The Sandman (TV Series)

""Dreams do not last long in the mortal world... Nightmares seem to thrive there.""

The Sandman is a 2022 Netflix show, based on the comic book series of the same name by Neil Gaiman. It premiered on August 5, 2022.

A hundred years ago, a sorcerer called Roderick Burgess tried to imprison the Angel of Death. He ended up miscalculating, capturing a mysterious man with a helmet, ruby and a pouch of sand. On finding out the man is the Lord of Dreams, Roderick tried to use Dream's captivity to bargain for powers.

Dream is now free. He has taken revenge on his captors. There is a problem, however: most of his realm's dreams and nightmares are running rampant on Earth. Dream has to get them back, by any means possible, before they harm humanity. Some have already started the harm.

The series stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Charles Dance as Roderick Burgess, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death.


 * Abusive Dad: Roderick Burgress is not winning any father of the year awards. He physically abuses Alex, blatantly using him as a servant rather than a son.
 * Actually Pretty Funny: When he and Rose manage to enter
 * Adaptation Distillation: Neil freely admits that he was making up as he went when writing the first comics' run of Sandman, hence why stuff like the Vortex's true vortex had inconsistent details. Forty years and hindsight allow him to tighten the timeline. Namely, Dream and Lucienne, rather than admiring Rose as the vortex, are cautious about if her powers will awaken.
 * Adaptation Expansion: The Corinthian gets more to do here by appearing in the first arc rather than being the Arc Villain in Doll's House. Dream ended up on Earth hunting down the Corinthian, who escaped to become a real-life nightmare. That allowed Roderick Burgess to capture him.
 * Adaptational Attractiveness: John Dee in the comics was a shriveled man with a haunted expression in his eyes. As David Thewliss plays John, he is fairly handsome, just looking lost before realizing he can get his ruby back.
 * Adaptational Heroism:
 * For what little it's worth, John Dee has a smaller body count compared to his comic counterpart. He doesn't want to kill anyone stopping him from getting his ruby, and . And indeed when he gets the ruby, rather than.
 * One for Dream; while he does save.
 * One thing in the Corinthian's favor: he does not prey on children, and he doesn't kill everyone that he meets. Heck, he even sleeps with Carl when the latter hits on him, and refuses to eat his eyes. His Establishing Character Moment in the comic is showing him preparing to murder a teenaged kidnap victim in a hotel tub. One thing to his credit is that when.
 * Adaptational Personality Adjustment:
 * Lucien in the comic was more of The Caretaker of the Dreaming, who fusses over Morpheus when the latter collapses. Lucienne, in contrast, is portrayed as a Hypercompetent Sidekick that is not afraid to speak her mind to Dream about if it's safe for him to travel to Earth alone, has been running the Dreaming when he's held captive for a hundred years, and sends a raven to help him when he hunts down his tools. While Lucienne reasonably fears that if Dream loses his temper that he will send her and to Eternal Darkness, she also stands up to him if he's being unreasonable or narrow-minded.
 * Joanna Constantine II is more flippant than her comic counterpart John Constantine was with Morpheus. When Dream showed up on John's doorstep, he tiredly agreed to help the King of Dreams. Joanna tells Dream that he has to wait while she handles another exorcism and negotiates to get her fees tripled. Unlike John, who is fairly careful with his artifacts, Joanna reveals she left Dream's bag of sand at an ex's place after ghosting her..
 * Hob Gadling was a Technical Pacifist in the comics; he loses any fights where someone targets him. The show has him take on Lady Johanna Constantine I's goons with his fists, to protect Dream.
 * Greek muse Calliope in the comics is a Broken Bird and all-around Nice Girl. While she is nice in the show, she's much more defiant towards Erasmus when the latter has imprisoned her, and later Richard Madoc when he takes ownership of her. Calliope outright tells Richard that if he wants her ideas honorably, he would free her and then worship her, as the muses used to be worshipped. She also more actively plays The Long Game when the Fates tell her that only her ex Dream can save her; Calliope reads the newspaper and sees the Sleeping Sickness has ended. Knowing what that means, she contrives a Distress Call by writing "Morpheus" on a piece of paper. When Richard says the name aloud and burns the paper, she doesn't react, because saying Dream's name will summon him. Calliope also tells Morpheus she wants to be free, but doesn't want him to think that he still owns her as a wife. She specifies that she doesn't want Richard to be hurt later. Unlike in the comic where Calliope looks at Richard with pity after Dream curses him, she gives a tiny smile.
