In the 2nd episode of The Sandman Season 2, Lucifer retired as the ruler of Hell and gave the keys to the kingdom to Dream. Of course, Dream knew he wouldn’t be able to take care of his realm and Hell at the same time. He needed someone responsible enough to take Lucifer’s post. That problem was sort of solved when several interested parties arrived in the Dreaming to stake their claim. For starters, there was Odin, along with his sons, Thor and Loki, who wanted the key to avert Ragnarok. Then there was Lord Kilderkin, “a manifestation of order,” who was willing to bribe Dream with the dream essence of mortals to get the key. Next up were Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade, a princess of chaos; Susano-O-No-Mikoto, god of the sea and the storms; Lord Azazel, the prince of Hell and the commander of the demon army that once belonged to Lucifer; Cluracan and Nuala, ambassadors from the court of Faerie; and last but not least, angels Remiel and Duma. Barring the angels, everyone tried their best to convince Dream that they were worthy of ruling Hell. However, it was Azazel who hit Dream where it hurt by putting Queen Nada on the bargaining table. His offer was simple: if Dream handed over the key to him, Nada would be his; if he didn’t, she’d be consumed by Azazel. Since Dream was desperate to get back together with Nada, it seemed like he was going to choose Azazel. Did he, though? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
A Faerie Memory
Episode 3 opens with Dream sending Azazel back to his chambers and proceeding to have a chat with Lucienne in the library. Lucienne plays devil’s advocate and makes a case for Azazel by saying that, technically speaking, he should be the one who gets the key because he has served in Hell for such a long time. On top of that, if Dream fulfills his end of the deal, he’ll be reunited with Nada. Dream says that he has only one reason for not giving him the key. Well, he has two. Firstly, Dream knows that as soon as Azazel becomes the ruler of Hell, he’ll use it as a foundation to begin his mission of colonizing every other realm in existence because of his incredible greed. And secondly, while Dream is concerned about Nada’s fate, he doesn’t like the fact that Azazel thinks he can extort him. So, Lucienne wonders, if Dream doesn’t choose him, who amongst the other guests does he consider trustworthy? It is at this point that the episode cuts to Nuala, who is woken by her brother’s carnal activities in the next room. As she goes to take a walk through the halls of Dream’s castle, she runs into Morpheus, who is understandably vexed about the choice he has to make by the time the sun rises. Nuala assures him that he is perfectly capable of making impossible choices, because he has done it several times before. Nuala reminds Dream of the time he hosted a ceremony in the mortal realm for King Auberon and Queen Titania to repair his ties with the Faerie folk.
As per Nuala, there was a time when Dream used to visit Faerie pretty frequently, but then Dream’s relationship with Titania “changed,” probably hinting at some kind of an extramarital affair. Or maybe they just had a disagreement. Either way, Dream was barred from Faerie, with its denizens being forbidden from even uttering his name. But then, on 23 June 1593, Dream, with the help of William Shakespeare (yes, that one), organized a showing of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in The Sussex Downs in England and invited King Auberon, Queen Titania, and their entourage, which included Nuala, Cluracan, and Puck (it’s always nice to see Jack Gleeson on the screen after his seminal performance as Joffrey Baratheon). Since the fairies were an integral part of Shakespeare’s play—with Oberon, Titania, and Puck being the central characters—their “real life” counterparts were hugely impressed by how Dream had managed to “inspire” humans. Puck actually went one step further and played himself on the stage, much to everyone’s amusement. Now, while it’s pretty apparent what this play is actually about, what’s the point of orchestrating this whole thing? Well, from what I understood, in order to make up for his transgressions, Dream had ensured that Auberon, Titania, Puck, and the people of the Faerie would be remembered and cherished by an entire species until the end of time. Evidently, that was enough for both Auberon and Titania to forgive Dream, and they lifted the ban. In the present day, Nuala tells Dream that, just like he got Auberon and Titania to reflect on their misgivings through a play, he needs to do something similar with the keyholder so that they can understand themselves better by ruling Hell. Dream thanks her for the advice and for sharing an old memory.
Remiel and Duma will rule Hell
As the sun (I don’t know if it’s the sun or a sun that mimics the movement of Earth’s sun) rises on the Dreaming, Dream addresses all the contestants for Hell’s Key at the lobby. He does a brief rundown of all the reasons that the participants of this contest have given him. Dream is tempted to side with the Faeries and keep Hell empty. But that’ll upset Azazel, since that’s where he and his army have lived since the beginning of time. He completely (and hilariously) ignores Jemmy, Kilderkin, and Susano and brings up the fact that hell can never be an extension of Asgard, thereby disparaging Odin’s request. Eventually, he focuses on Remiel and Duma and trusts them with the key. Lucifer had said that Hell is a dark reflection of Heaven. Also, Lucifer was an angel. Hence, it makes sense to give 2 angels the responsibility of taking care of Hell because they know how to serve humanity through the powers vested in them and not misuse them to cause harm to any realm. While nobody protests this decision, the arrogant Azazel threatens to kill Nada right in front of Dream. Morpheus reminds Azazel that his promise of protecting his guests extends to all those who are physically present in the Dreaming. Since Azazel has Nada inside him—Azazel has a humanoid form, but he is also a realm—she is also under Dream’s protection. Left with no other option, Azazel tries to bait Dream into reaching out for Nada and pulling her out of the demon’s mouth. Dream does rescue Nada, but, for a split second, it seems like he has fallen for Azazel’s trap and has been consumed by him.
