I had to pull this quote out because i really like it.
And in fact, I feel in this sort of weird world in which sometimes I feel like people are fragmenting and forming into smaller and smaller groups and closing ranks and regarding anybody on the other side as the enemy, that people need to be reminded that standing next to them is somebody who contains a thousand worlds and every world is a door and through every door is somewhere that you’ve never dreamed of. And people are cooler under the surface than you would ever imagine. And I wanted to remind people of that.
Precisely. That’s what Gaiman was aiming for as per the quote above and i think they’ve nailed it.
From now on I will be telling it as if Neil agreed with me…
It is a wonderful sentiment, though, and I wholeheartedly agree. We have more similarities than differences and they should be shared and nurtured and celebrated, because to me that is how, and why, love exists.
A finer hour of television you rarely get to see, talk about light following darkness. If the first 20 minutes was an indication this was going to be sublime episode then the rest confirmed it, this is the episode that does genuinely feel like Sandman. Superb.
I can well believe that, it’s my understanding that Preludes & Nocturnes was difficult to do because they hadn’t worked on a series before and people came and went so hitting his stride further along makes sense with The Sound of Her Wings showing the promise of what the series would become. To show such humanity from death takes great skill as a writer i’m sure, we’re just seeing the effortless results! I’m very pleased it’s translated so well to screen, in my opinion anyway.
I also think it was a smart move to combine this with Men of Good Fortune.
I wouldn’t say i enjoyed it but it shows the makers are not fucking about and i do think it had to be in there. If memory serves, the comic was way more needlessly violent.
Such a ballsy move to write Death as a compassionate and humane presence and i wonder if that was a relatively new concept when these were published.
I couldn’t quite believe i was watching the same Kim we had gotten to know. Which fan prediction are you referring to? I’ve seen a few.
Nope, See “On Borrowed Time” a 1939 Lionel Barrymore film where he protects his grandson by trapping Death in an apple tree, stopping all death in the world. This is a retelling of a greek myth and is similar to Morpheus getting trapped. There is no way Gaiman wasn’t familiar with the myth and movie. Death was also compassionate and necessary in the film.
Also see 1934’s Death Takes a Holiday and various related adaptations including the 1998 Brad Pitt movie Meet Joe Black.
ETA: I liked sometimes-collaborator Terry Pratchett’s take on Death too. I think there was a blurb on one of the Discworld novels that went something like “He’s not a bad guy once you get to know him… and everyone does, sooner or later.”
