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This article comprises spoilers for Episode 11 of The Sandman Season 1, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope.”
The creators of The Sandman pulled off a powerful feat by conserving their bonus episode a secret till it dropped on August 19, however the unconventional approach it aired was simply the tip of the iceberg. The first half of the episode, “A Dream of a Thousand Cats,” breaks sufficient guidelines by itself to point exactly how huge the Sandman universe is, and to tease extra surprises in potential future seasons that no person will have the ability to predict.
It’s instantly apparent that “Thousand Cats” isn’t like earlier episodes, as a result of it is solely animated. The artwork has its distinctive fashion that evokes an oil portray in motion somewhat than real looking CGI or conventional animation, which lends to the present’s core of goals even whereas it units the episode aside. Of its voice solid, the one returning star is Tom Sturridge as Dream, and his visible illustration would not resemble Sturridge in any respect — seeing as, on this specific story, Dream is a cat.
Why Is Dream a Cat?
One essential factor to know about Dream and the opposite Endless is that they will seem in several varieties, however they are not shapeshifters. Dream’s bodily illustration modifications in response to who’s taking a look at him, as proven in “A Hope in Hell” when he meets his former lover Nada and is briefly performed by a unique actor. Through Nada’s eyes, that is what Dream seems to be like, and the identical goes for his feline physique in “Thousand Cats.” Because the episode takes place from cats’ views, the viewers sees the Cat of Dreams as an alternative of a humanoid Lord of Dreams, and each are equally his true type.
The implications of this are unsettling, particularly when thought-about with the plot of the episode. The Siamese cat referred to as the Prophet, whose private loss by the hands of her heartless human house owners prompts her to hunt change for cats, meets the Cat of Dreams and learns from him about an alternate world wherein cats had been monumental prime predators and people had been their servants and playthings. According to him, people managed to flip the script by rallying one another to share a dream, and the truth that now we have now took place as a result of that they had retroactively modified it in order that it had by no means been every other approach.
Since The Sandman‘s viewers is solely human, it is arduous to see the Prophet’s dream as a paradise for even probably the most fervent cat lover. The episode even ends with a sleeping kitten dreaming of catching a tiny human as her prey, whereas her oblivious house owners coo over how cute she is.
The Sandman Teases A World Beyond Humanity
Yet, the one who put the cats on the trail to dominating the world is none aside from Dream, the protagonist of your complete collection. Previous episodes have already revealed him to have a proud and unforgiving nature, extra involved with guidelines than emotions, however “Thousand Cats” actually nails down his neutrality. He’s simply as invested within the lives and goals of cats as he’s in people, and if that a lot is true, different kinds of animals or creatures past mortal expertise would possibly matter much more to him.
Although “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” is an surprising detour from Season 1 of The Sandman and would not immediately tie into any of the occasions lined by the story to date, it could be the episode that defines it one of the best. Whether the cat characters handle to dream up a brand new world (do not let Kitty watch it with you!) or whether or not they by no means seem once more, followers now know that the scope of the bigger narrative has room for all types of tales. With every new perspective, new arc, or new medium, The Sandman universe expands. Just as something can occur in a dream, something would possibly occur in the way forward for the present.
To see what the cats are plotting, watch The Sandman, now streaming on Netflix.
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