01x09 - Collectors

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "The Sandman". Aired: August 5, 2022 –; present.*
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Series based on the 1989–1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics.
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01x09 - Collectors

Post by bunniefuu »

So, I've been having these dreams.

And last night, I dreamed I found Jed.

And he told me

who his foster parents are

and where they live.

So, when I woke up this morning,

I went there.

But when I got there

Jed was gone.

And they were dead.

I know it's hard to believe, but

I believe you.

Because last night, I had a dream

that I spent the night with Hector.

And when I woke up this morning

Oh, my God.

I know.

Is it real?

Feel it.

- Oh, my God.

- I know.

What is happening to us?

I think I know the answer to that.

I think it's me.

I don't know how she did it,

but Rose just got Lyta pregnant.

What?

Apparently it happened in her dream,

and when Lyta woke up

- She was still pregnant.

- Very much so.

Then it's starting.

Rose is weakening

the walls between the realms.

You gonna tell the boss?

- No.

- "No"?

It's none of my business.

Uh, since when?

Since Lord Morpheus reminded me

that I'm merely a librarian

and should concern myself

with my books from now on.

He said that?

He did. So

What is wrong with him?

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 anyone's help.

So any news must be reported

directly and exclusively to him.

Okay. But can I keep you in the loop?

You'd better not.

In His Majesty's current mood,

he could banish us both to the Darkness.

As he did Gault.

All right, fine.

I'll go back to spying on Rose.

But you should make up with him.

I should make up with him?

Yes.

Now's not the time to be fighting,

not when there's a vortex

getting people pregnant

and runaway Nightmares

doing God knows what.

Mm.

You want another one?

Don't we have to meet Rose?

- No, Rose is coming to meet us.

- Here?

No. I have to go to a work thing.

It's a convention.

- We'll call her from there.

- Like a comic book convention?

You like comic books?

I used to.

Back when you were a kid?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Can I ask you a question?

- sh**t.

What's your name?

Have you ever noticed

how people only ever use your name

when you're in trouble Jed?

"We need to talk, Jed."

"Get in here, Jed."

You sound like my Uncle Barnaby.

- Exactly.

- He's gonna come looking for me.

No, he's not.

He always comes looking for me.

Hmm, not this time.

Do you run away a lot?

- Hmm.

- I do too.

And I'll tell you a secret.

I'm running away right now.

You are?

And once we get to Rose,

we don't have to run anymore.

We'll be home free.

Are you ready to meet your sister?

Yeah.

Well, then let's go. Come on.

You wanna drive?

Ah!

This is all my fault.

Because you're a dream vortex?

I don't know how I'm doing it

or even when I'm doing it,

but I promise you I will fix this.

I will make it go away.

No, you won't.

Look, whatever's happening,

however it's happening,

our dreams are coming true.

You found Jed in your dreams.

And I found Hector.

In fact, uh

he's asked me to live with him there.

Where?

In your dreams?

How? That's impossible.

I have no idea.

I mean, if this can happen, I have to try.

So, you'd just give up on your life here?

- What life?

- Don't say that.

It's true, though.

And you can always visit.

How?

The same way

you found Jed and I found Hector.

In your dreams.

- Hello?

- Hi.

I'm calling because

I found one of your flyers.

- About a missing boy?

- Yes?

I think I found him.

- Rose?

- Jed?

- Hi!

- Hi.

I I can't believe it.

Are you okay? Where are you?

We're at a hotel in Georgia.

Can you come get me?

Yes. I'm leaving right now, Jeddy.

Tell me the name of the hotel.

The Royal Empire Hotel.

Royal Empire Hotel.

You're about three hours from here.

Is that okay?

She's three hours away.

I'll answer to her.

Rose. Take your time. Just call us

at this number when you get here.

Thank you. Oh. I almost forgot.

What's your name?

We'll see you soon.

All right, kid. Let's go.

