Has anybody watched ep 5 of The Sandman?

I saw the fifth episode of the Sandman, if you are in a bad state of mind do not absolute start this series or read this post (also spoiler ahead if you're planning to watch it.) I also attached some screens of comments under this video that made me think about this. https://youtu.be/pOslfcSBYmo Basically the premise of this episode is that a person named John Dee uses the magic ruby he stole from the god of dreams to make dreams and desires come true. His desire is to create a new world without lies, where everyone is honest to each other. He first tries this power and we see its effect from the point of view of various people in a diner. I was triggered when it was mentioned that the cook had an affair with the waitress'son, because at first it wasn't mentioned that the son was 21 years old and when the cook revelead that the waitress said "but he's only a ***" and then the cook said that her son was 21 years old and that he wasn't just a *** anymore. I was very triggered because I initally thought that the cook SA the waitress' son. I think I even pictured the scene and I felt sick. Then the point of view changes and now there is a scene with high se*ual tension where a CEO woman interviews a new employee and things start to get sensual. The weird thing is that when the CEO woman and the younger guy started making love I started feeling arousal and I wanted it to stop. It was a very sick and disturbing feeling because I passed from being triggered from the previous scene to feeling arousal in the following scene. But what triggered me the most was what John Dee did. He basically made it so that intrusive thoughts led to action, the realization of the thought. I thought intrusive thoughts were egodistonic and that they were meaningless lies that our brain made to make us worry. In this episode the intrusive thoughts are depicted (by John, not the message itself I guess) as the truth that we try to hide and not unwanted thoughts, as our real nature. So does that mean that my intrusive thoughts are my true thoughts? Are they my "real" desires that I try to hide and reject with lies and use ocd as an excuse not because thay aren't who I am but because of shame and judgement? Am I a monster? Does that mean that my intrusive thoughts could led to action? And I have pocd and that's the most disgusting and unforgivable theme. I'd rather kill myself like all the people did at the end than to be a monster, to be in denial, to harm others. I just wanted to hope that I had ocd. I still don't have a diagnosis. But I lost hope a lot of times, I've accepted in the miserable state in which I am and that I don't deserve to heal or happiness. But I still reject and not tolerate those thoughts. I harm myself. But in this episode Morpheus says that if you lose hope and dreams humanity and civilization cease to exist, because you start giving in to the "intrusive thoughts" which are dark desires and if dreams and hope aren't there anymore there is nothing holding us back and keeping us sane and alive and we are not different than animals. Then, does that mean that I was overcome by intrusive thoughts and fully became a monster? Did I let the intrusive thoughts win and take over me? Did the intrusive thoughts became just thoughts? Did I start to tolerate them? Or were they really intrusive to begin with? From a viewer perspective this episode was incredible, but it tackled themes that triggered me a lot. If anybody has watched it please let me know what you thought about it.

https://res.cloudinary.com/nocdcloud/image/upload/v1662039381/scaled_image_picker6915856817171187025_eljrz0.jpg

https://res.cloudinary.com/nocdcloud/image/upload/v1662039381/scaled_image_picker6551532140193980716_ivmvdq.jpg

Migratory_Bird

Date posted: 2y

I haven’t seen the episode but if I’m understanding the plot correctly, it sounds to me like the writers have conflated “dreams and desires” with intrusive thoughts which are totally not the same thing (intrusive thoughts are unwanted and yes, egodystonic meaning that you DON’T want them or have any desire to act on them - that’s why they often cause such distress). The people commenting have done the same thing, so I wouldn’t put much stock in their interpretations. Here’s where I really start to judge the writers of the show: intrusive thoughts are NOT dark desires and dreams. They’re JUST thoughts, and thoughts can and often do mean nothing at all. The writers have completely misused the term “intrusive thought” here. They should look up the definition of words and phrases before they write them into the dialogue 😅 Things like this really bug me and constantly pull me out of getting immersed in shows and movies, haha. Things in action scenes will be physically impossible, the timeline in a backstory will not add up or the story just doesn’t make sense, people who don’t have plane tickets get through airport security and go all the way to the gate to say goodbye to loved ones (you definitely can’t do that in real life!), medical conditions are poorly researched and not accurately depicted. Try to keep in mind that shows are written by humans, and humans make mistakes, misinterpret things, and are capable of spouting all kinds of nonsense 😂 So try not to assign any deeper meaning to shows and movies, they are made for entertainment and written by people who don’t always do their research.

ivefailed.

Date posted: 2y

thanks a lot for your answer, it made me feel much better and cleared some doubts. Also to be fair the term "intrusive thoughts" were never used in the show. Those were the commenters that brought that term up. But even I felt uneasy while watching this episode because it really felt like it was tackling the topic of intrusive thoughts, but depicted as hidden desires. Having reflected about this for a while I think I finally understand more what actually happened: the villain wished that everybody was honest but I think that the magic ruby interpreted its wish literally by failing to recognize the fundamental differences between desires and impulsive desires (not intrusive thoughts) that we refrain from doing because of our own will and conscience as an individual. The ruby takes away people's free will and forces them to act on every desire, regardless of whether they would have chosen not to act on their impulsive desires in the first place. It starts from them forcefully being honest and not hiding what they are really thinking, and also true desires like that character that was about to exit the diner after being offended but actually wanted to stay there. Then it becomes more violent and the ruby even forces people to act on their own impulsive desires at the moment, which are a different thing from intrusive thoughts. So the "intrusive thoughts" could be a misinterpretation from the commenters who misused the term, but I myself in the first place when I watched this episode felt a connection with intrusive thoughts and its triggering implication and message.

anonymous567

Date posted: 2y

hey there, I have never seen the show, but I know a lot about the nature of intrusive thoughts. they are indeed ego dystonic and unwanted, and everyone gets them--those of us with ocd are just uniquely tormented by them. this is not the same as hidden desires. unfortunately, most people are not educated on intrusive thoughts and what they really are, so they make these misinformed equations. also, the "hidden desires" narrative comes from freudian theory that has been disproven. ocd research shows that these distressing thoughts are ego dystonic and not reflective of what we want.

ivefailed.

Date posted: 2y

thank you for answering and clearing my doubts and also for providing precious information 🙌

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