I have been listening to The World's End chapters of The Sandman on Audible lately and just finished Hob's Leviathan. I didn't pay this story much attention when I first read the comic, as I tended to read through the stories quickly and put more focus into the stories where Dream had a larger role. But one of the reasons I like listening to the Audible book is because it allows me to absorb each story more thoroughly and take my time thinking about each one and the (usually multiple) meanings behind them.
Hob Gadling is a character that fandom has fallen in love with. I think this is clear to anyone that takes even a partial glance at Sandman fandom. This isn't a criticism - Ferdie's performance as Hob in the Netflix show has done wonders for Hob's character. He has made his version of Hob very easy to fall in love with!
But the truth is that in The Sandman comics, Hob is a minor character who we only get to know very little about. The story Hob's Leviathan appears in The Worlds End Sandman book. We only meet him twice before this, once in The Doll's House, where we are introduced to him in Men of Good Fortune, and again in Season of Mists when Dream comes to let him know that he may miss their next meeting. In both these issues, Hob is introduced via the narrator, and therefore I like to think that we are given a fairly honest representation of the kind of person he is. We watch him grow and learn throughout the centuries in MoGF, but one of the major takeaways from this I believe is that he tends to always be on the wrong side of history. He makes bad choices and can be a bit narrow minded. He is rude and selfish and also rather self-absorbed. I actually think that the performance of the voice actor who plays Hob in the Audible book emphasises these character flaws making him even more unlikeable in many ways, though I am aware that this could just be my own experience and opinion.
But Hob's Leviathan takes a different view of Hob. Literally. The narrator of this story is a young boy of 16 called Jim. Jim met Hob on a ship travelling from Bombay to Liverpool in 1914. Jim was working on the ship as a cabin boy and Hob had bought his passage back to England - though it is revealled at the end of the story that Hob actually owned the ship they were travelling on. It is clear that at this point in time, Hob is extremely wealthy.
Jim attends to Hob throughout the journey, and grows very fond of him. In Jim's tale, Hob is a good man, who is kind and thoughtful and cares about others. He saves the life of a stowaway (who turns out to be another immortal). He is shown to be patient, and funny, and very intelligent. Jim waxes poetic about how smart Hob is, and how much he impressed him. It is particularly clear in the Audible book that Jim is taken with Hob, to the point that it could arguably be a crush.
It is fascinating how much more likeable Hob is when narrated from the viewpoint of someone with a crush on him, whether this story is exaggerated through rose tinted glasses is of course something to consider. All the tales in World's End are just that, tales. There is a constant undercurrent of exaggeration and make believe to them where even the other patrons of the inn question elements to each of the stories. We are not supposed to take these stories as absolute fact, rather they are supposed to reveal to us more about the narrators as well as their own experiences existing in this magical and strange world.
When it is revealled that Jim is actually a girl called Peggy in disguise so they can get work on the ships, the quite obvious crush makes more sense to a heteronormative audience, but what I particularly like about this story is its queer potential. See in the comic, it isn't really clarified if Jim goes by Jim because they feel more themselves as a boy, rather than a girl, or if they are disguising themself as a boy just to get work as a means to an end. I would argue that the latter is the more obvious interpretation. Jim tells the other World's End patrons that they are getting too old to keep up the disguise and will eventually have to stop working in shipping, and that when that happens, they will take on a new name, a new identity and do something else, but that for now, the patrons can keep calling them Jim.
*for a lack of clarity around the point in the comic, I am going to use gender neutral pronouns for Jim going forward*
Now from Hob's POV, he figured out that Jim was a girl, and they talk about it briefly along with the sea serpent they saw. I think that at this point, Hob is impressively progressive compared to the previous times we have met him. Now whether or not this is biased storytelling from someone who has a crush on him remains to be seen, but if we take Jim's word as truth, not only is 1914 Hob a fair and honest man who is willing to pay the way of a stowaway and fully respect the secrets of a young girl disguised as a boy so they can work on ships, but he's also totally comfortable flirting with them.
I like that he calls Jim the "handsome cabin boy". I like that this version of Hob, whether real or an exaggeration skewed by Jim's feelings for him, respects Jim's identity. Jim may be a girl in disguise, but Hob doesnt call her pretty, he calls him handsome.
It's all just a bit subtly queer and I like that for Hob (But then I would do, I'm a Dreamling shipper HA)
When Jim finishes their story, they state that they didn't see Hob again after that, but the comics later do give us a possible outcome to Jim's story...
We next see Hob in The Kindly Ones where he is mourning the death of his girlfriend Audrey. He briefly reveals that Audrey was the first person he had loved since Peggy, who was his lover until her death during the Blitz. Whilst it isn't made clear that Hob's lover Peggy is the same Jim that we meet in World's End, it is a bit too much of a coincidence. The timing adds up. If Jim was 16 in 1914, they'd be in their early 40s during the Blitz. Hob remains forever in his early 30s so I'd say its a safe bet that Jim eventually found Hob again and they were together. Hob loved them enough that he wasn't with anyone again until Audrey in the 80s. That's 50 years worth of mourning. A long time not to be with anyone, even for an immortal.
It's funny because we know so little about Hob, but one thing that I have seen commented on here a lot is that comic Hob is deemed to be as Straight as an arrow. Now I admit that the voice actor in the Audible book plays him very straight, but that is still only one interpretation.
All this is to say that I am fascinated with how the Netflix show will adapt this, since Hob in the show already comes across much kinder and more selfless than his comic counterpart. He already has an entire fandom viewing him as queer, and the comics certainly don't outright shut down such interpretations. There are moments in the comics that you have to wonder on. He does call Jim handsome rather than pretty, and when he talks to Audrey's grave he mentions his wives and loves as separate groups. He talks about finding it easy to get sex if you want it, and he talks about it in generally gender neutral terms. In Sunday Mourning Gwen reveals that she thought he was gay when she first met him, though her reasonings were that he knew so many dead people (a dark reminder that these comics were published at the height of the Aids epidemic). He reacts very badly to the news of Morpheus' death. He states on several occassions just how much he liked Morpheus, and he is one of the few people to wake up from the Wake with tears running down his cheeks. I would arguably state that its between Hob and Matthew as to who had the worst reaction to Morpheus' death, showing just how much both Hob and Matthew cared about him, and placing Hob on par with Matthew in the comics is a big deal. He seriously considers accepting Death's gift when she offers it, simply because Morpheus is dead. He doesn't, because at the end of the day, its just not in his nature to do so, and given he then dreams of Morpheus, I like to think that it was a test, that he passed.
When it comes to how the show will adapt all this, I genuinely think it will take a new approach with Jim/Peggy. I think they will be either a trans man, or at least non binary. But I think having Jim be a trans man is the better option. In the comics, Jim's tale is only very subtly queer, Jim clearly likes being Jim, but it seems like its a means to an end, a convenience in order to get work on the ships, rather than being something that is core to Jim's feelings on their gender. Besides, if we assume that Jim is indeed the Peggy Hob talks about in The Kindly Ones, then we know that Jim goes back to being Peggy when they get older and apparently continues living as a woman whilst they are with Hob, otherwise I doubt Hob would have referred to one of his greatest loves by a name they themselves rejected and only used she/her pronouns when talking about them. Nevertheless there is no reason for the show to take this approach, and if they DO decide that Jim should be a trans man, then their relationship with Hob is canonically a queer one. Trans men are men and if one of Hob's greatest loves is a trans man, then Hob is a queer man himself. I genuinely believe the show will take this route and I can't wait to see it.
Going back to my point about narrators bias, if MoGF, SoM, tKO, and TW are all narrated by a neutral third party, then this must be the true Hob. A not overly likeable rather selfish man. He has his good points, and he has certainly grown and changed over the centuries, and carries a lot of guilt for his past mistakes, but he is still quite self absorbed. Jim paints a picture of a rose tinted Hob that is far more the dreamy romantic older gentleman that took a young person under his wing. Which is fair enough.
The show is of course its own adaptation, with changes from the comics as it sees fit, but I do feel it's my duty to remind you that the show also has a narrator guiding the audience through its many stories. Dream of the Endless, Lord Morpheus, King of Nightmares and Prince of Stories himself. Take from that whatever you will.
In another post you mentioned you had marked all your favorite Sunflower moments/interactions. Do you mind sharing your favorites with your devout followers?
Much love, Fauxraven
It is high time I come back to writing in here.
I will start by answering some questions, I've been overlooking for a while and then will share why I was away for as long as I have.
Let's discuss my favourite Sandflower interactions though. Thank you for the question and this is going to be quite lengthy as a post, but please bear with me. + the interactions are not ordered by how favourite of mine they are, but rather chronologically for the sake of order in the post 🪷
!Spoilers for the entirety of the Sandman comics under the divider!
Season of Mists
This one is very easy. It's the first time they meet and immediately two panels are very important to me as far as their relationship goes.
People make the VERY wrong assumption Nuala was always enthralled by Morpheus but she wasn't. She met him under her "Ice Maiden" title - a fairy so desired men died for a sliver of her attention. She went to the Dreaming as ordered by Titania, the reasons for which could be discussed in another post. Nuala being a gift to Morpheus is a very calculated move by Titania, putting both Nuala and Morpheus in extremely uncomfortable for them positions. Initially. The reason I love this panel is because it shows simultenously that Nuala didn't care about Morpheus at all and she was being arrogant towards him.
The second interaction in Season of Mists that I want to point out is this panel right here. Although on the surface this entire interaction is quite meaningful this panel right here is very important for two reasons. One and that is the obvious one, he is forcing Nuala on a journey of self-discovery and love, stripping the deceptive glamour thrusted upon her from the moment she first existed (all fairies wear glamour). Second, Morpheus notes to "misliking little magics in his realm", which is factually untrue - everything in his realm is magic in one form or another. What he dislikes is not being in control of the magic being distributed throughout his realm. So here already he had begun very clearly being dishonest with Nuala, which we will see further becomes a pattern - he will say one thing and do the exact opposite.
A Game of You
The famous page. But what people rarely talk about this panel is that Morpheus makes the active choice to be nice to her. Something he doesn't do. It is okay to not believe me, but go back, read for yourself, Morpheus doesn't praise people, he doesn't hand out empty compliments or say nice things to people in general. Now, this is the first time he does that with Nuala. He will do it one-two more times I think - he will praise her to other people and briefly before they separate for the last time. Nuala is someone Morpheus harbours positive feelings for. However, from that point forward, we will see Morpheus making the choice to act in a way he usually doesn't and do things he doesn't usually do. This is the face of the Sandflower community (me and my three bitches), but it is not my favourite panel by a long slide.
Brief Lives
I can choose a lot of interactions from "Brief Lives" however that will take an excrutiating amount of time. The most important thing about Brief Lives is the pendant Nuala receives from Thessaly, Morpheus' nasty attitude, because he is being whiny he got broken up with and what a wonderful pretty girl Lala is. This panel encapsulates that so that's why it's here.
THIS interaction has to be top 3 of my favourite interactions between them. Remember when I said in the beginning people hold big misconceptions about Nuala as a character - that she is a weak, spineless character that fades into the background. This panel is my favourite to disprove those.
"Nuala is meek to Morpheus."
No, Nuala likes Morpheus, there is a difference. Because if she was meek, she would've never stood up for herself or put him in his place, which she does in this very conversation despite their more than obvious power dynamics. While Morpheus shows open distain for her people, Nuala simply and confidently tells Morpheus she cannot change who she is, which is a surprise to the Dream Lord. She is unwilling to allow to be slandered like that whether he is a king or a jester.
This one is here because 1. He lets her keep the pendant, which at that point is not deliberate on his side but it will become a point of deep connection between them (there is a theory about the pendant, another post I want to write a lot), in a way he didn't have with Thessaly mind you. 2. He calls her "Little one" and I think that is adorable.
World's End
I will not put anything from Worlds End because it's the most important Sandflower volume in my opinion. I will, at some point write a whole post about Issue #52. For now, if you're interested go read Issue #52.
The Kindly Ones
This is my single favourite panel in the entire Sandman. Nuala and Morpheus were the original "You came/ You called" and I can't wait to see it in the series through the eyes of Nuala's actress and Tom Sturridge. ( I want to write a whole separate post about the pendant too, so, for now this is enough).
And lastly, I could put their whole conversation here and I could put the numerous comparison's between Morpheus' relationship with Thessaly and with Nuala. But I won't do that because they are irrelevant.
When Nuala became "The Maiden" both in the sense of the Kinly Ones and Persephone, she became a tragic figure bound by her love for a man that is quietly self-distructive. If you go back and read through the comic, there is a distinct uncertainty about Morpheus' coldness from his official partners - Calliope says he suddenly became cold; Thessaly believes he sees people as things he wants until he gets them and then he gets bored; Titania does not talk a lot about the nature of their relationship, however from context we can infer he also stopped responding to her at some point and she is still hung on him (as seen by her conversation with Nuala). Only Nuala recognizes his coldness for what it is - a deep inner hatred of himself and usage of loneliness as a means of punishment of himself. She ecognizes the patterns of his behaviours from his standpoint as opposed to her own, symbolizing the level to which they are connected, whether we as readers realize it or not (because I initially didn't). Nuala wants to save Morpheus, but she is very well aware that she can't.
