We open with Dream sitting alone, moping, and feeding the pigeons, we close with Dream sitting with a friend sharing a drink. Beautiful

my son passed away 3 hours after birth due to under developed lungs and the way they portrayed the passing of the infant was absolutely beautifu, touching and for me...healing

“I’ve always heard it’s impolite to keep one’s friends waiting” God the storytelling is just so *elegant*

Here's a fun fact that everyone missed in this episode. In the 1989 scene, a guy behind Hobb tells the same rabbit joke as the one in the 1389 scene. Hobb hears it and giggles before the guy finishes the joke as Hobb has already known that joke for so long. Writing touches like these are what make a great episode even greater.

I loved that Death doesnt introduce herself to the souls, and they initiqlly have no idea who she is. But she smiles and then lets their realization sink in. It is both so sad and sweet.

Hob has always been one of my favorite characters in comics, and this actor's delivery, "I have hated every second of the last 80 years... I have so much to live for," really speaks to me.

Breaking up in the rain because Hob dared ask "What are we?" to his immortal friend who he's only been seeing regularly for 500 years.

Although they aren't sequential in the comics it was so smart to put these two stories together into an episode.

As a hospice worker, I am so shocked at how many people are surprised to see Death portrayed as kind and compassionate. It breaks my heart how many people perceive death as something sinister. I'm so grateful to Neil for giving us this beautiful representation ❤ I loved your reaction! Thanks for sharing with us 😊

I liked how they highlighted everyone's different reactions to Death. We saw fear, worry, acceptance, regret, and even relief. It was EXTREMELY moving.

I love the change in Dream’s expression from 1589 to 1689. He’s clearly bothered by Hob’s success, and he feels like it’s thrown off his easy bet that Hob would want to die at this point. But then, at his lowest point, when he still chooses to live, it’s like Morpheus recognises there’s something far more interesting about him then he first anticipated.

"I'm really glad it didn't cut back to the mom." I remember this scene from the comics, the mom actually screams "NO!" and is shown crying over the crib. That has been seared in my mind for years, and that scene really got my tears going.

This episode SOOOO deserves and Emmy. Watching it a fourth time I am blown away by the score. The soundtrack is brilliant.

I said this on a different video but this episode really touched me. As a Paramedic (EMT) you can have days where you feel like you are just seeing nothing but death or its following you up close and personal Even though you are in a group and doing everything correctly you can feel very alone, the thought now of not being alone because you are holding their hand and they are holding yours is something I will forever carry with me and it gives me unimaginable comfort as odd as it sounds.

An episode of television with Hob Gadling from the comic is something that I thought would never happen, and I never realized that I wanted it so much until I saw it. I actually cried when I realized that the entire rest of the episode was the Hob Gadling story. It hit me SO HARD to see it so well done in this medium. And combining that with the whole segment with Death, which was so moving and special in its own way...this might be my actual favorite episode of a show in a very long time.

I love how Hob Gadling's character arc reflects humanity's growth and development.

All these people who freaked out at the casting of Death because she wasn't a white goth girl are so wrong. Kirby Howell-Baptiste absolutely nails the essence of Neil Gaiman's Death brilliantly. Absolutely perfect casting in my humble opinion.

"Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Delirium, Despair and... who are we missing?" I mean... you couldn't have said it better if you tried 😂

What a beautiful concept - that when death comes for you, it comes as a friend; no matter the circumstance.

This episode reminded me of the best Doctor Who episodes, same vibe, same way to address big themes with a delicate approach

I love this version of an anthropomorphic Death, a friend with a kind word and comforting hand.

Absolutely adore Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death! It was one of those casting choices that immediately flooded my brain with serotonin: I’ve watched her in everything I could since I first saw her work! She’s inherently a warm, positive actor who always seems empathetic - reminds me a lot of a younger Olivia Coleman & Sophie Okonedo in that way. (And Sophie Okonedo was my dream casting for Death back in the ‘90s!) Love your reactions! P.S., You HAVE to react to Good Omens - it is amazing!

The baby scene was well done. Fr what I remember the baby ask Death "is this all I get" "thats not fair". So Im glad Death still had the conversation despite not being able to read the text from the baby.

if a goth chick with an angelic smile dont visit me when i die, no one is attending my funeral, not even me

I love that they took two of the best single issues of the comic and combined them so fluidly. Everyone complaining about this death can fuck off into the sun. I love the detail of you chuckling at the moments from the comic showing up. Like I literally quoted moments as they happened, I loved it so fucking much.

Dream's bargain with Shakespeare is not as bad as some people assume. He just sent him dreams that would inspire him, and he still wrote the plays himself. What Dream asked in return should be made clear in later seasons if the show is renewed.

