Chapter 3: Dream a Little Dream of Me is the third episode of the first season of the Netflix original dark fantasy series, The Sandman.
Synopsis[]
Morpheus tracks down the last-known person in possession of his sand — and receives an unexpected lesson on humanity. Ethel pays a visit to her son.
Plot[]
London UK, Johanna Constantine entered what appeared to be a mostly abandoned theater of sorts, where she was approached by a young girl named Astra, who brought Johanna to see her father, who laid passed out in the floor next to a book of Satanic rituals. Johanna awakened Logue from his sleep and asked what he did, to which he replied that they had summoned demons and that the others must've still been inside the club. Upon further investigation, Johanna was pulled inside a room, only to awaken in the back of a taxi, realizing it was just a dream. She exited the taxi and had a brief exchange with an older lady named Mad Hettie, who warned her of Morpheus' return. However, Johanna was never one to believe in mere superstition, unknowingly bypassing Dream himself as she proceeded into the chapel to perform an exorcism at Erica's behest. However, Johanna became reluctant when Ric revealed that the girl's family was royalty, refusing to meet with the princess, as doing business with the royals proved too difficult in the past, but she eventually relented.
Disguised as a priest, Johanna wedded the princess and her lover, Kevin, who she tricked into reciting an exorcism spell, forcing the demon to reveal itself, discovering then that it was Kevin who was in fact possessed, rather than the princess. As Ric escorted the princess out, Johanna proceeded with the exorcism, and when he refused to reveal his name, Dream exposed him as a demon named Agilieth. The demon also recognized him as the King of Dreams, though he couldn't help but notice that Morpheus was without his helm, claiming that he knew the name of the demon in possession of the helm, which he was willing to give up in exchange for the princess. However, before Dream could agree to the demon's terms, Johanna exorcised him to Hell.
Buffalo, New York, John suspected that his mother was testing him, but Ethel insisted that wasn't the case. She revealed that Dream was coming for the ruby and the people who stole it from him. John was the only person aware of it's whereabouts, but he continued to doubt his mother's intentions, as she had been saying that for years, that the Sandman was coming for them and even recalled being a kid and them constantly changing towns and names. However, these were not the only lies she'd told John over the years. She also lied about his father; he'd been told his entire life that his father died when he was a baby, but John learned from a book title The History of Ritual Magic in England that the ruby once belonged to a man named Roderick Burgess, who kept a mistress called Ethel Cripps. Ethel admitted that this was the truth, but that his father wasn't a good man. Having finally pulled an ounce a truth from his mother, John was willing to give over the ruby, but only if she began being truthful with him.
After parting ways with Ric, Johanna joined Dream and Mad Hettie, who expressed how happy she was to have him back. Johanna recalled her grandmother telling stories about the Endless, to which Dream replied that he'd known her family for centuries, leading Johanna to wonder what he wanted from her. Dream was in search of his leather pouch that came into her position. Unfortunately, she didn't recall where she had it last, nor was she interested in helping him find his pouch. However, Johanna relented and agreed to help Dream first thing in the morning. Until then, she didn't want Dream and his raven following her around London, though Dream insisted that the raven was not his before realizing that it was sent by Lucienne. Named Matthew, Dream instructed him to go back to the Dreaming.
The only reason Ethel stole the tools was because she thought they'd help her, but then Roderick's people came after them. So she hid the ruby and traded the others for the Amulet of Protection. It's what's kept Ethel alive for so long. Even if John told her it's location, he revealed that he altered the ruby and that it only worked for him. However, Ethel had no intentions of using it and intended to give it back to Dream. Although, John suggested they use it to dream of a world without the Sandman.
Matthew followed Dream to a water fountain in spite of him being instructed to leave. Matthew revealed he only just became a raven, as of a couple of hours ago. Prior to, he was a man who died in his sleep. Dream warned Matthew that the waking world wasn't safe, but Matthew was more than aware, which was the exact reason Lucienne sent him, as he lived his entire life in the city. Dream confided in Matthew that his last raven died trying to help him, but Matthew refused to leave.
Realizing that Johanna was likely sleeping, Dream tracked her in her sleep. He entered Johanna's dream, in which she was combatting some kind of demonic force. When she awakened, they briefly discuss her dream and how it was actually a memory, which he could help go away, but only if she helped him find his pouch, which he explained was a part of him. When he mentioned how it was stolen by Roderick, Johanna realized that Dream must've been the rumored devil that was locked up in Burgess's basement. Dream then found a photo of Johanna with her ex-girlfriend, leading her to realize where left the pouch.