As for Morpheus he choose Nuala as the last woman (because he did choose to go to her, he had every right to refuse and protect his kingdom, despite the boon) to visit before his death, even though Thessaly had at that point broken him up and he had given up (as by the red flowers in their feet). It is such a heartbreaking panel. Because it is the one that actually shows the depth to which Nuala sees Morpheus past his mask and the level to which Morpheus lies to her for a reason we never find out.
An amalgamation of all they had experienced together is him saying "He didn't notice" and yet, no one who has read the comics from start to finish believes Morpheus. He doesn't believe himself. She was the last person outside of his closest circle he ever saw. Why? Because of his responsibility to a boon? No. He could've left, he knew she would understand, even though she was most adamant he should stay. He stayed because he wanted.
~*~
My personal belief here is that Morpheus in his evident self-hatred did everything in his power to make Nuala turn away from him. He recognizes her as something good and we know Morpheus does not believe he deserves good things. So their last conversation is also a way for him to hurt her to a point where she wouldn't be in pain once he dies. Because she is good and he is not.
Author's note:
It's on posts like these that I realize how much I've uncovered about Sandflower since I first started. I genuinely thought I was in a crackhead space and yet, going back and reading again it's truly baffling how many times Neil wrote actions instead of words - because the good thing about comics is that we can not only read we can see, and the actions Morpheus takes towards someone he doesn't seemingly care about all that much, do not align with his words. I encourage everyone to make their own headcanons or draw their own conclusions. These are my personal and of course they highly reflect my biased viewpoints.
Lucienne/Lucien - How the Librarian Became the Chief.
In The Sandman Netflix adaptation Lucienne is a stand out character and second only to Morpheus in importance, screen time, and centrality to the story. Lucienne is Morpheus's loyal Librarian, second in command, ruler of the Dreaming in his absence, and often times a voice of reason and advice for our dutiful King of Dreams. She is so well respected in her position that the other castle residents consider her their boss and would rather go to her for guidance and command than Morpheus himself. She takes care of Dream's ravens and even appears to have the power to create new ravens from newly deceased mortals like she did with Matthew. She is clearly extremely close to Morpheus, and is one of very few people he seems to actually listen to and trust. Lucienne's role in this story can not be underestimated.
So it may come as a surprise to any fans of the show who haven't read the comics to learn that Lucien (as he is called in the comics) is afforded very few of the above traits. In fact Lucien is no where near as close to Morpheus even by the very end of the story, as Lucienne is at the beginning. It is this difference that has fascinated me since I first started diving into the comics after falling in love with the show, and its something I view as extremely important when considering how the story is being adapted into a kinder, more sympathetic universe surrounding our central protagonist.
Lucienne's role is expanded greatly from her comic counterpart, and her relationship with Morpheus is shown to be much deeper. This is evident practically right away at the end of episode one when Lucienne comes to greet Morpheus upon his return to the Dreaming following his escape.
The way she runs over to him as soon as she realises he is back, and lovingly takes his hand and is so pleased to see him is a far cry from the comic where the first thing Lucien does is bow.
So right at the start we see a very different form of relationship here. Where Lucienne is already displaying a level of care and devotion beyond the expectations of a servant, Lucien however, is exactly that.
The servant thing has caused a bit of contention among fandom in the past. I think the confusion could come from whether or not you see Lucien or Lucienne first. Lucien IS a servant of Dream. Lucienne is more like a vice president and royal advisor. Those are two very different things after all and that difference only becomes more obvious the further you go into the story.
Lucienne accompanies Morpheus throughout his return to his crumbling kingdom, helps him as he attempt to repair the damage, follows him to Cain and Abel, and watches over his meeting with the Fates. She is by his side from the moment he returns until the moment he leaves again for the waking world to begin his quest to recover his tools, and she is responsible for Matthew's reincarnation as the new Raven and instructs Matthew to stay with him because of her concern for Morpheus's wellbeing on his quest.
I cannot stress enough how much none of this is in the comics. Lucienne shows a level of care towards Morpheus that just isn't present in Lucien in the comics. After the first meeting with Lucien at the gates of the Dreaming, Lucien doesn't appear again until he is instructed by Morpheus to conduct the census of the Dreaming. He only appears again in the Doll's House very briefly and has no involvement in Morpheus's decisions during that arc, which takes place very rarely in the Dreaming.
That's not to say that Lucien isn't a very trusted servant of Morpheus. He is the closest to Morpheus of all the residents of the Dreaming except only Matthew. But I think a lot of what we see in the show of Morpheus and Lucienne's dynamic is inspired by much later in the comics. I also think that it speaks loudly to the change in Morpheus as a character. Show!Morpheus has people almost right away who care about him and want to help him, whereas comic!Morpheus is extremely isolated. It is clear in the early comic stories that comic!Morpheus keeps himself at arms length from basically everyone. He does not have a bond with Lucien, he did not have Jessamy, and at that early stage, he didn't even have Matthew. All of this of course was primarily to make show!Morpheus a more sympathetic and likeable character - you gotta give your protagonist people who care about them, it helps raise the stakes after all.
Taking Charge - Lucienne is the real boss
One of my favourite parts of the Dolls House episodes in the Netflix show is the conflict between Morpheus and Lucienne due to the other residence and Dreaming servants going to her for advice and instruction first rather than Morpheus. Bearing in mind this only takes place less than a year after Morpheus's return from imprisonment, it speaks volumes as to how Lucienne has taken the role of leader of the Dreaming in her stride.
But it also indicates how Morpheus' change in the show is coming at lightening fast speed compared to the comic. In the comic, Mervyn doesn't make these observations until the Brief Lives arc, and this is indicated at that point to be a very new thing - triggered by several years post fish bowl of having to face his past decisions and mistakes (and a string of scorned ex lovers one after the other ending in a horribly matched rebound relationship with a murderous witch that subsequently rejected him and triggered him literally seeking out destruction). Lucien was only put in charge of the Dreaming when Morpheus left to go on his trip with Delirium. It is during that trip that Morpheus realises how competent Lucien is and capable of running things without problem in his absence.
Mervyn's insights are made clear here:
This is the only time in the comic that anyone dares mention that someone other than Morpheus might be the boss - and it is in no way as directly spelled out as it is in the show. "You're practically running the place" and "you secretly run this place" are quite different statements. The first only makes an observation about Morpheus's current lack of interest (in Brief Lives) in actually running his realm. It implies that Lucien is doing Morpheus' job for him, but does not go as far as to outright call Lucien the boss. Whereas in the show, that's exactly what Mervyn does.
In the comic, Morpheus overhears Mervyn's speech and immediately points out his reasoning for leaving Lucien in charge, for promoting him and giving him more authority.
