Mark Reads ‘The Sandman’: 7×07 – Brief Lives, Chapter 7

In the forty-seventh issue of The Sandman, Destruction is found. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Sandman.

“Chapter 7”

You know, it’s not lost on me that Destruction is doing the very opposite of what he used to do before he gave up on his realm and his family. He is creating. He’s painting. He’s making sculptures. He is making entire meals from scratch. I bet we’ll find out in the next issue that this was an intentional move on his part, a way to distance himself not only from his past but from those he was once close with. But Destruction’s carefree attitude unsettles me. I’m missing something. I know it. Look, it’s well known that I just miss everything ever, so I’m trying to make a point this time to say that I truly recognize that I am unprepared for something here, and I can’t quite figure it out. Destruction was prepared for his family to seek him out that day. Dream owes his son Orpheus something. How are they connected? Hell, are they even connected? Is there going to be an explanation for what or whom was trying to prevent this meeting from happening? It’s entirely possible Dream just imagined this, that he’s assigned meaning to deaths that are otherwise meaningless.

Sweet baby Dream, WHAT IS GOING ON?

For starters, Dream is treating his sister with respect for the first time. He’s honest with her. Well, it does take a small bit of prodding on her part to get him to open up. But he allows her to find them a labyrinth they can use to get to Destiny’s realm. There’s a brilliant fairy tale quality to the idea that there’s a part of every maze where paths overlap onto each other, and that these two Endless use that to get to this other dimension. And then, of course, I’m just destroyed by the sight of Delight. The way that Delirium says, “I was very pretty,” is heartbreaking to me. It’s more of an observation. She doesn’t sound wistful or sad. It’s like she’s just accepted who she has become, detached from her own past. That’s important to me because of what we see from her just a few pages later. I think the end of the last issue was (intentional or not) a hint towards the brief role reversal in this issue. When Destiny tells Dream what he needs to know about the woman who left him, it just destroys him. That’s kind of a difficult thing to see, too, because it’s never really happened before. He just crumples on the ground and holds his heart and suddenly I’m really sad for him and this is all really touching? But even more shocking is Delirium’s complete change in behavior. She starts to speak in more coherent thoughts and sentences, and the lettering matches the rest of the text to demonstrate her sense of control. She comforts and supports Dream. My god, I love it. She’s quickly becoming my other favorite Endless aside from Death.

I also loved the use of Destiny flipping through his book to give us these brief glimpses of what’s happened in the past. I got to see the moment where Destruction left, but once again, I’m teased with the actual reason. Well, I mean, I guess I already do have all the information I need to figure this out. It’s not like I’m expecting this huge, grand, explosive moment from a future issue. Destruction feared what the modern world was coming to, and he left. I… think? There could be something more to it, but I also don’t think Gaiman would purposely never include this scene or this information just for the hell of it. He does include what seems like the first time Dream meets the Corinthian. That’s pretty cool!

And then I realized which Oracle Dream sought out. His own fucking son. What the hell? And Destruction was always just a boat ride away from the temple where Orpheus was? HOW DID HE KNOW THAT THEY WERE COMING? Oh god, what is Orpheus going to ask for since his father owes him a boon now?

I don’t think any of this is the important reveal of this particular issue, though. When Delirium is chastising Destiny, she says:

“There are things not in your book. There are paths outside this garden. You would do well to remember that.”

Well, shit. Things can happen in the world outside of Destiny’s book? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING TO HAPPEN?