The following article contains spoilers for the eleventh episode of The Sandman.
Netflix has done something spectacular with a special installment of The Sandman. The 11th episode consisted of two parts, an animated segment called “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” which featured the voice talents of Sandra Oh and Sandman creator Neil Gaiman himself. There also was a live-action segment called “Calliope” that followed the muse of the same name, who was revealed to be Morpheus’ old flame.
Calliope, played by Melissanthi Mahut, was imprisoned by a writer before being traded to another author. He then forced her to be his muse, giving him the idea for his next book. As only The Endless were able to help release her from her imprisonment, she reached out to Dream, who was unfortunately imprisoned himself. Eventually Dream escaped from his captives, as seen in the first episode of the series. Calliope managed to call him to her, so she was finally freed.
Who is Melissanthi Mahut, the actress who plays Calliope in The Sandman?
Melissanthi Mahut is best known for playing Kassandra, one of the two possible protagonists in the video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. She reprised her role in the game’s sequel, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Mahut also appeared in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, the Netflix film starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. She also voiced Athena in the video game, Immortals Phoenix Rising.
Mahut is a Greek-Canadian actor. That is fitting for her role as a muse, especially since Calliope makes reference to her and Morpheus’s child, the classical figure, Orpheus. According to Ancient Greek mythology, Orpheus goes to the Underworld to save his wife, Eurydice. Maybe Calliope and Morpheus will go to Hell to strike a bargain with Lucifer if their son is there. Perhaps Orpheus was given a worse fate in The Sandman source material.
Hopefully, The Sandman gets renewed for a second season and beyond if only to see more Calliope. Whether or not she and Dream manage to talk about their son again, it would be good to see Morpheus happy in an episode. As we wait for Netflix to greenlight a second season, you could always read the original comic books by Neil Gaiman.
The Sandman‘s eleventh episode is currently available to stream on Netflix.