High time to come to Jesus ♪

You got skeletons in your closet ♪

It's written all over your face ♪

Every little lie stacked so high ♪

Can't keep your story straight ♪

I don't know, oh, oh ♪

How they got there

It's getting under my skin ♪

You got skeletons in your closet ♪

And I got bones to pick with them, oh ♪

Been on the road for three days.

Drive was a k*ller.

Hate these hick towns. Wouldn't be caught

dead here if it wasn't for the convention.

- What you looking for?

- It's a cereal convention.

I thought there'd be cereal.

Are you still hungry?

Okay. Well, have a seat, uh, over there

and we'll get you something to eat.

Tell ya, I could m*rder a steak.

A good, bloody steak.

They do this

chocolate fudge whip to die for.

The TV version butchered it,

but you can find it uncut online.

Hell, I thought this whole issue

was dead and buried in the '60s.

That's when Harry

k*lled the lights. I could've d*ed.

He slays me, that guy.

Nemesis of Neglect, there you go.

There he is.

Our guest of honor

doesn't need to wait in line.

We've got name tags and room keys for you

and the young woman joining you.

I've got her younger brother

with me as well.

You may want to advise him

to steer clear of the convention areas.

Yeah.

Uh, Miss Walker? It's Gilbert.

Uh, one second.

Go. I'll be fine.

Our esteemed landlord tells me

we're running low on these.

Actually, we don't need them anymore.

I just got a call. Someone found Jed.

What? Where?

He's at a hotel in Georgia.

I'm on my way there now.

You're not going alone, I hope.

Uh, Lyta's not feeling well, so

You must allow me to accompany you.

Uh, I believe America is a very large

and excitable place,

and a young person traveling alone

can get into all kind of scrapes.

As witnessed the other night.

That's very generous of you, but

If you'll indulge me,

I should rather enjoy the role

of amateur knight errant.

I have my swordstick

and an ancient but serviceable revolver.

All right. But where we're going,

we won't need to defend ourselves.

I, uh, actually got to meet him once.

You met the Big Bad Wolf?

The actor who did the voice.

Wow.

Hey. Fun.

Fun Land. Not "Fun." Fun Land.

Got it. Sorry about that.

- That's okay.

- I see you've met my young friend.

Oh.

Is he with you?

He is.

He and his sister are my guests

and under my protection.

Are we good?

We are. Yeah. We're good.

Glad to hear it. Come on, Jed.

Nice to meet you.

- You sure you don't mind driving?

- No. Not at all.

When I left home, I made it my mission

to see as much of this world as possible.

And home is England? You sound English.

Thank you.

Just, you know, to me,

the object of travel

is not to set foot in a foreign land,

but at last to set foot

in your own country as a foreign land.

So, it's all about going home?

Yes. I, I suppose it must be, in the end.

And, and you and Miss Hall will be

going home, I assume. Uh, with Jed?

Uh, Lyta has other plans, actually.

Oh, yes, you said that, um,

she wasn't feeling very well.

Is everything all right?

I hope so.

Are you sure this is okay?

Very sure.

What was that?

Uh

An earthquake.

I'll be right back.

This has never happened before, I promise.

I believe you.

It's fine.

I guess if earthquakes

happen in real life,

they can happen in dreams too, right?

Yeah. We call those nightmares.

Come here.

Does this look like a nightmare to you?

Not at all.

Loosh? You in here?

Whoops. Oh, sorry, boss.

I was looking for Lucienne.

- See ya.

- Wait.

Why were you looking for Lucienne?

Oh, well, we just had some

minor seismic activity

and a little, you know,

damage I wanted to report.

Then why not report it to me?

Uh, because you're busy?

While you were away, Lucienne started

taking care of that stuff,

so I figured

why bother you when

Mervyn, if The Dreaming

has been damaged in any way,

I will be the one to address it.

Oh, for crying out loud.

You want me to fix that for you?

Or will it just keep happening?

It will not keep happening

because I will find

the cause of the disturbance

and I will eliminate it.

- Thank you, Mervyn.

- Uh, you're welcome.

Lucienne?

My lord.

I have come to return these

and to assess the extent of the damage

from the recent disturbances.

Have you any idea as to what caused them?

- I assumed it was you, sir.

- Me?

Making further improvements

to the realm now that you're back.

Lucienne, when we last spoke,

I did not mean to imply that your efforts

beyond the library are without value.

Oh?

I really wish to

relieve you of responsibilities

with which, had I been here,

you would never have been burdened.

I see.

And in that time,

did you experience any

similar seismic disturbances?

I did not.

Have you any theory as to their origin?

Speaking strictly as a librarian? I do.

- But you won't like it.

- Go on.

I know you're waiting to see

if the vortex will lead you

to The Corinthian and Fiddler's Green.

- The way she led you to Gault.

- She may yet still.

Yes, but while you're waiting,

she's putting cracks in the foundation.

Rose Walker has visited

this realm before and done no damage.

- This is something else, something new.

- Perhaps.

But if there is something new

in The Dreaming and you did not create it,

how did it get here?

This is the vortex. I assure you.

I can't thank you enough, Unity.

You did all the work, Rose, love.

May I ask Mr. Holdaway to send tickets?

Bring you both over?

I'd love that. Thank you.

I'll ask him to see about

making you Jed's legal guardian.

So no one can take Jed away again.

Would that be all right?

Yes! Thank you, Unity.

Thank Mr. Holdaway for me too.

Thank you, Rose, love.

I'll contact my associates in the US.

What if they were to live here?

- Here?

- In London.

You could find us a house.

Rose could write, Jed would go to school.

I could adopt them.

At your age?

Be happy for me, Mr. Holdaway.

I'm going to have a life after all.

You're going to London?

And I'm gonna be

Jed's legal guardian from now on.

I must say,

that's very grown-up, Rose Walker.

It is, isn't it?

- What's wrong?

- Well, what if Jed and I

What if he doesn't like me?

Or worse, what if I don't like him?

- What?

- I'm just so impressed.

You allowed yourself to be happy

for nearly a minute there

before inventing some

new problems for yourself.

I'm just nervous.

I haven't seen him since he was five.

The only thing I remember about him

is he used to love chicken fingers.

That's all he'd eat for every meal.

He's probably completely different now.

Your sister will be here in a few hours

and I need you to do me a favor

and just stay in the room

until she gets here, okay?

- I can't go with you?

- No. No, no. Trust me, you don't want to.

It's just a bunch of

boring grown-ups down there.

Then why are you going?

I'm going to make it less boring.

So, I'll see you in a couple hours.

And do not open this door.

I won't, unless it's you.

Okay. We gotta keep you safe, Jed Walker.

- Hello.

- Hello.

Thank you all for being here.

Yeah, uh

I heard a story recently, uh,

I thought might amuse you.

It seems that

the telephone rang in a police station.

Uh, the duty cop answers,

and a woman's voice says,

"Help. I've been reaped."

The cop says, "Don't you mean 'r*ped'?"

"No," she says, "He used a scythe."

So it's really good

to see so many of us here,

so many familiar faces

and, uh, new faces too.

For those of you

joining us for the first time,

there are a few rules we must adhere to.

Firstly, use the sobriquet you provided

which has been printed on your name tag.

No civilian names.

Secondly, uh, we don't sh*t where we eat.

So nobody does any collecting

until the convention's over

and you're at least 200 miles away.

Aw.

Thirdly, on an unfortunate note,

The Family Man, who was to have been

our guest speaker this year,

has not been able to make it.

No. Come on.

But every cloud has a silver lining,

and it gives me great pleasure

to be able to present

our new guest of honor.

Gentlemen, ladies

The Corinthian.

The Corinthian's keynote address

will be in this room

immediately after dinner.

Before that,

we have our cocktail reception.

And our first three panels

to kick off the weekend.

The "Make It Pay" panel will be in Hall A

What fascinates me

about humanity

is that so many people

are looking for reasons to be unhappy.

