The Corinthian informs Rose that Morpheus will be trying to kill her and tries to persuade her to use her powers to usurp Dream and rule the Dreaming herself (with him advising, of course). She's not buying it, but she accepts that it's not safe to move around the hotel while the Cereal Convention's running, so she and Jed stay in the hotel room while the Corinthian goes to give his guest of honor speech.
The Corinthian's speech, telling the assembled 'collectors' that they are the true heroes of the American Dream, is interrupted by Morpheus (who is not mad, just disappointed). Rose, sensing his arrival, attempts to take Jed and leave the hotel, but finds that she's still asleep when she becomes enmeshed in the daydreams of the serial killers listening to the Corinthian's speech. The Corinthian and Morpheus enter the dream and each attempts to persuade Rose to his point of view, the Corinthian's being the same as before with an emphasis on it being her only way to save her life, and Morpheus's being that the power of the Vortex will inevitably erode the boundary between the waking and dreaming worlds and destroy both, and that her life is the price for saving everyone else she cares about. Rose chooses not to choose, using her power to disentangle the dream, wake herself up, and leave with Jed. Back in the convention hall, Morpheus unmakes the Corinthian and strips the assembled serial killers of their comforting and self-justifying dreams, leaving them to face the truth of who they are and what they've done.
Rose returns with Jed to Hal's B&B and the news that Lyta has gone into labor. Rose visits Lyta in the hospital, and Lyta advises Rose to use her power to destroy Morpheus before he destroys her, before he takes away anything else. Rose also has a phone call to Unity, to make sure that Jed will be looked after if something does happen to Rose. Unity tells Rose that she's often wondered what kind of life and family she would have had if she hadn't fallen into her coma, but she's happy with the life and family she's got.
Rose falls asleep and dreams again of exploring the dreams of the other occupants of the B&B. This time, she inadvertantly breaks down the barriers between them, causing the dreams to mix together and then be sucked down, along with the dreamers, into a swirling sinkhole, the Vortex made manifest. Morpheus appears and tells Rose that he can fix things and ensure the dreamers are unharmed, but only if the Vortex is stopped soon. Gilbert offers his life in place of Rose's, and on being informed that it doesn't work like that, bids Rose farewell before resuming his true form as Fiddler's Green. Rose agrees to let Morpheus kill her to save the others.
Unity sleeps, and dreams that she's in Lucienne's library, looking for a book that will tell her what her life would have been like without the coma. What she finds sends her and Lucienne hurrying to find Morpheus and Rose: if Dream had not been imprisoned, the Vortex would have formed a century earlier, and it would have been Unity instead of Rose. Unity volunteers to resume her interrupted destiny, meaning that Morpheus will have to kill her but Rose will be free to live out the rest of her life.
Rose, Jed, Lyta, and Lyta's new baby boy return home to New Jersey, with Rose and Jed now financially secure thanks to an inheritance from Unity. Rose pursues her dream of becoming a writer, starting with a novel inspired by her experiences.
Dream confronts Desire, who he's realized was the father of Unity's child, meaning that Morpheus and Rose are relatives and that if he had killed her he would have broken a taboo against kinslaying, with terrible (but as yet unspecified) consequences. Desire appears contrite, but as soon as Morpheus leaves begins plotting a new downfall for him.
Morpheus starts planning a new nightmare to replace the Corinthian — and recreates the nightmare Gault as a pleasant and inspiring dream, accepting her preferred change of career.
And in Hell, Lucifer is visited by the demon lord Azazel, who declares that the assembled generals of Hell's legions have decided that it's time for action to expand Hell's dominions, say by invading the Dreaming and bringing down that impudent Morpheus. Lucifer begins pondering a course of action that will infuriate God and bring Morpheus to his knees...
This episode contains examples of:
- Adaptational Context Change: Both the comic and TV versions of the Corinthian's final confrontation with Dream include a moment where the Corinthian sticks a knife through Dream's outstretched hand. In the original comic, Dream deliberately blocks the knife with his hand and has no reaction to the resulting injury, demonstrating that the Corinthian is powerless to harm him. In the TV version, this is what Dream expects to happen, but he is shocked when the injury actually hurts, demonstrating that with the power of the Vortex, the Corinthian can harm him.
- Adaptational Modesty: In the comic, during the climactic dream sequence Rose is either naked or dressed in a gauzy drapery that doesn't leave much to the imagination. In the TV adaptation, she's dressed throughout in the same practical clothing she wears when she's awake.
- Adaptation Amalgamation: Some of Morpheus and the Corinthian's final conversation, including the "I've done my best/You've done your worst" exchange, is drawn from a scene in the prequel comic The Sandman: Overture. (The scene itself was the basis of Morpheus and the Corinthian's meeting in episode 1, but for pacing reasons the meat of the conversation was moved here to their final confrontation.)
- Ate His Gun: After being forced by Morpheus to confront his nature, Nimrod takes out a gun from his glove compartment and kills himself with it.
- Audible Sharpness: When the Corinthian pulls out his knife during his confrontation with Dream, it makes a metallic scraping sound as it comes out of the sheath.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: For all the Corinthian's scheming and manipulation, when he finally runs out of options and faces Dream directly, the latter destroys him with a mere gesture... as both knew would happen.
- Express Delivery: Lyta conceives, carries, and gives birth in the space of a single day, due to the conception and most of the pregnancy happening in a Year Inside, Hour Outside dream.
- Face–Heel Turn: Lyta begins to echo the Corinthian's sentiment that Rose can and should use her powers to destroy Morpheus, thanks to Dream bluntly telling her that her child belongs to him and he will be collecting at some point.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: A glass heart is Desire's sigil. When Rose pulls one out of herself in order to transfer the vortex to Unity, Dream and Lucienne exchange a subtle but shocked look, realizing that Desire might be involved, which is confirmed a few moments later when Unity talks about 'my golden-eyed man'.
- Foreshadowing:
- "You really are amazing, you know that?" "It runs in the family."
- The story that Zelda begins to recite in Rose's dream is also called "Lost Hearts
". It's by Montague Rhodes James, in which the villain plans to consume his young cousin's heart — prefiguring the transfer of the vortex from Rose to Unity.
- Genius Loci: Gilbert is a dream but not a person: he is a place, a living Arcadia.
- Genuine Human Hide: In Nimrod's daydream, he's making clothing out of the skin of one of his victims.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Dream punishes the conventioneers at the Cereal Convention by "ending the dream" they have been living their lives under. This translates into all of them suffering a Heel Realization, all of the conventioneers leaving the convention with a Thousand-Yard Stare. The Good Doctor turns herself in to the proper authorities, while Nimrod takes out a gun from his glove compartment and kills himself with it.
- Heel Realization: Dream punishes the serial killers by stripping them of any delusions they might have about themselves and making them realize just how evil they really are. Some of them, like the Good Doctor, turn themselves in to the police while others, like Nimrod, kill themselves.
- Hell Invades Heaven: In the Sequel Hook scene at the end, an ambitious Demon Lord proposes that Lucifer invade the Dreaming, the mortal world, and ultimately the Silver City. Lucifer doesn't answer, but confesses to being intrigued.Lord Azazel: Since none of us may leave Hell, we may as well expand its borders until Hell is all there is.
- Impaled Palm: When Morpheus first confronts the Corinthian and prepares to unmake him, the Corinthian, empowered by the Dream Vortex, unexpectedly stabs Morpheus through the hand, shocking him.
- I Should Write a Book About This: Rose writes a fantasy novel about her experiences in the Dreaming - much to Lucienne's delight.
- Knight Templar: Dream notes that all of the serial killers have avoided the full monstrosity of their actions by using daydreams and fantasies to turn themselves into the heroes of their stories. When he takes that away, they see themselves for what they really are: sick, pathetic monsters. Reactions vary, from turning themselves into the police, to killing themselves.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Dream curses this trope upon the Cereal Convention attendees by taking away their justifying delusions. The Good Doctor can be seen calling the police to turn herself in, and Nimrod just plain shoots himself.
- No-Sell: Dream's first attempt to banish the Corinthian for the first time does nothing, and he gets a knife in the hand for his troubles.
