The Sandman: The Sound of Her Wings Books Included

August 13, 2022 5:12 AM - Season 1, Episode 6

Feeding the pigeons -- Will I see you again -- That's all you get -- Hob Gadling -- It is impolite to keep a friend waiting.
posted by gauche (50 comments total)

The perky goth girl was great but Kirby Howell-Baptiste is amazing.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:59 AM on August 13, 2022 [15 favorites]

There’s a reason this was the first story in the first collection that DC released and why the first seven issues were in a “later” book called Preludes (and Nocturnes). Between the comic-book-style art, the involvement of superheroes, and the more torture-porny aspects (especially “24 Hours”), this has always been considered the best intro story.

And honestly, as much as I liked the way they brought that first arc to the screen, it was the same here. This would have been a really good pilot pretty much as-is.
posted by Etrigan at 6:07 AM on August 13, 2022 [6 favorites]

(can the 'books included' spoiler condition be added to the thread?)

I think this was my favorite episode of the season. Or at least the point in my binge where I felt most... at home with the show as a show? It had a great balance between being a self-contained story, but also laid all the groundwork it needed to for future episodes (Dream's dealings with Shakespeare & French Revolution Constantine) should Netflix continue the series long enough. I mean, given Netflix's record on cancellations I'm not holding my breath on us actually getting all the way through the comics run to the very end, but it was still nice to see the set-ups for the possibilities.

Kirby Howell-Baptiste is a good Death. I think she has less a manic-pixie-energy than my feeling of the comics character's voice, but, her serenity should make for a good contrast with Delirium if we get to those parts of the run.
posted by oh yeah! at 6:35 AM on August 13, 2022 [5 favorites]

'Scuse me while I wipe the copious tears off my keyboard... The gentleman playing Harry was just. Heartbreakingly perfect. He and Howell-Baptiste are lovely together.

Layers in Howell-Baptiste's impossible-to-praise-too-highly performance: Death is something of a workaholic, and she sure seems to be putting a good face on things for little brother's sake. Her job is tough, and it wears on her, and she's developed some self-soothing techniques for coping with it. Never mind coping with her messed-up family, though it's sweet that Dream allows her physically close, which he doesn't allow from anyone else. Even Lucienne keeps a certain distance, and Matthew wouldn't dare ride his shoulder.

Morpheus's awed, momentarily unguarded face at hearing Harry's violin... dude, yes, get a hobby, learn an instrument, go to concerts, something, it'd be good for you!

Hob Gadling looks like he walked right out of a comics page, and his is the true affability that the Corinthian is merely pretending to. Really enjoyed that half of the episode too, thought the plus ça change gag worked well, got duly annoyed with Lady Johanna for that very Constantine-y thing of showing up just when it'll interrupt something important, got a kick out of the music changing over time (the Miami Vice lick for 1989 was great).

If there's a still of the medium-length shot of both of them in front of the fireplace in 1489, find it and just look at it. It's gorgeous.
posted by humbug at 6:44 AM on August 13, 2022 [8 favorites]

(can the 'books included' spoiler condition be added to the thread?)

Yes! I forgot in my pre-coffee state this morning.
posted by gauche at 7:34 AM on August 13, 2022

This episode absolutely drove me to tears. It's one the single best issues of the comic, and the adaptation was even better. I'd have been happy with just the first half, but choosing to follow it up immediately with Hob Gadling's story was perfect.

Kirby Howell-Baptiste was absolutely phenomenal. Death is a hard role, because you simultaneously need to be more powerful than Dream and unwilling to put up with his bullshit, while appearing friendly and welcoming to the mortals.
posted by explosion at 8:14 AM on August 13, 2022 [9 favorites]

This would have been a really good pilot pretty much as-is.

I have to disagree. One of the great things about the comics is that Death is not described or even gendered up until the point that she's revealed. With the opening episode about "capturing Death", the idea of Death as this fearsome entity is established and maintained so well that I really had no idea who this girl was that Dream was talking to. I didn't expect Death to be presented as a kindly and compassionate young woman.