 * Adaptational Villainy: The Burgesses had one thing in their defense in the comic book; they had no idea about the harm they were causing to the world and had mistaken Dream for Death during his centuries-long captivity. When the Corinthian tells Roderick, as well as Alex, what they really imprisoned, Roderick uses Dream's items to make himself rich. Alex has it worse in that he nearly frees Dream a few times, but hesitates.
 * Adaptational Weakling:
 * In the comic book The Sandman, Lord Morpheus is pretty powerful even after spending seventy years in captivity. He remakes his Dream palace with a simple gesture, and only needs a few days of bed-rest. In the show, Dream doesn't even get that owing to a hundred years in captivity; he can barely move a few pieces of rubble, and refuses to rest or get food. He has to sacrifice Cain and Abel's gargoyle Gregory to receive enough power to summon the Fates and receive answers about his tools' location.
 * Hector and Lyta Hall were superheroes in the Golden Age as The Sandman and Fury respectively. When Dream invades Jed's mind, where a dead Hector and living Lyta are imprisoned, Hector attacks what he thinks is the King of Nightmares and at least tries to fend off what he thinks is a supervillain. It does nothing to Dream, who bursts out laughing on hearing that Hector calls himself the Sandman, but it's implied he was formidable in life, and confirmed in the Justice Society of America series when Hector and Lyta continue their superhero work. In fact, it's implied that Lyta's hero moniker and previously rebooted backstory as Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor's daughter was what . The series, to avoid having to explain thirty years' worth of comic continuity, makes them both ordinary architects and Hector died in a random accident. What's more, Hector is more accepting if saddened when Dream breaks it to him gently that.
 * Comic-book Gilbert realized that he couldn't take on the Corinthian after recognizing him, but realized that the latter had . Here, Gilbert doesn't have that opportunity; Corinthian recognizes him at the Empire State Hotel when the latter is helping Rose search for Jed, and is willing to kill . Realizing he has no choice,
 * While Choronzon looks tougher in this version, he is a coward who needs Lucifer to fight on his behalf; in the original version, he fought Dream personally.
 * Adult Fear:
 * The scene where Mr. Kincaid finds out his daughter Unity is asleep and not waking up, and realizing that she's not responding to him. He orders his wife to call the doctor, fearing Unity must be deathly ill. As Dream narrated, Unity wasn't the only one that fell victim to this sleeping sickness. Others had chronic insomnia or somnambulism.
 * The sad part about Death going about her rounds is that everyone she reaps has very mundane deaths. A violinist recites a prayer in Hebrew before he passes on sleeping peacefully, a husband drowns while on vacation with his wife and begs Death to let him tell his wife the code to his phone,.
 * Rose's quest to find her little brother Jed after their parents separated in a divorce. Since their parents died recently, she wants to to become his guardian and reunite with him. The foster care agent is no help, refusing to give information because she says that Rose can't raise Jed with her lack of income..
 * Ain't Too Proud to Beg: One man begs Death to let him talk to his wife, to say goodbye and give her the code to his phone so she has the travel information for their vacation. She apologetically shows him that he drowned a few minutes ago, so it's too late.
 * Ambiguous Gender:
 * While Lucifer is portrayed by a woman, it is not made clear if the character is female or androgynous - likely, Lucifer could appear as anything they desire, and other characters use gender-neutral pronouns as reference. When Neil Gaiman himself was inquired on the matter of pronouns, "usually I, but we when being formal."
 * Much like in the comics, Desire has no set gender; mortals view Desire as whatever they find desirable.
 * Bait and Switch: When Dream tells Rose that Matthew will help her in the real world, serving as his eyes and ears, Rose spots a bird on the beach. She goes to talk to it. Matthew is a few feet away; he corrects her that she was talking to a crow, while he is a raven. Good thing too, since.
 * Becoming the Mask: Downplayed; was always to.
 * Bigger Bad:
 * Bittersweet Ending: How season one ends, much like the first two comic arcs. Rose and Jed reunite, and.
 * Black and White Insanity: John Dee has this problem; his mother was a Consummate Liar, and his nightmares indicate that she tried to kill him. As a result, he hates liars. The reason why he spares . In the diner, . Dream has to point out the obvious: if you see their deceptions in a black-and-white context, it means that you don't see.
