Previously on The Sandman, Morpheus, the original Dream (Tom Sturridge) is dead, Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) escorting him to Hades. So it’s actually appropriate that this special episode The High Cost of Living is about her and an ephemeral friend. That friend is Sexton (Colin Morgan), who trips on wire, eventually leading him to Death’s door. But it’s Death’s day off, so they go to a night club where his girlfriend used to take him. Sexton is a doomer introvert and Death an extrovert, and she gets him a club tour that goes wrong. Despite that, they live until the next morning to go shop for some costume jewellery, Death savouring every last second.

Death, according to some of the reviews this season, is a fan favourite, which is something that I buy. Yes, I did have reservations about this or any episode of The Sandman – let the show die already, please. But this episode, clocking in at less than an hour, is a good final goodbye, for real this time. And what helps make this episode enjoyable is both Death and Howell-Baptiste, both complementing seemingly opposing ideas. The original character has this grungy feel to her, a manifestation of anxieties that people still feel despite their eras. And Howell-Baptiste interprets not just death but life as celebratory, as positive experiences despite the pain that follows both.

There is a divide between the first and the second series, the former being a wild ride of vignettes that eventually connect. Unlike most of the second series, this special episode feel more like something from the first, an enjoyable whirlwind. There’s less of a whiplash of ‘who are these people’ before Morpheus shows up, but I’m used to that format now. Or maybe I’m just happy that it’s not the goth man child but instead it’s Death as a human making human mistakes. A tour of the club actually turns into the owner trapping Death and Sexton, the owner wanting a favour. Will Death do that owner’s bidding, maybe, but it’s a beautiful excuse for dialogue between characters.

Death: The High Cost of Living has its funny moments, like Death and Sexton joking about their kidnapping. I mean, who among us has not been held hostage during a wild night when we used to still go to parties when our knees were still working? Anyway, this contemporary version of Death complements Sexton being a throwback from the grungy 1990s. A hipster who wears jean jackets and has anxieties about the Holocene extinction – what’s old is new again! It also helps that Colin Morgan makes for a good one time antihero, stretching himself from his villain role in Belfast. I’m also kind of in my feelings right now and this season finale puts things like endings into perspective.

Death: The High Cost of Living is available to stream on Netflix.