Tom Sturridge as Dream, Melissanthi Mahut as Calliope in episode 111 of The Sandman. Cr. Courtesy Of Netflix © 2022
Just when we all thought it’d be a very long wait until new episodes of The Sandman would come out, Netflix goes and drops a previously-unannounced bonus episode on us! And what a bonus episode it was. Adapting two of the stand-alone stories from volume three of Neil Gaiman’s beloved series, “Dream Country,” this bonus episode of The Sandman offers even more of the show’s delightfully dreamy, moody atmosphere. Featuring a vignette about a cat dreaming of a long-lost world and a disturbing tale about a writer taking advantage of a Muse, episode 11 of The Sandman delivers a brilliant showcase of two of the comic’s most iconic stand-alone stories.
“A Dream of a Thousand Cats”
Written by Catherine Smyth-McMullen and directed by Hisko Hulsing, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” offers a gorgeously animated vignette that explores a world where cats rule the earth. One night, dozens of neighborhood cats gather to hear The Prophet’s (Sandra Oh) story. The Prophet tells of a time when cats ruled the world. Where they hunted the very humans that worshipped them. Until enough humans dreamed of a world where cats were never at the top of the food chain, changing everything forever. To say anything more, though, would be quite a spoiler. Put simply, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” delivers quite a punch in a very short amount of time. There’s a reason this story ranks among the comic’s most popular tales, after all. And it’s on full display here. Everything that made the original story so wonderful is perfectly captured in this adaptation.
And not only is it a great adaptation, but the vignette is simply beautiful. The animation is, by and large, quite gorgeous – though it sometimes looks a bit off when in motion. I appreciate the decision to go with an art style more reminiscent of oil paintings, though, instead of taking a more traditional 3-D animation approach. It helps hide any budget shortcuts that might’ve been taken while still resulting in this ethereal, dreamlike quality that’s simply perfect for The Sandman. Plus, any story that features the likes of Sandra Oh, David Tennant, Michael Sheen, James McAvoy, and Neil Gaiman himself is something truly special. On the whole, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” is a short story that’s perfectly adapted – and it’s an absolute delight to see it realized so beautifully.
“Calliope”
Written by Catherine Smyth-McMullen and directed by Louise Hooper, “Calliope” is an altogether darker tale. When struggling author Richard Madoc (Arthur Darvill) comes into possession of Calliope (Melissanthi Mahut), one of the Greek Muses, all of his dreams come true. Or so he thinks. Until one day, Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) pays him a visit – a visit that just might upend Richard’s life. Overall, “Calliope” feels like the kind of morality tale you might find in shows like Creepshow. A story where bad people get their just deserts – often in a horrific manner that perfectly reflects the horror of their crimes. And, without going into spoilers, that’s exactly what happens here. “Calliope” is a dark tale, but it’s also a story with a hopeful ending for the titular muse. Smyth-McMullen, showrunner Allan Heinberg, and Neil Gaiman were very smart to tweak the story from its comics’ counterpart, however.
On the surface, it’s quite a faithful adaptation. But this adaptation very subtly moves the focus away from Madoc and toward Calliope. Here, Calliope has a bit more agency than she does in the comics. And the way the show explores the horrors she experiences at the hands of men like Madoc feels far less exploitative for the sake of exploitation than it does in the comics. Mahut delivers a brilliant performance as Calliope, giving the character this deeply relatable mixture of rage, grief, and hope. As for the rest of the cast, Darvill plays the role of a skeevy writer perfectly and Sir Derek Jacobi absolutely devours the scenery as Madoc’s mentor of sorts. And we even get to see Sturridge’s Morpheus continue down his path of trying to right some of his wrongs. On the whole, it’s a wonderful adaptation of a truly haunting story.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, if you liked the first ten episodes of The Sandman, you’re gonna adore this bonus episode too. It delivers exactly what made those first ten episodes so spectacular – filled with gorgeous, dreamlike visuals and a whole host of excellent performances. Fans of the comics will be extra delighted to see some of these beloved standalone stories adapted so faithfully. And honestly, I think this whole idea of releasing a few stand-alone stories in between major arcs of the series (and in between seasons) is a great idea. It’s how they were originally published, after all. And they act as a very nice pause in the overarching storyline of the series. A moment to recalibrate, and to truly delve into all that makes The Sandman special. If you enter into this episode with that mindset, you’re gonna have a whole lot of fun.
Season 1 of The Sandman is available now exclusively on Netflix.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFfyRr8vm7U]
The bonus episode of "The Sandman"'s first season offers even more of the show's delightfully dreamy, moody atmosphere. And it's a brilliant adaptation of two of the comic's most famous stand-alone stories.
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Our Rating
Part-time writer, part-time theatre nerd, full-time dork.
