The Sandman is a series on Netflix based on the DC character created by Niel Giamon. His series had a finite number of issues, and in a way, so does the streaming series. After the first season where Dream, aka Morpheus, escaped long-term imprisonment, this show could go in any direction. In the 1st season of the show, viewers were introduced to some of Dream’s siblings. This season, all of them are introduced, and they play a big part of the story.  Like a lot of shows now from Netflix, this one was split into two halls. I was able to see the first six episodes of season two, and here are my thoughts.

Morpheus/Dream (Tom Sturriidge) is summoned by his older brother Destiny (Adrian Lester) to his home for a family meeting.  His siblings, Desire (Mason Alexander Park) Despair (Donna Preston), Death (Kirby Howell- Baptiste), and Delirium (Esme Creed-Miles) are all invited as well. One of the family members doesn’t come to the meeting, though. Destruction (Barry Sloane) chose to leave his family behind  years before and hasn’t been seen in millenia.  Destiny tells his siblings of a bleak future, but Morpheus doesn’t have time for his brothers and sisters, so he goes on his way.

criptick about the future or the world around them. The rest of the family agree, and they all go their separate ways. Not long afterward, Delirium comes visiting Dream at his newly created mention in his realm, saying she misses her brother and would like her other older brother to go on an adventure with her to find Destruction aka The Prodigal. He begrudgingly agrees, and they embark on an adventure together.There is a little matter of dealing with the world of hell that Morpheus was tricked into receiving by Lucifer Morningstar (Gwendeline Christie) as well.

As a comic book reader, I was familiar with the popularity of the DC Vertigo series,The Sandman. Many people raved about how good it was. I didn’t read those books, though. It was a little more adult than I wanted to indulge in at that time in my life, during the late 80s and early 90s.  The streaming show was my first introduction to the characters. After watching season one, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like the show. It was right up my alley. Season Two Part 1 is a bit different but still the same in a lot of ways. There are a lot of philosophical conversations between Morpheus,  his servants, and his family members. The new characters that are introduced add another interesting element to the story overall. I was definitely involved in the story so far from beginning to end.

One of the things amongst many that I like about this series is the consecutive numbering and titles of the various episodes. This season continues right after season one with Chapter 11: Season of Mists and continues all the way through to Chapter 12: Ruler of Hell, Chapter 13: More Devil’s Than Vast Hell Can Hold, Chapter 14: Brief Lives, Chapter 15: The Song of Orpheus and Chapter 16: Family Blood. These chapter titles are very informative in the overall context of the show. The titles refer to some interesting developments within the first half of the second season and mention some new characters that haven’t appeared as of yet, such as Orpheus, the son of Morpheus. These were good episodes. 

Besides Morpheus and a few of the other cast members I’ve already mentioned, this series is full of fascinating characters. A couple that return from the previous Sean are Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong) , Matthew a raven (Patton Oswalt and Meryn the Pumpkinhead (Mark Hamill) who are friends and servants of Morpheus. They also give him advice on his various adventures and so forth. They all have a nice banter with each other and provide some comedy relief as well as heartfelt, friendly conversations.  These weren’t all of the supporting cast of this show, but they are a good portion along with the ones I already mentioned. A few cameo appearances do pop up in each episode, though.

One of the things I’ve heard over the years is that a lot of people don’t like to watch television/streaming shows where people are standing around talking all the time. They think that’s boring to watch.I disagree with this philosophy, though. If characters are standing around talking but are saying a lot of interesting things and the dialogue is very fascinating, I don’t care about that. This is a prime example of people standing around talking, but what they are saying drives the story forward. I was completely invested in the story from episode to episode.  With me not as familiar with the comic book series, it allowed me to hang on every word that was being said. Others may have already known what was going on ahead of time because of the situations that were happening or the locations the show went to.

With a series like this one, there is a suspension of disbelief. The settings have a lot of visual effects attached to them because there is probably a lot of green screen. I didn’t mind this because I already knew the type of fantasy world the show exists in. The sets and practical locations were very good-looking. Especially Morpheus’s mention. It was a grand old castle that had some age to it. The CGI didn’t distract me from enjoying the series, though. It enhanced my viewing experience quite a bit. Even a couple of the characters looked pretty good as CGI creations. The mixture of real world and visual effects was nicely balanced.

Tom Sturridge is a good character actor who was perfect for the role of Morpheus/Dream. He has a stoicism that lends itself to this character. He rarely has any emotion throughout the 1st half of Season 2, similar to Season 1. This time around, though, there is more character depth and development to him. Especially when he’s dealing with certain family members of his and an old love interest.  I learned a lot about this character in the six episodes I got to see him thus far in Season 2 Part 1. I’m curious to see how many more layers Sturridge can peel back on this character before the show is over in Part 2 of Season 2.  I love it when an actor is perfect as a character in a series or film, because I don’t have to worry about their performance at all. That’s the case here with Sturridge. I can’t see anyone else as this character.

Without spoiling the series, I will say each episode had a good story that delved into the main character quite a bit. The show deals with his family, romantic entanglements, and past problems he encountered, which he’s trying to resolve in the context of the show. The newer characters all brought something new to the table while also helping to create a greater backstory to what was established in the first season. I honestly couldn’t stop watching the 1st half of Season 2 until all six episodes were finished. It was indeed binge worthy to me. It’s a shame I’ll have to wait until August to see the rest of Season 2. I want to know right now where this story goes. I’m itching to find out what happens next. That’s a great indicator of a good series. Hopefully, they can stick the landing and not let me down.

The Sandman Season 2 Part 1 6 Episodes are Streaming Currently on Netflix

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen