No matter how you look at it, the acts of birth and death appear to be the most miraculous phenomena—almost surreal when you consider the odds against life existing. It’s the phase in between, guided by decisions, contrasts, chances, and coincidences—which, given present circumstances, doesn’t seem to be as appealing to most of us mortals. Well, that’s not the case for Death of the Endless, whose passion for life is as ironic as it is beautiful, as the last chapter of Netflix’s The Sandman saga—Death: The High Cost of Living—showcases. An adaptation of the comic series of the same name, the narrative follows Death spending a day as a mortal to experience what it’s like to live as a human, and in the process, questions the nature and purpose of human existence.
Spoiler Alert
Why Did Sexton Contemplate Taking His Life?
Sexton Furnival, a young journalist, has given up on his life and is writing a suicide note addressed to his ex-girlfriend, Sylvie. Sexton clarifies in his e-mail that their recent breakup is not the reason as to why he is planning on ending things; he is just incredibly fed up with how the world has basically gone to the gutter. Discrimination is ever persistent; humans treat the world worse than they treat each other. As a journalist, Sexton writes on environmental issues, and it’s easy to assess his frustration over how little difference those articles actually end up making. Sexton’s writing is interrupted by the arrival of his friend/roommate, Billie, who indirectly asks him to leave the room, as she wants to spend some time with her girlfriend, Amelia.
Sexton goes outside, taking sleeping pills with him as he is quite certain about the decision he is about to make, and tries to send a voicemail to Sylvie to complete his last message to her. He comes across a junkyard, where a bunch of copies of John Wyndham’s The Day of the Triffids have created a trail of sorts, leading to the top of a junk pile. The novel itself revolves around a post-apocalyptic scenario where society has collapsed after an attack by carnivorous plants, and the government has turned predatory and autocratic. Perhaps in this context, the book is symbolic of Sexton’s inner cynicism about humankind. Anyway, following the trail, a curious Sexton reaches the top of the junkpile, stands in front of a discarded fridge, and picks up a Superman logo fridge magnet attached to it. Superman imagery turns out to be a recurrent symbol in the episode, most of the time seen linked with Sexton. This is technically the DC universe, and perhaps the imagery is indicative of the smallest amount of hope Sexton still has in his heart.
While putting the magnet back in its place, Sexton trips and falls into the pile of junk, getting himself trapped in the process. Death, in her mortal form, shows up, but not to perform her usual duty, no. Today is her day off; she helps Sexton out of the mess and offers to fix him up by taking him to her place nearby.
Why Did Death Want to Spend a Day as a Mortal?
Once every hundred years, Death of the Endless takes a day off to live as a mortal amidst humans. It is not revealed in the episode, but aside from a strong willingness to experience life and the freedom it has to offer, there is another reason why Death does this. As shown in the comics, long ago, one of the departed souls whom Death took to the afterlife had asked if she had even experienced how it feels when she comes to take their souls away. Death has hardly any time beyond her duties (cue Father Time’s regrets), which is why, to get a feel for what it’s like to be a mortal, even for a day, Death takes this time off. It should be mentioned that even though in the comics, the events of the narrative takes place after Morpheus’ death, in the episode it is never specified, not that it matters either in this context.
Death learns about Sexton’s cynical perspective, something she can’t get behind as she has this jubilant, almost childlike excitement to enjoy the freedom life has to offer. Treating Sexton’s wounds and sewing his jacket, Death reveals her true identity to him, along with the reason why she is roaming as a mortal. As any sane person might have reacted, Sexton gets a bit weirded out and decides to leave. However, Mad Hettie, who is already aware of Death’s day off, keeps a close watch on Sexton, and holding him as a hostage, she demands Death find her soul. Hettie has long evaded Death’s company, thanks to the arrangement she has with the Kindly Ones. Death is able to calm Hettie down before assuring her that she will look for it in the time she has left in the mortal realm.
Death Takes Sexton on a Journey
Leaving Hettie at her place, Death decides to venture outside, taking Sexton with her. Sexton is a bit surprised, as he expected Death to call the police on Hettie; after all, he still doesn’t believe that the woman accompanying him is really the embodiment of Death. Even if he did, Sexton’s idea of Death is fearsome and cruel—not someone who is amicable, friendly, and kind.
Death implores Sexton to accompany her as she enjoys her day strolling aimlessly, eating flatbread, and taking a cab ride in the park. Letting go of his initial hesitation, Sexton decides to join her. There is a sneaky reference to Destiny of the Endless at this point, as Death mentions her older brother’s opinion about certain destinations being inevitable. It is poetic in a sense, that Death is enjoying her day off with a person who has lost his will to live, perhaps in order for him to see life the way she does. At one point, Death asks her cabbie what, amidst all suffering and disappointment, makes life worth living for her. The cabbie’s answer, which usually varies from person to person due to being subjective in nature, stresses the feeling of hope that exists within us even in desperate times.
Death takes the cabbie’s suggestion to visit the nearby Undercut nightclub, much to the dismay of Sexton, who doesn’t want to go to that place, where he has memories with his ex. Still, he accompanies Death, and as they meet Billie, Amelia, and their friend, Jackie, Sexton introduces Death to them as Didi. Death tries to make Sexton befriend Jackie, but he remains distant nevertheless, unwilling to open up. Death speaks with Billie, who shares her concern over Sexton’s situation and can even relate to his misery, but also shares that, thanks to Amelia’s presence in her life, she is able to find the strength to go through whatever life throws at her. Sexton’s conversation with Jackie goes bad, but at least he is able to help in resolving an argument between Amelia and Billie.
