Destruction’s Speaking Dog, Barnabas, In Netflix’s 'The Sandman' Season 2

In the fourth episode of Netflix’s The Sandman 2, Morpheus and his sister, Delirium, went on a quest to find their missing Destruction, the Prodigal, who had abandoned his realm 300 years ago. [Spoiler Alert] In episode 5, Morpheus recalled his last encounter with his brother in 1675, when Destruction called Morpheus to London to share his worries and confusion. At that time, Morpheus was a self-centered and narcissistic individual, much like the rest of the Endless, who failed to understand his brother’s growing concern for the humanity who, through their science, were on the verge of finding a way to cut atoms, which they would eventually use to destroy each other and themselves. Destruction, as the name suggests, was a personification of endless destruction and creation, who had seen the annihilation of the worlds many, many times before. But he couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t know for how much longer this cycle was going to keep spinning, making him witness the death and chaos of billions and billions of mortal ones. Destruction loved humanity too much, but he no longer wanted to be responsible for their destruction and therefore abandoned his realm, the Fulcrum, to lead a peaceful life on a Grecian island somewhere close, Naxos, the island on which Orpheus’ temple was built. On this island, Destruction had taken a humble companion with him, a dog named Barnabas, for whom the Prodigal Endless used to write boring poems. But this wasn’t any ordinary dog. It was a speaking dog, which I guess was an ability that Destruction had specifically created for his pet companion or Barnabas wasn’t from the mortal realm and belonged to a world unknown to us. Also, I am pretty sure many of you might be curious about Barnabas’ breed, which I guess could either be a mini German Schnauzer or a Scottish Terrier, but I can be wrong, so please do suggest in the comments box if it’s something else.

Well, coming back to the show, in episode 6’s ending, Dream and Delirium, with Orpheus’ help, finally located Destruction and arrived on the secluded island seeking their brother, who was already expecting their arrival. Before abandoning his responsibilities, Destruction had left behind certain mechanisms that alerted him that people were looking for him, and that was how he found Delirium’s little quest. Well, it was always Delirium who wanted to find Destruction because he had left the siblings without any explanation, and all these years, Delirium had been yearning for answers. She failed to make peace with the fact that Destruction wasn’t there anymore. He had a void in her life, and she needed closure, which was why she requested Morpheus to help her find their brother so she could have a heartfelt conversation with him and understand his reasons for deserting his family.

All this time, Destruction had been constantly exchanging looks with Barnabas, probably because they talked about it and Destruction knew how much his absence had hurt his sister. But even though Delirium wanted answers, Destruction didn’t have any. However, he did have a solution for Delirium’s loneliness: someone to be with her so she didn’t miss her older brother anymore. In the end, Destruction told his siblings that he had no intention of returning back, and this time, he was going far, far away, to a place that wouldn’t be safe for his loving pet. Hence, Destruction asked Barnabas if he would want to walk beside his sister and protect her and guide her from all perils, like he, being her brother, would have done. Barnabas wanted to go with him, and once Destruction told him he wouldn’t be able to survive in the places he was travelling to, Barnabas decided to give Lady Delirium a chance. So, as the brothers and sister parted ways. Destruction disappeared into the galaxy so that his parents or his siblings wouldn’t be able to find him again, whereas Barnabas went with Delirium to her realm to give each other company and share stories of their mutual “friend.” Finally, Delirium was content, as she knew the reason why her brother abandoned them. She knew that Destruction wasn’t coming back, so she could go back to attending to her duties without worrying about her brother anymore.

I guess we would be seeing Barnabas and Delirium again in the upcoming episodes of season 2, though they wouldn’t have much of a role to play in the larger scheme of things, as most of the narrative would be centered around the Fates and Morpheus, as he had committed an ancient sin by killing his son and breaking the divine law.