Netflix The Sandman recap guide: All 10 episodes explained

The Sandman episode 5 recap: 24/7

The Sandman episode 5 is a very unique episode this season, as it actually functions as a bottle episode, for the most part. The bulk of “24/7” takes place in a diner where John Dee uses his ruby to mess with the lives of several unwitting patrons. This installment establishes just how misguided John’s view of the world is and gives us an idea of how powerful the ruby truly is.

The ruby makes people’s dreams come true, so John coaxes everyone to tell the truth and essentially act in ways that can fulfill their deepest desires.

Among the people affected are Judy (Daisy Head), a gay woman who connects with her friend Rose (who we will see again later in the season) about her girlfriend Donna. A waitress named Bette (Emma Duncan) who is seeing the cook, Marsh (Steven Brand) and the Kate (Lourdes Faberes) and Garry Fletcher (James Udom), a power couple that owns a big pharmaceutical company known as Vanguard and a young man named Mark (Laurie Davidson) who plans to interview at Vanguard.

Kate and Garry are long-time regulars at the diner. Bette set them up. Their relationship is fraught with strange tension as Kate believes Garry is unhealthy and putting on weight. Garry politely turns down a hearty burger despite it being their anniversary dinner, but he goes with the salad instead.

As John starts to use the ruby, all kinds of crazy things start happening in the restaurant. Garry and Kate start arguing with each other, vicious and cutting. Marsh cruelly tells Bette that when he comes to her house, he sometimes sneaks into her 21-year-old son’s bedroom and they have sex and later, Garry and Marsh hook-up in the kitchen. Bette and Judy have a connection and start kissing. Then Mark and Kate begin to flirt.

When Garry sees Mark and Kate together, he attacks him, resulting in Mark stabbing Garry to death in self-defense. Slowly, Bette realizes that John is the one responsible for the way they’re all acting. Essentially, John drives all the patrons to murder or suicide.

The final act of the episode becomes very surreal as Dream arrives. John sees the Fates, who predict that John will crush the Dream lord’s life in his hands and take his power. Seconds later, Dream walks through the diner’s doors and tells John that what he’s doing isn’t right. He’s harming the world, not saving it. He demands that John return the ruby to him. “It’s harming you John, and your world.” John argues that it’s revealing the truth of mankind.

Dream shows him that isn’t true, which returns to the beginning of the episode where Bette, Kate and Garry were all cordial with one another. They all have dreams, like Kate dreams of running away and Bette dreams of creating something that matters.

They act the way they do to keep themselves inspired, and hopeful. It’s what keeps them alive and if John robs them off their dreams and hope, then, yes, things turn dark and bleak. The truth of mankind.

Dream tries to make John understand that it has too much of his power in it, the ruby stole some the last time he used it. John considers using it to take the rest of Dream’s powers to become the new King of Dreams. But if he wants to do that, he’ll have to do it in Dream’s own realm, The Dreaming.

Of course, in The Dreaming, Dream is able to manipulate the world around them and force John to see horrific things and traumatic moments from his life. He tells John that his father, Roderick Burgess, cursed him with the ruby, leaving behind a deadly legacy.

John tries to steal everything from Dream, but it ultimately turns out to be a ruse. John thinks he’s killed Dream and won, but in reality, he destroyed the ruby and released the power inside of it. There’s a striking visual of Dream holding a tiny version of John in the palm of his hand.

Despite everything, Dream doesn’t blame John for his deeds because the dream stone was not made for mortals and he received it through no fault of his own. He simply returns John to the hospital. After that, Dream tells Matthew that tomorrow, the rebuilding will begin in the waking realm and The Dreaming.

What he doesn’t see is his sibling, Desire (Mason Alexander Park) watching from the shadows. “I’m watching you… big brother.”

Written by Mads Lennon