“The Song of Orpheus” had gotten some previews before the actual release of this first volume of the second season of The Sandman, and rightfully so—it tackles one of the most widely known and beloved of Greek myths, one that has also gotten quite a new influx of fame thanks to Hadestown the musical. I can’t guarantee I will not be making references to it throughout this recap, I’m afraid. It’s simply that good.
The episode, however, opens not on Orpheus but on Dream discussing his most recent failing with his librarian Lucienne, another voice of reason alongside Death when it comes to the King of Dreams and his stubbornness. He also reflects on one of his last encounters with Destruction during the end of the 17th century, when the Age of Enlightenment and of scientific process was fast approaching. True to his name, Destruction knows that something ominous is coming as the humans gains more understanding of the world around them, going as far as predicting the creation of the nuclear bomb, something that did not fail to send shivers down my spine. It’s safe to assume that this is one of the reasons Destruction left the Endless to begin with, an attempt to avoid “the age of fire and flame” as he himself calls it.
After reminiscing on this and after attending Wanda’s funeral, Dream makes his way to Delirium’s realm where he’s tormented by visions of Nada—this is a place of madness, after all. He makes his amends to Delirium, showing us that while he does make many mistakes and bad choices he can also learn from them and grow. That's always nice to see in a main character, especially one as powerful and as wise as the King of Dreams.
Now back on their quest, Dream and Delirium decide to visit the one being who has all the answers: their brother Destiny, the eldest of the Endless, who knows everything that is meant to happen. Of course, like all prophetic-adjacent figures, Destiny is not in the business of giving out straight answers, not even to his own family. He does warn them, however, that pursuing this path might lead to unforeseen events that could have considerable consequences. Again, this is sure to lead back to the prophecy in “Seasons of Mist,” even though I assume we will only really understand it once the entire season is over and all the cards have been laid out on the table.
For now, Destiny tells Dream and Delirium that only an oracle can tell them where Destruction is. It’s a good thing they have one in the family: Orpheus, the son of Dream and the muse Calliope, whose story we see in an episode-within-an-episode that is definitely up there with the best ones this show has ever put to screen. We return, together with Dream and the rest of the Endless, back to the time of Greek myths on the day Orpheus—played by actor Ruairi O’Connor—marries his beloved Eurydice.
The wedding celebrations are cut short, however, when Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies on that same evening, leaving Orpheus distraught and willing to do everything to get her back. While Dream tries to persuade his son that dying is just part of human life and that there’s no undoing it, Orpheus decides to ask his aunt, Death, to show him the way to the realm of Hades and Persephone. So down to the Underworld Orpheus goes, and there he sings a song so moving and so sorrowful that even the Furies and Queen Persephone are touched by it. I have to make a Hadestown mention here because when Persephone asks Orpheus if he has “a song for them,” I immediately thought about the viral ending from, “Wait for Me”—I’m coming wait for me / I hear the walls repeating / the falling of my feet and / it sounds like drumming / And I am not alone / I hear the rocks and stones / echoing my song / I’m coming. I had to jam out just a little bit.
Like in the myth, Hades grants Eurydice back to Orpheus on the condition that he walks the road back to the mortal world without ever turning around to see her or speak to her in any way. And just like in the myth, when the light of sun is finally shining on Orpheus’ face, his fear that he has been tricked and his desperation to be with Eurydice again have the better of him and he turns—just in time to realize that she really was behind him and that now she is lost to him forever.
Now really without hope, Orpheus decides to put himself in the path of the Maenads, the servants of the god Dionysus, who travel the woods in a murderous frenzy and who do indeed tear him apart during their rituals. Except that Death had warned him that by descending to the Underworld he forfeited his right to ever be claimed by her and so to die—something that he discovers as soon as he wakes back up, now reduced to a disembodied head. Dream visits his son again for what will be the last time in centuries, and they part ways with bitter resentment hanging between them.
Back to the future, Dream and Delirium leave Destiny’s palace to make their way to Orpheus, Dream finally convinced to swallow his pride and his stubbornness for the sake of Delirium’s need to see Destruction again—and I would add, also to finally make amends with his son.
Bullet Point Summary
- “The Song of Orpheus” gives us some insight as to why Destruction left the Endless—at the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, he saw where humanity’s scientific progress would lead, to the atom bomb and infinite suffering, and so he decided to leave so he wouldn't be responsible for it.
- Dream reminisces on this encounter with Destruction, which was probably one of the last ones between the two, and he also attends Wanda’s funeral. At the end of it, he decides to enter Delirium’s realm to apologize to her and try and make things right.
- The two siblings, now a team again, make their way to their brother Destiny, who can’t tell them where Destruction is but who suggests to them that an oracle will surely be able to give them that information. It’s a good thing they have one in the family.
- The oracle in question is Orpheus, son of Dream and the muse Calliope, and we are treated to a beautiful episode-within-the-episode that retells us the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.
- The story ends with Orpheus unable to die and forced to live on as a disembodied head after a harsh final confrontation with his father Dream, which showcases all of Dream’s failings as a father. When he decides to continue on the quest with Delirium, we can assume that it’s also to make amends with his only son after not having spoken to him for centuries.
Episode Grade: B
The Sandman season 2 reviews:
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 1: "Season of Mists"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 2: "The Ruler of Hell"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 3: "More Devils Than Vast Hell Can Hold"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 4: "Brief Lives"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 5: "The Song of Orpheus"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 6: "Family Blood"
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