The Sandman (2022) s01e02 Episode Script

I kept a journal for a while.
A chronicle of everything
that happened in your absence.
But slowly, the words began to fade.
Sometime after you left,
all the books in the library
became bound volumes of blank paper.
The next day, the whole library was gone.
I never found it again.
And yet you remained while others fled,
the royal librarian
of an abandoned kingdom.
I never felt abandoned.
I knew you would return.
You need rest, my Lord.
And food and perhaps a bit more rest,
and then you'll be back at full strength.
No.
Not without my tools.
Your tools?
My sand, my helm, my ruby.
Why? What happened to them?
They were taken from me.
By my captors.
And then taken from them.
I know not where.
Nor what I am without them.
Darling. How are you?
Well, you'll never guess
what I am looking at.
It is a Caravaggio.
And it can be
your Caravaggio for 22 million.
Well, of course you can
think about it, but not for too long.
Giovanni, it's Josiane.
I hate to bother you at work,
but I've just acquired
another of the Vasari volumes.
Yes, very nice.
Please tell the chairman
that Madame Daudet called.
Yes, I'll hold.
Bernard, I found it.
And it's in exceptional condition.
The Honjo Masamune.
Hello? Hello?
Quite the place
you got here, Ethel.
Who are you?
How did you get in?
Getting in was the easy part.
The hard part was finding you.
You've done a very good job
of convincing people
Ethel Cripps doesn't exist.
Apparently not good enough.
Well, I'm not exactly "people".
What are you then?
Do you remember the being Roderick Burgess
kept caged in his basement?
Hmm?
King of Dreams?
You're one of his?
I'm my own man now.
With your help, I intend to stay that way.
Why do you need my help?
Because he's out of his cage
and he's coming for us.
You and me.
Why me? I never did anything to him.
Oh, you did though, Ethel.
You stole from him.
There is only one sure way
for me to find my tools.
I must summon the Three-In-One.
Surely it hasn't come to that.
The Fates see past,
present and future, and they know all.
Yes, but they speak in riddles.
They never tell you what you want to know,
only things you should never know.
Perhaps just this once you could ask
one of your siblings for help.
Destiny would certainly know
where your tools are, or Desire
My siblings have their own realms
to attend to, I have mine.
We do not interfere
in each other's affairs.
You may not,
but they've certainly been known to.
Perhaps just this once
you could tell them what happened to you.
I am quite sure
they know what happened to me.
And not one of them came to my aid.
The Fates aren't cheap, you know.
They cost a bloody fortune.
And at present, I cannot muster
power enough to summon them,
let alone pay that cost.
Unless
Is there anything of mine
that remains in The Dreaming?
Something that I created?
You created all of this.
No, something that remains intact.
That might retain
some fragment of my power within it.
Something I can absorb.
There is one thing.
Gregory,
come down from there right now.
You're gonna slip and hurt yourself!
That's it.
There he is.
Are you sure?
Good boy, Gregory. Good gargoyle.
Cain, come quick.
Blasted, bulbous, bilge-bubbling bollocks.
- Cain.
- What you want, powder-brain?
- Can you not see I'm busy?
- We have visitors.
What?
Where?
Cain.
Abel.
Lord Morpheus.
You've come back.
At last.
I told you he'd return.
I never doubted it.
Come in, my Lord.
And you, Lucienne.
To the House of Mystery.
Or to the House of Secrets. I have tea.
I have tea and biscuits.
Gentlemen, I'm afraid
this is not a social call.
What's happened?
- Is something wrong?
- What is it?
For the sake of The Dreaming,
I must take back a gift
I gave you long ago.
Yes, my Lord.
What's ours is yours.
Anything at all.
Just ask it.
Surely there's another way.
I wish there were.
But The Dreaming must be restored.
You say that as if
we're the ones that destroyed it.
As if we disappeared for over a century.
- Cain.
- You forget yourself, Cain.
No, my Lord, you forgot us.
Do you have any idea
what we've already lost
waiting for you to come back
after all these years?
What you have lost?
The answer is no.
I have not come here to ask you.
I've come to ask Gregory.
I need your help.
Gregory, stop. No.
Take me instead. Or Abel.
- Yeah, take me, Lord Morpheus, please.
- I cannot.
I can only reabsorb
that which I have created,
and Gregory began as a Nightmare.