Because no one ever technically undermines Morpheus in the comic, there is no conflict here. Morpheus trusts Lucien as his loyal servant and gives him the power to rule in his stead (but only when he is absent) and there is no "secretly report to Lucien first" attitude among Matthew and Mervyn. We can perhaps interpret that this might be happening behind the scenes by this point in Brief Lives, or even just before the BL arc when Morpheus was distracted by his rebound murderess, but it is never actually directly stated that this is going on.
The tension between Morpheus and Lucienne in the show is born out of the conflict over Lucienne's position and Morpheus feeling undermined by his subjects, and its storytelling gold. But the only reason such a story works in the show is because Lucienne is so important to Morpheus in the show, because their relationship goes so much deeper than the relationship in the comic. Lucienne is not a servant, she's his god damn vice president and she knows it, and he knows it too. Throughout episodes 7 and 8 specifically he reaches out to her for her opinion and advice on the Vortex situation. He talks things through with her and seeks out her guidance. It is clear that he relies on her and it is only at the end of episode 8 when Lucienne disagrees with his punishment of Gault, that in his anger, he dismisses her.
Lucien/ne the Royal Advisor
Where Morpheus in the show seeks out Lucienne's advice and opinion frequently especially during the Doll's House arc, I have to stress that this never happens in the comic. Comic!Morpheus just does not have that kind of relationship with Lucien and does not seek his counsel at all, even though Lucien does try to give it on occassion, usually when Morpheus is about to do something extremely stupid and probably damaging to himself and the Dreaming. To name a couple times:
Season of Mists - before Morpheus returns to Hell:
Brief Lives - before seeking Destruction:
You'll note that in both these times Lucien's words of caution are completely ignored.
You'll also notice that in both times Lucien is taking a path of polite caution. Lucien very rarely speaks his mind to Morpheus, because he knows it won't get him very far to do so. The only time Lucien truly loses his cool and speaks freely is in The Kindly Ones (spoiler alert)
At this point in the comic story Morpheus has basically all but given up and accepted his fate and its fucking depressing AF. Lucien is well within his right to shake the bastard HARD and snap him TF out of it. I STILL think he was too restrained here tbh!
My point here is that Lucienne already speaks her mind quite freely around Morpheus in the show. She expresses her opinions and thoughts and gives him her advice. This is such a well established dynamic by the point of the argument that it is clear that Lucienne is offended by Morpheus's dismissal of her.
Take this exchange from episode 9:
Lucienne: "Rose is weakening the walls between realms"
Matthew: "You gonna tell the Boss?"
Lucienne: "No."
Matthew: "No?"
Lucienne: "It's none of my business."
Matthew: "Er, since WHEN?"
Lucienne: "Since Lord Morpheus reminded me that I'm merely a librarian and should concern myself with my books from now on."
Matthew: "He said that?! What's wrong with him!"
Lucienne: "Nothing is wrong with him. He's always been this way. He's just been away so long I'd forgotten. He's determined to deal with the vortex and the missing Arcana by himself. Without anyones help. So any news must be reported directly and exclusively to him."
It's worth pointing out here that whilst this is framed as Morpheus being a stubborn idiot, in the comic, he does in fact deal with the vortex and the missing Arcana by himself mostly and is not so much helped but saved at the last moment by Unity Kinkaid who realises what is happening in a dream and goes to save Rose, which also saves Morpheus from Desire's trap.
In the show, Morpheus has people who care enough about him and his realm to want to get involved and help him, not out of a desire to undermine him, but simply because they care about him. That is a drastic change from the comic at this point. Morpheus in the comic is constantly shown to be struggling under the burden of his own responsibilities and this is highlighted by the fact that he doesn't really get any support or assistance, and is far too prideful to ask for it. Lucien gets the promotion and chance to rule in his absence, but it is never framed as a job he shares with Morpheus - at no point does Lucien take the burden of his responsibilities off of him. This is no Samwise Gamgee "I can carry you" moment unfortunately. Lucien does not have the power nor the bond with Morpheus to undertake such a task because Morpheus keeps him at arms length throughout the comics - but Lucienne? Well, time will tell how that may change.
An Apology from the King
In a shock horror twist that comic!Morpheus would sooner die than do himself (ha) the great emo King of the Netflix universe gives Lucienne an apology for his behaviour (sort of).
Episode 9 displays the tension between Morpheus and Lucienne following their "break up" perfectly. Morpheus is clearly in the wrong, and Lucienne is clearly hurt by his dismissal of her support. Yet even after the fight, he still seeks out her advice in determining the cause of the disturbances in the Dreaming. He goes to her first before investigating himself (something that comic!Morpheus wouldn't even consider doing) and is surprisingly capable in swallowing his pride here even though it is clearly a struggle for him.
Later in the episode, once he realises that Lucienne was right about the disturbances, he seeks her out to tell her so, and to confirm that she was right and he was wrong. This is again something that I can't fathom comic!Morpheus doing, even nearer the end of the story I don't believe he does so, certainly not to Lucien. Fiddlers Green drums this point home when he says this:
Fiddlers Green: "... still his time there appears to have changed him as it has changed me."
Lucienne: "How so?"
Fiddlers Green: "Lucienne, he came to you and told you he was wrong. It was very nearly an apology. The Morpheus I knew was incapable of that."
This further reinforces not just how much Morpheus has changed in a short time, but also how much he respects and cares about Lucienne and their continued relationship.
Platonic Life Partners? Co Ruler and Closest Confident of the Dream King
When I set out to write this meta, it was with the aim to highlight Lucienne's elevated role from her comic counterpart. To try to stress the importance of her character in the show and what this means for the future of the story in the show. By the end of the last episode, Lucienne is practically granted co-ruler status of the Dreaming while Morpheus works on his creations. He asks her if she can "take care of things while he works" which she agrees "with pleasure".
I just... I can NOT stress ENOUGH how much comic!Morpheus needed this person in his life. Even though Lucien looks after the Dreaming whilst Morpheus is away in Season of Mists and Brief Lives, it is always as a last resort with Morpheus continuing to check in on Lucien during Brief Lives as if he expects trouble, and he always seems a bit confused when Lucien tells him all is fine. As if he can't quite understand how the Dreaming could be okay without him there (and I mean, after the trauma of watching your realm which is also technically a part of you crumble to dust I suppose you would be a bit attached to it!).
