His Tragic End Shook ‘The Sandman’: Here's Who Plays Orpheus
The Sandman’s season 2 part 1 was a major shocker for those expecting some kind of happy ending for Orpheus’ biggest trouble. Here’s everything to know about the character’s heartbreaking fate and the actor who portrays him.
Fans of Greek mythology know things were pretty complicated there when it came to family disputes and love dramas; arguably, Netflix’s The Sandman is just the same.
Based on Neil Gaiman’s comic book series of the same name, The Sandman relies heavily on many existing myths and legends, which is also a detail seen in the leading characters’ names.
The show’s second season brought the whole drama onto a completely new level with a major plot twist that forever sealed the fate of Orpheus, the estranged son of Dream aka Morpheus.
However, even the former’s actor might have expected something this bad to happen all along.
Who Is Orpheus & Who Portrays Him in ‘The Sandman’?
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In both the original comic book series and Netflix’s show, Orpheus is the son of Dream and Calliope; he is a character inspired by the Greek myth’s bard of the same name.
Portrayed by Ruairi O'Connor in the TV adaptation, Orpheus mostly builds his storyline arc around a tragic outcome of his wedding when his bride Eurydice died after being beaten by a snake.
Desperate to reunite with his beloved one again, Orpheus looks for help from someone who will revive Eurydice; when the ruler of the Greek underworld Hades agrees on one condition, Orpheus violates the rule, leading to Eurydice be taken to the underworld forever.
In The Sandman’s season 2, Orpheus sees no other choice but to join his forever bride in the underworld himself, voluntarily putting himself in the path of Dionysus’ vicious cult called the Sisters of the Frenzy, the members of which eventually attack and kill him.
Ruairi O'Connor Says “It’s Almost Guaranteed” Orpheus and Eurydice Won’t Reunite in the Underworld
Despite still succeeding in getting into the same place as the love of his life, the character made a major miscalculation, considering that there’s only his head that’s now left from his body.
“Orpheus was idealistic, and he hoped he could go down to the Underworld and rescue Eurydice and everything would be OK — and certainly not that he’d be separated from Eurydice”, O'Connor revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of The Sandman’s season 2 part 1 release.
The actor also added that the only thing Orpheus really needed to do is to die in a normal time, which would eventually allow him to reunite with Eurydice in his normal shape.
“But now, it’s almost guaranteed he’s one of the only people who will never see Eurydice, and he won’t be able to move his body because it’s gone. His father had warned him that this would happen”, he stated.
When Will ‘The Sandman’ Season 2 Part 2 Be Released?
The show’s new episodes will arrive on Netflix on July 24.
