Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Netflix’s The Sandman.After 30+ years of development hell, the long-awaited adaptation ofNeil Gaiman’sThe Sandmanhas finally arrived in television form on Netflix. With Gaiman at the helm (along withDavid S. Goyer), the series manages to create lush, fully realized worlds that sometimes feel like they’ve been lifted straight out of the comic pages. The series follows Dream/Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), the lord of dreams, who is captured by occultist Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance) in an attempt to resurrect his son. Throughout Dream’s imprisonment, the realm of the Dreaming begins to crumble and humanity suffers a mass case ofencephalitis lethargica, or “sleeping sickness.”
Season 1 chronicles the first two volumes of the acclaimed graphic novel: Vol 1.,Preludes and Nocturnes, and Vol 2,The Doll’s House. Though this season’s narrative is relatively closed, there are still quite a few dangling threads that offer significant implications for Season 2 and beyond.
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Is The Corinthian Truly Gone?
Played with natural aplomb byBoyd Holbrook, The Corinthian gets dissolved by Dream, finishing what he started before his capture. He is then reduced to a tiny skull, ironically “collected” by Dream and Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong). The Corinthian may be gone for now, but it stands to reason that he could make a return in some capacity. Perhaps he will be recruited to fight in the upcoming war against Lucifer.In a recent interview for Collider, Acheampong expressed interest in a possible future arc featuring The Corinthian, when asked who she’d like to see her character have another episode with. “I don’t know, maybe, potentially an affair with The Corinthian. I’m just putting it out there." For now, however, the skull that contains the tooth-eyed nightmare will likely rest among the relics in Dream’s Palace.
What’s Next for Johanna Constantine?
Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) is introduced in Episode 3, “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” A nightmare flashback merges the traditional lore of John Constantine with Johanna’s, reimagining the infamousNewcastle Incidentthat sends Astra Logue (Nina Galano) to Hell. After providing Dream with his bag of sand, Johanna continues on her own journey. Given Johanna’s personal experience with the demon realm, she could become a key player in the upcoming resistance against Lucifer’s army next season. Like her male counterparts in both the DC Comics universe and the Arrowverse, Johanna offers up hints of an intriguingly troubled backstory with just about every interaction. Her episode intentionally leaves things unresolved, saving her stories for another day. In this sense, Episode 3 ofThe Sandmanacts as a pseudo-backdoor pilot of sorts, to set things up for a potential Johanna Constantine spinoff (approved by Neil Gaiman himself).
What is Desire’s Endgame?
In the final episode of Season 1, Desire (Mason Alexander Park) is revealed to be the architect behind Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai). They impregnated Unity Kincaid (Sandra James-Young) as she suffered the “sleeping sickness,” with the goal of forcing Dream to kill one of his own and suffer the consequences. Yet, what are the origins of Desire and Dream’s sibling rivalry? A common theme throughout the world ofThe Sandmanis the endlessly dysfunctional nature of The Endless. Dream and Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) get along quite well, while Desire and Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) act as lone wolves. The first half of Season 1 showcases Dream’s imprisonment by humanity, while the second half highlights the high-stakes family drama of The Endless. Both Desire’s motivation and clear plan remain to be seen, yet it likely falls somewhere on the spectrum of petty family squabbles. However, don’t expect the character’s trajectory to become any more straightforward.As Mason Alexander Park explains: “Desire’s always up to something, so you get to play with both sides. It’s someone who is both all the good, amazing things that you want and need and also the darker stuff, too.”
Why Did Fiddler’s Green Leave the Dreaming?
In Episode 10, “Lost Hearts,” Gilbert (Stephen Fry) is revealed to be Fiddler’s Green, the third rogue dream that Dream had been chasing. Fiddler’s Green is revealed to be a dream destination, channeled into human form through Gilbert.Stephen Fry’s bumbling, whimsical approach to Gilbert, the personification of Fiddler’s Green, channels the warm and comforting “meadows and green glades” that populate its beautiful landscape. Fiddler’s Green’s significance appears to mirror that of The Corinthian, as Dream describes his position as an “appointed post.” As The Corinthian was created for humans to confront the dark aspects of their humanity through nightmares, Fiddler’s Green was likely concocted for humans to experience the beauty of the natural world in their dreams. However, his backstory is delivered through brief expositional dialogue that omits some key points in his journey. Why did he choose to leave the Dreaming and live as a human? Was it simply for perspective, or was there a grander plan? Where exactly did he fit into the Dreaming hierarchy? Hopefully, this can be explored in future seasons. For now, Fiddler’s Green’s return to the Dreaming is a majestic sequence that evokes the bliss of a carefree stroll through the meadows.
What Is the Story Behind Gregory?
One of the mostharrowing scenes of Season 1was that of Dream absorbing Cain (Sanjeev Bhaskar) and Abel’s (Asim Chaudhry) pet gargoyle Gregory in order to rebuild the Dreaming. Dream indicates that he must absorb something intact that still contains remnants of his power. It later becomes clear that Cain and Abel, residing in the Dreaming, were long ago “gifted” Gregory by Dream, who originally created him as a nightmare. Yet there are some significant loose threads here. Why do Cain and Abel reside in the Dreaming? What precipitated this gift, and why did Dream change Gregory from a nightmare to a dream? Though Dream gifted Cain and Abel with a new egg that hatched a gargoyle named Goldie (or Irving, depending on your point of view), it is possible that flashbacks in future seasons could see the return of Gregory. Cain and Abel’ssignificance toThe Sandman’s overall narrativelikely signifies a more thorough exploration of their backstory as the television adaptation rolls on.
Is Lyta’s Baby Safe?
After Unity Kincaid sacrifices herself so that Rose can live, the vortex is closed and balance is finally restored to the Dreaming. However, there is still a looming threat — Dream’s insistence that Lyta (Razane Jammal)’s dream conception by the ghost of her husband, Hector, will have deleterious effects on the universe. At the end of Season 1, Dream has his hands full with rebuilding the Dreaming. Lyta’s pure elation at the birth of her son is highlighted, the narrative temporarily choosing not to focus on Dream’s imminent attempts to take him away. It is possible that Lyta’s son is a Vortex-like paradox, and this could introduce another imbalance in the Dreaming at some point. Lyla’s son and Rose, both borne of the Dreaming, possess a heightened awareness of the realm that will prove significant in the future.
Will We Ever Get to See the Sunless Lands?
The meditative, transcendental Episode 6, “The Sound of Her Wings,” sees Dream shadowing his sister Death on a normal workday as she shuffles some souls off to the “Sunless Lands.” Dream expresses his confoundment with humans’ resistance of death, opining that “It is as natural to die as it is to be born.” This resistance of death is partially what spurs Hector to remain in the Dreaming with Lyta. The Dreaming is a separate reality from the Sunless Lands, which the graphic novels did not explicitly explore. The narrative leaves the exact definition of the Sunless Lands up to interpretation, however, the television adaptation could eventually provide the viewer glimpses of this vague afterlife concept. The excellent “The Sound of Her Wings” cultivates a vibrant mystique surrounding the nature of death, and invites intrigue as to what this realm might look like.
