A Hope In Hell – As the episode begins, Dream (Tom Sturridge) and Matthew (Patton Oswalt) talk about hell and how Matthew didn’t expect it to be cold. Dream believes they should follow the damned. Matthew sees a long line of people carrying torches. In Buffalo, John (David Thewlis) nearly gets hit by a car. A woman stops out to help him. Rosemary (Sarah Niles) agrees to take him to Mayhew. Once they reach the gate, Dream tells Matthew that a king may not enter another monarch’s realm uninvited. He hits the drum outside. Squatterbloat (Martyn Ford) approaches them and learns that Dream wants a meeting with his sovereign. They chat briefly before Squatterbloat opens the gate to let them in. John sits with Rosemary’s dog and says he used to live in Mayhew a few years ago and his things are still there. He talks about his mom moving around a lot and passing away recently.

John admits she wasn’t a very good person before Rosemary says she has a mother like that too. Rosemary’s mother watches cable news all day. As for John’s mother, she was a very successful thief when she was alive. He goes on to say she stole art, jewelry, and other people’s identities. As a result, they had to keep moving all the time and she lied about everything. John asks if she lies to her daughter Samantha and Sarah. She says their dad was the liar in the family. They were married for ten years before she found out that he had another family in a different town. Rosemary believes lying is one of the worst things you can do to another person and John thinks he is living proof of that. She learns that his mother forgave him in the end for stealing a ruby from her. His mother had him arrested and thrown in prison for arson and murder too. He explains that having the ruby meant everyone was trying to take it away from him.

He admits he murdered people, but they weren’t good people like Rosemary and Susie. Dream tells Matthew the landscape is subject to the whims of the Morningstar. He reiterates that by saying Lucifer Morningstar. They’ve known each other for a long time. When they first met, Lucifer was the angel Samael. He tells Matthew that the devil used to be the most beautiful, wisest, and powerful of all angels. Besides the creator, Lucifer is probably the most powerful being there is. Dream admits she is more powerful than him now because he invited himself and no longer has his symbols of office. Once Squatterbloat is gone, they notice they’re surrounded by bodies in the trees. He comes back and continues leading them. Matthew asks Dream if this is the way before Dream tells the demon that this isn’t the way.

They walk past a cell of sorts as a woman calls for Dream once she notices it is him. Dream changes into Morpheus (Ernest Kingsley Junior) and greets Nada (Deborah Oyelade). She asks for his forgiveness so she can finally be free. Nada questions if he still loves him. Morpheus reminds her it has been 10,000 years. Although he still loves her, he has not yet forgiven her. As Dream and Matthew continue walking, Nada yells that she will not give up hope. John confesses to having done things that are morally ambiguous in the past, but it taught him about human nature and the secret of real understanding and compassion. He believes the secret to having compassion for people is knowing that they’re fundamentally selfish. Rosemary begins worrying so she decides to call 911. She nearly wrecks before blaming it on the phone slipping. They return to their conversation. John says people lie because they’re selfish and human.

Rosemary believes they lie because they’re scared since people will do anything to avoid being hurt. Rosemary asks if it’d be okay to stop for gas. Matthew tries to find out more about Nada from Dream. He says her name was Nada and she ruled the tribe that called themselves the First People. They were in love, but she defied him. Dream believes Nada’s presence means the Morningstar is letting him know that Hell has prepared for his visit. They finally reach Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) and Mazikeen (Cassie Clare). Lucifer asks if he has come to ally his realm with theirs. She admits they expected better of Morpheus than to get caught and imprisoned by mortals.

Dream explains he thinks one of her demons has his helm and he wants it back. She reminds him that there are rules they must follow so she wants him to name the demon first. When he admits he doesn’t know the name, Lucifer says they’ll have to summon all of them. Once she brings them forward, she suspects he has given up so she reminds him that the tools are traps. He pours out some sand while saying it will bring what is his back to him. The demon with his helm appears in front of him. Lucifer identifies him as Choronzon (Munya Chawawa) and a Duke of Hell. Choronzon tells Dream he will have to fight him for the helm. Dream agrees to the terms that he will serve him in hell for eternity if he is defeated. He chooses himself while Choronzon picks Lucifer to represent him. Rosemary stops for gas and tells John she won’t be five minutes. He asks for a drink but doesn’t know what to pick since he has been in a psychiatric hospital for 30 years.