But, thinking about it, of course she's compassionate. She knows everybody. Eventually.
posted by SPrintF at 8:30 AM on August 13, 2022 [18 favorites]

She knows everybody from birth even.
posted by kokaku at 9:10 AM on August 13, 2022 [3 favorites]

I don't like a lot of this season thematically -- it's so 80s-dated in terms of its scares -- but THIS story is some of what I love best in Sandman. I absolutely cried during the first half of this ep, and the the second half is the simple relationship-building that sticks with me. I first read the Hob story in.. gods, I don't know, mid-90s I guess, and I still think about it a couple of times a year.
posted by curious nu at 9:32 AM on August 13, 2022 [4 favorites]

I have to admit, I was fine with all of last episode's hand-nailing and throat-slashing and finger-chopping and eye-gouging, but when they picked up the kid I was squirming all over thinking please cut before the mom comes back please please please. Parenthood has wrecked me.
posted by phooky at 9:47 AM on August 13, 2022 [39 favorites]

Absolutely the high point of the series. The rest of the episodes could have been trash (they weren't, but my feelings were more mixed), and it would have been worth it because this episode got made.

I do find it really funny that they chose to present these two issues together. The first half a sober examination of death and its inevitability, even when it isn't fair, and you're feeling a kind of peace about that... And then Hob comes in and sticks two fingers up at it. You go live your best life, Hob Gadling.
posted by Glier's Goetta at 10:05 AM on August 13, 2022 [12 favorites]

Was alone last week, a few days after my wife died, a day before my parents arrived, and found myself half watching Sandman. Got as far as this episode. I read the comics years ago, but hadn't really remembered how similar Gaiman and Pratchett's conceptions of Death are. Not sure it helped exactly, but later going through old pictures, found one from my wife's 80s goth phase looking like Robert Smith. She might've liked this.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 1:37 PM on August 13, 2022 [62 favorites]

I used to have a T-shirt with a quote from "The Sound of Her Wings" because Death was always my favorite character of the series.

I was only slightly disappointed the quote didn't appear in the same way, because it was such a lovely episode, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.
posted by Foosnark at 5:06 PM on August 13, 2022 [2 favorites]

I lost myself in this episode, cried throughout and said all the lines I knew aloud. And as Death led Franklin over to his body I felt this overwhelming satisfaction from an excellent hour of television...

Oh. Hang on. It's not over... They're setting up the next episode.

When it dropped that we were going straight into Men of Good Fortune, reader, my ugly crying intensified.
posted by Molesome at 1:03 AM on August 14, 2022 [8 favorites]

Hob Gadling is my favorite Sandman story and, to be honest, the only one I remember from when I read the books 30-ish years ago. I thought it was done really well here (other than Dream briefly looking like Noel Fielding). I love what the TV show creators did with Death.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:57 AM on August 14, 2022 [3 favorites]

Great episode, and a delicious choice to combine the two issues.

SPrintF's point about the revelation of who the woman is definitely rings true for me, thinking back to reading it when it first came out. I don't know (as in, I wonder and do not know) how many people seeing this for the first time did not know she was Death right off the bat, and whether the "reveal" was as effective these days.

I have always loved Hob Gadling as a character. I've also always appreciated Morpheus' comment about it being a terrible thing to enslave another person. That was an important moment, and I hope we see Hob later, reflecting more seriously as he does in the comic on what he has done. I don't know much of the stories that aren't deeply tied to the arcs are going to make their way in, and I hope that one does. And "Dream of A Thousand Cats," and "The Hunt," and...
posted by cupcakeninja at 12:15 PM on August 14, 2022 [3 favorites]

Two great stories in the same episode! "The Sound of Her Wings" was the first Sandman story I read, while "Men of Good Fortune" was the first I loved.

My only quibble is that they didn't have to commit so fully to the bad medieval hair Dream has in the comics.
posted by betweenthebars at 2:11 PM on August 14, 2022 [8 favorites]

I've also always appreciated Morpheus' comment about it being a terrible thing to enslave another person. That was an important moment, and I hope we see Hob later, reflecting more seriously as he does in the comic on what he has done.

