A Quaint Delaware Restaurant and his patrons had an eventful evening, and Harry Potter Veterinarian David Thewlis silently watched the chaos and psychological trauma unfold as he gorged himself on a jar of vanilla ice cream.

This is the way of Netflix The Sandmanwhich, like its Neil Gaiman-penned DC comics counterpart, doesn’t skimp on the gloom of dark fantasy.

In episode 5, titled “24/7”, a restaurant employee who dreams of becoming a writer is forced to wish for a world where everyone says and does what they want without being inhibited by social conventions or morality. . The story plays out largely the same as it does in the comics, but there are a few key differences. spoilers for episode 5 The Sandman ahead.

The Netflix version of “24 hours”

This wish, fulfilled with the help of Morpheus’ ruby ​​after it fell into the hands of DC Comics supervillain John Dee (Thewlis), carries far more weight than Bette Munroe (Emma Duncan) can imagine. The waitress and her co-workers and customers reveal passions in themselves they never knew existed, and end up brutalizing each other when their masks fall off.

Judy (Daisy Head) punches her girlfriend, Donna, whom she wishes was dead, and makes out with Bette (Emma Duncan), whom she finds pathetic and irresistible. Garry (James Udom) can’t stand his controlling boss and wife, Kate (Lourdes Faberes). Marsh (Steven Brand) exposes the deceitful ways he explores his sexuality with Bette’s college son, and Mark (Laurie Davidson) just wants to be dominated by someone who is so much better than him as an adult. After giving in to his carnal cravings, the clients go wild. Throats are slashed, limbs amputated, hands nailed, and finally eyes stabbed.

The episode as a whole is a slow-burn psychological thriller, but the last 10 minutes are a full-fledged slasher that ramps up the gore and body horror. Viewers unfamiliar with the comics are nervous about the chilling chapter, with The Guardian even considering Episode 5 “the best television drama hour of 2022”.

However, fans who had already read the source material, issue 6 of The Sandman (“24 hours”), they were less shocked.

What changed from the original comic?

Many of the differences between the comic and the Netflix adaptation are minor. The ages of some characters have been changed and the cast of guests has been diversified. However, three changes are notable.

• John Dee is not a decrepit, zombified supervillain. In the comics, John Dee’s appearance is much more revolting. The more he exploits Morpheus’s ruby ​​to make people respect his “honesty is best” policy, the more he visually strips humanity of him. This Dee is more physically relatable, which makes it easier to at least understand his vision of a world without lies. Additionally, the Netflix adaptation removed many of the connections to DC Comics that were imposed on the comic. Dee no longer has any connection to his supervillain alter ego, Doctor Destiny, who had run-ins with the Justice League and befriended Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum.

• Nightmares are a bit more tame. Due to time constraints, the Netflix show is unable to address many of the ethical and mental complexities of Bette’s unfortunate clients. In the comic, the haunting 24 hours are spread over 24 pages that catalog her harrowing downward spiral and explore the motivations behind each kiss and death. Characters like Marsh and Garry, who don’t get much detail on the show, are far more nefarious and wicked in the source material, each committing brutal acts of sexual violence. Still, the psychological and physical violence in Netflix’s adaptation of “24 Hours” is hard to stomach in its own right.

• Bette stabs her eyes out, not Judy. In both the comics and the series, Judy is best friends with Rose Walker (Kyo Ra). In the comic, Judy is the climactic final victim of the restaurant drama, and she comes out through the unnerving method of skewering her own eyes as she claims to understand Dee’s view of humanity. While this ups the ante on Rose’s prominent role as a dream vortex, it’s Bette who takes the final, defining step in the Netflix series, likely mirroring the beginning of the episode.