 * Bullying a Dragon: Roderick Burgess makes demands of the captive Dream when learning what he really is from the Corinthian. Dream says that even if he could give those gifts, honor and dedication to his duty would have compelled him to refuse. He gets his revenge once he's out on Alex.
 * Cain and Abel: The Trope Names appear in episode 2, and the Trope itself is downplayed. Cain assaults and murders Abel frequently (Abel cannot permanently die) but it seems he can't help himself, given his role as the First Murderer and Abel being the First Victim. Most of the time,  they get along just fine.
 * Cardboard Prison: Subverted with the mental hospital where John Dee resides, unlike with Arkham Asylum in the comics. There are security guards on every level; the one on John's floor is on a first-name basis with him and will shoot to kill, apologetically.
 * The Cavalry Arrives Late: Dream arrives to confront John Dee . He doesn't react, except to ask if it was necessary, and pointing out that none of the people were liars..
 * Character Development: Mentioned by about Dream after . He says that the Dream he knew would never have apologized for being an ass or insensitive, but Dream just sincerely apologized to Lucienne for inadvertently belittling her years of managing the Dreaming while he was away. Lucienne is more skeptical, saying that Dream's moods change and they may both end up in the darkness if his temperament sours. Ultimately, however,
 * Cool Uncle: Dream finds out in hindsight that
 * Cuteness Proximity: Despite himself, Dream smiles when he sees
 * Developing Doomed Characters: The adaptation of "24 Hours" does this with.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending: For Jed, season one shows how hard his life was, with
 * Even Evil Has Standards:
 * John Dee feels guilty for
 * The Corinthian looks like he's quietly seething when Jed reveals
 * Everyone Has Standards:
 * Joanna Constantine is selfish and pragmatic, showing no qualms about exorcising a demon in front of his bride-to-be. She also begs Dream to.
 * Likewise, Dream understands Joanna's cynicism better when seeing her nightmares of . He tells her that he's sorry that she suffers them, and bargains to make them vanish if she gets back his pouch.
 * Matthew is appalled when he learns that.
 * Fire-Forged Friends:
 * Gilbert and Rose bond when he prepares to defend her from muggers, and they team up to beat the tar out of her would-be attackers. She thanks him, and he walks her home. Later, he accompanies her on a road trip when It gets to the point where
 * Likewise, despite Dream making an ally of Rose out of necessity-- there's hope that if he helps her control her powers that he can find Jed as well as the errant subjects of his kingdom, -- his firm guidance means that they get along pretty well. Even though he says that it's time for them to wake up, he gives Rose and Jed time to pass important information to each other about Jed's location, and orders Rose to find her brother in the waking world. There's a bit of a road bump when.
 * Foreshadowing: In episode 2, Dream has to ask Cain and Abel to return their gargoyle Gregory to him, asking Gregory to . Both brothers beg Dream not to do it, saying they'll give their lives for their friend; Dream says that he can't because he didn't make them, and thus their sacrifice wouldn't give him the power he needs to summon the Fates or rebuild the damage to the Dreaming. A similar scenario plays out in the season finale where
 * Gilded Cage: At the Empire State Hotel, the Corinthian sets up
 * Graceful Loser: Zigzagged. Lucifer may not like Dream per se, but she respects him. When he wins their battle of wits, she forfeits the helm on the demon owner's behalf but says that nothing protects him in Hell so why should she abide by Sacred Hospitality? Dream points out that Hell would have no power over the damned unless they would dream of Heaven. She lets him go without further argument, though Matthew can see that she's furious.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Rather, villainous one; Ethel Cripps comes to visit her son John Dee in a mental hospital. She warns him that Dream is coming, but he scoffs that she said that every day they had to move to new towns. Realizing he needs proof, Ethel removes her necklace of protection and gives it to John, saying it will keep him safe from the Sandman. She proceeds to die in front of him, confirming that even if he gave it back, it would be too late for her.
 * Honor Before Reason: Dream notes he could have talked to Alex when the latter asked as a youth to not hurt him if he frees Dream. The problem is that Alex killed Jessamy, and broke a rule of the Dreaming. So Dream remained silent. Death calls out Dream for this later, saying that his stupid honor is why he was kept captive for so long.
 * Hope Spot:
 * Joanna Constantine realizes that she left the bag of sand at her ex's place. Rachel answers the door, upset that Joanna ghosted her, but willing to hear her out if Joanna apologizes since she was worried Joanna's line of work had killed her. Joanna does, saying that it was stupid and selfish of her to leave without even a note. It seems they can at least part civilly and Dream can get his pouch.
