Posted in: Netflix, Opinion, streaming, TV, TV | Tagged: Kirby Howell-Baptiste, neil gaiman, netflix, sandman, Tom Sturridge

The Sandman Ep. 6 "The Sound of Her Wings": BCTV Best Episodes of 2022

One of the miracles of television in 2022 was seeing The Sandman get adapted into a proper television series, not an adulterated movie that cut out everything that was interesting for the sake of the plot. It only took thirty years after a decade of rumours and failed efforts. The most anticipated story fans wanted to see adapted was the one that introduced Death, S01E06 "The Sound of Her Wings."

And they got it right. "The Sound of Her Wings" became the episode that defined the TV version of The Sandman and planted a flag for what the show truly is. After five episodes of a faithful adaptation of the first story arc from the comics, this story was the one where the series slowed down and gave the plot a rest to spend time with the characters. The introduction of a live-action Death, played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste, was what everyone was watching out for. Here, Death is a Londoner, just as Dream (Tom Sturridge) is English. The episode became a leisurely afternoon stroll through Richmond, London, full of life we spent two years missing while in Lockdown. The first half of the hour was, like the comic, a meditation on how to face the end of life and find grace in the time leading up to it. The value of live action is to see the nuances of the actors, subtleties that the still life of comics can't always convey. Kirby Howell-Baptiste does a lot by appearing to do very little, but her micro reactions and expressions offer flickers of sadness and compassion that are gone in a blink. She turns Death into an adult woman instead of the manic pixie dream girl of the comic.

The second half of the hour is the real surprise: an adaptation of "Gentlemen of Good Fortune" about Dream's centuries-long friendship with Hob Gadling (Ferdinand Kingsley), the man who wouldn't die after a wager Dream starts with Death. The story covers how the centuries change Dream's relationship with Gadling, as well as how Gadling evolves with the times. It further pushes the theme of empathy that drives both the comics and the show. Once again, a live actor's performance conveys volumes of emotion and meaning not always possible in comics panels: Kingsley beautifully conveys Gadling's brief flash of shame when Dream makes him aware of the immorality of slavery that he has profited from, his guilt when Dream reminds him that the disease-ridden woman he makes fun of is a person who had a tragic life. And through it all, Tom Sturridge also conveys Dream's gradual shift from contempt towards Gadling to concern to affection. "The Sound of Her Wings" and "Gentlemen of Good Fortune" get at the heart of The Sandman, that empathy, friendship, and companionship are what get us through our brief lives, to while away the time until there is no more time.

The Sandman is streaming on Netflix, with a second season on the way.

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