Dream a Little Dream of Me
Episode 3 of The Sandman begins with Dream arriving to see Johanna Constantine. After a rather lucid dream involving a guy called Logue summoning demons, she awakens in the back of a taxi. After paying her way, she steps out and is warned by an old woman called Hettie, telling her that Morpheus is back. Dream soon appears before her, telling Johanna that they have business. She shrugs it off though, more preoccupied by the exorcism she has to deal with. And it doesn’t take long for the demon to show itself, possessing a man called Kevin. After destroying its host, the demon turns on Johanna. That is, until Dream shows up. He recognizes the demon as Agilieth, who promises to show Dream where his helm is. Johanna refuses to listen though and exorcises him back to Hell. Dream tries to convince Johanna to hand over the sand pouch but it turns out she actually sold it a while back. Lucienne ignores Dream’s wishes and shows up with a raven called Matthew. Realizing he can approach Johanna in her dreams, Dream sees her darkest fears and waits for her to awaken. As the pair talk, Johanna realizes just where his sand may be – Rachel Moodie, her old flame. Johanna demands Dream stay outside and heads in alone to confront her ex and get the sand back. His raven, Matthew, also warns that humans aren’t trustworthy when he rocks up. Eventually Dream shows up and gets his sand back. Rachel is sprawled out on the bed, dying before their very eyes. The sand was the only thing keeping her alive. Dream points out that Johanna is responsible for this; after all, if she’d kept hold of the sand then her ex-lover would be fine. She berates Dream into submission, where he lets her pass gently, using the sand to give her a good dream. Meanwhile, Ethel approaches her son, wearing the Amulet of Protection that has kept her safe all this time. John refuses to hand it over though, pointing out that he’s altered it so it only works for him now. Ethel removes her amulet, deciding John should have it, trying to bargain with him for the ruby. This amulet has kept Ethel alive for 116 years but she’s done now. After hugging her son goodbye, she withers and passes before his eyes. John eventually up and leaves, only to be approached by the Corinthian outside. Meanwhile, Dream turns his attention to Hell, determined to get his Helm back.
The Episode Review
Episode 3 of The Sandman is where some of the cracks in this production start to show. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an enjoyable watch but I’m not quite sure why John Constantine was switched for Johanna. Now, in the comics this is actually the much more recognisable John Constantine, who is happy to team up with Dream. While it’s an interesting change, avid comic readers will probably note that Johanna shows up in a different story in a different time period, so it’ll be interesting to see how this show handles that. Not only that, but large swathes of this episode are taken up by meaningless subplots that don’t have any bearing on the main plot. The whole Ethel/John scenes are drawn out and do nothing other than pass the torch from mother to child…something we already knew would happen thanks to the prophecy from The Three. Hopefully this is just a blip though, and with the attention now turning to Hell, it’ll be interesting to see exactly whether this sticks to the source material and if there are any other changes coming our way.