 * After the battle in Hell, Dream is relieved that the ruby is in a warehouse with no guards or protection. He cups it, only to realize something is wrong. The jewel knocks him out, just as John Dee arrives to claim it.
 * Rose cheers with relief when from the information that . Then she arrives to the place and
 * It seems all's well that ends well in the season one finale. Rose.
 * I Gave My Word: Dream takes his promises seriously. It's why he meets Hob Gadling faithfully for several centuries and feels guilty when Roderick makes him miss the latest appointment. He agrees to help Rose find Jed, since something has locked away Jed from the Dreaming, if she helps him find errant dreams and nightmares, accepting his assistance with controlling her powers. When they find Jed, Dream takes a surrendering and says it's time for everyone to wake up, but gives the siblings time to talk, long enough for Rose to get a clue about her little brother's address.
 * Karmic Jackpot:
 * Despite the fact that was meant to be a nightmare,  Even Lucienne disapproves of her punishment, telling Dream that in his absence, many of his subjects had to take on duties and make hard decisions.
 * It's revealed that Gilbert is actually.
 * Large and In Charge: Lucifer, ruler of Hell, as portrayed by Statuesque Stunner (6'3'') actress Gwendoline Christie, is certainly this.
 * Living MacGuffin: Rose Walker becomes this for the Corinthian in the present day. The reason?.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: Dream realizes with horror that.
 * Mama Bear:
 * surrenders to Dream and sheds the glamour of posing as Miranda Walker when he and Rose enter She explicitly says that she went against her purpose as a nightmare because.
 * When realizing that Dream will have to.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: The reason why Joanna doesn't stay close to any romantic partners is because her line of work -- demon exorcisms for fees-- can get them killed. She's horrified on learning that her carelessness with Dream's bag of sand ended up.
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Happens at the end of "24/7". John Dee made two crucial mistakes that allows Dream to defeat him:.
 * Parting Words Regret: The last thing Alex says to his father before killing him by accident is that Randall would hate his father as much as Alex does.
 * Perky Goth: Death, much like she is in the comics.
 * Pet the Dog:
 * While the Corinthian is mad at Ethel for refusing to help him fight Dream, and sending him back to the Dreaming with her amulet of protection, he doesn't hold it against her son. When John Dee escapes the hospital, Corinthian offers his coat, saying that he doesn't need it back when John gets to his destination. Sure, there was a selfish reason in that John is the only one who can probably get rid of Dream forever, but this is the Corinthian we're seeing. Later, when Carl housesits for Rose and Lyta, the Corinthian.
 * When it seems like John Dee is going to kill Rosemary after she transports him to the warehouse,
 * Pragmatic Villainy: The Corinthian tells Roderick Burgress how to keep Dream captive indefinitely as well as who he really is. He says it's in their best interest that Dream never escapes because he knows his creator will not be nice the minute he gets his powers back.
 * Punch Clock Villain: The modern-day guards that accidentally free Dream are paid grunts. One even theorizes that he is a Dracula, a vampire. When he is free, he simply knocks them out before going to avenge himself on Alex.
 * Race Lift: Death usually takes the form of a Caucasian woman in the comics; here she appears as African-American. Also true for many minor characters, including Rosemary (Caucasian to African-American, episode 4), Grace and Kelly (both Caucasian to African-American,  episode 5) and "Dog Soup" (Asian to African-American, episode 9).
 * Rebellious Prisoner:
 * Dream himself refuses to cave into Roderick Burgess's demands to give him his son back, or Alex's later pleas to not hurt him or his lover if they free him. He remains silent, determined to wait them out until an opportunity to escape appears.
 * Unlike in the source material, where Calliope was a Broken Bird after decades in captivity, this Calliope remains willful despite . She tells Richard outright that muses reward worshippers, and don't respond to bribes of flowers or perfume when he attempts that. When the Fates tell her that only Dream can free her, and Dream is in captivity she figures out Plan B: play The Long Game by waiting until Dream gets free a few years later and sending a Distress Call to him. Richard sees her writing Morpheus on a piece of paper and says the name aloud before burning it, not knowing that saying Morpheus summons him, and so does the smoke from his chimney. When Dream comes to help Calliope, he says he will if she lets him, and not because they used to be married but because Richard hurt her. Calliope specifies she doesn't want Richard hurt, just persuaded to free her because technically he broke no pre-established law and he has to free her of his volition. . When Richard feels the onset of the curse and confronts Calliope, asking what that strange man in a nightmare did to him, she gives a defiant smile before revealing he met The King of Dreams and the father of her son Orpheus. She said she didn't want Richard hurt, and technically Dream does not hurt him. View the scene in its gloriousness.