I’ve always thought that Dream’s comment was very… dorm-room libertarian philosophical discussion? Like he vaguely disapproved of it but wasn’t going to exert any effort to stop it, or really even to keep his “friend” from doing it. Because at that point, it was a abstraction to him as everything else was. It took his own (sort of) enslavement to make him realize that these aren’t just interesting philosophical conundrums. It wasn’t the biggest step on his journey, but it shows where he was before the 20th Century.
posted by Etrigan at 4:21 PM on August 14, 2022 [10 favorites]

I don't know (as in, I wonder and do not know) how many people seeing this for the first time did not know she was Death right off the bat, and whether the "reveal" was as effective these days.

I never read the comics. When she sat down next to Dream, and they started talking as if they knew each other, it was definitely intriguing. Her comment to the guy (Franklin?) that she’ll “see him real soon” was the first clue, but it didn’t quite gel in my head until they visited Harry. Such a well-played reveal! Very satisfying storytelling.

I admit to tearing up at the visit to Harry. When they visited the baby, though, I found myself yelling “no, no, no!” and crying. That was a hard scene to watch. It’s the worst horror every parent keeps locked away. I’m so glad the camera followed Death and Dream out of the baby’s room. I could not have handled watching the mom. You could barely hear her shocked voice call the baby’s name. It was enough.

This was a great episode, and so much better than the previous episode.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:07 PM on August 14, 2022 [9 favorites]

Considering his ex is literally imprisoned in hell because she "defied" him and could be freed at the nod of his head, Dream's holier than thou comment to Hob was not a good look, to say the least.

It fits with his central problem: he doesn't think he should be subject to the same rules as others because he is above them and subject to different moral and ethical constraints. What he does, he deserves a pass, because no one understands, even his own family, who obviously don't take things as seriously as he does (his words). That's why the imprisonment is so galling to him: he was trapped by lowly humans who didn't even understand the forces they were toying with. Like Lionel Hutz invoking laws he barely understands and beating Mr. Burns' high-paid legal team.

Even when he agrees to Lucifer's conditions for the duel, his victory reinforces his sense of superiority over the whole ritual itself: the unfulfilled but inextinguishable hope expressed in dreams is what makes Hell what it is, and makes Lucifer who Lucifer is, trapping the Morningstar in the tragically ironic position of reigning in hell, forever in opposition to what they want the most.

OTOH, Death does not think her larger perspective makes her better than humanity; she tries to see it as humanity's gift to her, which she exercises on their behalf.
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:13 PM on August 14, 2022 [8 favorites]

one thing that's pretty neat about the decision to move the setting from the "present day" of the comics in the 1980s, to the present day in the series of the 2020s, is that Dream missed his 20th century meetup with Hob because he was imprisoned, allowing for a clever little bit of fleshing out the world and their relationship
posted by DoctorFedora at 11:10 PM on August 14, 2022 [14 favorites]

Oh this was just lovely. After so much brooding and gothic drama a walk in the park is just what this show needed. I like Howell-Baptiste as Death. She has the dignity and gravity you'd expect in that role, but also kind and joyful and so, so sympathetic. She's like the best ever funeral parlor director.

The scene with the baby was fantastic. I don't have kids but I understand the horror that idea holds for parents. I think it's valuable the show dipped into that but in as gentle and oblique a way as possible. Death is awful, but it is also natural and in the world of the Endless does not need to be terrifying or terminal.

I got a bit of whiplash in the segue to the second story, Hob's immortal life. Pretty clearly felt like two stories stuck together. But with a certain thematic unity, the juxtaposition of Death coming for everyone and then what would happen if it just didn't for someone? And they're clearly having so much fun with the writing. It also bookends humanizing Dream. In the beginning he's moping in the park so much his sister comes to cheer him up. In the end he admits to enjoying Hob's friendship.