It's only when they're mired

in their self-made misery

that they are truly content.

I'm boring you.

Not at all.

Oh, good. Because I do love a paradox.

Chesterton did too.

Take charity for example.

Charity usually means one of two things,

pardoning an unpardonable act

or loving an unlovable person.

Or take love. Love's an even better one.

To love means loving the unlovable.

To forgive means

pardoning the unpardonable.

Faith means believing the unbelievable.

And hope means hoping

even when everything seems hopeless.

Look at you.

I know, I'm huge.

You're gorgeous.

I wish this baby would hurry up

and just get here. It's been months.

It's been two hours.

No way.

I guess time moves differently here.

Come on, let me show you the house.

I wish you could've seen it

when we moved in.

Why? What's different?

We've had earthquake damage.

I'm so glad you're here!

So what do you think?

Tell Lucienne she was right

about the source of the tremors.

And that I'm taking care of it.

Hector, look who's here.

Lyta, you remember I told you about

Lord Morpheus, the King of Dreams?

What do you want?

He wants us to leave.

Why?

Because a ghost cannot

escape his fate by hiding in The Dreaming.

Nor can a living human being

escape her grief here.

Do you not see the damage

your presence has done to this realm?

I cannot allow you to stay.

Is there anything we can do?

You belong with the dead.

You must go

to the place appointed for you.

I'm sorry, but you must

say your goodbyes now.

No.

I'm not losing you again.

I love you so much.

You're not going anywhere.

Get out of our house.

Lyta

Enough.

Tell Tell the baby I

No.

- Please! Stop.

- Hector?

- Dream, please, stop!

- No!

Hector!

No

Your husband d*ed a long time ago.

He was a ghost and this is a dream.

The baby is yours for now.

What do you mean?

The child was conceived in The Dreaming.

It is mine.

What?

And one day, I will come for it.

No, you won't. You'll do nothing

This dream is over.

- You k*lled my friend.

- How did you get here?

In front of his wife,

and then you thr*aten to take her baby?

Do you know why this happened?

A vortex gathering strength

can weaken the walls between dreams.

I didn't ask for any of this.

- Even so!

- No!

I don't want you coming near me

or my friends ever again.

Rose, listen to me.

I do listen to you.

You said that a vortex

can create universes or destroy them.

So I suggest

you leave my universe the f*ck alone.

- Rose

- This dream is over.

Hey, are you okay?

He took Hector.

I know. Are you okay?

Physically, I mean, is everything

I'm still pregnant.

That's good, right?

He said he would take the baby.

He won't.

He's not gonna bother you

or me ever again.

I promise.

We're here.

Gilbert and I

just got to the hotel.

We're gonna grab Jed

and come right back. Okay?

- Okay.

- See you in a few hours.

Is she all right?

Well, let's find your brother then.

I'm sorry, but you are too young

and too hot to be The Corinthian.

You're too kind.

I've always been curious.

Is the name biblical? A reference to Paul?

Or to Corinth? The Roman city of vice?

Or are you just into leather?

You know, all of the above.

Would, uh, you excuse me for a second?

- Hi.

- Hi.

Oh.

Sorry for staring. It's just

I can't believe you're here.

- I'm a huge fan.

- Hmm.

There was this, um, incredibly detailed

article of your work online.

I don't know if you've seen it.

It's on this blog called "Chaste."

I'll have to look for it.

Oh, I could send it to you if you want.

I'm The Boogieman by the way.

So I see.

Yeah.

Say, can I buy you a drink

if I promise not to ask

too many annoying questions?

I don't wanna monopolize you.

Yeah. Let's get that drink later.

- I'd love that.

- Yeah.

Well, I see you've met The Boogieman.

I have.

And that's not The Boogieman.

Are you sure?

The Boogieman's dead.

He drowned in Louisiana three years ago.

But how do you know?

I know.

We will deal with this immediately.

He mentioned a blog called "Chaste."

Leave it with us.

I'll look into it.

I'll be right back.

