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The Review Geek
41 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
The Sandman – Season 2 Episode 12 'Death: The High Cost of Living' Recap & Review
Bonus: Episode 12 Episode 12 of The Sandman Season 2 begins with the environmental journalist, Sexton, trying to write a suicide note for Sylvie, his ex. He feels hopeless as the world is heading towards its inevitable end despite his best efforts. He is kicked out when his roommate, Billie, shows up with her girlfriend, Amelia. He goes out for a walk, and his woebegone argument is strengthened when he sees a collection of classic novels and memorabilia abandoned in a dump. As he goes through them, he trips and Death comes to his rescue. She invites him to her place to patch him up. He insists on learning the identity of his rescuer and gets creeped out when she is truthful. She explains that she takes a day off once every hundred years, spending a day as a mortal to stay in touch with humanity. Sexton tries to rush out when Hettie takes him hostage. She uses him to force Death into finding her soul for her. Death, who Sexton dubs as Didi, agrees and drags him along for her holiday on Earth. She is bubbly and enthusiastic which earns her free food and a free taxi ride, much to Sexton's shock. Next, she convinces him to go to Sylvie's regular club. They run into Billie, an annoyed Amelia and her friend, Jackie. Despite his cynical attitude, Sexton mediates between Amelia and Billie. Billie confides in Didi that Sexton is currently not in a good place and hopes he finds people who make life worth living. Sexton seems to have taken a big brother approach to Didi, who he thinks is a delusional and naive human girl, as he tries to protect her from Sylvie's thug of a friend, Theo. It seems that he doesn't approve of Sylvie and Theo for being irresponsible party animals. And in exchange, Theo and Sylvie would constantly look down upon Sexton. However, Didi insists on seeing the best in people and dances with Theo. Jackie joins Sexton, who sulks on the side. He is frustrated that no one cares that the world is ending and accidentally reveals that he is suicidal. She worries for him as she confesses to her suicidal attempt and that, despite everything, she is glad to be alive. A while later, Didi drags Sexton along for a club tour being given by Theo. It is a setup as Theo grabs her ankh necklace, locks the duo in a storage room and runs off. Didi sees a pentagon and realises that Theo summoned Death. Didi apologises for not listening to Sexton and for dragging him into the mess. He doesn't blame her and they talk about free will. She reveals that as an Endless, she doesn't have a choice. As a human, she does but she is upset that she messed up her one day of freedom. He feels bad for her and tries to come up with hilarious rescue plans. Right then, Theo barges in as the ankh doesn't work for him. He wants to bring back his girlfriend, Natalie, who died from an OD in his presence. Didi tries to comfort him but he decides to kill himself. Sexton interferes and barely misses the bullet. Theo survives and is taken away in an ambulance. The next morning comes and Didi tells Sexton that she needed to experience all that happened. They come across a jewellery stall by the river. For once, the owner charges her as she buys a pendant for Hettie. Sexton realises that he truly won't see Didi again and is sad. She declares that time goes too fast and it makes one hold onto every second. She begs for one more second but her heart stops. Hettie finds a tearful Sexton trying to bring Didi back to life. She puts the two cents that Didi had left on her eyes and takes the pendant. It does have her soul – a painting of her daughter. Before Hettie leaves, she promises Sexton that Didi will be back, 100 years later. At home, Sexton tells everything to Billie, who wonders if Didi is really Death. He thinks it would be nice if Death were a friendly face instead of pain and suffering. Amelia brings Jackie who wants to check up on him. She doesn't want to intrude but he deletes his suicidal note and offers her a cup of tea. At the end of The Sandman Season 2 Episode 12, Didi wakes up in Death's realm. She tells her Endless version that she loved mortality and doesn't want it to end. The Endless version smiles sadly as she offers Didi her hand. The Episode Review The Sandman Season 2 Episode 12 is a bittersweet epilogue that wraps up what has been a wild ride since 2022. There are tons of spin-off issues involving faes, supporting human characters, and other beings that could have led this special bonus episode but we are glad that it was Death's story. Kirby Howell-Baptiste has been perfectly cast for a fan-favourite character and she brings Death to life one last time. She is definitely main character material, dealing with dangerous challenges and slice-of-life adventures, likewise with a relaxed attitude. And who better to team her up with than Merlin- er, Colin Morgan as Sexton. His constant confusion but willingness to go with the flow that is Death is hilarious while educational. Every time the episode tries to get too didactic or contrived, there is a moment of absurdity that keeps it lighthearted and fun. This is evident when all the service providers are suddenly kind and altruistic to Death till the jewellery hawker charges her for the pendant. All in all, this special episode hits all the right notes and ends with a thoughtful message, just like all the arcs of the Netflix adaptation. Sexton is inspired by Didi and Jackie to keep going. Meanwhile, Didi aka Death reveals herself to be just like Dream and Destruction. She doesn't want her role as a reaper but she has no choice. Could we get a spin-off show on Death trying to find her successor and leave her post? Previous Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Down in the dumps? These ones spark joy with order and peacocks