Here's rest of the hunting for rabbits, vicar? joke.

Question for the whole series: is there something hinky with the aspect ratio? Many of the scenes feel compressed horizontally, so squares are slightly tall rectangles. Only a little, by like 5%. I may just be reacting to the lean look of most of the characters, particularly Sturridge's narrow face. But I see it in other characters too. I'm watching on Netflix direct so I don't think it's my video source. Maybe a lens choice? The first episode did some disorienting things with vertical panning of wide angle lenses but they stopped doing that. Still left with the sense that many scenes are stretched a little vertically.

(I am now endeavoring to stop comparing everything to the comics here because it's tedious. And I think the show stands on its own. I am reading the comics again in parallel though and can't help myself. It's remarkable how they changed almost nothing about Men of Good Fortune. A little perturbed they skipped Tales in the Sand but perhaps they'll get to it later when the story makes more sense.)
posted by Nelson at 7:01 AM on August 15, 2022 [3 favorites]

Answering my own question: yes, something is hinky with the aspect ratio by about 7%. But they say it's intended

Many of the environments are surreal in the series and the idea is to give the feeling of what a dream would feel like.

Huh, to me it just gives the feeling of what a badly encoded pirate copy would look like.
posted by Nelson at 8:57 AM on August 15, 2022 [4 favorites]

That explains why it seems there are times when Morpheus has a longer face or more severe jawline, and others where his chin is smoother or rounder, or just less like Bruce Campbell/Robert Z'dar.
posted by Saxon Kane at 9:30 AM on August 15, 2022 [4 favorites]

Considering his ex is literally imprisoned in hell because she "defied" him and could be freed at the nod of his head, Dream's holier than thou comment to Hob was not a good look, to say the least.

I mean, yes but also no. The Sandman mythology has some very clear ideas about who it is that condemns you to Hell and who it is that keeps you there. Could Morpheus free Nada by forgiving her? Maybe, but not for the reasons she thinks he could.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 10:23 AM on August 15, 2022 [3 favorites]

It fits with his central problem: he doesn't think he should be subject to the same rules as others because he is above them and subject to different moral and ethical constraints...

OTOH, Death does not think her larger perspective makes her better than humanity; she tries to see it as humanity's gift to her, which she exercises on their behalf.

One of the primary differences between Morpheus and Death is that while Morpheus does believe that a different set of rules apply to him than to everyone else, he does believe there are rules that apply to him. Death presents herself as having more empathy but she only has one hard rule (“You get what everyone gets; you get a life.”). It’s the only rule she follows and even it is only evenly applied from the perspective of someone older than time (three month old infants and millennium-spanning gods are seen as pretty much the same to her).

There’s a reason Morpheus spent a hundred years imprisoned in his sister’s place. Morpheus won’t break the rules, even to save himself, his realm or the million-plus victims of sleepy sickness; Death will just LOLNOPE any mortal attempts to hold her to the rules.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 11:12 AM on August 15, 2022 [5 favorites]

Parasite Unseen 1: fair point, but he still looks like a jerk and a hypocrite.

Parasite Unseen 2: I would say that the rules Morpheus follows are the ones he sets for himself. They are rigid because of his rigid ego, and the self-pity/loathing that seems to underlie that. Even his submission to the rituals of others is part of that, I think.

Not quite sure about what you mean in the last part. Are you suggesting that Death dodged Roderick's attempt to capture her? I always got the impression that the spell never would have worked and that Dream only got captured because of spreading his power thin through his "tools" and taking on a physical manifestation. Once he'd done that, he was basically bound by the rules of magick because magick. The only rule I think he followed in his imprisonment was that he wouldn't reach out to anyone else for help, and again that's his self-imposed rule.