He decides to go inside with her. While he looks for something, Rosemary tells the clerk that she needs him to call 911 because he is an escaped murderer. John overhears them before telling Rosemary they need to go. The clerk pulls out a gun, points it at John, and tells him to let go of her. John warns him that he doesn’t want to point that gun at him because he’d only be hurting himself. Blood is splattered on the window before John and Rosemary leave the store. In the car, John tells her she shouldn’t have done that. He asks if she is taking him to his ruby. If so, he has no reason to hurt her. While Choronzon gets the crowd ready for the challenge, Dream tells Matthew he needs to go back to the Dreaming. If he gets stuck here, he wants Matthew to tell Lucienne. After Lucifer interrupts, Matthew says they came for the helm and they’re not leaving without it. Lucifer says she is the challenged so she sets the meter and takes the first move.

She says she is a dire wolf while Dream says he is a horse-mounted, wolf-stabbing hunter. The wolf is hit by a bow causing Lucifer to feel its pain. Lucifer says she is a horse-biting, poison-toothed serpent. Dream says he is a snake-devouring bird of prey. Lucifer is left with scratches on her face before she chooses to be a butcher bacterium. Dream drops to the ground as he suffers. He says he is a world. Lucifer is a nova. Dream is knocked to the ground. He manages to say he is a universe. Lucifer is anti-life. She asks what he will be then. Dream struggles to talk while Lucifer doesn’t think anything can survive the anti-life. Matthew tells him that dreams can survive because they don’t die if you believe in them. He believes Dream would never leave his raven alone in hell. Eventually, Dream says he is hope. He asks Lucifer what kills hope before she tells Choronzon to give him his helmet. He doesn’t want to give it over though. Mazikeen takes it and throws him over.

Dream thanks them and says the ruler of hell is honorable indeed. He won’t forget this. She asks if he is joking about her being honorable. The billion lords of hell stand arrayed about him. She asks why they should let him go since he has no power here. Dream asks what power would hell have if those imprisoned here couldn’t dream of heaven. Lucifer warns him that they’ll destroy him one day before he leaves with the helm. Matthew wonders if Lucifer will come after him because he just humiliated her. Dream puts on the helmet and says he can see the ruby. He uses the sand to travel to the location of the ruby. Once he retrieves it, she says something is wrong because someone has altered it. He is knocked back. Rosemary drops off John who goes into the storage container to get the ruby. He picks it up from the ground before returning to Rosemary while Matthew and Dream begin moving around. John asks Rosemary what she is still doing here.

She knows she is going to regret it, but she offers him a ride anyway. John gives her the jewel and tells her to wear it to ensure nobody will be able to hurt her from now on. He doesn’t need it now that he has his ruby. He tells her the ruby makes dreams come true and he will use it to save the world.

 

The Sandman Review

This episode of The Sandman was slightly better than the previous because things were actually moving for a change. There still hasn’t been a lot of action of significance though, but that may change once Dream retrieves his items. Most of the performers are doing well with their respective roles while a few really seem out of place, especially with the accents.

Dream hasn’t been built as the most competent or even likeable hero considering everyone else is giving him the keys to the puzzle. There might be too much foreshadowing or projecting since hope was mentioned or alluded to several times before the “fight”. It has been impossible to care about any of the characters even though they’re played by some big names, but the connection just isn’t there.

Unless viewers are going to have a force to get behind and a character to cheer for, there is a good chance they’re going to get bored and turn it off. Through four episodes, no character has really stood out and more are added in each episode. I need something to desperately make me care about Dream’s plight because everything will feel mundane otherwise. The episode deserves a 5 out of 10. Recaps of The Sandman can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support our work at this link.