Chapter 6: The Sound of Her Wings is the sixth episode of the first season of the Netflix original dark fantasy series, The Sandman.
Synopsis[]
Feeling a bit rudderless, Morpheus shadows his hard-working big sister, who offers him advice and encourages him to reconnect with an old acquaintance.
Plot[]
Death tracked Dream down to a local park, where he sat on a bench feeding pigeons. Admittedly, Dream wasn't feeling the best. When they captured him, his only thought was vengeance, but it wasn't as satisfying as expected, and in that time, his kingdom fell apart, and his tools were stolen and scattered. And so, he embarked on a journey to find them, which he did, ultimately resulting in him becoming more powerful than he'd been in a long time, and yet, he felt disappointed and empty. Death told Dream that he could've called her and instructed him to find a new purpose. In the meantime, she invited him to join her at work for the day. As they prepared to leave, Death was approached by a young man named Franklin, who asked if he could see her again, to which she replied that he'd be seeing her again very soon.
Death asked if Dream had seen any of their siblings since his return. He hadn't, but they did have a family dinner in his absence, Death revealed. Dream imagined Desire was in high spirits with him gone. Unfortunately, the prodigal was still missing. They came to a stop outside an old apartment building. Death sought to reap an elderly man inside named Harry. Realizing his time had come, Harry said the Shema, a Jewish prayer, before being taken away.
Dream shared with Death that when he was captured, it was her they were after, which she was already aware. After taking her shoes off to touch the ground with her bare feet, Death and Dream arrived at her next appointment: a young man named Sam on honeymoon with his wife. He drowned in the lake, and now she'd come to reap him, though he'd pleaded with her for more time, which she could not offer.
Dream questioned how Death was able to be there for all of them. She simply explained she had a job to do. When the first living thing existed, she was there. And when the last living thing dies, she'll put the chairs on the table, turn out the lights, and lock the universe behind her when she leaves. However, there were exceptions to Death, like Mad Hettie and Dream's ongoing project with Hob Gadling. Death used to think that she had the hardest job among the Endless. Humans feared death, and yet they entered Dream's realm every night willingly. It was fine in the beginning, and then after a bit, it got harder. Death considered giving up and walking out, but that was long ago, even before the existence of the current world. The job got to her and she got hard and brittle inside, given humanity's reaction to the Sunless Lands. But eventually, she learned that all they needed was a kind word and a friendly face. Dream and Death had made their way into the home of a mother with an infant child. Death had unfortunately come to take the baby. People may not be ready for Death's gift, but they got it anyway, no matter the circumstances.
Death used to think she had to do this by herself, but in the end, she was there with them. They were holding her hand, and she was holding theirs, applying the same logic to Dream. The only reason the Endless existed was to serve humanity. And since figuring that out, she realized that she needed them as much as they needed her. Dream thanked Death for the insight and teaching him something he had long since forgotten. The duo had then made their way back to the park for Death's final appointment with Franklin, who was hit by a car.
1389, disguised as a nun and priest, Death brought Dream to a tavern to interact with humanity on their terms. There, they overheard a conversation between Hob and a few of his comrades. He spoke of seeing death and how the only reason people die was because they went along with it. He, however, made up his mind and decided he would not die. Dream questioned why anyone would desire an eternity of human life, to which Death suggested that she grant his wish of eternal life as an experiment, with Dream suspecting he'd want death within a century. And so, Dream approached Hob and suggested that they meet again in the same tavern in a 100 years' time.
1489, 100 years later, Dream and Hob met at the tavern as planned. Hob questioned if he made a bargain with a devil and how he had actually survived as long as he had, but Dream did not bother to answer many questions. He was merely interested in Hob's experience. He wished for Hob to live his life as he pleased, but every 100 years, they were to meet. Much to Dream's surprise, Hob saw eternity as a gift and wished to live longer. In his time, he'd seen some war, but now he'd found a new trade in printing.
1589, Dream returned to the tavern to find Hob thriving with good fortune. Last they spoke, he was working with Billy Caxton. He made some gold from that before working in Henry Tudor's shipyard. Then he went north and came back as his own son, for the second time. When fat Henry had gone for the monasteries, he bought his estate, and a healthy gift of gold to the Crown saw to a knighthood. He then showed Dream a picture of his wife Eleanor and their son Robyn. This is what Hob always thought Heaven would be like. It was during his check-in with Hob that Dream came across William Shakespeare, who mentioned how he would give anything to create new dreams to spur the minds of men that would live on long after he was dead. And so, Dream offered him a deal.
1689, they returned to the same tavern, and Hob was at his lowest point ever in his life: dirty and poor, seen as filth by many. Hob lost everything, from his land to his gold. He also lost his wife, who died in childbirth. His son Robyn also died in a tavern brawl when he was 20. They tried to drown him as a witch after he didn't age from having lived there over 40 years. And it only got worse from there with each passing day. And still, he wished to live. Unbeknownst to the two of them, they were being watched by other patrons, and even a drawing was fashioned in their likeness.
