Editor’s note: The below article contains spoilers for the first season of Netflix’s The Sandman.The entertainment industry has been attempting to bringNeil Gaiman’sThe Sandmanto life for over 30 years. The complexity of the characters and the large world that Gaiman created made this process a difficult one, but Netflix and Gaiman came together to bring Dream (Tom Sturridge),Rose Walker(Vanesu Samunyai), and a host of other characters off the comic pages and onto the screen. The series follows Dream and his attempt to reclaim his throne at the head ofthe Dreamingand his various interactions with the human world — some positive, and some negative.
The series is a faithful adaptation of the comic and essentially works as two different story arcs (Episodes 1-4, 7-10) with two standalone episodes (5 and 6). It is the fifth episode of the series, titled “24/7,” that takes the series in a new direction while revealing the show’s ultimate theme: the worst nightmares aren’t found while humanity is sleeping, but rather when there is nothing left but the absolute truth.
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Directed byJamie Childs, “24/7” sees an on-the-runJohn Dee(David Thewlis) stop at a local diner and listen in on the conversations of various patrons of the diner, including waitress Bette (Emma Duncan), short order cook Marsh (Steven Brand), Garry (James Udom) and Kate (Lourdes Faberes) a couple celebrating their anniversary, Mark (Laurie Davidson) waiting for a job interview and Judy (Daisy Head) who is coming off a fight with her girlfriend. The scene begins as any standard diner scene in film and television usually does, with polite conversation between locals who use the diner as a safe place to be themselves and get some friendly advice from Bette. However, as the episode progresses, John turns from observing bystander to puppet master, using Dream’s ruby to reveal everyone else’s inner truths, not allowing them to hide their thoughts, which only previously existed in their heads — the results of which end in one of the most brutal and heartbreaking scenes you will ever find on television.
The episode deals directly with what it means to be human, that we are flawed people who are trying our best to survive and hopefully thrive in the world around us. However, the world around us can be a frightening place, with our hopes and dreams in constant battle with the reality of trying to make ends meet, find someone to share our time with, and make true connections with the people around us that go beyond the superficial. This is what makes the episode so important toThe Sandmanseries and what makes it stand out as a singular story that could live outside Gaiman’s created world.
John Dee is intended to be the villain of the episode, and he very much is, but like all well-developed antagonists, his intentions of a world where only the truth survives are somewhat noble. A world where all of humanity’s proverbial masks are removed would hypothetically allow everyone to be themselves and, hopefully, be accepted for who they truly are. This idea gets twisted so that the truths each character reveals are laced with poison, hurting their counterparts in the diner and themselves.
Everyone’s deepest secrets and desires are revealed in a straightforward manner that destroys them to the point that they cannot live with the consequences of their truth. Bette starts that episode off as a friendly waitress whose only intention is to spread kindness to her patrons, but thanks to Dee’s ruby, her personal life, home life, and dreams of becoming a writer, slowly evaporate, and she is left a lonely shell of herself. Moreover, this is what happens to everyone at the diner — except for John, who is left to enjoy the “truthful” world he has created. The seemingly happy couple dissolve into hatred for each other, gender roles and sexuality are darkly exposed and exploited and the focus of each person’s aspirations becomes clouded thanks to dire desires. They become a microcosm for the world at large and this can be seen in news reports that fill the television screens in the background where brutal honesty has taken over the world, sending it into a chaotic tailspin.
The Sandmanis a series that puts an emphasis on the fantastical and the role it plays in the everyday lives of humans in the background. The blend between the two is a line that Gaiman and company are interested in crossing. This is what “24/7” does perfectly, the fantastical element opens up the very worst of humanity. This leads to the bigger idea the series is trying to emphasize, what we know about the world isn’t limited to what is in front of our eyes. Another interesting aspect of the episode is that Dream does not appear until the very end, to help Dee realize what he has done is not just limited to the deaths of the diner patrons but destroyed the very essence of what makes us human: our ability to look beyond today.
One of the show’s guiding principles is that death does not have to be sad, it does not need to be the end of the journey, but the next step in it. This is what makes the episode so intriguing as a standalone and as part ofThe Sandmanpuzzle. It is a horrific example of the worst side of humanity while giving viewers a glimmer of hope that our dreams don’t have to die when we do.
