The fifth episode of The Sandman opens with Matthew frantically attempting to revive Dream, who is fatigued and unconscious after his trip to Hell. We spend the entire episode in a diner while John, who owns Dream’s ruby, appears.
John sits and observes the drama playing out in front of him. A young woman named Judy responds to a man named Mark’s attempt at conversation by saying, “I’m gay,” because she perceives it as flirting. Concerning Mark, who is heading for a job interview at a major business called Vanguard, she also spouts some hyperbole about Big Pharma.
John’s efforts to get everyone in the diner to speak the truth and express their true emotions led to some of this shift. On their anniversary, a couple disagreed with their eating habits. Judy hasn’t heard from her partner and fears the relationship may be finished after their argument over jealousy.
The puppets all play their roles, with John acting as the puppeteer as the strings of justice twist and turn toward the knives of truth. He observes everyone acting out their parts and expressing unkind and destructive facts. Everyone kissing and caving into lust as well as fear reveals these truths.
As soon as Mark has slept with Kate, Garry attacks him. Mark strikes back by grabbing him by the neck and stabbing him. Everyone quickly turns against John after this occurrence and realizes he is to blame. The truth is “a cleansing fire that burns away the lies we’ve told one other and ourselves,” he says, shrugging aside their threats. And as a result, those who were inside the diner were killed and destroyed.
Dream makes an appearance among the carnage and demonstrates to John the essence of dreams and how they motivate and sustain people.