1789, Dream and Hob reconvened to catch up over the last 100 years. Hob had gotten into the shipping business and slave trading, which Dream advised him against, remarking that it was a poor thing for one man to enslave another. Hob then recalled Dream's exchange with William Shakespeare 100 years ago and presumed that he and Dream made a deal. 400 years they'd been meeting, and yet, Hob still knew so very little of Dream, not even his name. At this point, they were interrupted by Lady Johanna Constantine, who revealed that there were tales in London of a Devil and a wandering Jew meeting once every century in the tavern. Dream returned once every 100 years to strike bargains with men, which Johanna requested Dream share with her and for them both to join her, but Dream and Hob refused. And so, Johanna ordered her men to kill them. Two traders approached with blades drawn, only for Hob to disarm and knock both men unconscious just before Dream put Lady Johanna to sleep and forcing her to face her old ghosts. Fearful that she may have told others about their meetings, Dream and Hob decided to conclude their exchange.
1889, Dream reunited with Hob as planned, but this time, he came across a working girl named Lushing Lou. Dream revealed that her real name was Louise Baldwin. Her father was in the British army, and her cousin, raped, impregnated, and deserted her when she was just a child. Hob wondered how he knew everything about everyone, recalling their encounter with Lady Johanna, who Dream revealed he saw again. She undertook a task for him and succeeded admirably. After 500 years of meeting, Hob believed that Dream had changed. They met every century not because Dream wanted to know if he was ready to seek death, but because he sought friendship, to which Dream took great offense, insisting that he need no companionship, and as proof of that, he left.
1989, Hob returned to the bar from centuries before and spent the day waiting for Dream, only for him to never show. To make matters worse, he learned from the bartender that the bar had been sold to make room for new flats and that demolition would be underway soon enough.
Present day, Dream stood outside of the closed down bar, which had been sectioned off in preparation for demolition. He followed the sign directing him to the New Inn, a nearby bar, where he found Hob. Hob playfully smiled and told Dream that he was late. Dream said he owed Hob an apology, referring to him as a friend. The two then had their annul day of drinking, giving Dream some happiness.
Desire reached out to their twin sister Despair to report that Dream had found his way out of his cage and that they had a new plan in the works.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Guest Starring[]
- Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death
- Jenna Coleman as Lady Johanna Constantine
- Mason Alexander Park as Desire
- Ferdinand Kingsley as Hob Gadling
- Samuel Blenkin as Will Shakespeare
- Ian McNeice as Bartender (1989)
Co-Starring[]
- Angus Yellowlees as Kit Marlowe
- Sarah Twomey as Lushing Lou
- Curtis Kantsa as Franklin
- Kieron Moore as Crispin
- Mark Field as Roland
- Sia Alipour as Aiden
- Jon Rumney as Harry
- Rebecca Night as Esme
- Leemore Marrett Jr. as Tourist Husband Sam
- Liberty Buckland as Tourist Wife Tabitha
- Stanley Morgan as Charlie
- Harry Burton as Geoffrey Chaucer
- William Chubb as Edmund
- Ben Abell as Pub Landlord (1389)
- Alex Akindeji as Louis
- Hannah Zoé Ankrah as Bar Patron #1 (1989)
- Archie Backhouse as Bar Patron #3 (1989)
- Kevin Brewer as Bar Visitor #5 (1389)
- Kylie Butler as Bar Visitor #3 (1389)
- Paul Cassidy as Pub Visitor #2 (1389)
- Michael Clarke as Bar Patron #2 (1989)
- Kelsey Cooke as Tara
- Nigel Cooke as Tavern Visitor #1 (1689)
- Nick Cornwall as Pub Visitor #1 (1389)
- Zody Daines as Waitress (1989)
- Reanne Farley as Tavern Serving Maid (1689)
- Aykut Hilmi as Pub Visitor #4 (1389)
- Ruchika Jain as Clara
- Danielle Kassarate as Tavern Waitress (1589)
- Angus Kennedy as Tavern Landlord (1789)
- Akil Largie as Bouncer (1689)
- John Leader as Freddie
- Tony Richardson as Man in the Shadows (1689)
- Benjamin Wainwright as Tavern Visitor #2 (1689)
Trivia[]
- "The Sound of Her Wings" is the name of the eighth issue of The Sandman comic series.
- The second half of the episode follows the plot of the thirteenth issue of The Sandman, adjusted for the timeline shift.
- Some of Death's lines describing her place in the universe were taken from issue 20 and from the Death: A Winter's Tale special, and her affinity for apples is a callback to Death: The High Cost of Living.
- Death is known to accommodate small last requests to the deceased in other mediums; likely having asked Dream to take care of passing on the husband's information to his widow.
- While unstated, Dream show up on the day he was meant to meet Hobb; being 23 years late.
- Dream gave William Shakespeare deeper access to the Dreaming in his sleep in order to fuel the playwrights imagination.
- Lady Constantine did a job for Dream some time after they first met, meaning that Dream rewarded her in some way.
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
References[]