Regarding Death, her rule is that their function is their meaning (and vice versa). She is Death, so she does Death. She is the rule, essentially: everything dies. I don't know what rules there are to which mortals would attempt to hold her -- Roderick wants her to break the rules and bring back his son. Unless, again, you mean the rules of magick, but that seems to be conflating two different meanings of "rules."
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:25 PM on August 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

Well. That episode was perfect and justified the existence of this entire adaptation all by itself.
posted by kyrademon at 1:39 PM on August 15, 2022 [6 favorites]

Are you suggesting that Death dodged Roderick's attempt to capture her? I always got the impression that the spell never would have worked and that Dream only got captured because of spreading his power thin through his "tools" and taking on a physical manifestation. Once he'd done that, he was basically bound by the rules of magick because magick. The only rule I think he followed in his imprisonment was that he wouldn't reach out to anyone else for help, and again that's his self-imposed rule.

It's been a long time since I've read the comics but the impression I have is that (without giving too much away) when Thessaly lays a ward against Morpheus there is a discussion where both she and Morpheus acknowledge that none of the Endless have any limitations beyond the ones they set for themselves and that Morpheus will abide by her ward the same way he did Roderick's trap not because it was beyond his power to break it but because it was beyond who he was. Thessaly says Death wouldn't have been stopped by either ward simply because Death does whatever the Hell she wants.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 2:54 PM on August 15, 2022 [5 favorites]

This was the episode I was most looking forward to. Which is probably the reason it's the one I am most disappointed in.

They absolutely nailed the casting for Death. I can't wait to see more of her.

In the book, Death had given Dream a deserved dressing down for basically being a mope. How she was written here was just.... almost antithetical to how this story came across in the book.

Adding the Hob Gadling story was an interesting juxtaposition. Years from now, when I do a rewatch, I am going to enjoy that more. But, I wanted the Death story to take up a full episode! So, I was just grumpy that Hob took up half the show.

Admittedly, I'm not sure you could stretch Hob out to a full show....

We watched up to 24/7 starting last weekend and took a break until this weekend because there was no way I was watching that one anywhere close to bedtime. Finished our binge on this Saturday, and Death not tearing Dream a new one for being all forlorn is really the only thing that sticks out as something I disagree with what they changed.

Obviously, with Neil involved, this was going to be good. This season was better than I could have possibly dreamed imagined.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 5:33 PM on August 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

I wished she'd skipped the baguette off his head, but I didn't feel like the change of letting him catch it was a big deal. Seems to me the original dialogue was delivered.
I love this Death.
posted by droomoord at 6:13 PM on August 15, 2022 [1 favorite]

Although it is a fine episode — both halves of the source material are among my favourite issues — there is a single disappointment here for me: this is a show that has so far shown us the Dreaming, and Hell, and six centuries and change of Hob Gadling’s life. I wish the production budget had extended to showing Washington Square Park, where the book versions of Death and Dream and poor Franklin all cross paths.

It’s an iconic location from a dozen or more movies (Harry drops off Sally by the arch; the last living man in New York lives across the street in I Am Legend; Iron Man and Spider-Man and Wong battle one of the Children of Thanos there). I read this issue years before I ever set foot in Manhattan, and it would have been cool to see a more faithful rendering of the comic — my first trip to the park, I sat for a few minutes exactly where Dream did (and my last visit to the park, I was en route to a MeFi meetup in the East Village).

Sigh.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:37 AM on August 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

The juxtaposition of these two episodes, from different points in the comics, into one made me realize something I didn't get when I read the comics 30-odd years ago: Death doesn't grant Hob eternal life for Hob, she does it for Dream, so he will have a friend.
posted by Gelatin at 4:45 AM on August 16, 2022 [20 favorites]

richet biscuit, Gaiman answered a question on tumblr about why that episode wasn't filmed there and iirc he brought up covid as to why they didn't film in different locations. He had more to say but I've forgotten it. My memory of his answer may be spotty. I don't know how to search his account on tumblr.
posted by bleary at 9:11 AM on August 16, 2022 [3 favorites]

Cried twice. My wife wasn't sure I was ok. I was great!

This was the episode I was most worried that they wouldn't be able to capture. I do love my Siouxie Sioux Death from the comics, but Kirby Howell-Baptiste knocked it clean out of the park.

