Kier, PE. Even though the vehicles that bear these license plates are outdated, as is some of the language they use, the show takes place in the present day.
Creator Dan Erickson said at the Vancouver International Film Festival that the reason the town uses old and unusual phrases is because he wanted Kier, PE (named after Lumon founder Kier Eagan) to feel like an insular world, one that was blocked off in the 1930s.
This is why a lot of them say old Latin words (like “fetid moppet”). But where “remedium hominibus” is interesting is what its translation could mean, and if it’s a clue about Lumon’s ultimate goal.
“A cure for mankind” sparks Lumon theories
There are plenty of theories as to what “a cure for mankind” refers to, including the idea that Lumon is developing a way to program human consciousness to achieve a form of immortality.
However, it’s worth looking back at Kier’s philosophy of the Four Tempers – Woe, Frolic, Dread, and Malice – which he believed are the components that make up a human soul. Kier proposed that these four emotions must be tamed and controlled.
What if “a cure for mankind” refers to eradicating or at least overpowering the Four Tempers, thereby turning the world into mindless copies of their former selves?
This matches with the Easter egg in the Severance Season 2 premiere, where Helly is seen working on a project titled ‘Santa Mira’ – the fictional town in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
As stated on the show’s Wiki, “It could also be that Severance technology could have a military application, in which case the cure for the scourge of humanity is to wipe it out.
“More in keeping with Kier’s original teachings, however, is that humanity’s propensity toward the untamed tempers of the mind means that being human is the problem, and now Lumon wishes to cure mankind of humanity itself.
“Perhaps Lumon is moving toward a post-meatspace future.”
Whatever the truth turns out to be, suspicions have been raised after “remedium hominibus” was spotted on Milchick’s license plate.
“Milchick has the same type of license plate engraved with ‘Remedium Hominibus’ that we saw on Mark’s car in Season 1. Hm,” said one on X/Twitter.
Severance Season 2 Episodes 1-2 are streaming on Apple TV+ now. Find out when the next episode drops with our guide to the release schedule. You can also read our Severance Season 2 review and the sneaky way to watch it for free.