That’s when Dream reminds Azazel that he is in the Dreaming. When he is absent, yes, it’s susceptible to a lot of damage. However, when he is in there, and he has all his weapons, everybody else is powerless against him. On that note, Dream traps Azazel in a glass bottle and puts an end to his nonsense. Lucienne rushes Nada to the doctors; physically, she hasn’t been harmed, but she is obviously traumatized because she was in a prison in Hell for 10,000 years and then in the belly of a demon. After ensuring that Nada is recovering, Dream proceeds to say goodbye to all his guests. While everyone, including Lady Merkin (a part of Azazel’s entourage), leaves peacefully, Cluracan and Loki throw some plot twists at Dream. Cluracan reveals that Titania has ordered him to give Nuala to Dream as a “gift.” Both Dream and Nuala are horrified at this prospect, but as Nuala comes to the harsh realization that she isn’t welcome in Faerie, and the Dreaming is a far more hospitable place for her, she chooses to stay. Dream gladly accepts Nuala’s decision and requests Lucienne and Taramis that they look after her like she is a part of their odd family. As for Loki, he has disguised himself as Susano and disguised Susano as himself. That might’ve fooled the simple-minded Thor, who has taken Susano to Asgard, thinking that that’s Loki. But nothing escapes Dream’s eyes, especially in the Dreaming, and he catches Loki red-handed trying to escape Asgardian punishment. Dream knows that Loki can be of use in the future. Therefore, Dream gives him a choice: if Loki chooses to stay in Dream’s debt, he’ll create a dream version of Loki so as to prevent both the God of Mischief and Susano from any kind of harm; if Loki chooses to not be under any kind of obligation, Dream will inform Odin of the trick Loki has played on him. Albeit reluctantly, Loki accepts Dream’s terms and walks out of the Dreaming with the aim of partaking in all kinds of mischief in all the known realms.
Nada Is Alive But Hurt
At the end of The Sandman Season 2, Episode 3, after informing Lucifer that he has successfully handed over the keys to Hell to the angels Remiel and Duma, Dream prepares for a confrontation with Nada. They convene at the dining room, and Dream tries to strike up a “normal” and “casual” conversation with her, but soon realizes that that’s pointless until he addresses the elephant in the room: his decision to condemn Nada to 10,000 years in Hell just because she didn’t reciprocate his demand for her to be his queen. He is clearly apologetic, but the main issue is that he thinks that an apology could make up for what he forced Nada to endure. It doesn’t take too long for Nada to walk up to Dream and whack him. Dream’s kingly arrogance begins to surface, but it doesn’t scare Nada because she doesn’t have it in her to experience such emotions anymore. She has suffered so much that she is not afraid to face another round of Dream’s wrath. Hence, Dream doesn’t waste another second and comes up with a proper apology, laced with phrases like “eternal regret.” Nada says that it’s pointless to punish oneself by constantly thinking about the past. Dream realizes that Nada is ready to script her future. He assumes that he is going to be a part of it, but Nada says that that’s not the case at all. She is going to go to the mortal world and try and make up for all the lost time on her own. She doesn’t want Dream to interfere in any shape or form. Dream tries to profess his love to Nada, but she retorts, point blank, that Dream’s “kind” isn’t capable of love.
I think she’s right. Because if you love someone, why would you condemn them to Hell? Also, it’s unfair to expect your lover to just forget about the hurt you’ve caused just because you have been hit with the epiphany that it’s time to free said lover from hell. Dream clearly wants Nada to be thankful to him for not letting her suffer in Hell for eternity. However, freeing her is the bare minimum in this context. Nada even says that Dream only wants her because she is the only thing in all of existence who is unwilling to bend to his will. She’s pretty sure that if she becomes his queen, after all that has happened, he’ll show no interest in her because he is only driven by the need to attain the unattainable. Dream disagrees with Nada’s assessment of him and, like a desperate schoolboy who has fallen in love for the 1st time, tells her that he deeply loves her. Nada accepts that there might be some truth in that statement, but she is sure that she doesn’t love him. As Dream digests this rejection, Nada walks out of the Dreaming and into the mortal world, hoping to never meet Dream ever again. You know what? I have grown to like Dream. I know that he has changed. With all that said, he deserved this heartbreak. To be honest, he deserved worse. Nada was extremely composed in the face of the man that had forced her to endure unspeakable horrors for 100 centuries, probably because she didn’t want to spend another second of whatever time she had with this man. What he got from Nada was the bare minimum.
