Original artwork, not a still
Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly.
— The Sandman · 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Todd does not pretend the drop is harmless. His three possible endings leave room for catastrophe and for a possibility fear has hidden from him. Returning to rehearsal makes the lesson concrete: the creative risk still exists, and he can choose to take it.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The SandmanShow the scene
The three sentences close ‘Fear of Falling’, first printed in Vertigo Preview #1 (1992) and collected in The Sandman: Fables & Reflections. Playwright Todd Faber has dreamed of a precipice and encountered Dream and Matthew. Back at rehearsal, he tells actress Janet what the experience has taught him. Todd speaks the line, although it is often detached from him in quotation lists.
Sources (2)
- Vertigo Preview #1 — written source 1Fear of Falling; collected in The Sandman: Fables & Reflections; quotation and sceneReference checked
- Vertigo Preview #1 — written source 4Fear of Falling; collected in The Sandman: Fables & Reflections; quotation and sceneReference checked
Context reviewed
