A Hope in Hell

Squatterbloat greets them with a sneer, “Welcome to my domain, mortals. I have been waiting for you.” He leads the group into the darkness, and Dream and Matthew follow close behind. They are met with a smell of brimstone and death, a smell that is familiar to them from their time in Heaven. Ahead of them, they can see the black abyss that separates Hell from Heaven. “This is where I am supposed to be,” Squatterbloat says as he looks down at the sinners below him. “But instead of being happy in my own domain, you’re here because of me.” He pauses for a moment before continuing, “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.” Dream and Matthew look down at the sinners below them and they can see that some are crying, some are laughing - all of them are suffering. They can also see that some have been hurt - there is blood on their clothes, on their faces. But most importantly, they can see that all of these people have hope. Hope for a better future - hope that one day they will be able to go back to Heaven. Squatterbloat looks down at them with an evil grin,“You think because I’m here everyone will go to Hell?” He pauses again before continuing,“But if anyone wants to stay here then I suggest they do so quickly.” The group ahead of them starts moving forward into the black abyss and Dream and Matthew follow close behind.

Despite berating Dream over his lack of a crown, the demon does agree to take him to Lucifer Morningstar. Lucifer Morningstar, to be precise, is far more powerful than Dream and without all his trinkets, he’s more vulnerable than before. ..

As they approach the castle, they can see a large group of people waiting for them. They are led into the castle by a man with a long white beard and a bright red cape. He tells them that they are going to see the king of Hell, Lucifer.

Lucifer greets Dream and wants to join their two realms together. Dream though ignores this and stays true to his mission, wanting his Helm back. So the only thing for it, is to summon every single demon to the gates.

Dream realizes that the Helm belonging to Choronzon, a Duke of Hell, is under his arm. He negotiates with the Demon to keep it safe, but if he loses it, he’ll become a servant to Choronzon in Hell for all eternity.

Meanwhile, in New York, John ends up getting a lift from a kind taxi driver where we’re repeated the story about Ethel’s theft. After stopping at a gas station, Rosemary (the driver) stats to have second thoughts about this. She speaks to the cashier, urging him to ring 911. The thing is, John has the amulet, and when the cashier shows off his gun, things take a turn for the worse. A spatter of blood and John leaves once more with Rosemary. John bemoans trusting her and demands she drive him to the ruby.

In a battle of wits and the mind, Lucifer is defeated and Dream is returned his Helm.

In the latest episode of “Lucifer,” the Devil (Tom Ellis) makes a bold promise to his archrival, Morpheus (Lauren German): one day, they’ll destroy each other. This sets off a chain of events that could see Dream (Rachael Harris) regain control over his realm. ..

John shows mercy on Rosemary and hands over his Amulet to her once he gets possession of the ruby. But when he leaves her, John promises one thing – to change the world.

The Episode Review

The adaptation of Lucifer and Dream was pretty accurate, with a great visual style. The descent into Hell was really well done and I loved the way they captured the imagination of the comics. This is great to see and I can’t wait to see what else they come up with in the future.

Gwendoline Christie is an excellent choice for the role of Lucifer. She brings the character to life with malice and mischief, making him a compelling and memorable villain. ..

The whole subplot involving John is a bit meandering and seems to be added for the pure intent of breaking up the action in Hell. However, we do see some good character development for him, especially handing over the amulet to that kindly woman at the end.

I found it difficult to enjoy the tone of the show when Matthew cracked jokes the whole time. It didn’t feel right and added nothing to the experience.

Despite the small nitpick, as we approach the halfway point, The Sandman has been a very good adaptation so far.