What Did Theo Want From Death?
Club promoter/DJ Theo appears quite shady from the get-go, as it becomes clear that he has his eyes on Death’s Ankh, the necklace she is usually seen wearing. Theo, who is also hinted to be a drug dealer, antagonizes Sexton a bit before offering Death to dance with him. Jackie attempts another shot at having a conversation with Sexton, and learns about his pessimistic worldview. Jackie is able to relate with him, as this feeling of hopelessness and despair is something she felt too at a young age, when her own father and her friends abused her. Jackie confesses to trying to take her life back then by slitting her wrists, only to realize how much she wants to live after regaining her senses in the hospital the next day. Jackie doesn’t directly confess to this, alluding to the account being one of her friends’, but seeing her wearing long gloves, Sexton is humbled. We think we have seen the worst, until we look towards others.
Their conversation is cut short as Death reveals to Sexton that Theo has invited her on a tour of the remnants of the department store where the club was built, and she wants Sexton to go with her as well. However, using the excuse of a tour in the old store, Theo locks up the duo and steals Death’s Ankh from her. It is revealed that Death did not come to the club of her own free will; Theo, who is able to recognize Death for who she truly is, had summoned her using a similar ritual like Roderick Burgess did back in 1916. Roderick’s botched summoning ritual might have brought Dream, but Theo has made no such mistake. Taking Death’s Ankh, he goes away to test it, keeping the duo locked up, even though Death mentions that the Ankh can’t be used the way he wants it to.
Sexton is eager to bash Theo’s skull in on his return, after he finds a bat inside the dump of a room; however, Death is not some vengeful petty god, and she will not try to get back at her abductor. She has too much respect for humans and their complexities to ever find their negative tendencies abhorrent. Instead, she blames herself for dragging Sexton into this mess. She tries to offer a counter to Sexton’s cynicism as Sexton opens up about his feeling of purposelessness as a journalist. In a world that is too busy eating itself from within to care about reason, Sexton feels there is no point in trying to make a difference. Death laments that, despite all that, as a mortal, Sexton has free will and the luxury of experiencing conflicting emotions—something which an Endless like her can never experience. Bound by her duties as an Endless, the mortal experience is something precious to her, especially when a moment’s time is all that’s given to her to live it. Once again, Death blames herself for their present circumstances, mentioning it is the expectations she has from the one day’s worth of life that create all the trouble. Sexton finds a new perspective from Death’s remark about enjoying what life has to offer without expectations—and all of his cynical thoughts about life escape him for a moment as he plans to get himself and Death out of Theo’s captivity. In the meantime, Theo returns, with a gun in his hand, as the Ankh obviously didn’t work. He tries to threaten Death into compliance, as he wants her to bring his late girlfriend, Natalie, back to life. Natalie overdosed to death, and Theo fears he will have to carry the blame of her demise—given he was her supplier. Death tries to assure Theo that his girlfriend is responsible for her own actions, but a remorseful Theo is desperate enough to contemplate taking his own life. Sexton tries to dissuade him; during the scuffle, Theo ends up firing his gun and takes a nasty fall. Fortunately, the bullet doesn’t hit anyone, and Theo’s injuries are not life-threatening—but that might also be due to Death taking time off. Theo is taken to the hospital, and Death, walking away with Sexton, prepares to call it a day.
Did Sexton Recover His Will to Live?
Death hasn’t forgotten the promise she made to Mad Hettie; she buys a locket—which she mentions to be Hettie’s soul—from a trinket store with the only twenty pounds she had with her, handing over two pence to Sexton. Thanking Sexton for letting her have a wonderful time together, Death bids him adieu—and in the final moments, the passion for life grows even stronger in her, and she knows that she cannot prolong her stay. The high cost of life is, of course, Death herself, as her corporeal form accepts her true self and passes away by drowning herself in a fountain. Sexton gets restless; having grown affectionate towards Death, he tries to bring her back to life, only to be consoled by Hettie, who has arrived to take what Death has left for her. The locket holds an image of Hettie’s daughter, Cordelia, her soul she lost long, long ago. Hettie wanted to hide her soul – Cordelia, from Death, but couldn’t, and in the process, lost her forever. Following Hettie’s advice, Sexton places two pence on Death’s eyes, as is the ritual in Greek and numerous other cultures, to let the departed pass onto the afterlife.
In limbo, the soul of Death’s mortal self meets her Endless form, who wants to know whether her day off was worth it. Death wanted the complete experience mortals go through, which includes both being born and passing away, and in the context of Death experiencing her passing, it’s more of a self-acceptance. The realization that no one is ever ready to face their end is something Death experiences every time she returns after spending a day off in the realm of mortals. Still, as she opines, the impermanence is what gives life its value. What gives this realization a poignant meaning is that Death’s whimsical approach to life and her fascination towards it is juxtaposed with the usual dreariness mortals experience on a regular basis.
Sexton, back at his place, is seen going through the e-mail he intended to send to Sylvie when Billie and Amelia bring Jackie to the apartment. Having gained a newfound appreciation for life, thanks to the experiences he had with Death, Sexton has decided to turn a new page. He deletes the mail and decides to spend time with Jackie. His miseries might not be over yet, but Sexton is willing to give life a second chance anyway.