Comic!Morpheus constantly struggles under the weight of his responsibility. His entire thing is that he is desperate to step away and not be who he is but he simply does not have it in him to do that. He is far too bound by his rules and responsibilities. For Morpheus in the show to be given someone to support him in his rule as King and assist him with the burden of his responsibilities is actually a hugely mindblowing change to the comic, and could honestly have huge repercussions on the story going forward. Not only that, but the Morpheus in the comics is painfully lonely. He desperately needs companionship but he keeps everyone at arms length. He never allows his subjects to get too close to him, even Lucien. Even Matthew isn't afforded the same level of closeness in the comics as he is in the show. In the comics, the ONLY character who Morpheus is close to is Death. Which says a lot by itself. The second character he gets closer to as time goes on is Delirium. Which also says a lot. Think of the characters in terms of their concepts. Morpheus has no close friends in the comics (even his relationship with Hob Gadling in the comic doesn't have half the impact it does in the show) and keeps all those he interacts with at arms length except for Delirium and Death.
But show!Morpheus? He has a Matthew who is already so very devoted to him, a Hob Gadling who waited an extra 33 years on hope alone that he would return to him, and a Lucienne who rules by his side, offers him support, guidance, counsel, companionship and probably a good helping of love. How can this Morpheus possibly carry the same deep loneliness as his comic counterpart? How can this Morpheus be buckling under the weight of his duties when he already has his Samwise Gamgee right there by his side? It poses an interesting question for how the show will handle future story arcs, though it could all prove to simply make for a much more painful story, where we happen to have many more characters to react and show the deeply painful grief that we all feel at his eventual passing - or maybe, just maybe, this is a universe where Hope never died...
Just rewatched Calliope episode of The Sandman and it occurs to me that this episode strongly implies that Orpheus is dead and gone??
The Hecate state that he "died in Thrace" (which technically he did in the comics too but he lived on because of Death withholding her gift).
Then when Calliope requests to visit Dream in the Dreaming sometime, in a change from the comics she gives her reasoning as "so we may talk about our son and grieve him properly".
Yet in the comics, it is made clear that Calliope visits Orpheus on the island at least somewhat regularly both before and after her imprisonment. So what she says in the show doesn't make sense unless Orpheus is already dead properly in the show?
But that would be a huuuuuge change to the story so surely thats not the case? I probably missed a lot of discussions about this after the show first came about before I caught the brain worms and had to analyse the comics with a fine tooth comb so I would love to know what others think about this.
@duckland @so-i-grudgingly-joined-this-site @notallsandmen tagging for your thoughts as well as anyone else who wants to answer!
Subtext Glorious Subtext! A Dreamling on Netflix analysis in The Sandman - Masterpost
Introduction
Shortly after realising this show was going to become my new obsession, I decided to throw myself into all things Sandman, which meant actually reading the comics (several times over) and listening to the audio book on Audible. The one thing that struck me most after consuming all Sandman media, was how different the tone of the Netflix show was. In particular, the choices made in the show for the Men of Good Fortune sequence in episode 6 The Sound of Her Wings which is the reason I fell head first into shipping Dreamling. The Netflix show portrays Dream and Hob’s relationship in a whole different way to the comic and the Audible book.
Whilst it IS possible to pick up certain moments in the Men of Good Fortune comic which can be interpreted with a queer lense, (the rose, Death’s knowing expression, etc) there isn’t really much to work with until we get to Hob’s dream in Season of Mists (and I’m losing my mind thinking about how the Netflix show will adapt THAT).
The queer coding in the show however is laid on so thickly, it’s difficult to ignore it. Like with most popular fandom ships, the reason Dreamling has suddenly become SO popular, is because viewers all collectively watched this 30 minute sequence, and had the eyebrow raising realisation that this was actually all very romantic and subtextually very queer.
I have yet to see a full meta analysis of the episode, so thought I would write a breakdown of Dream and Hob’s meetings over the centuries and outline how their differences from the comics have had such an impact on Dream and Hob’s relationship. How everything from the tweaks to the dialogue and additional scenes, the acting choices made, music cues, and the use of classic love tropes in TV have all come together to give us a subtextual masterpiece of queer coding and very much turned a friendship into something more. Even if you don’t ship Dreamling, I believe it would be very difficult for anyone versed in fandom culture (and anyone with a good knowledge of film and TV analysis) to ignore just how thickly the queer subtext is laid on.
Besides, its also writer acknowledged that there was intention there among the creative team, whatever they may decide to do with that going forward.
Initially I was going to put this entire analysis into one long post, but it is far too long and Tumblr was getting angry with me for the amount of gifs I was using. Instead I have broken my meta essay down into 8 parts as follows under the cut:
Chapter 1 - A Walk with Death and the Return to the White Horse
Chapter 2 - 1389 and 1489
Chapter 3 - 1589
Chapter 4 - 1689
Chapter 5 - 1789
Chapter 6 - 1889
Chapter 7 - 1989
Chaper 8 - Reunited
I have been writing this meta essay very slowly over the space of 7 months and I would love to know your thoughts, feedback, comments, or questions on it! Tagging those who may be interested and those who have asked to be tagged:
Who do you think is better suited for dating Morpheus: Johanna or Hob?
Lol controversial ask! Jokes. I am guessing this came off the back of my response to the Calliope post the other week where I mentioned that I am loosely a Dreamling shipper but lean more towards Morphanna currently. I guess I need to specify that it very much depends on my mood because I am a Sandman multishipper at heart but feel different ships serve different purposes regarding Dream. I struggle to stretch them beyond the purposes I have set aside for them. Also it's Dreamling week and so one look at my blog would definitely give the assumption that I am a huge Dreamling shipper but that isn't actually the case. What I am is a Morpheus stan and everything else is peripheral to my focus on him and his story.
But sure lets dig into this. Honest answer? Neither because Morpheus is terrible and his track record alone is enough proof that he should never date anyone ever.
(jokes)
If we want to be sticklers for comic canon here, neither is suited because there are particular blockers in place for both ships.
For Morphanna the blocker is the rule that states that an Endless can not love a mortal. We have the Nada situation to show us what happens when they do. (Sun gets big mad and throws fireballs at the Earth)
For Dreamling the blocker is less carved into stone but its still gonna be a biggy for certain readers/audiences, being that Morpheus is not gay/bi/pan/queer whatever you wanna call him. For all intents and purposes in comic canon he's as straight as a ruler. However whilst we only ever see Morpheus's lovers as powerful, confident, beautiful female presenting immortal beings, we can throw in the tried and true argument we can apply to all of Neil Gaiman's non human beings which is that since he is not a human cis male, he technically can't be straight and since he has multiple forms and is as old as the universe itself, attraction is probably a very different thing to Morpheus than it is to any of us. It's entirely plausible that he could fall in love with a man shaped being (I actually have a meta in progress about Morpheus' potential queerness - sure it may ruffle some feathers but since I do this for fun and not to please anyone but myself I don't give a damn and will post it one day).
