Desire – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

The Sandman: Chapter 10 – Lost Hearts

“When you go to sleep tonight, you have to find him and end this. It’s up to you now, Rose. You’re the Vortex.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

In (what we thought was) the season finale of The Sandman, all the ongoing plots of The Doll’s House finally come together to an emotional climax. This ep freely adapts a mixture of the story’s last three comic issues largely unchanged, but as with previous eps there are some small and subtle differences that add depth to the story. It’s a heady and emotional mix involving a new set of characters that we’ve nonetheless come to care about deeply over the last four eps of the season.

The Sandman: Chapter 7 – The Doll’s House

“Things have changed, my love, my twin. There is a dream vortex, the first for a long time. And it is a woman.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After last ep’s beautifully contemplative interlude, with ep7 of The Sandman it’s clear we’re onto a new story. That story is the second one in the original comics run, The Doll’s House; I’ll not set out here what it’s about, and besides it’s clear that a number of changes will have to be made to the story for it to work in the framework of this TV show, so my impression of it from the comics might be plain wrong anyway.

The Sandman: Chapter 6 – The Sound of Her Wings

“At the end, each of us stands alone. The Sunless Lands are far away, and the journey is hard. Most of us will be glad for the company of a friend.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Wow. That was one of the most beautiful hours of TV I’ve ever seen. I may have had… something in my eye at various points. Yes, we (like Morpheus) needed a bit of time to relax and take stock after the sturm und drang of the show so far. But who knew it would be so emotional?

The Sandman: Chapter 5 – 24/7

“I offered you a world where you could be yourselves without having to suffer for it, but it seems you enjoy your suffering. And if that is your truth, then perhaps your suffering will set you free.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Oh boy. Ep 5 of The Sandman adapts the hugely memorable issue 6 of the comic – well-remembered by longtime readers as “the one in the diner”. Good though the Constantine ep was, this was perhaps the closest the series came to real, unadulterated horror. As previously mentioned, this was the issue that so engrossed me when I first bought it and read it on the train that I nearly missed my stop.