I did wish they'd included the, "I can patter Romany" line as it gives me straight up goose bumps.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:49 PM on August 16, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm so glad I read about the aspect ratio thing; it's still bugging me but at least I can identify it.

Related: Why Does Everything On Netflix Look Like That? A technical explanation for why a lot of Netflix stuff has very samey cinematography (including Sandman). Part of it is Netflix standards for cameras and digital processing. This issue doesn't bother me as much in Sandman, it looks pretty fresh to me, but I appreciate having this kind of thing explained.
posted by Nelson at 5:03 PM on August 16, 2022 [3 favorites]

I wished she'd skipped the baguette off his head, but I didn't feel like the change of letting him catch it was a big deal. Seems to me the original dialogue was delivered.
I love this Death.

Definitely fair points. To me, it seemed like the words were different. It could have very easily been the tone that I thought was different. Every time I've read Sound of Her Wings, I've always heard her just ripping Dream apart. It will be interesting to re-watch after seeing how this worked so well for everyone.

And, again, I'll say this is an absolutely perfect casting of Death. In appearance, it's not Death from the comics. In character, it is spot on.

I have not seen a miscasting yet and am really excited to see everyone from the Sandman universe in the coming years.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:35 PM on August 16, 2022 [3 favorites]

The words are indeed very, very close to the original text of the comic. The fact that Howell-Baptiste fashioned those words into a performance different from what you expected is, as near I can tell, a good thing?

Like, the entire thematic thrust of the episode, either here or in the comic, is that Death is kind. An understanding person. Warm. Given that she's dealing with her "idiot" little brother, it's perhaps not surprising that she has some blunt things to say to him that she wouldn't say to any human (or other mortal being). But that doesn't mean she's "just ripping Dream apart"...that idea simply isn't supported by the text. I mean, how does Dream typically respond to *actual* attacks in the comic?
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:35 AM on August 17, 2022 [5 favorites]

I wish the production budget had extended to showing Washington Square Park

Gaiman answered a question on tumblr about why that episode wasn't filmed there and iirc he brought up covid as to why they didn't film in different locations.

Sandman was filmed during lock-down. They were in London when nobody was allowed to fly. They did what they could.
posted by tzikeh at 10:03 AM on August 17, 2022 [2 favorites]

Hyde Park is right there and just as iconic as Washington Square Park! But personally I didn't mind the locations they used; I was much more interested in the dialog. The comic sure is a masterwork in depicting a place though.
posted by Nelson at 10:38 AM on August 17, 2022 [1 favorite]

I am loving this thread, as many of you are changing my attitude about this episode.

So as not to threadsit, I'll try and minimize comments from here on out.

Ipsifendus , you made some great comments and I want to touch on them/ask some questions before I do so, though.

the entire thematic thrust of the episode, either here or in the comic, is that Death is kind

(had to change kind from italic to bold since I was quoting in italic).

100% agree. I would say she is warm, as well. Absolutely caring. Loving. I have never read her character any other way. I apologize if my words made it seem any different.

Given that she's dealing with her "idiot" little brother, it's perhaps not surprising that she has some blunt things to say to him that she wouldn't say to any human (or other mortal being). But that doesn't mean she's "just ripping Dream apart"...that idea simply isn't supported by the text.

I agree with this, mostly, as well. Other than a 2 page spread (the page with the baguette throwing and the next page), it's... well not all about, because Death is doing her job. But, in doing her job she is showing the kindness to those she is.... welcoming home, for lack of a better phrase. And also, to Dream by showing (not saying) "Adventure is over. Find a new one."

In those two pages, the text is bolded in many areas, implying emphasis and some of the frames show... well, I can reinterpret that as frustration and see that as a very plausible read. Still, I would say Death is not mincing words, as you mention. I just didn't see the same level of frustration in the episode as I did in the comic. Text and graphics in comic seem to support my feeling of how those two pages play out to me. YMMV. I would love to hear how your opinion differs, as you've already gotten me to at least change my thinking or be more precise with my language and say it was "frustration" not a "ripping apart".