Yes,
but he's one of us now.
It's not fair.
No it's not.
You're a very good boy.
You don't have to do this, you know.
It's not fair.
You have served
this kingdom with great honor.
You will be missed.
Come, Lucienne.
We have work to do.
Good luck, my Lord.
Simpering suck-up.
I see you've turned your talent
for theft into a successful career.
I don't steal them. I broker them.
Well, you ever keep anything for yourself?
No.
Not even Dream's tools?
Well, he's gonna want them.
And I'm guessing that you do too.
The tools, they won't work for me.
They're made of the same stuff I am.
So why are you here?
To see if we can help each other.
I could show you how to use them.
Use them to do what?
Make him go away. For good this time.
You want me to kill the King of Dreams?
Right. You can do it. I know you can.
You just have to listen and trust me.
Then I'm afraid we're both dead,
because I don't have them.
Yeah, well, that is too bad.
I wonder if your son knows where they are.
How is John doing these days?
What do you think Dream will do
to the son of Roderick Burgess?
So I'll ask you one more time
for your son's sake.
Where are the tools, Ethel?
Do you think you're
quite ready for this, Your Majesty?
It has been some time
since you've navigated these waters.
Do you think I've forgotten how?
No, but
I cannot ask The Fates for help
without giving them something in return.
There is nothing left
to give from The Dreaming.
I have to gather my offerings
from the dreams of others.
I understand.
It's just that, in your absence,
these waters have become darker,
treacherous, unsafe.
These waters are as much
a part of me as I am of them.
Gregory's sacrifice will not be in vain.
You were right, Lucienne.
The Dreams and Nightmares
no longer seem to recognize their master.
I will remind them
and take from them what I require.
Since one meets The Fates at a crossroads,
I find one in the dreams
of a Cambodian farmer.
The hanged man represents surrender
and sacrifice for the greater good.
The gallows come from
a young Japanese cinephile,
her head full of British horror films.
Release!
The currents are stronger
and faster than I remember.
I have to focus.
Open my eyes
and see what The Fates require.
A serpent
a symbol of transformation,
of life, death and rebirth.
I have gathered my offerings.
Now, it is up to The Fates.
I, Lord Morpheus,
Dream of The Endless,
summon The Fates
the Three-Who-Are-One,
the One-Who-Is-Three.
The Hecate.
Morpheus, it's been a while.
You look thin, love.
Are you eating? Are you hungry?
He is, but not for food.
Look at him. He wants something.
You've found me out.
I do want something.
I need your help.
Help?
Oh, listen to him.
Like you helped us against Circe?
Circe is old business, sister-self.
And he did bring nice stuff.
You may ask us three questions.
And get one answer from each of us.
Thank you, ladies.
My first question.
I had a leather pouch filled with sand.
Where is it?
It was sold in London.
Last purchased by a magic user called
Johanna Constantine.
Constantine
I knew a Constantine,
but that was 300 years ago.
You said "last purchased."
Does she still have the sand?
Dream, you know better than that.
You get one question, one answer.
My apologies.
My second question.
Go on, dear.
My helm. What happened to it?
It was traded away
to a demon,
for the Amulet of Protection.
To which demon was it traded?
One question, one answer, love.
Last question.
My ruby, who holds it now?
Your gem was passed
from a mother to a son.
Where are they now?
You have
asked your questions!
My Lord, you didn't give it to The Fates.
Because it was not meant for them.
You don't listen, do you?
Attractive men seldom do.
I suppose they don't have to.
Ethel, are you flirting with me?
You asked me where the tools are,
I told you I don't have them.
I find that difficult to believe,
given your extraordinary success.
Do you think that
the only way a woman can be successful
is by using magic?
Supernatural and sexist.
You really are a Nightmare, aren't you?
Oh, come on, you can't deny
the tools have helped you.
They've certainly kept you
from looking your age.
Now who's flirting?
When I left Roderick, I traded the sand
and the helm for my life in America.
And the ruby?
The ruby
As you know, it does have the power
to make dreams come true,
but it also makes nightmares come true.
My son, John, took the ruby from me
and then the ruby took John.
Hmm. Well, where is it now?
I don't know. Don't want to know.
You're lying, Ethel.
You don't have to lie.
In fact
you don't have to say a word.
Your eyes will tell me everything,
every thought, every feeling.
