Rosemary in The Sandman
We meet Rosemary in Ep. 4 of The Sandman, A Hope in Hell, and she is one of the characters who had some big changes from the comics (WARNING: spoilers for comics and Ep. 4 ahead).
For anyone unfamiliar or in need of a refresher, in the comics, she appears in Passengers (Preludes and Nocturnes #5), and she is a nurse driving past Arkham Asylum when John Dee (naked) accosts her and demands she drive him to Mayhew. During the drive, and while being held and gunpoint, she attempts to offer him some kindness - she offers him a sandwich, her husband's coat, and listens to him expound on his life story. She mentions her two daughters, and when she drops Dee off at Mayhew they seem to have a decent rapport. Dee thanks her for the ride before promptly shooting her.
Now to The Sandman show, which dramatically changes Rosemary's story. She does still pick up Dee in her car to take him to Mayhew, albeit with much less threatening as she offers it out of kindness and with no threats on Dee's part. Their conversation on the drive reveals that Dee is not of sound mind and has been kept away from regular society for awhile although they do discuss her children and philosophize a bit together. She does the sensible thing and attempts to have a gas station clerk call 911 when they stop. Dee, however, has a magical protection amulet that puts a quick stop to that. Rosemary continues to drive him to Mayhew although she is terrified of him now. When she drops Dee off in Mayhew she simply asks that he does not hurt her dog, Susie, who is in the car with her. She also, while admitting that she will regret this *out loud*, offers to drive him elsewhere even after she is sure that he plans to kill her. Dee, in a reversal from the comics, takes off his protection amulet and gives it to Rosemary before sending her on her way home physically unharmed.
So, we have our two Rosemary's. I, personally, adored the changes made for the most part in the show and this change was one of my favorites. She still relies on empathy, but in the show it feels less of a manipulation and just is an element of her core personality. Part of my interest in specifically the change to her character's fate in the show is because Dee's actions directly following Rosemary driving Dee to Mayhew send the world into chaos due to his misuse of Dream's ruby. There are fires, rioting, and the kind of events that can be summed up as the world gone mad.
Comics Rosemary is deceased, and hence does not care, but TV Rosemary not only is experiencing this chaos but is also in possession of a potent protection amulet that likely ensures she is near untouchable by violence of any sort. There is no sudden and violent ending of her story in the TV show which leaves so much open potential for the character's experiences. What will the rest of this character's life look like after this brush with the supernatural and likely death? How much of what happens immediately after she drops Dee off impact her and her place in the Sandman universe? Or does it have any impact outside of what Dee's presence in her life already caused? There is so much potential in this open end!
