24/7

This episode did it for me, I loved the comics, so I had high expectations for this episode. It delivered everything. Episode 4,5,6 are the best Episodes for me.

From reading some of the comments here, I get a feeling some people have never read the source material.

A lot of the stories in The Sandman have short arcs - almost anthology like - so to blame Netflix for stand alone episodes is ignorant of how it actually unfolds.

I thought this was a great episode. It was slow, but it needed to be to build up the tension and see the change in the characters. David Thewliss was immense and once again showed what a versatile actor he can be.

So far I think the production has been excellent - you can see the effort that has been put into this in terms of actors, story and visual effects - all of which are a cut above the average.

What's particularly remarkable about this episode is it inventively establishes a set of potentially mundane circumstances & then carefully paces the gradual deterioration of these aforementioned circumstances in order to simply express (& thus, explore) the difference in the antagonist & protagonist's ideological perspectives in a visual manner, on screen - quite literally characterised by the way in which interpersonal relationships & dynamics between this ensemble shift as the viewpoints are altered; simultaneously capturing the fragility of peace / stability & questioning what it takes to maintain it.

Hence, this is a fiercely intelligent, mind bending, topical installment where the subjective interpretations of the same reality are laid bare for all to witness until these two individualistic characters are forced in to naturally occurring conflict, purely over a disagreement which neither is able to accept. The philosophical complexity hidden beneath the facade of simplicity is honestly staggering & this operates on a level higher than most would care to appreciate.

I can't praise this episode enough. It's like this brilliant short psychological horror film. I was surprised how deftly and quickly every new character and plot line was set up, and how invested I got with brand new characters, and all the acting was terrific.

And the number of times I was shocked by some unexpected twist was terrific. It's far from predictable (even if you read the comic as things are added and changed) and the building suspense into the climax is perfectly paced. It's all so unsettling but captivating.

And it really goes to show how dangerous John's world would be if he made it this way. John would say he's making a better world by not allowing people to lie but what he's really doing is forcing people to blurt out the truth and their base desires. Honesty may be the best policy but in reality it's more nuanced than that.

Sometimes having a filter is just how we need to interact. Maybe what you think doesn't need to be said, maybe you are in the heat of the moment and you need to calm down before you speak, maybe the timing is wrong for unsettling news, maybe you base desires shouldn't be acted upon so cavelier, maybe you feel like you want something in the moment but you really don't in the long run. Sometimes we even need to lie to ourselves for our own benefit.

So many situations requiring different approaches. In many ways it's pondering how our fear of our real selves being exposed will lead us to making bad choices and deception. As pretending everything is fine to maintain status quo while we do other things in secret feels safer than being upfront. But it's not all cut and dry.

Bc whether or not the truth was better in some in some these stories, what the themes seem to be saying is that not being in control of that choice will lead to chaos and pain. Or worse can bring out the darkest parts of what we're capable of reducing all actions to base impulsivity and emotion.

If all the cards are suddenly on the table everyone loses the hand. Lies, filters, and putting on a facade are part of the fabric of society for better or worse. True unabashed honesty and instinctual reactions to things is dangerous.

And this is told and directed in an amazingly compelling way with different stories unfolding simultaneously and connecting with each other, all within a single set.

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Though this is probably an unpopular opinion but I personally think it's a lot better than the original comic story.

Going back to the comic after this episode feels more like reading some old school "house of secrets" horror comic story vs the study on human interaction the episode is.

More Dr Destiny just messing with people who are kind of unlikable from the get go. He genuinely looks like a monster and it doesn't take much power to push everyone over the edge.

He's a unabashedly evil presence influencing the worst parts of bad people and derives joy from their suffering. It's much more of its time than it seems in memory (much more of a "we live in a society" story), esp with it being less shocking compared to media these days than it was then.

Still a great piece of fiction but I think the episode takes the foundation and goes a lot deeper with it and not needing a narrator to spell things out for you and instead letting the story unfold through interactions (tbf the comic had to fit in one issue vs an almost hour long episode). But I prefer the more fleshed out episode.

There's a lot more added character and emotion to this story. For John and the rest of the cast. His motivations are much more built on personal childhood trauma and the people in the diner are more complex and relatable. And the show takes the time to build into something not just creepy and scary but profound as well.

Such a hard hitting episode, it clearly shows how much the society will be affected by the antagonist's ideology, the episode sets up itself slow but when the actual plot starts it turns very dark and shows the reality of the society but at the third act of the episode a clear solution is given which is very satisfying, the tone of this episode, music, cinematography, lighting, teleplay and especially acting of every single actor was on point and praiseworthy. David thewlis deserves some kind of award for his acting. Overall an awesome episode with a hard-hitting message and a perfect cliffhanger, Neil gaiman op🔥 Kudos!