I mean, how does Dream typically respond to *actual* attacks in the comic?

I am not sure how you are defining *actual* attacks.

When I said "ripped apart" I meant verbally torn down. I even used dressing down in a prior comment, so I thought that was clear that I was metaphorically speaking. If that's how you read it, I would say Dream was largely.... intimidating? actively defending? making sure his power was largely never questioned?

But, that would be for all ones who are not part of the Endless (and a very, very select few others.

If you're saying "Death literally was ripping Dream apart and how would he react to that"... in no way was that what I intended to say.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:15 PM on August 17, 2022

I would love to hear how your opinion differs

I don't have much to say to expand on the earlier comment. But, I do want to mention that I understood that you meant "ripping into" metaphorically, as a description of her verbal tone or manner. I just think that "ripping into" denotes a level of aggression that doesn't and wouldn't make sense in the context of the scene. Death is a bit impatient because Dream is being a self-indulgent ass, but the entire reason she approaches him at this moment is to help him, to extend of bit of emotional support. She's a way more mature and self-actualized person than him, and concern for him is going to outweigh her momentary irritation with his very on-brand emotional inarticulateness, so "ripping into" doesn't make sense.
posted by Ipsifendus at 8:00 AM on August 18, 2022

richet biscuit, Gaiman answered a question on tumblr about why that episode wasn't filmed there and iirc he brought up covid as to why they didn't film in different locations.

Oh, I of course understand that, but as I mentioned, I’d think after we had seen Hell and the Dreaming and a London pub from 1389 to present — none of which was on location and none of which has tens of thousands photos available for reference — I was mildly disappointed that the original iconic setting was discarded in place of Everypark.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:59 PM on August 18, 2022 [1 favorite]

This was *amazing*. Super moving, super well done. The costuming and set design alone in the hob gadling pub was worth of an emmy. Would love to see a dream and hob "change over the years" montage.
posted by lalochezia at 4:34 AM on August 19, 2022 [1 favorite]

This was definitely my favorite episode of the series - I absolutely adored Death. That moment when Death is talking to the baby - ah, it made my heart clench.

Also loved how Death was so clearly amused by Morpheus moping about feeding pigeons. She was such an older sister at that moment.
posted by Julnyes at 8:18 AM on August 25, 2022 [2 favorites]

Kirby is an amazing Death. She's still the best in this series, comics or film. Love her so much. She is love.

And the Hob Gabling story is always a very sweet one, even if I do wonder about how Death lets one guy slide, as it were.

Best episode.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:16 PM on September 6, 2022

even if I do wonder about how Death lets one guy slide

From Death’s perspective, she’s not letting him slide. Hob gets a life, the same as anyone or anything else. She’s going to take him when it’s time for him to go, whether that’s in ten seconds or ten millennia. She’s there when you’re born and she’s there when you die and the stretch between those two points isn’t something she cares about, particularly.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 2:20 PM on September 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yes, but that does lead to the question of who's setting the "time to go" on people? Did she move his expiration date?
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:11 PM on September 7, 2022

I'm glad that we watched this last night after the previous episode. If we'd left off at the 24/7 episode, we might have never continued watching but this one was lovely and Death is a great character.
posted by octothorpe at 7:10 AM on September 18, 2022 [2 favorites]

This was a great episode, which makes sense as the two comics it draws from were great as well. I was a bit worried when Death's story seemed to be wrapping up so quickly so it was a nice surprise to see they connected it with the Hob Gadling one. They both do a good job of showing why we might care about happens to Dream in the first place.

The whole aesthetic of the show reminds me of British productions from the 90s and I was wondering if that's when they were trying to set the show to make it closer to the comics. I guess there were cell phones last episode, and in this one there's mention of them as well, so I guess it is the "present", but there isn't a whole lot that screams 2022 to me. So it was a bit nice to see that 1989 was in the past and that the series is happening somewhere closer to now.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:34 PM on November 22, 2022