Hi, it's Rose Walker. Jed's sister.

I'm here in the lobby

when you get this. So, thanks.

So, do we, uh wait here or, or

Well, it can't hurt to look around.

Right.

Uh, excuse me, sir, miss?

I'm sorry, but this area

is for convention attendees only.

Ooh, the Cereal Convention.

Yes, I saw your signage outside.

I'm looking for my brother.

I'll run in and out.

- I can't let you.

- I'll be a second.

There are no kids in the convention area.

I would know.

No children at a cereal convention?

That seems a bit of a missed opportunity

or is it maybe sort of

more of a porridge and muesli affair?

D-Do you mind?

I have to check these people in.

I appear to have

annoyed him with my questions.

Imagine how annoyed he'd be

if he found out we have these.

Oh.

I take it we're attending

the convention then.

The only thing Jed loved

more than chicken fingers was cereal.

I'll check the pool,

you check the convention hall,

and we'll meet back here in 15?

How exciting!

I've never been an uncle before.

Even 10Gs per victim

identified isn't too much to ask.

Thing to remember is that

they'll pay to know for certain.

Even if the cops don't go with it,

families will.

The goal is to drag out hope.

Because they will pay you

for proof that the trophy is alive.

It's not a ton, but it's usually good

for a few grand at least.

The extra cash is nice,

but we don't do it for the money.

We do it because we are called to do it.

Because we love doing it.

We're artists.

She has eyes that men adore so ♪

And a torso even more so ♪

Lydia, oh, Lydia ♪

That encyclopedia ♪

Oh, Lydia, the queen of tattoo ♪

On her back is the Battle of Waterloo ♪

I have to tell you, I am sick and tired

of the bias against women in our field.

That it is somehow easier for us

because we use our femininity.

What they really mean is sexuality.

As though a woman's sexuality

determines her value.

I don't know about you, but I don't use

my sexuality when I'm collecting.

I use the same skills as anyone else here:

intelligence, preparedness,

and brute force, if necessary.

I got 171.

Drowned most of them.

It's not a numbers game for me.

It's about the person.

I won't take just anybody.

I specialize. I'm a connoisseur.

I am a merciful and just God.

For I release men and women and children

from the suffering

and torment of their lives.

And I give them new life in my heaven.

As a born-again Christian, I wanna

disassociate myself from this madman.

I do the bidding of the Lord.

With my hammer.

With my love.

It's not up to me to decide

who lives and who dies.

That's up to God.

God tells me to do it.

God tells me to k*ll them.

The "Chaste" blog is written

by an apparent fanboy named Philip Sitz.

Who, as you can see,

looks exactly like our Boogieman.

- Yeah.

- Since you're our guest,

would you care to, uh collect Mr. Sitz?

Oh, I thought we don't sh*t where we eat.

Except when we have to.

Needs must when the Devil drives.

- But as fans of yours

- Hmm.

we have to ask, could we watch you work?

Oh, of course.

Or we could work together

and share the experience.

Please join us.

So

Hi, it's Rose Walker calling again.

I'm at the pool now,

but I guess maybe I'll see

if you and Jed are in the restaurant.

Anyway, call me when you get this.

Where do you hunt?

I have a great place.

There are thousands of people there.

All these beautiful little kids

wandering off on their own, getting lost.

Always happy to meet someone

who's friendly and kind.

Yeah.

There are quiet places to take them to

where no one will bother you

until you're done.

And if you can't find any kids

to play with you,

you can always go on the rides.

Yeah, that's,

uh, how I started collecting.

How did you start?

p*rn.

My dad had a subscription to Playboy.

I used to lock myself

in the bathroom with them.

Then hate myself afterwards

and rip the magazine into shreds.

Then when I finally had sex

with an actual woman,

it was

awful.

So I did what I always do.

I ripped her to shreds.

Uh, may I leave a message for someone?

The name is Rose Walker.

Ms. Walker hasn't checked in yet.

When she does,

I can give her your message.

No, no, no, but she's not a guest here.

