Haven Episode 5.17 Enter Sandman

When Nathan finds Audrey in a state of suspended reality, he tries to force The Sandman to release her but, but he's not budging. Inside Sandman's stasis, Audrey is all-aglow and planning a wedding to... The Sandman! Back in Haven, Dwight talks to The Sandman and tries to get him to release Audrey but again, he refuses. The Sandman, real name Henry, is a tortured soul who lost his parents in a tragic car accident, which is where he got all the scares that cover his face. He grew up being abused and without friends, learning how to "retreat" into his mind's eye away from the emotional trauma he had to endure. So, when Audrey showed him the slightest bit of kindness he decided to latch on to that and make her the maiden of his dreams - literally. Such a romantic, that Henry. He even boasts to Dwight that once Audrey marries him inside of his fantasy world, she'll be trapped there forever. Pleased with himself, Henry retreats into his stasis, where we see...

Grayson, Audrey's hearing impaired pal who helped her solve the Darkness Trouble, and another guy, who Henry put into stasis earlier in the season when he was working for The Guard. And since he's all about role-play, Henry has cast Grayson as his best man and the other guy as his chauffer. Both guys are bewildered by where they are and the roles that Henry has assigned them to and when the "chauffer" starts asking too many questions, Henry kills him.

When Henry slips out of his stasis, he realizes that Dwight has handcuffed him, but he doesn't care because once his union to Audrey is made official, this version of Haven won't matter. After Dwight and Nathan both strike out, Charlotte steps up to the plate, with a different approach to Henry - seduction. But he's too smart for that trap -- or so he thinks. Henry totally takes the bait by putting Charlotte in the same stasis with Audrey, thinking that she'll serve as Audrey's maid of honor. Yet, once she's on the inside, Charlotte has a plan to warn Audrey about the danger she's in.

Meanwhile, outside of Haven, Seth of The Darkside Seekers, is doing research on paranormal activity when he finds Duke in the storage unit where Hailie left him. To Duke, Seth is a sight for sore eyes. To Seth, Duke is a creepy stranger who happens to know his name. Seth, like Hailie, has no recollection of Haven.

Back in wedding stasis, Charlotte forgets her original mission - stasis does that to you - and gets caught up in the wedding festivities. Yet thankfully, and later unfortunately, Grayson realizes that something is amiss and that in "real life" he is hearing impaired and cannot speak. He basically has a "WTF?!" moment and then challenges Henry, demanding that he send them all back to Haven. Henry, in true Henry fashion, kills Grayson while a terrified Audrey and Charlotte witness the entire ordeal -- unbeknownst to Henry.

Fully aware now, Charlotte tries to get Audrey to see that the Sandman isn't who he seems to be and that they're in a dream, that's actually a nightmare if you ask us. Nathan is on the other end in Haven, watching over Audrey's sleeping body trying to get through to Audrey as well. Nathan's suggestions manifest in Audrey's stasis on a newspaper containing all of the info that she needs to snap out of her trance and talk Henry out of using his Trouble for selfish reasons. Realizing that it takes too much mental power to continually coerce someone else's minds to stay with him in stasis, Henry reluctantly releases his hold on everyone's mind. He decides to remain locked in his own fantasy-- free of scars and ridicule but still friendless.

On Duke's end, after some coaxing, he's finally able to get Seth to remember Haven by mentioning Seth's childhood sighting of mermen in town. With Seth finally on board, the two plan a trip to North Carolina in search of a man who can remove "the black tar" (i.e. aether) from Duke's soul. Before they hit the road, Seth hops out of the van to get snacks and once he's more than a few feet away from Duke he suddenly forgets about why he's getting snacks and who the hell the man is - Duke - standing by his van. Seth speeds off and Duke has a "OMG, seriously?!" moment and decides to chase down Seth's van to make him remember everything all over again. Seth is still leery of Duke, but intrigued enough to hear him out, and off they go to North Carolina to remove the dark stain off Duke's soul.