Diksha Sundriyal
The first part of the second season of Netflix’s ‘The Sandman’ sets up the conflict that will decide the fate of its protagonist in the second half of the season. The first two episodes put him in a difficult position where he has the key to Hell in his possession, and the decision in the third episode sets a chain of events that Destiny had warned his siblings about. Following Azazel’s offer to let Nada go in return for Hell, Dream finds himself in a conundrum, but he knows that he cannot allow his personal issues to influence something as important as deciding upon the ruler of Hell. SPOILERS AHEAD.
More Devils Than Vast Hell Can Hold
With different parties wishing to stake a claim on Hell, Azazel believes that trading Nada for the key will be the easiest choice for Dream to make. However, Morpheus knows that once Azazel gets his hands on Hell, he will not stop there. He will use his power to terrorise and conquer other realms, including the Dreaming, which does not bode well for anyone. While he considers his offer, he also comes across Nuala, who talks to him about the time when he and the Faeries had fallen out and he got Shakespeare to write ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to immortalise them through the play. She remembers that night fondly, even though Dream didn’t really notice her that night.
The next morning, Dream shows up in the main hall where everyone, including the angels, is waiting for his decision. He reveals that since Hell is a mirror image of Heaven, the angels should be the ones to get the key. This angers Azazel, who lashes out at Dream and threatens to come through on his promise to torture Nada. Because this happens in Dream’s realm, he has more power than anyone else. Not only does he get Nada out of Azazel’s grasp, but he also captures the demon for good.
Having accepted Dream’s decision, all the parties start to leave. Surprisingly, Cluracan leaves behind Nuala, revealing that she was supposed to be a tribute to Dream. He reveals that he has talked to the angels, and they have decided that the Faeries don’t need to pay any tithe to Hell anymore. Realising that there was no need for a bribe, Cluracan tries to make amends with his sister, but she has decided to break ties with him and the rest of the Faeries for selling her away. Interestingly, she is not the only guest who stays behind.
Dream Tries to Make Amends With Nada
Dream discovers that Loki is still there. He has swapped forms with Susanoo-no-Mikoto, which means that when Odin’s party left with Loki with his hands and mouth tied, it was actually Susanoo who was condemned to the prison world. Dream agrees not to rat out Loki to Odin, but in return, the God of Mischief will be indebted to him. Loki reluctantly agrees to the terms and leaves. Once everything has been resolved, Dream meets with Lucifer, where they have a little chat about his decision. She is surprised but impressed by the fact that he thought of giving it back to the Creator. She also advises him to try again with Nada, citing her own example in starting over.
Back at the Dreaming, Morpheus seeks out Nada, who wasn’t willing to meet him. When they finally have a chat, she calls him out for his hypocrisy, stating that he doesn’t really love her. When he tries to convince her to stay with him, she makes it clear that she doesn’t love him anymore, and there is no way she is forgetting how he banished her to the torture of Hell for more than 10,000 years simply because she rejected him. This time, when she rejects him again, Dream decides to let her go and find her own path on Earth. She wishes to see the world and how much it has changed over the years, and wants to live her life away from Dream and his interference.
Delirium Proposes a Quest to Dream
As Dream sulks at Nada’s rejection, Delirium knocks at his door with a proposal to look for their missing brother. She reveals that she talked with Despair and Desire, both of whom refused to join her in her quest, but the latter suggested that Dream might join her. When Dream asks Desire why they turned Delirium towards him, they reveal that they thought Dream might use it as an excuse to go to Earth and find Nada. Dream confesses that he hadn’t thought of it, but now that the idea has been put in his head, he decides to go through with it. Delirium reveals that she has created a list of the people who might be able to help them find Destruction.
The first one is Bernie Capax, one of the only immortal humans and a lawyer. To find him and track down two others on the list, Dream reaches out to Pharamond, who goes by the name of Farrell these days and runs a car service. The siblings meet a trans-woman named Wanda, who is to be their guide in this journey, believing that they belong to a royal family. Before Dream and Delirium can meet Bernie Capax, he dies. This is shocking because he had been alive for so long, and his sudden death now alarms Dream that perhaps someone doesn’t want them to continue on their quest. However, Delirium believes it to be a coincidence, so they move on to the next item on the list: Ishtar, who used to be the goddess of sex and war.
Now, she has lost her status as a goddess and dances at a strip club. When Dream corners her for a talk, it turns out that she used to date Destruction, who broke up with her because Dream told him to. She still hates Dream for that, and hates him even more when he reveals that the last person they went to help find Destruction has been killed. Now, she knows that she is marked, still, she tells him that only an oracle can help them in their quest. With this, Ishtar goes back to the stage and this time, she dances as the goddess she once was. Everyone is hypnotised by her performance, and so, no one notices when the fire from the candle in her room takes over the club and burns the entire place to the ground.