You will regret this. I promise you.
What makes you think that?
I don't need Dream's tools.
I have my own.
Brother.
Thanks for burying me
in such a shallow grave this time.
And for this.
Who gave you an egg?
You did.
I didn't give you an egg.
Why would I give you an egg?
As an apology for murdering me.
When have I ever apologized
for murdering you?
Cain, look!
It's a baby gargoyle.
If he thinks leaving this creature
on my doorstep makes up for Gregory
Do you think he came from Lord Morpheus?
Who else, lackwit?
He's trying to buy us off
with a baby gargoyle.
Or he feels just as bad
about losing Gregory as we do.
He's rather cute, isn't he?
I think I'll call him Irving.
Irving?
You can't name a gargoyle "Irving,"
you gully-guts.
I like Irving.
Gargoyle names
always begin with a G.
"Gormogon, Gladstone, Ganymede"
All right, then. Girving.
- Girving?
- It starts with a G.
- It doesn't have to be Girving.
- It could be Goldie, Goldie's
Miss Dee. Hi. I'm Jackie.
I'll be escorting you inside today.
If you could just put this on for me?
Thank you.
- Hey, Sam.
- Hey, Jackie.
- I'll leave you in Sam's capable hands.
- Thank you, Jackie.
Welcome back, Miss Dee.
Thank you, Sam.
Hello, Johnny.
Hello, Mum.
How are you, Johnny? Are you well?
Same as ever.
Slightly bored. Highly medicated.
The days are all the same in prison.
Hospital, John, not prison.
If it pleases you to think so.
What did the doctors say?
How's your therapy going?
Is that your way of asking me
if I've forgiven you yet?
You're fine, aren't you, darling?
You've come a long way.
I'm proud of you.
Are you trying to convince me or yourself?
I'm trying to have
a conversation with my son.
We do need to talk.
That rarely goes well for either of us.
Perhaps I should ask the guard
to come in and referee.
We need to talk about the ruby.
Hello, Irving. I mean, Goldie.
I'll call you Goldie for Cain's sake,
but I think of you as Irving, really.
In my heart.
He can't help it. It's not his fault.
It's who he is. It's who we are.
The first murderer, the first victim.
This is our story.
Do you even know what a story is?
Should I tell you one?
It's a secret story.
It's a story about two brothers
who loved each other very, very much.
And they were very nice to each other.
Nice and kind.
And and brotherly, you know?
And the elder brother
never harmed the younger brother ever.
And they didn't live in different houses.
They lived together in the same house.
And they'd be happy.
I don't mind getting murdered, honestly.
If that's what makes Cain happy, then
Hey, what are brothers for,
eh, little brother?
Come on, then.
Shall we say good morning to Cain?
Oh.
I'll be fine.
He never normally murders me before lunch.
He's not much of a morning person.
Like me. Or you, apparently.
May I ask
where you're off to, sire?
London.
Did you not just spend
the last 100 years there?
Sorry. Why London?
The sand was sold there.
When I have it back,
I will seek out my helm.
In Hell.
Oh, dear.
Then will you grant me
one favor before you go?
Take a raven with you.
No more ravens.
If not for you, then for me.
A raven can go back and forth
between realms.
- Keep me informed
- I do not need a minder.
I am Dream of The Endless.
Yes, and Dream of The Endless
always has a raven.
Jessamy was the last.
If this Constantine
is anything like her ancestor,
she will serve me well enough.
She is only human.
As was Roderick Burgess.
What could possibly go wrong?
Oh, good. You've returned.
And just in time too.
His Lordship will be pleased.
Where is Dream?
He's away. Again. For the moment.
He's out there
looking for his tools, isn't he?
He will be coming back.
Well, then, I'd better get a move on.
Where are you going?
Back to the waking world.
To freedom. You should try it sometime.
Dreams and Nightmares
do not belong in the waking world.
Oh, turns out I fit right in.
Have you no loyalty to your creator?
Why should I? He has no loyalty to us.
You misunderstand him, Corinthian.
Oh, no, I see him for what he is.
He doesn't give a fuck about you or me.
He only cares about himself.
His kingdom.
Well, he can have it.
'Cause I am leaving
and I am never coming back.
He will come after you.
Well, then, if he does,
he won't be coming back either.
You can't change him.
You can't save him either.