"He almost never murders me before lunch..."
After a deep and emotional first episode, the second episode feels curiously mythical, and deliberately so. Dream is reminded of his siblings in a way that in turn reminds me of Roger Zelazny's Amber novels, which I love, and so does Neil Gaiman. Yet this masterpiece takes that influence and adds so much.
Dream is questing for his three artifacts which will restore his realm. He seeks cryptic advice from the Fates, advice which I'm sure will define the outline of the season. Yet against him is the Corinthian and the modern Ethel, an art dealer, and her son in his asylum... John Dee. And there's a name with alchemical associations.
Triumphantly, though, we have Cain and Abel, shown surprisingly faithfully to the comic book (as is the whole episode, if I rightly recall) and portrayed superbly by Sanjeev Bhaskar and Asim Chaudhry, whose speech at the end is profoundly moving. As is the sacrifice of poor little Gregory, a faithful pet put down.
Are we all pets to Morpheus, to e put down when needed? This is a fascinating protagonist, and a lushly superb, if short, bit of telly.
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