Every person inside the room, including Wanda, dies, which deeply disturbs Dream. The situation is so bad that even Desire shows up and chides Dream for continuing in his quest for selfish reasons while innocent people have had to pay the price. They also tell Delirium that Dream never intended to find Destruction and merely used the quest as a way to find Nada and try to reconcile with her. This betrayal leads Delirium to leave in anger, while Dream is left behind to reflect on his actions.
Dream Reconsiders the Quest to Find Destruction
Seeing the death and destruction brought upon by his desire to find Nada under the cover of the fake quest to find their brother leads Dream to reconsider his actions. He also feels guilty for duping Delirium, so he seeks her out in her realm of chaos and madness. He apologizes to her for his actions and promises her that he will earnestly help her in her quest now, though he doesn’t want anyone else to die because of it. The third person on their list was Etain of the Second Look, but he decides to skip her and go directly to Destiny, hoping that something he says will give a hint about finding Destruction.
Before this, Dream also attends Wanda’s funeral. The previous night, she revealed how she, too, had run away from her family because they couldn’t accept her the way she was. Though she also mentioned that she would love it if her family members came looking for her. While she wouldn’t go back with them, she would like to remain in touch. Her words encouraged Dream and Delirium, but now that she is dead, Dream blames himself for her tragedy. Meanwhile, Destruction is revealed to be on an isolated island where he is living his best life, composing poems, painting stuff, and living free of the burden of his responsibility.
He shares this sense of peace with his dog, Barnabas, who doesn’t mince words when it comes to criticising his poetry. It is also revealed that the moment Dream and Delirium embark on their quest to find him, he finds out about it through a fail-safe measure he’d put in place when he left. Back in the Dreaming, Dream thinks back to the time when he believes Destruction may have tried to tell him about why he left. It seems that he was concerned that humanity’s immense scientific progress is eventually leading them to create weapons of mass destruction, and he doesn’t wish to be a part of this.
The Tragic Story of Orpheus
When Dream and Delirium show up at Destiny’s door, it turns out that he has been expecting them. He advises them to give up on their quest, but when it becomes clear that they won’t, he tells Dream that the only person who can tell where Destruction is is the oracle who is of their family: Orpheus. The realisation that his son is the only way to find his brother throws Dream into a state of despair. Thousands of years ago, when all was well, Dream and Calliope’s son Orpheus married Eurydice. On the wedding day, the entire Endless family shows up for the celebration, but a darkness looms over the happy day.
At night, Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies, leaving her husband devastated. He asks his father to help him bring her back, but Dream doesn’t want to meddle in the affairs of humans. He assures his son that someday, the pain will become bearable, and he must learn to live with it. However, this angers Orpheus, and he cuts ties with his father. A conversation with Destruction prompts Orpheus to seek out Death. He reveals her plans to go to the realm of Hades and Persephone and convince them to let Eurydice go back to the mortal realm. Death tells him that the only way he can enter and exit the Underworld without dying is if he becomes immortal, which means that Death will never be able to claim him, no matter how bad things get.
He doesn’t care for consequences, so she grants him his wish, and he makes his way to the Underworld. There, he sings to convince Hades, Persephone, and the Kindly Ones to grant his wish. They agree, but he must follow one rule. He has to walk the path back to the mortal realm, and Eurydice will follow him. However, on the way, Orpheus can never talk to his wife or turn back to look at her. He does as asked, but as the exit becomes clear, he cannot stop himself. The moment he turns back, Eurydice is dragged back to the Underworld.
Orpheus Pays the Price for Love
Back in the mortal world, Orpheus laments at his mistake and losing his wife all over again. His mother tries to console him, blaming Dream for not helping him and revealing that she has left him. She also warns him about the Sisters of the Frenzy, who are looking for him. To her horror, Orpheus reveals that he wants to be found by them because he wishes to die. At night, the Sisters find him. They destroy his body, cut off his head, and throw it in the ocean. The next morning, Dream finds his son’s head, who is still alive. He tells Orpheus that he has made arrangements with the priests on the island who will retrieve his head and take care of him.
When his son asks him for death, Dream mentions that the Endless are not allowed to spill family blood, which means that Orpheus is doomed to this miserable existence. He also tells his son that they shall never meet again. Now, however, Dream is forced to accept the desperation of circumstances. Despite knowing that his son will ask him for death in return for the information about Destruction, he has made up his mind to reunite with his son and face whatever consequences come out of their meeting.
Read More: The Sandman Season 2 Volume 1 Ending Explained: Is Orpheus Dead?
