The Sandman is a gift that keeps on giving! In the spirit of the holiday season, Netflix released a deleted scene from the episode "The Sound of Her Wings" featuring Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and Dream (Tom Sturridge). Previously, the clip was exclusively shown at the Brazil CCXP, during The Sandman panel attended by Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, and Howell-Baptiste.
The new clip gives us an intimate look at the nature of Death’s work. In the footage, Dream notes, people’s “attitude towards your gift is so strange,” when it is “as natural to die as it is to be born.” To this, Death shares an anecdote telling him about a little girl who asked her, “how would you like it?” which made her decide to live as a mortal for one day in every hundred years. And as expected at the end of her very first day, when Death met herself, she didn’t like it. The scene, which is pulled from the comics, is significant on so many levels. It talks about the importance of coming to terms with death and grief, and how acknowledging it reminds us that “we have to make the most of the time we have.”
In a conversation with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub, the actor admitted that she had forgotten about the scene till it was played again because it was filmed “so long ago.” Breaking down the scene she revealed, “that part that we've taken from the comic is so key to who Death is.” She adds that the scene is key to understanding her better as “the reason why she's so compassionate is because she understands, because she went through it. So, she understands that no one is ready at the end because she herself being Death and knowing what was going to happen, still didn't feel ready to go.”
Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman has been highly appreciated for its faithfulness to the source material. After being in development hell for decades, it was ordered by Netflix as a series with Sturridge in lead. The series instantly won hearts of the comic book fans, critics, and casual audiences alike. However, the streamer waited several months before officially renewing the series for a second season while fans and Gaiman waited with baited breaths. Recently, Netflix’s head of UCAN scripted TV Peter Friedlander, revealed that the streamer is "considering batching approaches" for the upcoming season in a similar vein to the comic where there are ‘volumes’ based on the story in the issues.
The Sandman Season 2 is in the works and you can stream all episodes of Season 1 on Netflix. Also, check out the deleted scene below: