The Song of Orpheus

Please please next you want to use either ancient Greek or modern Greek find someone who can help you with the pronunciation and intonation of the words. As a greek myself I could barely understand a few phrases from Orpheus' song. Also as during the singing part the subtitles were either wrong or there were words that you didn't come out from Orpheus' lips. Sure modern greek is not an easy language and ancient Greek is ten times harder but you can definitely find someone other than Google translate to show you proper pronunciation. Eben the names of the characters were mispronounced to a great degree. You can do great next time.

Your version of Orfeus's song will be a cult classic in Greece. Honestly it is so tragically laughable that I'll probably use it as an alarm clock. Or even better as a ballad during my wedding. The pronunciation of the words is so awful that even a Greek cannot understand what is he singing about. And the Furries are crying probably because their ears bleed. The funniest part is that you have casted a wonderful Greek actress for the role of Kaliopi and you didn't even do the bare minimum of asking her on set how to pronounce the words of the song. Zhena & Hercules would be proud of your accomplishments. Geia sou kalimera.

Geia sou kalinotses.

Given that this narrative takes place in 1700 BCE, the Greek spoken (or sung) would likely be Ancient Greek, and virtually unrecognizable to a contemporary Greek speaker. And while Melissanthi Mahut (Calliope) is indeed a talented artist, she wouldn't be my first choice to translate Aristotle. (Prove me wrong Melissanthi! Prove me wrong.)

But I wonder if this degree of scrutiny misses the theme of the show in general? This is a story of dreams, and dream logic has its own peculiar reasoning. The talking dog brings a smile to my face every time he's on screen. Characters routinely move through space and time by breaking the rules of one-point perspective, the horizon is often unreliable or obscured, color seems more important than light - which, for a medium that uses light to make the pictures we see, it's gotta be a pretty big deal.

The formal gestures in "The Sandman" all seek to invent rather than clarify. I get the strong sense the Orpheus we meet in "Sandman" is a completely different expression found in either Ancient Greek myth or even Ovid's lovesick lad. And, I think the makers intentionally prepared me for this with "Thor" from Episode 2: "The Ruler of Hell." This Thor is no blonde Australian surf god (as some would have us believe) - he's a D-Bag. He looks like he smells bad. He even points out how unimpressive his hammer (Mjölnir) seems. It's certainly no Cartier-sledge-hammer-with-wings as it's presented by other storytellers.

The pacing also contributes to a dreamy, vaguely unmoored sense. I can appreciate the viewpoint that this could be a weakness of the show; yet, I see this as a deliberate move to address audience suspension-of-disbelief. Dreams are meandering. Dreams are largely composed of irrational and unnecessary information. Still, some information is more important than others. The show's makers present a relatively linear storyline but manipulate duration, or our sense of it, in the show. Time passes without consistency, there's no reliable sun-and-moon cycle. Time is arbitrary in that characters can be at any place geographically, historically, or even metaphysically - just as in a dream.

The show's very good. It's very smart, deliberate, and specific. It's ardently faithful to my hazy 30-year memory of first encountering the comic.

Merrily merrily merrily merrily, Life is but a dream.

Just an awful, lazy ugly episode. The costumes look CHEAP, made out of courtain cloth (Poor Gwendoline have been wearing satin potato sacks for two seasons already), but this was even worse. Orpheus' actor kept holding the lyra, but nobody told what he was supose to do with it. The "greek" singing was beyond ridiculous. You see, there's this Greek luthier brand on YouTube, and they always make videos singing and playing ancient hymns with the Instruments they craft, and it's so beautiful that it makes me wanna cry every time. They make these with YouTube money, but Netflix money couldn't make even Greek sounds like Greek. Hope nobody involved in this episode ever work tv again.

Ancient myths, immortal egos, and a family wound that never quite heals - Ep 5 is slow, sorrowful, and stunning.

"The Song of Orpheus" trades fantasy spectacle for classical tragedy, and the result is one of the season's most emotionally resonant hours. It's a tale of loss, pride, and the limits of even godlike love... with echoes that ripple through the Endless family tree.

Tom Sturridge brings nuance to a more vulnerable Dream: not the cold ruler, but a father fumbling with something far more fragile than power. Ruairi O'Connor makes a strong impression as Orpheus, full of idealism and pain, perfectly pitched for a story we already sense won't end well.

Also stepping into the frame is Barry Sloane as Destruction, the long-absent sibling whose warmth and charm contrast beautifully with his name. He exudes a kind of reluctant wisdom, and you instantly understand why his absence has left such a gap in this volatile family.

What's impressive is how elegantly the show folds Greek myth into the Sandman lore... not as borrowed legend, but as part of its emotional architecture.

This episode doesn't push the plot forward. It pulls Dream backward, and drags your heart with it.