She has a room reserved.

Does she?

C-Can you leave a message

for her, please? From Gilbert.

Hey, I was just looking for you.

Do you, um

Do you have time

for that drink at the bar now?

Uh

How about we find some place

that's a little bit quieter?

Uh Yeah. Okay.

Hi, I'm looking for my younger brother.

And I was wondering

if maybe you've seen him?

Oh, you're Rose Walker.

I am. Why?

I have your room key right here.

- My room key?

- Mm-hmm.

And a message from Gilbert.

He says he's very sorry

but he had to go home.

Um, did he say why?

No, I'm sorry. But can I have

someone show you to your room?

No, I can find it. Thank you.

Lucienne?

My lord.

There's something I must tell you.

And I will listen.

But first, you must let me tell you that

you were right.

The vortex was responsible

for the damage to our realm,

and I was wrong

to risk our safety in the hope

that she would locate the missing Arcana.

You were not entirely wrong, sir.

- She's found them both.

- What?

The Corinthian and Fiddler's Green?

Where? How do you know?

Fiddler's Green told me.

Apologies, lord, for having left.

Why? Why did you leave?

I trusted you.

You were the heart of The Dreaming.

No, sir.

You were the heart of The Dreaming.

And you were gone.

I was curious.

And it turns out that

life as a human contains substance

I never even imagined when I was here.

Which is why I've returned

because he's murdering them.

The Corinthian?

He appears to have built up a cult

of worshippers who k*ll for pleasure,

endangering the waking world

and the life

of a friend called Rose Walker.

The Corinthian has found Rose Walker?

Yes.

Can you imagine the damage

he could do with someone like Rose?

You must tell me where they are.

Oh.

Hey, guys, what's, uh

What's going on?

We know who you are Philip.

What are you talking about?

I'm The Boogieman.

R-Really. I am.

You're not one of us.

No. No. I am, I

I-I wanna be. I want to understand,

that's why I had to get here.

To see you all.

To learn.

Okay, then let us teach you.

The Good Doctor.

She likes to k*ll her victims

by removing their organs, one by one.

Nimrod is a hunter.

He can skin, bone, joint,

and gut just about any animal in minutes.

And as for me, well

I like the eyes.

This one's mine.

Whoa.

- Buddy.

- Sorry.

Are you okay? What's wrong?

They're after me.

Who? Who's after you?

Come on.

You'll be safe in my room. Yeah?

So, he too spent the last century

in the waking world.

Yes, but he seems to have

experienced the worst of humankind.

Still, his time there appears to have

changed him as it has changed me.

How so?

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.

Hmm.

Then perhaps he will be merciful to you

since you came back on your own.

Oh, it doesn't matter what happens to me.

What matters is that

Dream stops The Corinthian

and saves Rose Walker.

There is no saving Rose Walker.

Why on earth would you say that?

Do you not know?

She's a vortex.

Oh.

Oh, dear.

I should have realized.

What have I done?

He's He's going to have to k*ll her.

Hello?

Hello?

Jed?

Rose?

- Jed?

- Rose!

You can't have him. He's my friend.

- Stop.

- We were playing.

- Let him go. He's my brother.

- He's mine!

Let me go!

Hurry up!

Come on!

Help! Help!

You hurt me.

Now I'm gonna have to hurt you.

Hello, Rose.

Don't worry.

You're safe with me.

You got skeletons in your closet ♪

It's written all over your face ♪

Every little lie stacked so high ♪

Can't keep your story straight ♪

I don't know, oh, oh ♪

How they got there

It's getting under my skin ♪

You got skeletons in your closet ♪

And I got bones to pick with them ♪

You got skeletons in your closet ♪

It's written all over your face ♪

Every little lie stacked so high ♪

Can't keep your story straight ♪

I don't know, oh, oh ♪

How they got there

It's getting under my skin ♪

You got skeletons in your closet ♪

And I got bones to pick with ♪

Bones to pick with ♪

Bones to pick with them, hey ♪
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