Robin Moon
Trigger Warning: this article makes reference to suicide, self-mutilation, gore, and homophobia.
Netflix’s Season 1 television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comics has undoubtedly been a success. To borrow Daniel Siuba’s words, perhaps even a dream come true. But here, I’ll be discussing a particular on-screen nightmare come true: Episode 5, “24/7.” The episode revolves around a small cast of characters in the self-contained setting of an American diner being manipulated by a magical item currently in the possession of John Dee (David Thewlis). From there, a series of horrors gradually unfolds.
For some context, Dream (Tom Sturridge) had three powerful objects stolen from him in the first episode and spends a good part of the season locating them. One of these objects is a ruby that has the power to make dreams become reality. John Dee ended up with the ruby by stealing it from his mother, Ethel Cripps (Joely Kim Richardson), who took it from her husband, Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance), the man who imprisoned Dream for over a century. John’s intention is to use the ruby to make the world a better place. Sounds lovely, right? Wrong. What John neglects to consider is that his worldview taken to an extreme isn’t guaranteed to improve the state of the world. In fact, what he does cause ends in destruction and death.
The isolated setting of “24/7” massively heightens the emotions and disaster. Trapping the characters within one location—literally, they try to leave but are unable to—creates a severely claustrophobic environment. Choosing a diner as this location almost gives a suburban horror feel to the episode. It’s an all-American, cutesy, family-friendly place that contrasts against the terror that ensues. Since all the characters know each other, or at least, the waitress Bette Munroe (Emma Duncan) knows all the customers individually, it has cordial small-town vibes. Even the bright colours of Bette’s uniform and the decor of the diner emphasises this, causing juxtaposition with the dark themes.
Tensions that build as the episode goes on lead to an eventual impactful climax. Initially, all of the characters appear friendly and amiable. Bette always has a smile on her face as she greets and chats with customers. Mark (Laurie Davidson) is a hopeful young guy looking forward to a prestigious interview with Vanguard. Garry (James Udom) and Kate Fletcher (Lourdes Faberes) are a seemingly happy couple celebrating their fifth anniversary. Admittedly, there are some pre-existing issues, such as Judy (Daisy Head) having had an argument with her girlfriend who is currently missing, and chef Marsh (Steven Brand) being blunt with Bette due to some evident history between them. However, these problems aren’t originally major. Once the narrative progresses, the cracks start to show.
Minor issues begin with disagreements such as Kate deciding what meal Garry should have, and making reference to putting him on a diet. We can see she’s very controlling, an immediately unlikeable trait. However, there is an implication that Garry is cheating on her, as we can suspect from his protectiveness over his phone messages. His infidelity is later confirmed, and both husband and wife end up having sex with other people in the episode. Both parties are at fault, so the situation is more complex than at first glance.
In general, the episode shows how everyone has a bad side when pushed to an extreme. Even Bette, arguably the most sympathetic character, has instances of flawed perceptions about certain topics. She believes that Judy will be happier if she dates a nice man instead of women, revealing thinly-veiled homophobia. It’s a rather cynical view of humanity, but it works in the context of a largely horror-themed episode.
What’s interesting is that before turning on each other entirely, the characters all pair off and have sex first. There’s Garry and Marsh, Kate and Mark, and Judy and Bette. In the original comic story, the group has an orgy, as the Dreamstone brings out their innermost desires, and John Dee is toying with them more than moulding them to his will. Considering this involves a lesbian having sex with a man, it’s clear why this was altered in the 2022 television adaptation. The sexual encounters in “24/7” are more a result of the characters being honest with themselves, and acting upon authentic attraction. None of the characters are happy in their existing relationships, so they cheat on their partners for the sake of aligning with their true desires. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two out of three of these encounters are queer—in an isolated environment, separated from wider social pressures and norms, people can engage in queer sex without the stigma.
As day turns to night and the group is still trapped in the diner, the visual darkness outside reflects the thematic darkness inside. The lighting inside the diner is also harsher as it depends on artificial light sources, starkly illuminating the characters’ actions. This switch to artificial light juxtaposes the most truthful aspects of each person being drawn out by the ruby.
After the sex, the ruby brings out an uglier honesty. The rising tension between the characters is spurred on by jealousy that culminates in brutal gore, murder, and suicide. It’s obvious throughout the episode that something’s gonna kick off, especially as the focus is on the blooming hatred between the characters. Mark ends up killing Garry in what could be considered self-defense (Garry attacks him first). It’s at this point the characters realise that John is making all this happen, and they confront him.
John’s worldview and ability to alter the world around him via the ruby is what causes the events of the episode, and is the most fascinating thing about it. The idea of a valued and morally good trait such as honesty being taken to such an extreme that it becomes tainted and twisted into something horrific is philosophically compelling. It shows that everything must have balance in this world to maintain order. Any concept in a distilled form has the potential for great harm, so it must be kept in check.
Additionally, John brings into question the dichotomy of morality vs choice. His intentions are good—who wouldn’t want an honest world? Bearing in mind John is a man who has been at the mercy of a magical object his whole life, as well as being lied to by his mother repeatedly, we can understand why he places such value on honesty. He truly believes it will make the world a better place. However, his intentions become nullified as soon as he removes people’s autonomy. As a powerful magical influence, the ruby eliminates consent and control over an individual’s actions. This is perhaps the most horrifying aspect of the episode, being manipulated by an unknown force with no way of fully being in control of your own body.
It could be argued that the characters are responsible for their own actions since the ruby is only bringing out honesty, therefore they’re not doing anything they didn’t already want to. John makes this very argument himself, claiming he only took away the lies, and the rest was up to them. To counter this, it’s an extremely flawed justification. Even if a person feels a certain way, it’s their choice whether or not to admit to it or act on it, and this is the barrier John took away. A certain level of dishonesty (e.g. white lies) is sometimes necessary to protect the people around us. This is what John fails to consider.
I’d say the idea that these people are responsible for what acts they commit because it’s what they truly wanted is scarier than being under John’s influence entirely. As the situation escalates, John isn’t even in the frame anymore. Not seeing him supports the perspective that he isn’t to blame. Aside from the destruction he creates (not only within the diner but outside too, as police reports tell us), John is a sympathetic villain to an extent. He’s a lonely, traumatised man trying to improve the world around him. In his eyes, he’s giving people a chance to live authentically without suffering for it. But he doesn’t give anyone a choice. Even after being confronted, John continues to manipulate the people around him so they self-mutilate and die violently.
Furthermore, once Dream intervenes, John reveals his aspirations have developed far beyond the point of sympathy. He wishes to consume the rest of Dream’s power and take over as the Dream Lord himself, destroying Dream’s realm. Any attempts to make the world a better place were abandoned as soon as he prioritised power. This desire to defeat Dream corrupted John and made him a full-blown bad guy.
Inevitably, John left only blood and destruction in his wake. Even after all this, Dream took pity on him, putting him gently to sleep and returning him to the hospital where he spent most of his life. This final action tells us more about Dream than it does John or humanity; treating a corrupt villain with kindness in spite of his actions shows a loving and forgiving side to Dream. Ultimately, it’s our choices that define us, which is why maintaining autonomy is an absolute necessity for humanity.
Having been written in the 1980s, the comic book story “24-Hour Diner” involved some different events that wouldn’t be entirely appropriate for a modern audience. But the core story still remains in the television adaptation “24/7.” The episode is more a character study of John Dee but raises key philosophical questions alongside an intriguing commentary on humanity. Honesty isn’t always the answer.