Anyway, that said the show could easily do away with both these blockers. We haven't had Nada's tale yet so whats to say the Endless are forbidden from loving mortals in the show universe? Nothing. The show could also easily confirm Dream has had past male presenting lovers (my money would be on Oberon in a threeway situation with Titania - or Pharamond if he shows up.)
So putting those elements aside, who is better suited to Morpheus?
In Johanna's corner we have the following;
She generally fits the archetype of past lovers and therefore could be considered Morpheus's "type" - beautiful, confident, argumentative, not phased by his status, not submissive to him, puts him in his place (listen we all know Morpheus has a submissive kink its practically carved into comic text lol).
Well versed with his "world" and supernatural creatures and can hold her own against them - being a Constantine has its benefits.
She cares - underneath her tough exterior its clear she has a good heart. She was able to bring him down to Earth, to give a human perspective that he needed at that point.
Flawed characters - Johanna considers herself a bad person and compares herself to Roderick Burgess. But Dream is quick to dismiss this. The truth is that Johanna may be messy and a bit of a disaster, but she is very selfless and good at her core. This could be a good thing as it could help Dream to see the good in humanity that he has been missing. Its clear she already helped with this in the show, but going forward, a relationship between them could help even further accelerate his change and make him a better being.
She encouraged the development of his relationship with Matthew. Something else he needed which she saw before he did. Basically she's smart enough to figure out what he needs, and when to press the issue or not. (she dropped the topic of his imprisonment as soon as he deflected to her photo).
She understands heartbreak and messy relationships - I think Johanna would be well suited to Morpheus because she is just as broken as he is, with almost as messy a relationship history. They have common ground there.
"It never ends well does it?" "What? Love?" She's realistic about relationships, which Morpheus - being Dream - needs. She can ground him, at least for a little while.
Johanna is also a powerful ally to have on side, it makes for excellent storytelling to bring her into the narrative regarding Lucifer and the stories revolving around Hell. She's competent, highly skilled, and I think he finds her impressive.
For Hob consider the following:
Friends first - for someone with such a terrible track record of past lovers, finding love in a friend is something Morpheus doesn't appear to have tried before, and this could be exactly what he needs. Dream and Hob have a shared history over 6 centuries, and those are strong foundations to build a relationship on, especially since they've already basically been through the big break up fight and heartbreak and are already in the rekindling phase.
Stories for the storyteller - the beauty of Hob's role is that he is Dream's respite from his world. The visits with Hob are the one time the Prince of Stories gets to sit and listen to stories himself. There must be peace in that, and we all know Dream desperately seeks peace.
Blind Devotion - Hob is patient, and he will wait for Dream. One thing that I think a lot of Morpheus's past lovers had in common is that they struggled to stick out the periods of time when he would throw himself into his work and basically forget about them. The relationships fizzled out after the honeymoon phase because Dream couldn't sustain that, even though once you have his love you have it forever. With Hob that wouldn't be an issue. He is the man who waited. Who never gave up hope that Dream would return even after he was stood up, and when he did return, Hob smiled and joked. It was all okay. Morpheus needs a relationship with that level of chill.
Flawed characters - Unlike Johanna, I think its safe to say that Hob is a very flawed character. He is selfish, greedy, self centered and ignorant to a lot of what takes place around him. Whilst he does grow and improve over time, his flaws are still a huge part of his character. Morpheus is also very far from perfect and it is this that makes them so well suited. There is almost an equal footing there. Hob could potentially see Morpheus's POV when it comes to the grander schemes, but at the same time, it is clear from their journey together in the show that they have a tendency to make each other better.
Grieving fathers - now this is an important one and its something I feel the comic failed to see the potential of. A huge part of the Sandman story is Morpheus struggling to come to terms with his grief over his son. Grief is a central theme. Of all the characters in the comic who Morpheus comes to meet, Hob is one of maybe two that share that experience - being a father whose son died too soon. I think the other character in comic who suffers this same grief is Shakespeare, which is an interesting parallel and one worth exploring. The show adds Roderick Burgess into the equation - making a fathers grief for his dead son the trigger for Dream's own imprisonment. The show emphasises the theme of grief far beyond the comic, which is definitely worth further exploration in a separate meta. The point is that Hob sits in this very small circle of characters who have shared Dream's experience. Hob is therefore in a prime position to help Dream where they can grow and learn to heal together.
Whilst he doesn't fit the archetype for Dream's past lovers, the differences Hob provides could prove to be just what Dream needs. He is still a handsome man (and God knows Dream gave him bedroom eyes in 1789) and he still ticks certain boxes regarding dominance, confidence, and an ability to hold his own in a fight. "You need not have come to my defence" suuuuure Dream but you did enjoy it nevertheless! Therefore attraction isn't an issue.
Conclusion?
Both Johanna and Hob tick certain boxes to meet the requirements for "love interest" and could easily be positioned that way for Dream. When I really dig down into it I think it depends on what fans are looking for in a Dream ship as to which character is best suited.
I love Morphanna for how messy it is. Yes, Johanna cares and has a good moral centre, but placing her into a certain role within the bounds of the canon story could actually be bad for Dream going forward. I see it as a dramatic relationship. It would be passionate, fiery, dramatic, chaotic, and will end in heartbreak.
I say this because ultimately Johanna doesn't do commitment. This is a clearly defined character trait in the show. Commitment is something she struggles with. Whereas Morpheus is all about commitment. He doesn't appear to do anything BUT commit to people and comes on extremely strong. I love exploring this dynamic between them. I think it would work brilliantly as a canon ship and I am still resolutely behind the idea that Johanna should replace Thessaly in canon and be the trigger for the rainsoaked Dreaming and the Brief Lives disaster trip.
So whilst I 100% ship Morphanna, I think I only ship it on a temporary basis. I struggle to imagine a future where they can have a happy ending and be together long term. Instead I see an ending where after all is said and done, Johanna stands and tells her story at the Wake, and mourns the creature she loved, and has to go on struggling to understand her role in his downfall. If we are seeking an alternative ending where Morpheus lives, I still struggle to see him settling down with Johanna as she is a mortal and I cannot imagine her ever choosing immortality or giving up her job as someone who saves people from the supernatural. She will never be Morpheus's queen. It just doesn't suit her character.
When it comes to Hob, as much as it sometimes irks me to admit it, he is very well suited for Morpheus even in an endgame/alternative happy ending way. Foundations based in centuries of growing friendship, his patience and ability to wait for Morpheus to get his head out of his ass, his being unphased at practically all the weirdness and oddities that Dream's world brings with it. The fact is, Hob is Dream's best friend. This is something that Dream needs so much more than a lover. Not only that but he is a friend who has shared history, shared grief, shared pain, blind devotion, and he is immortal. Hob will stay by Dream's side forever if he has the chance. So long as he still gets to live. Whether you see it as purely platonic, queer platonic, non sexual romantic, or fully romantic and sexual, they are in it for the long term.