- Obliviously Evil: All of the Collectors are this. Morpheus's speech to them reveals that they all see themselves as put-upon underdogs and victims and don't acknowledge the evil of their actions until he forces them to.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Dream has one when the Corinthian actually manages to hurt him with his knife.
- Desire's perpetually smug expression momentarily flickers when Dream announces that he's entering their chamber.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Lucifer notes that the Lords of Hell not fighting against each other and actually assembling means they must be serious about their proposal.
- Pet the Dog: The episode ends with the reveal that he brought Gault back as a dream, acknowledging that it was unfair of him to punish her the way that he did.
- Morpheus also offers to let Rose stay in the Dreaming after her kills her; as he repeatedly states that he does not want to kill her and he knows that it's unfair, it's implied that he makes the offer in order to make her death easier for both of them.
- Reality Warping Is Not a Toy: Morpheus warns Rose that if she continues to pull down the walls between dreams, both the waking and dreaming world will be destroyed, along with all her family and friends. However, Lyta convinces Rose that Dream is lying simply to protect himself and that she should destroy the walls of dreaming to banish Morpheus and keep everyone safe. Angry at the thought of Dream killing her, Rose proceeds to rip down all the walls, only to create a huge vortex that sucks in all her friends and her little brother, possibly to their deaths. Morpheus appears, pointing out the massive damage she has done and reminding her that no one is safe until the vortex dies. Only after realizing what she has done does she accept the truth and offer herself as sacrifice to save everyone else.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Dream delivers one to Desire regarding their manipulations. Desire is briefly cowed but brushes it off, true to their nature as a creature of the moment.
- Dream also delivers one to the Collectors. Despite other characters remarking that Dream is cold and aloof, his voice is dripping with nothing but disgust at the actions of the Collectors:Morpheus: And you, who call yourselves “collectors”. Until now you have sustained fantasies in which you are the victims. Comforting daydreams in which you are always right. But no more. The dream is over. I have taken it away, for this is my judgement upon you. That you shall know from this moment on exactly how craven, and selfish, and monstrous you are. That you shall feel the pain of those you have slaughtered. And the grief of those that mourn them still and you shall carry that pain, and grief, and guilt, with you... until the end of time.
- Dream also delivers one to the Collectors. Despite other characters remarking that Dream is cold and aloof, his voice is dripping with nothing but disgust at the actions of the Collectors:
- Reveling in the New Form: Dream brings back Gault and bestows upon her a set of butterfly wings, having finally accepted her wish to no longer be a nightmare. She reacts with open joy and uses her new wings to fly off.
- Sequel Hook: In retaliation for the events of "Hope in Hell", Lucifer is preparing to go to war with Morpheus (albeit their hand is being forced by the Lords of Hell).
- The Starscream: Azazel is clearly itching for a chance to try to overthrow Lucifer and implies a lack of action from the Morningstar will bring consequences. Both Lucifer and Mazikeen are aware that he cannot be trusted.
- Take a Third Option: Either Rose dies, or she destroys the Dreaming. Then Unity suggests that even if the Vortex has to die, it doesn't have to be Rose. Between the power of the Vortex while in the Dreaming and Unity's status as a prior potential Vortex, the power is passed from a twenty-something to a centenarian, allowing Rose to survive the Vortex's destruction.
- Take Me Instead: Gilbert/Fiddler's Green offers to die in Rose's place. Dream seems to appreciate the sentiment but points out that, as Rose is still the Vortex, this would solve nothing.
- Time Skip: In her final scene of the episode, Rose has completed a whole manuscript and Lyta's baby now has a full head of hair, showing that a good chunk of time has passed since the vortex issue.
- Winged Humanoid: When the nightmare Gault is remade as a dream, she has butterfly wings.
- Xanatos Gambit: Desire pulled one on Dream by fathering Unity's child and arranging for Rose to become the Dream Vortex: If Dream killed Rose to eliminate the threat of the Vortex, then he would face the consequences of spilling family blood, but if he didn't, then the Dream Vortex would eventually overpower him. Either way, Desire would succeed in eliminating Dream. Fortunately for both Rose and Dream, Unity Kincaid enabled them to Take a Third Option.