John admittedly missed his mother. He especially missed when it was just the two of them, but Ethel noted that it was never just the two of them, referring to the ruby, which she only ever showed to John on birthdays; she'd tell him to make a wish, which would ultimately come true. They both now realized and regretted having ever stolen the ruby. Should she bring him the ruby, John insisted that he could fix everything, but Ethel recalled John killing many people the last time he had it, though he claimed that he was simply defending himself and could use it to also defend her, not that she needed it, as Ethel already had the Amulet of Protection. Hoping to protect John and convince him that she wasn't after the ruby for its power, Ethel gifted him the amulet.
Dream inquired about Johanna's ex-lover Rachel, who she revealed never dealed in magic, though Johanna unintentionally left the sand with her when she left everything else. Johanna was staying with Rachel for a few months, and she interpreted that as them living together. So, one night, Johanna went on a job and never came back, fearing that their relationship wouldn't work.
Johanna buzzed herself inside whilst Dream waited downstairs. She knocked on the door, and Rachel answered, shocked to find her on the other side. Admittedly, it was wrong of Johanna to simply leave without saying a word, but she came back to collect her belongings.
Matthew warned Dream that humans couldn't be trusted, explaining that if he was Johanna, he'd be making a deal with Rachel to keep the sand and give Dream a decoy. Whatever they were doing, Matthew suspected that they weren't thinking about Dream's well-being.
Johanna and Rachel kiss in the hallway before deciding to take the "apology" to the bedroom, but Rachel couldn't help but point out that Johanna had a lot to apologize for. When she left that night and didn't come home, Rachel called everyone, including Johanna's exes, and they all told her to get over Johanna, as she was a selfish, ruthless coward who ruined everything she touched. Rachel then began to disintegrate into sand as Dream entered the apartment and awakened Johanna from her sleep, revealing that she'd dreamt her entire encounter with Rachel. The two of them entered Rachel's room to find her dying on the bed with the pouch in her hand. Dream explained that it was killing her, as it wasn't meant for humans. Cold and detached, Dream intended to leave, explaining that the sand was the only thing keeping her alive and that she'd be dead soon, but Johanna refused to simply leave her to die, telling Dream to do something. He'd been on his mission to get his sand back to save humanity, but she reminded him that Rachel was also humanity and that if he truly cared, he'd help. Taking Johanna's words to heart, Dream sprinkled sand from his bag over Rachel, putting her in a dream.
The Amulet of Protection kept Ethel alive for 116 years, and now she gave it over to John, hoping that it would keep him alive forever. Ethel embraced John one last time as she quickly began to wither away as the amulet was the only thing keeping her alive. Within moments, Ethel was shriveled and dead. Sam, the guard, entered the room to find John hovering over her. Having come to the conclusion that John was responsible for her death, Sam pulled his gun on John and commanded him to stand down. When John continued to approach, Sam pulled the trigger, but given that he was protected by the amulet, it was Sam who perished, leaving nothing behind but blood splatter on the wall. John then made his way to the elevator, where he was confronted by two more guards, who met the same fate.
John exited the facility and was greeted outside its doors by The Corinthian, who offered John his jacket. John sought to return it once he got to where ever he was headed, but Corinthian insisted that the only thing that mattered was John getting to where he was going.
Dream informed Johanna that Rachel died peacefully in her sleep. Johanna had the unfortunate task of informing her dad. Rachel was a good person, one of the few at least, informing Dream that they were not all like herself or Roderick Burgess. Before parting ways, Johanna instructed Matthew to look after Dream, who informed Johanna that her nightmare wouldn't be bothering her anymore. Matthew then inquired about their next move, to which Dream revealed that he planned to got to Hell in search of his helm.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Guest Starring[]
- Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine
- Joely Richardson as Ethel Cripps
- Meera Syal as Reverend Erica
- Clare Higgins as Mad Hettie
- David Thewlis as John Dee
Co-Starring[]
- Eleanor Fanyinka as Rachel
- Hannah van der Westhuysen as The Princess
- Stephen Odubola as Kevin Brody
- Marcus Fraser as Agilieth
- Stevie Hutchinson as Alex Logue
- Nina Rose Galano as Astra Logue
- Olu Adaeze as Armed Officer #1
- Marcus Adolphy as Cab Driver
- Joe Corrigall as Sam
- Sam Donnelly as Armed Officer #2
Trivia[]
- "Dream a Little Dream of Me" is the name of the third issue of the Sandman comic series.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
References[]