My local dump, in Wandsworth, out-Kondos Marie Kondo in its organisational systems and obsessive tidiness – the whole dump process sparks joy (Why I absolutely love a visit to the dump, 24 July). But nothing beats my late Mum's dump in Clitheroe, run by Lancashire county council. It has peacocks! Compelling. Watching the peacocks strut the skips gave dignified beauty to our poignant task of the final house clearance. Sarah JacksonLondon How typical that the Blair government was worried about losing office in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq (Britain told US that invading Iraq could cost Blair his premiership, papers reveal, 22 July). I wonder if they were so bothered about how many people would lose their MaitlandYork For more than 30 years I have been blackberrying in the last week of August or the first week of September, when blackberries are generally at their most plentiful. This week, locally, at least a month earlier, there are easy pickings of ripe blackberries on some BoalerCalne, Wiltshire Israel claims its critics are 'disconnected from reality' (UK condemns Israel for depriving Palestinians of 'human dignity', 21 July). Is it not more the case that Israel is disconnected from morality?Austen LynchGarstang, Lancashire
The Guardian
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Why I absolutely love a good dump
A friend of mine surprised me with the vehemence of his love for something. He's about my age, a highly successful maker of important television and avid consumer of Radio 4 and the Guardian. A keen thinker about things, he likes books and podcasts that are a little too advanced for me. All in all, he didn't seem the type to say what he said, over a pint in our local. Furthermore, there was even a slightly glazed, far-off look in his eye when he announced, with such great feeling rising from deep in his soul: 'I really love going to the dump.' It was only then that I realised I was free to admit to sharing this love. It was a moving, bonding moment between us. One love. For the dump. My dump visits had hitherto been shrouded in a mist of shame. Throwing things away is bad, not least because buying them in the first place was bad, or at least not entirely necessary, which may amount to the same thing. Also, isn't it all an exercise in shifting the responsibility for your junk on to someone – everyone? – else? This notion that it is magically being recycled, repurposed, reused is surely a fantasy, not much more than a veneer of righteousness to help those of us who feel guilty about it to feel less guilty about it. But what the hell – if one of my more sensitive, intellectual, environmentally conscious friends can be at peace with his dump-love, then so can I. It helps that our local dump is a very fine one indeed. Lying between Swansea and Mumbles, Clyne Gardens and Clyne Valley Country Park are both beautiful places and well worth a visit, but the Clyne Household Waste Recycling Centre runs them close. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have a home nearby. It pleases me that my cardboard may get smunched up with theirs. Unlike many municipal dumps, you don't need an appointment. Just turn up. And if you're in the area, you should do just that. Even if you've nothing to dump, it's worth a look. Swansea council should build a small viewing gallery for spectators to watch the perfection unfold. The entrance, as you'd expect from somewhere on the edge of a country park, is pleasingly verdant. A sign reads 'NO WOOD'. Perhaps this is in deference to the feelings of the trees all around. Thereafter, a symphony of efficiency unfolds. The containers are smartly lined up, clearly labelled, with the parking in front of them artfully angled. The service is very friendly. Admittedly, it's to my advantage that I am recognised as a former presenter of Match of the Day, but I was there long enough (the dump, that is, not MOTD) to know all-round good service when I see it. And it's not just the staff. The dumpers themselves – as at all dumps – are in noticeably good humour. Kids scurry around assisting parents. Older dumpers expel light gasps of pleasure as whatever they're disposing of is dropped into the abyss of these giant skips. We're in this together, enjoying the moment, the transition from being encumbered to disencumbered. We feel nothing less than cleansed. The relief and release is so intense that you can almost smell it. The longer you've delayed dumping whatever you're dumping, the greater the relief and release. But what is it, this thing from which we're being released? The deadweight of our worldly possessions? The crowding out of our very souls by the millstones of stuff we've been unable to resist accumulating? Or, God forgive us, the excitement of knowing space has been cleared to make way for the arrival of yet more stuff to be dumped in its turn. These are questions for later, or never. Let's just enjoy this moment. The angle of the parking spaces have us pointing at the exit, so, having said our cheery goodbyes, in vehicles sitting higher on their axles, and our spirits higher still, we sweep out, until next time. Adrian Chiles is a writer, broadcaster and Guardian columnist
