The second episode of Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams explores human greed and ambition through an orphan named Syafin, who is rumored to have demonic powers. Syafin can make his adoptive parents wealthy in six days and kill them on the seventh day. It’s a clear “gambling with the devil” narrative, which we have often seen in One Thousand and One Nights stories, and to be honest, the second episode really doesn’t bring anything new to the table. The story is about a rag-picking couple, Ipah and Iyos, who adopt Syafin after Iyos finds out about his mysterious power. Recently, one of Iyos’ friends named Bagas adopted the same kid and got wealthy in six days but died on the next as per the agreements with the devil. Now, Iyos, who is swimming in debt and wants to improve his quality of life, convinced his wife to take the gamble, but the question here is: Will Syafin kill his new parents too in the end?
Spoiler Alert
Is Syafin a Demon Child?
The answer is yes. Honestly, I’m not a fan of calling a kid as sweet as Syafin a demon, but he has powers that feed on human greed. Now, I am not saying that Syafin or his powers are at fault here, but humans can be pretty awful sometimes, and that’s what the devil uses to his benefit. So how do Syafin’s powers work? At the beginning of the episode, the orphanage manager told the new adoptive parents, Ipah and Iyos, that in order to get something from the child, they needed to give him something. She added an extra line when she said “love him,” which Iyos, the greedy father, obviously ignored. Iyos took the orphanage lady’s words too literally and brought new gifts for Syafin every day, thinking he was “giving” him something, but that’s not what the child needed. He needed some warmth and comfort, which he actually received from Ipah, and therefore gave them something in return.
Every night, the parents received cash and gold ornaments for showing their love to the poor child. For Iyos, it seemed like the perfect bargain, and he planned to kill the child on the seventh day before he would kill the parents, but Ipah, on the other hand, had grown fond of the young kid. Being a mother who had lost her own child, Ipah didn’t want any harm to fall upon Syafin and therefore tried to protect him from all perils, even her husband, who never accepted the boy as his own and was just using him as a means to get rich.
Why did Syafin give Ipah and Iyos a mansion?
Ipah, Iyos, and Syafin lived like a happy family up until the fifth day, when the parents didn’t receive any gifts from the boy, and therefore Iyos lost his cool. While the episode didn’t explain the reason why the parents didn’t receive anything on day 5, I believe it was because of their negligence, as Ipah forgot about Syafin’s allergy, and he ended up at the hospital due to that. Or it could be a test of Iyos’ patience, who had been acting all greedy since the very beginning, and maybe the kid wanted to see if his adoptive father truly cared about him or not. Well, his doubts were correct, as Iyos didn’t waste a moment blaming the boy for their miseries and ended up slapping him for no apparent reason. Ipah, on the other hand, who had no such malice in her heart, took care of the boy and tried to protect him from her own husband. On the sixth day, as the rain stopped, Syafin ran outside to play in the slum when a pile of garbage started to shift and fell upon him. Ipah quickly ran towards the boy to save him, but as soon as she dug out the boy, another garbage pile came tumbling down and seemingly buried Syafin, Ipah, and Iyos.
In the very next scene, the trio woke up in a lavish mansion. As a part of the devil’s bargain, Iyos and Ipah were now the rich couple. Syafin fulfilled their dream of owning such a mansion because the parents showed reasonable concern for the boy and sacrificed themselves in order to protect him from the landslide. That was something Syafin wanted from them, so he gave them what they needed in return.
How Did Syafin Kill the Parents?
As soon as Iyos woke up in a new mansion, he completely abandoned his wife and new son and went straight to the lavish bedroom to spend a comfortable night alone. I mean, this alone underlines Iyos’ extreme selfishness and greed for luxury. Ipah, on the other hand, looked after the boy, who was suffering from a high fever. The very next day, when Iyos saw the harmless boy sleeping peacefully in bed, he had a change of heart and decided to be a better father. He sold off the utensils in the house to buy some food and gifts for the boy. It was yet another sacrifice that won the boy’s heart, and therefore he gave bags full of money in return. But even though Iyos was happy with the riches before him, a kind of fear crept in that the boy would kill them before the end of the 7th day. Earlier, he saw an advertisement for sharp Japanese knives on TV, which reminded him of his friend Bagas’ death at the beginning of the episode. He got paranoid that Syafin would kill him and his wife too, which was why Iyos decided to bury the boy alive.
Later, when Ipah found out about Iyos’ evil plan, she took the boy and ran towards their hut in the slums to protect her child. But Iyos followed them and tried to kill the boy when, suddenly, Ipah stabbed him, in the same way, Iyos’ friend, Bagas, was stabbed to death. The advertisement on the TV had foreshadowed Iyos’ death, and that was the fate he couldn’t run from until and unless he got rid of his greed. Ipah soon realized the sin she had committed in order to protect the boy and therefore stabbed herself to death to put an end to her miseries. In a way, she blamed the boy for destroying her family, but actually it was her husband’s greed that led to their doom.
Will Syafin save Ipah?
Nightmares and Daydreams episode 2 didn’t tell who had adopted Syafin before, but it seemed like no one loved him as much as Ipah did. A few years ago, Ipah lost her own son, Rian, who was crushed by a garbage truck due to Ipah’s negligence. In the present day, Ipah didn’t want to repeat the same mistake and lose Syafin like she had lost Rian. In a way, Syafin was Ipah’s chance to redeem herself, which is why she protected the young boy from all perils and didn’t want to kill him, even though she knew that he had demonic powers. And I am certain that Syafin felt the same for Ipah, as none of his foster parents showed the same love and care as Ipah did, and therefore he didn’t want to lose her and tried to use his powers to heal her wounds and bring her back to life. Now, if Syafin does save Ipah’s life, then maybe she will accept the child and love him as her own. Or she could develop hatred for him for being instrumental in her husband’s death and therefore cut off all ties with Syafin. It could also be possible that Syafin might have to sacrifice his powers to save Ipah, and in such a case, even though Ipah comes back to life, the young boy won’t be able to make her rich. But will it matter to her as a mother? I hope not. I guess in Iyos’ absence, Syafin and Ipah are going to lead a pretty quiet and comfortable life, and maybe it will be a happy ending for the mother and the son.
Read More: ‘Nightmares And Daydreams’ Ending Explained