Whereas Morphanna for me is a quick burning fiery passionate love affair that ends in tears and A LOT of rain, Dreamling is a very slow burn. I struggle with canon based fics that have them falling into bed shortly after the 2022 reunion because it feels out of character to me. If Dreamling were to happen, it would need to take practically the entire comic run story to get to that point. Hob's devotion to Dream is clear, but his awareness of its romantic potential is not yet there. I always return to Hob's dream in Sunday Mourning when I think of Dreamling, because for me, that is where a relationship between them would actually start, rather than end. Because I think it would take a huge event like Morpheus's actual death for them to pull their heads out of their asses and get together. Because you see even with all the arguments and debates and highly emotional opinions thrown around, I still feel deep down like Sunday Mourning is telling us that Morpheus escaped. He got out the narrative and is free from his cage, and now he's set for his own adventure off in the stars. The only person I can realistically imagine him taking with him is Hob Gadling.
At the end of the day these are my opinions. I want canon Morphanna, I just want it to end with a horrible messy break up because I want that drama. I am unsure if I want Dreamling in canon, but I do hope that if the show ends similarly to the comic, that we will get those scenes in Sunday Mourning and have them be extremely emotionally charged - if ever there is a Dreamling love confession, that is where it belongs. I can only really analyse my opinions on these ships based on canon but I am aware that fandom is a big sandbox and people can do what they want always with these characters. Please don't ever let my opinions deter you from shipping them to your hearts content in any way you feel like.
So I guess the TL:DR is that they are both suited in different ways. Morphanna is a mid story passionate love affair that I adore and want to end in disaster. Dreamling is an endgame slow burn friends to lovers that has the potential to go long term.
I love them both for their specific purposes, believe they both are suited for those purposes, but never the other way around. I hope this satisfies your question! :)
Do you think Morpheus is a type of character who could be/learn to be content to be single? Or would he always seek out a relationship (if he had to endure eternity and dying wasn't an option)?
The problem with Morpheus is that for him to learn anything he has to actively want to learn it, which he rarely does (cue eyebrows raising all over when Netflix!Morpheus told Lucienne he was learning "or at least trying to"). His not so secret desire for a relationship is basically a primary character trait in the comics. But like with all things in Sandman, its a bit more complicated than it would appear at first glance.
One of the things that is constantly pointed out in the comics regarding Morpheus is that he is lonely. He never actually states this himself, but its been mentioned enough times. The entire point of the Men of Good Fortune story on Morpheus's side is that he needs a friend. Hob points this out directly and Morpheus's reaction to that is heavily tied into his pride and his inability to accept that he is lonely, when loneliness is such a huge part of his story arc. That he comes around and accepts Hob's friendship is a massive step forward and signifier of his change.
His loneliness and need for companionship was even pointed out all the way back during the time of Endless Nights before humans even existed. Desire states it plainly:
and it was clearly a topic of concern for the family since Destruction also states how much they all hoped he would find someone:
which considering we don't see any of the other Endless ever take lovers (other than Destruction once) its clearly a big deal. Even his siblings think he needs a companion, and already thought this about him millions of years ago!
So loneliness is something Dream struggles with, whether he denies it or not. But notice how of all the Endless, he is the only one of them who regularly surrounds himself with other beings? Think about the realms of the other Endless. Destiny has his gardens, and there are his strange ghostly servants who don't appear to be the chatty type. Desire remains alone in the Threshold, Despair has her rats - which aren't likely to be great conversationalists, and Deliriums realm is chaos incarnate. We don't ever see the realms of Death or Destruction but neither of them seem to spend any time there anyway.
So Dream is different here because his realm is a thriving kingdom like something out of a fairytale. He has servants of all kinds, people he can interact with and talk to, who respect him and consider him their Lord. In the comics none of them would probably consider him their "friend" but in the netflix show we can certainly argue that Lucienne is the closest thing he has to a full time companion (which is in itself is a change to the comics to make Lucienne closer to him than Lucien in the comics ever is). He also has his ravens, who were all once mortals who died in their sleep. His ravens can also talk and are close to him. Matthew becomes so close to him that by the time we get to TKO Matthews loyalty to him, refusal to leave his side, and then eventual hurt and anger and grief at his death has me in floods of tears everytime I think about it.
But the point here is that even with all of that, which is far more companionship than any of his siblings seem to have, he is STILL lonely and longs for a lover.
I think one of the reasons he butts heads with Desire so much is because he desires so much and tries so hard to resist those desires (which Desire then takes as a personal insult). The companionship of Lucienne and Matthew, the friendship of Hob Gadling, none of it is enough. He still wants more, hence the lovers. Hence how it is hinted at throughout the comic that Dream takes lovers fairly regularly. How Neil Gaiman has previously said that the former lovers we know about from the comics only scratch the surface. Morpheus is affectionately, a bit of a manwhore. A Casanova if you will, only his weakness is love rather than sex.
So my honest answer to the question of whether he will ever be content to be single is a resounding no.
It's far too ingrained in him throughout the comics and at the end of the day, what is he if not a Dream? He is nothing but romantic notions and idle fantasies and love has such a huge place in such things, even if the comics make clear that love is actually the domain of Desire - and Desire is always cruel.
Subtext Glorious Subtext! A Dreamling on Netflix analysis in The Sandman - Part 6
1889
What love story is complete without a dramatic break up in the rain?
In the Sandman comic (and therefore also the Audible audiobook) this century starts the same way as the show, with Dream being accosted by Lushing Lou and that hilariously historically accurate yet mildly disturbing line “give us a hard ride on your cream stick”.
In the show, Hob overhears this and comes to meet Dream and to “save” him from Lou by giving her money to buy herself a drink. He apologises to Dream for her behaviour towards him.
This doesn’t happen in the comic. Dream simply walks past Lou and meets Hob where he is already sat in the tavern.
A minor change, but one that adds to the scene in a few ways:
It indicates that Hob was paying greater attention to the door waiting for Dream - in the show, he was more eager to meet him again.
It shows a level of care on Hob’s part to ensure that Dream has a comfortable visit. He overhears the run-in in the comic, but makes no effort to get involved. In the show, he takes a greater interest in ensuring Dream is not insulted or met with aggression - a follow on from his clear concern and care for Dream that was first implied in 1789. Basically, he has once again come to Dream’s defence.
He apologises for Lou’s behaviour. Which indicates that he feels a level of responsibility towards Dream and anything that may happen to him whilst he is visiting Hob.