If this episode doesn't win an Emmy I'll be shocked. It was perfect. No other words for it

We don't know the exact point that Harry dies, but his cough coincides with the sound of Death opening the door, which implies that it's then. And yet when we see him standing next to his body, the violin is still where he put it after greeting her. Either she showed up early enough that he could set it down, or she let him doing so after death apply in the physical world - either way, she didn't just let it be fallen onto the floor - it's a lovely little but of thoughfulness from her.

I really liked the contrast between the two halves of this episode. I'm pretty sure they are adaptations of two different issues, so it was deliberate. Nice. The first half was about accepting the inevitability of death, while the second was about completely rejecting it. Not just physically, but also philosophically. Death doesn't just suggest that dying is inevitable, but also that it is natural and necessary for the human psyche. Hob on the other hand rejects both the physical act of dying and Death's philosophy. "Are you crazy? [...] There's everything to live for."

Love, love, LOVE your take on all creators having a “relationship” with Dream. As someone who loves stories and writing, I think that’s why I absolutely adore Dream’s character. He’s a creator and storyteller and is the “muse” for all other storytellers.

Death talking to the infant kills me. My interpretation was that while the babbling was never given subtitles, Death understood the baby and we can infer what the baby was trying to say. Did you all get that impression while watching that scene?

I miss Death's punk goth look, but this actress totally crushed it. Won me over completely.

Death is my favorite character from the Sandman comics and one of my favorites in all of comics. I read the issues as they came out (yes, I'm old) and still have issue #8, the first appearance of Death. Meeting this character made me not fear death because I imagine I'll meet her when my time comes.

The episode was crafted with magic because it was so well done and beautifully delivered. The portrayal of Death was so well done and had the perfect actress to play Death. The relationship between Dream and Death was wonderfully executed. The interplay between Hob and Dream was well-rounded and rich. And yes, I would love a Good Omen's reaction. I get some of the same vibes watching The Sandman as I did watching GO.

This is one of my favorite episodes so far, death is so warm, compassionate, and caring it's a beautiful interpretation of death. And then to see dream and hobs relationship develop over the centuries is a beautiful thing to see, dream getting mad and leaving, getting captured and hob thinking he was abandoned, then for dream to find hob and apologize and call him friend was so sweet. Hob buying real-estate and keeping the "tavern" going so dream could find him was amazing, it shows how much his friendship with dream means to hob

It's SO funny to me that, when naming the Endless, the one you couldn't remember was Destruction. For, you know, reasons. That we won't mention here, because spoilers.

Everything about this ep was spot on. Casting was perfect and pairing the two stories was brilliant. I cried along with you guys. It’s crazy how something can be horrible and beautiful at the same time. And yes, good omens would be great. Turn about is fair play. 😉

Dream meeting with Hob at the end is just so damned wholesome. No matter how many times I see it I just sit here with a stupid grin and tears in my eyes. This show... Incidentally, the comic makes it clearer that the effect of 24/7 is indeed far reaching. Not everyone, but worldwide.

7:30 I had the EXACT same reaction! “Holy shit, those extra 30 years!!”

When the immortal shows up in 1989, the song playing is by a band called "Fine Young Cannibals". Their lead singer was Roland Gift. Roland played Xavier St. Cloud in the TV series "Highlander" as an immortal bad guy. I don't know if the similarity of this second half episode to Highlander inspired that music choice or it was just a happy accident.

Without a doubt the best episode of the series thus far. The vignette of all her different ‘appointments’ was achingly beautiful and tragic. The actress is outstanding.

As someone who read The Sandman graphic novels, This episode was my favorite by far. It was taken straight out of the book and was so perfectly portrayed by the actors. Definitely gave me feels when he approached Hob at the end. Well Done 👏

Good Omens is great! Highly recommend it. Neil Gaiman is a great writer, and he cowrote Good Omens with Terry Pratchett, who is maybe my favorite author of all time.

Something i found interesting as someone working in healthcare is how incredibly similar Deaths attitude is to so many other healthcare workers, how the secondary trauma becomes such a constant pressure that you wanna just quit. We do it for the money mostly, but we do care and thats the shit that cuts deepest, but we ARE here for them, the patient. What we want is secondary to what they need.

i loved this episode, i was a mess of tears with death and fell for her all over again, and my heart was warmed by hob and dream. it's honestly perfectly hilarious that you forgot destruction, comics considered.

Definitely do Good Omens! And the film adaptation of Stardust if you’re feeling even more Gaiman 💜

Something i just learned; Originally Gaiman got 8 issues greenlit and if the series would continue or not depended on the sales, for a while it seemed like they wouldn't make it so Neil wrote issue 8 knowing it could be the end of the entire series and that issue was the Death one. Makes a lot of sense with how touching the issue is The way they connected the two issues of the comic into one episode its incredible, we start with the acceptance of death and we ended with total negation of it, absolutely beatiful episode

One of the great portrayals of Death. The other being, to my mind, Terry Pratchett's portrayal of Death in the Discworld (particularly as portrayed in Hogfather).

My dad committed suicide 2 years ago almost to the day and this episode gave me feels and thoughts and made me cry too.

I’m not a crier and I cried just watching your guy’s reactions!!

Death, someone who cares. That was the concept and they hit the marks like a bomb. The Hob storyline is one of my favorites, and how it continues and how Hob pops up later on with the same verve for life. Its so good. There is going to be a lot of award talk about this episode and this series later... so much done well, so much that is ... how did they pull that off? Joanna is the current Constantine, Johanna is the ancestor.

It’s hilarious watching you guys laugh but for different reasons. One cause it’s more of a “ah I see what they did there” or “ah I see how they changed that or what’s coming” and the other is just a new experience.

This episode and the quote about dreams in the previous one just remind me so much of Death in Discworld. It really shows that Terry Pratchett and Neil were good friends. Here is one of his most iconic scenes: “All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable." REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE. "Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little-" YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES. "So we can believe the big ones?" YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING. "They're not the same at all!" YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET-Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED. "Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point-" MY POINT EXACTLY. ― Terry Pratchett, Hogfather BTW. The Hogfather is basically Santa Claus and the premise of the book is that he is missing and Death takes his place so that people don't lose faith in him.

Even Death was making sure she was well out of earshot before the mom came back to the crib.

When that clip dropped of dream and death visiting harry a lot of "comic readers" complained that kirby howell-baptiste wasn't peppy enough for death. If you read the actual fucking comic, when death is actually in a room with a dying human being taking a soul, sure she is kind and gracious, but she is also serious and respectful which is exactly the performance in this show.

The sandman is one of the best comic books of dc and this is brillant adaptation.

Yes please for a Good Omens reaction. This was lovely to watch. Thanks so much. Will now go and watch your other reactions to this series.

The empty one is Destruction and the mirror is for Desire’s own symbol. Their symbol is a heart but I like the choice of the mirror so they can look at themself. (I haven’t read the comic so I don’t know if that was always there or not).

This was my favorite episode everrr!

03:15 I too guessed she was Destiny, but after she said "you'll see me again", I changed my mind. lol. I love this episode so much! I cried happy tears when Dream has finally unlocked a mortal friend!

I first saw the actress who plays Death when she was a character in “The Good Place”. I never would have pictured her in this role but she- dare I say- killed it.

Best dialogue was when she says we are here because of them. Kind of give respect and honor our own lives.

This was a hard episode for me. The man by the lake not getting a chance to say goodbye to his wife. The baby in the crib. Wow.

I really thought I was going to be fine this episode, but then one of the deaths reminded me of a friend who died from a relapse and really needed a friendly face, and suddenly I was crying

I swear that baby part hits so hard. But the drug user hits hard too, you can see a kind of my suffering is over in her eyes. This episode was just to good.

Book : Destiny Ankh : Death Mask : Dream The missing Symbol : Destruction (The Prodigal) Heart : Desire Hook : Despair Swirl of colors : Delirium (Once known as Delight - symbol of Delight is a Flower) The symbols go from oldest to youngest of the siblings.

Damn I got excited for a second, didn’t see the premiere part.

That part of the episode, of Death making the visits, was the one that I cried the most, I was really touched. And I cried again here watching with you

I like the reactors different styles claroos is at the 7:55 mark like..oh no..are they going to...they wouldn't.. while after the nerdy guy is just staring watching, not looking to see her reaction, just engrossed in the story. then at 7:58 the little side glance at him by her to be like 'hey are they doing what i think they're doing?' then at 8:05 and he starts crying and her eyes get even wider because *he* **knows** and she doesn't. ah *chef's kiss*

These are two of my favorite issues from the series, and stapling them together like this was absolutely _perfect._ Easily the best episode of TV i've seen in at least a year. After watching it I went back and reread them for the first time in ages, and what surprised me was how the show did both of them _better._ I went into it just hoping the show measured up to the comic version at all, but in both cases it ended up being a straight upgrade. The shift in the timeline made Morpheus and Hob's last scene 1000% mire effective imo, with him missing their last meeting.

Though this episode wasn't "flashy" or "action packed", and me not being familiar with the comics at all, i consider it to be my favorite episode. Was just beautifully done.

The expression on your faces when the fruit vendor rubbed the apple on his shirt! There was some low-key outrage there.

First time I thought seriously about death was after read Sandman, in 1992. Since then Dream's sentence is part of my life: "To die is so natural as born..."

Your editing is perfect in this reaction. Nerdy's side glances and Clarous having no idea what is about to happen. . . Beautifully done 💯

Peasants apparently had decent teeth back in the day. Cavities weren't really a huge problem until sugar became common.

I watched the first half slowly, partly because I was almost dreading the diner episode (which turned out to be a bit toned down from the comic). But once I got to this one I just kept going all day until the end and I wish I hadn't. I really wish they'd released an episode a week instead of putting the whole thing out at once, my self control is only so strong. As you said, it's nice to be able to talk about it for awhile, and this is definitely the kind of show that really benefits from having some time to digest what happened before you move on to the next episode. Kirby Baptiste-Howell was fantastic as Death, she hit just the right note. I don't understand how everyone who watches it doesn't cry through that entire story, and then again at the end. Perfect episode.

Blanking on the seventh sibling is hilarious as a reader

The Sound of Her Wings always makes me cry. If it doesn't for you, you're not human.

This episode was just so ... beautiful, heartbreaking and to some point, life affirming. I really hope to see her in more episodes and maybe even her own series.

Somehow there is still so much hate about the casting of death….the common excuse that “it isn’t about race, she isn’t goth enough.” I think we all know the real reason people don’t like the casting of death. The usual

"Who are we missing?" Beautiful. Couldn't have been more perfect. 🤣🤣

The subtlety of scenes between Hob and Morpheus is amazing. So much is said in so few words.

For anyone wondering - the comment 'I'm not Jewish' refers to the play Dr Faustus by Christopher Marlowe (who lived around the same time as Shakespeare). Faustus makes a pact with the devil in exchange for his soul to life eternally.

The mirror represents desire, as it would be where their sigil. Desire and the actor who plays them go by they and them.

Claroos: "I should have worn waterproof mascara." Me: "Just wait, a baby is about to die..."

This episode had me crying when I 1st watched it and I'm crying now again while I'm watching it with you guys. It's just so freaking wholesome. It really hits in the feels. 🥲

Just a Masterpiece of Comic-Books/Graphic Novels/Books, and a Masterpiece of an adaptation! Never thought i would actually be able to see it on screen, so well made, before i eventually die! So good! Ty DC/Vertigo for being able to grow-up with you and your stories/books!

Good Omens reaction, definitely!! Really enjoying your Sandman reactions. This particular episode is especially profound.

Of course we want to see a Good Omen reaction! 😀

1889 to 1989 is such a huge leap to modernity

Your reactions are great, I really appreciate the talk at the end. And this is such a moody, contemplative, philosophical show, the kind that most of the time just doesn’t get made.

14:30 I don't think the clothes would be expensive for the production. There are stock items to rent for this. And the Tavern is probably also from previous productions.

That episode hit different. That moment she headed for the baby I bawled my eyes out. As a Mom, thats every mother's worst nightmare.

This is honestly one of my favorite episodes of tv I have ever seen.

“Who are we missing?” Perhaps the one who went missing.

In the comic with the Death story (issue 8), at the end Dream just says he relearned a lesson he had forgotten but it's not spelled out what the lesson is. I feel like that's made so much more clearer and impactful in the screen adaption. We get some explanation for Death ('this is my job, I hated it for a while, but eventually realized I'm doing it for the humans as they need a kind face to hold onto as they go'). Then we get the Hob story. The conclusion is Dream realizes he had been making it all about himself, but he was made by and for the humans, not the other way around. His job is to serve them. He sees that, and he sees Hob's love for the human life, also making him realize as insignificant as one life is to him as an Endless, to a human individual it is ever-rich and ever-promising. By the end, he stops looking so disdainful, accepting his place and duty, and also accepting that a human can be worthy of his friendship.

Dude I love watching you bounce excitedly as you go "I know what this is!!"

I usually don’t like too much talking during reactions, but it works for you two. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The banter is just perfect.

I love what you said about "creatives have a relationship with Dream" bit. and I completely agree with every word. as many people said, the Sandman is a story about stories rather than people.

The issue with Hob Gadling, Men of Good Fortune, came out in 1989. You can tell because all the years came from starting with that and subtracting 100 all the way back to 1389, thus making the final meeting the present day. The Shakespeare thing was a piece of good luck. Gaiman said in an interview that he examined where Shakespeare would have been in his career in 1589, and found all he had written until then was unreadable. Which gave him the idea to make Dream be the inspiration for Shakespeare's famous plays.