Ethel Cripps is a supporting antagonist in the first season of The Sandman.
She is Roderick Burgess's mistress and John Dee's mother, who plays a vital role in Dream's fate.
History[]
Stealing Dream's tools[]
Ethel and Alex
Ethel attended one of Roderick Burgess' parties upon learning of his good fortune and spellcasting. Not long after making his acquaintance, she became his mistress and eventually got pregnant, though Roderick sought to terminate her pregnancy, so Ethel fled in the dark of the night with Dream's sand pouch, helm, ruby, and the grimoire, as well as $200,000 in cash. Nine months later, Ethel gave birth to a baby boy. Her mother used to say that if she was good, a man would sprinkle sand in her eye and make all her dreams come true. But the Sandman wasn't coming, and moving forward, she and her son Johnny would have to make their own dreams come true.[1]
Meeting The Corinthian[]
It had been over 100 years since Ethel had fled Roderick's estate. She had since relocated to Buffalo, New York, where she received an unexpected visit The Corinthian, who she quickly deduced as being a Nightmare. With Ethel's help, he intended to remain free, informing her that Dream had escaped his imprisonment and that he would be coming after both of them soon enough. The Corinthian questioned if Ethel kept Dream's tools, which she claimed she didn't, even as The Corinthian made mention of her son John. When she left Roderick, Ethel traded the sand and helm for her life in America. As for the ruby, it had the power to make dreams and nightmares come true, which was why her son took it from her, only for the ruby to then take him. When Ethel repeated that she didn't know the whereabouts of the ruby, The Corinthian grabbed a knife from his pocket and threatened to cut her eyes out. But when he approached, she unveiled the Amulet of Protection around her neck, which shredded Corinthian into pieces. Ethel then went to visit John at a private medical facility to ask him about the ruby.[2]
Finding the ruby[]
Ethel pleaded with John to give her the location of the ruby, as Dream would be coming for it, however, considering that she had lied to him his entire life, he doubted his mother's true intentions. One of her more notable lies was about his father, who John had been told his entire life died when he was a baby, but John learned from a book title The History of Ritual Magic in England that his actual father was Roderick Burgess. Ethel admitted that this was true, but that his father also wasn't a good man. 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, which had kept Ethel alive for so long. John had altered the ruby and 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.
Ethel giving John the amulet
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. 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. 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.[3]
Physical Appearance[]
Ethel was a woman with pale skin, pale blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. She maintained her youthfulness through her acquisition of the Amulet of Protection, which kept her alive for over a century.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Magic: After stealing the grimoire originally belonging to Roderick Burgess, Ethel was able to cast some spells and gained a measure of magical abilities. As shown where she was able to cast a demon summoning spell in order to trade Dream's Helm for the Amulet of Protection with the demon, Choronzon.
- Longevity; The protection amulet, in addition to protecting Ethel against supernatural forces and spells, also kept her alive longer than a normal person would, living for more than a century while maintaining an appearance of barely entering old age. When she took it away she aged all those years at once.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
Gallery[]
Promotional Images[]
Episode Stills[]
References[]
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 1: Sleep of the Just
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 2: Imperfect Hosts
- ↑ Season 1, Episode 3: Dream a Little Dream of Me