All these minor elements add up to indicate that show!Hob at this point already sees Dream as someone to care for, defend, and feel responsible for on their visits. He has placed himself in the position of protector and companion to Dream. This is an easy interpretation to get from their dynamic in the show, as evidenced by the thousands of fanfictions on AO3 in which Hob is portrayed as rescuer, liberator, saviour, knight, or simply carer of Dream (all roles that I find difficult picturing comic!Hob taking on, because he is such a selfish hedonistic character in the comic).
The conversation in the show takes an interesting diversion from the comic, in which Dream defends Lou from Hob's joking insults about her. It shows a level of care for people that comic!Dream doesn't have (at least at this point). It also indicates an ability which I can't recall comic!Dream ever using. He reveals the tragedies of her past prompting Hob to once again ask about Dream. Where Comic!Hob is too self absorbed to even bother to ask more about Dream at this point, instead going off on tangents about other immortals he has met, Show!Hob is entirely focused on Dream. Show!Hob is persistent here, he doesn't let Dream change the subject, we can tell that by this century, he is getting fed up of being kept in the dark about the identity of his mysterious stranger, someone it is clear he is growing feelings for even without knowing his name.
When Dream once again changes the subject to talk about Lady Johanna and the task she did for him, unlike his comic counterpart, Hob is wistful and sad when he says "That might be the only thing I've learned after 500 years."
The show uses Hob's desire to know more about Dream as a repeating motif throughout their meetings, in a way the comics never did. It makes us as the audience root for Hob and want Dream to reveal who he is. This is another clever way the show is encouraging the audience to invest in their relationship. The show is telling us this is important. Watch how Dream holds back, how he refuses to reveal anything. There is a subtextual message here which encourages the audience to expect an eventual reveal, even if we do not see it. As I mentioned in part 5, Dream revealling his name to Hob has become a Chekov's gun of a kind, and Hob will get his name in the show, even if we as the audience don't see it on screen.
Hob comments that "people are always better than you think they are." and then jokes that he's not like that, that he is still the same as ever. and he winks at Dream as he says it, causing Dream to smile and state that he thinks Hob has changed. It's subtle, but the exchange shows how they have grown at ease with one another, and arguably this could be considered flirting, depending on whose watching. I quite like the change here not to bring up the slave trade again. I think the way Hob lets out that shuddered breath and talks about the mistakes he has made is enough in this version of the story. We aren't forgiving him for this. But the tone isn't right in this particular scene, which instead keeps the focus on the building buds of friendship that are clearly growing between these two extremely flawed people, before it all comes crumbling down.
There is a brilliant meta with full gifsets from @mimisempai here which breaks down all of the subtle expressions as Dream and Hob have this conversation, where for a tiny moment Dream appears to relax and look almost proud of Hob for growing into a better man. They exchange gorgeous shy smiles and for a moment the scene becomes intense, as if the characters are standing on a precipice waiting for something to happen.
But then it all goes wrong. The preceding scene, and the preceding centuries, have clearly had an impact on Hob, and he views Dream as someone important, someone special to him. It is on the foolish hopes of an overt optimist that he pushes Dream beyond his comfort levels. He proposes that they are friends, he dares to make an assumption about Dream, he calls him lonely.
He is, of course, totally correct.
But Dream is not at a point yet where he is ready to hear such things. In the comic, this plays out slightly differently. Hob rambles as follows:
But in the show, the conversation goes like this:
Dream: I think perhaps you've changed.
Hob: Well, I may have learnt a bit from my mistakes, but it doesn't seem to stop me from making them.
Dream: *Smiles proudly giving Hob some extra confidence*
Hob: I think its you that's changed.
Dream *smile immediately drops because the thought of changing is something he is soooo not ready to accept* How so?
Hob: *Leaning in, going for it* I think I know why we still meet here century after century. It's not because you want to know if I'm ready to seek death, I don't think I'll ever seek death. By now you know that about me. So I think you're here for something else.
Dream: And what might that be?
Hob: Friendship? I think you're lonely.
Dream: You dare...
Hob: No, look, I'm not saying-
Dream: You DARE suggest one such as I might need your companionship?
Hob: *with shakey breath because this clearly means so much to him* Yes. Yes I do.
Dream: Then I shall take my leave of you and prove you wrong.
Sorry for writing out the whole transcript here but its important to see how the conversation was changed to be much more intimate and personal. In particular I find it veeeery interesting how instead of Hob saying "I've seen people, and they don't change, not in the important things." we get both Dream AND Hob stating that they believe the other HAS changed.
I know its only a minor line, but given the grander changes to the netflix show and the tone of the show in particular, this particular line change feels very intentional.
I love that as Dream goes to leave, Hob tried to move closer, to reach out to him, it indicates just how much he wants to build a connection with Dream and how much he cares, and it makes it all so much more intense than the comic.
In the comic, its interesting that Dream focuses on the "you called me lonely" part as the main insult here. It is the show that gives bigger weight to "you dared to suggest we may be friends, therefore I am going to PROVE YOU WRONG." Which at least on a subtextual level, can be read to indicate a fear of developing feelings and forming relationships. It's also worth noting that the show removed any indication that Dream considers Hob to be "mortal" now.
Then we get to the most dramatic moment in the entire MoGF sequence. A classic romantic trope that we have all seen done countless times before in countless love stories between countless couples, and yet here it is again between Dream and Hob.
As Dream storms off, of course Hob runs out to follow him (I particularly love how in the show, Dream doesn't grab his coat or hat when he leaves like he does in the comic, which leaves it open as to what happened to them - and I love how in fanfiction its revealled that Hob kept hold of them over the years as the only items of Dream's he had along with the picture from 1689). In the show, the rain falls heavily over both of them further emphasising the heightened emotions and dramatic situation - we all love a dramatic rain soaked break up after all! :P
I brought this scene in 1889 up in this meta which is a collaborative analysis of Hob and Dream's relationship, and it is also emphasised in this meta by @academicblorbo, but it is worth mentioning again because of how much of an impact this particular change has:
There's a big difference between a fairly nonchalant lean against the door in the comic and the visually upset, rainsoaked Hob from the show shouting out "FUCK" as he watches Dream storm off.
That final "FUCK" isn't in either comic or Audible book, because Hob in the comic/Audible book isn't nearly as bothered by Dream's leaving.
The way show!Hob is so very different from comic!Hob blows my mind once you break it down, but it is his interest, care, and concern for Dream that really speaks volumes and makes it so easy to interpret his feelings for Dream as more than just platonic.
Next up, the heartbreaking missed 1989 meeting and how the timeline change has given Dream and Hob's relationship far more romantic implications in part 7.