 * Refuge in Audacity: What is one way to get the Corinthian's attention? Copycat his kills. Corinthian tracks down the copycats and asks why he shouldn't murder them in turn. They Squee and reveal they are big fans of him, explaining they run a "collectors" convention. Would he like to be the guest of honor? Corinthian accepts, amused by their audacity.
 * Replacement Goldfish: Subverted. Because Jessamy died trying to save him, Dream is not into taking a new raven with him on Earth. Matthew acknowledges that he's not Jessamy, whoever she was, but he knows humans better than Dream does. Dream eventually concedes when Matthew refuses to leave his side.
 * Rule of Three: In the second episodes, the Fates allow Morpheus to ask them three questions, one to each Fate.
 * Scenery Porn: Almost every scene in the series is breathtaking, as befits a story where the protagonist is the embodiment of Dreams.
 * Shapeshifter Showdown: What the Oldest Game between Dream and Lucifer is, sort of. It seems like a psychological battle without physical change, but each strike one makes upon the other is a physical wound.
 * Spared By The Adaptation: In the comics, John Dee
 * Summon Bigger Fish: When Gilbert realizes that.
 * This Is Gonna Suck: The Corinthian has this reaction when he realizes that Dream is free, a hundred years after telling Roderick how to imprison him. He decides to go out and take the fight to Dream, by reshaping the world.
 * Thou Shalt Not Kill: More a case of honor on Dream's part, but he doesn't like killing because it intrudes on his sister Death's realm. Death has her duties, he has his.
 * A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Inverted; Alex is afraid to free Dream throughout his life, despite knowing it's the right thing to do, because Dream never indicates if he or his lover Paul would be punished for being complicit in his father's crimes. It's likely that if he had done so as soon as he had the power, Dream would have made the sentence much lighter.
 * Truer to the Text: Compared to adaptations in general. The plot only diverges from the source with the time period; other than that, it is almost a one-to-one
 * The Unfavorite: Alexander is the living spare to his father Roderick. Roderick captured Dream because he wanted Death to restore his deceased son Randall.
 * Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
 * Morpheus acknowledges that it certainly wasn't Roderick Burgess's intention, but he caused harm to the Dreaming and the real world. Burgess trapped Dream mistaking him for Death, just as he was about to capture Corinthian. This would lead to the Sleeping Sickness, and allowing nightmares. What was definitely not an accident was Roderick keeping him imprisoned indefinitely, along with Alex doing the same.
 * certainly meant well when she
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid:
 * Alexander is solemn as a child, obeying his father blindly, but certainly not evil. He's shown to be Nice to the Waiter as a teen, since his father treats him as an unpaid servant and not as a son. Alex is also the first person to ask Dream if he's all right while captive in the orb, showing genuine sympathy for him and apologizing for what his father did. His Start of Darkness is when he shoots Jessamy the raven for trying to free Dream as a test of loyalty to his father.
 * We see John Dee as an innocent baby long before he comes the monstrous serial killer. His mother turned him into the monster, and she apologizes to him when giving up her immortality to protect him.
 * Wham! Shot: When Unity.
 * What You Are in the Dark:
 * After his father's death, Alex almost frees Dream. He has felt sympathy for the prisoner. It's only because the servants remind him that his father wouldn't want this that he stops. Dream pities him, understanding, but still plans to punish him for killing Jessamy.
 * Worth It:
 * Happens twice with . When Dream confronts a surrendering
 * Also happens with
 * Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Unlike in the comics, where Corinthian explicitly
 * Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Dream finally returns home, to the Dreaming. He finds out most of the denizens, including his subjects, have left. There are exceptions, like Lucienne who waited faithfully. Dream realizes he has to go back to Earth to find all the dreams and nightmares before they can prey on the living.
 * Your Princess Is in Another Castle: Dream finally returns home, to the Dreaming. He finds out most of the denizens, including his subjects, have left. There are exceptions, like Lucienne who waited faithfully. Dream realizes he has to go back to Earth to find all the dreams and nightmares before they can prey on the living.