The Sandman – Season 1

Here’s my quick review of “The Sandman” (the 2022 Netflix series)…

I recently finished watching “The Sandman.” The series is named after its protagonist, also known as “Morpheus," “The King of Dreams,” or simply “Dream.” Morpheus is one of “The Eternals” (others that we meet in the series include “Death” and “Desire”). He’s the ruler of “The Dreaming,” the realm experienced by mortals when they sleep. Alas, he was captured by a mortal sorcerer in 1916 (the intended target was Death, but mistakes were made). The series follows his escape from captivity a century later, and his subsequent experiences.

 

Back in the 1990s I loved Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics. But I haven’t read them in over twenty years, so watching this series still seemed fresh and surprising. Nonetheless, there were a few things that I remembered quite well (in particular, the “The Sound of Her Wings” episode).

 

The first season is interesting because it consists of two multi-episode stories (episodes 1-5, which concern Morpheus’s capture, century-long imprisonment, escape, and recovery of his artifacts; episodes 7-10, which focus on the “Dream Vortex” Rose Walker, and the renegade nightmare “The Corinthian”), and three self-standing short stories (episode six, “The Sound of Her Wings,” and episode eleven’s two stories, “Dream of a Thousand Cats,” and “Calliope”).

 

Overall, I think “Calliope” and “The Sound of Her Wings” are the strongest of the season’s five stories (but “Dream of a Thousand Cats” is quite fun). The former could’ve been written by Rod Sterling, and the latter is simply wondrous (the story that I still remembered quite well, give its impact on me when I read it in my twenties). What I liked the most about “The Sound of Her Wings” is that it cleverly mocks the view that, if given unending life, humans would come to yearn for death.

 

Of the multi-episode stories, the second is definitely the weaker in my view, although The Corinthian is an impressively creepy character. One problem I had with the second story is that Desire's motivation was never really explained. Specifically, I didn’t understand why that character was trying to mess with Morpheus. (I can't remember now if it was clearer in the comic version.)

 

Finally, I should mention that the casting and acting is quite good overall. Tom Sturridge in particular was apparently cultivated in a vat specifically to play this role.

 

Overall score: 8.5/10.

Temple of the Flayed Lord

In case you need some inspiration for a new Cthulhu Mythos style cult (also eminently useable for fantasy and historical role-playing games):

Mexican experts say they have found the first temple of the Flayed Lord, a pre-Hispanic fertility god depicted as a skinned human corpse.
[...]
The institute said experts found two skull-like stone carvings and a stone trunk depicting the god, Xipe Totec. It had an extra hand dangling off one arm, suggesting the god was wearing the skin of a sacrificial victim.
Priests worshipped Xipe Totec by skinning human victims and then donning their skins. The ritual was seen as a way to ensure fertility and regeneration.
The Popolocas built the temple at a complex known as Ndachjian-Tehuacan between AD 1000 and 1260 and were later conquered by the Aztecs.

More information on the charming Xipe Totec and his ancient Popolocas followers can be found here.

Hydra versus Kali

It might not be beloved within the art world -- as this hilarious review at Art News makes clear -- but this statue by Damien Hirst, "Hydra and Kali," is pretty epic:

This one, "Andromeda and the Sea Monster," is rather 'metal' as well:

Check out the creepy spiders on the back of Andromeda's stone:

Why Dwarves sound Scottish...

...and Elves sound like English royalty, etc.

The Epic of Gilgamesh: Expanded Edition

After only 4000 years, the Epic of Gilgamesh is being updated.

Mythic Britain Previews

Mythic Britain is a forthcoming campaign setting for RuneQuest 6.  The good folks at The Design Mechanism have released a preview of the setting material, as well as a complete adventure for the setting, "Caves of the Circind."

The preview looks great!  I can't comment on the adventure, though, as I believe that I'll be playing through it in less than two weeks.  (I'll try to write up a post-play report afterwards.)

Here Be Monsters

There is an interesting – though very speculative and somewhat rambling – article entitled ‘Why We Invented Monsters’ over at Salon. People familiar with this blog may find it to be an enjoyable, if unusual, read. It’s not really scientific (despite its pretensions), but certainly grist for a chat over a few pints…

Rooster Cogburn is Odin?

Here is rather interesting piece on 'True Grit' and mythology in Slate.