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The Sandman Review

The Sandman is a fantasy television series based on the titular comic book written by Neil Gaiman. It premiered its first season of eleven episodes on Netflix in 2022.

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“The only reason people die is because everyone does it“

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When the Sandman, the cosmic being who controls all dreams, is captured and held prisoner for more than a century, he must journey across different worlds and timelines to fix the chaos his absence has caused. I haven’t read the comics myself, but Gaiman is a renowned author and it’s only expected that this must have been a masterpiece. As for the show, judging it on its own terms, it is absolutely terrific and one of the best new series of 2022.

I am always happy to see an epic fantasy story that isn’t set in the Dark Ages. This one is set in the modern era, but the large bulk is set in the early 20^th century and some sections even further back in time. The fantastical elements and world building are definitely quite intricate, but not complicated to the point that they are incoherent.

It is difficult to adapt books and comics into a show and make it run seamlessly. The Sandman is edited in such a way that it felt messy and disorganized. The first half of the season’s run consists of one-off episodes focusing on one story or character that ended in that one episode, but the second half was mostly concerned with one major story spread through many episodes.

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I preferred the former over the latter. The latter eventually reached greatness in the show’s conclusion, but it took me some time getting accustomed to these newly introduced plot threads and characters and it felt just a bit too chaotic for my own taste. But the final couple of episodes fixed that with excellent conclusion to all of the characters’ arcs.

There was also a surprising eleventh episode that was unexpected and intriguing in both of its segments. The cat one was very artistic while the muse one was quite moving. This episode was a filler, but one that was actually well made and a great treat for fans.

The highlights are most of the episodes in the first half of the season. The episode that was set entirely within one diner was truly incredible, especially for how cleverly it tackled the theme of honesty and how in actuality extreme honesty is a bad thing that would destroy the entire human civilization. It’s a theme that rarely gets explored in media and here it was superbly handled.

The first episode is also phenomenal and admirable in its epic tone and for feeling like an entire show on its own in just the span of one episode. But the standout has to be the sixth episode that is a one-off, but a beautiful one. It is about the friendship that Morpheus strikes with an immortal man as the two meet again and again in the same tavern for centuries. Through this character the show takes a refreshingly positive atheistic outlook on life and the importance of living to the fullest and for as long as possible while it also develops the protagonist more and humanizes him in the process. It’s an epic yet intimate period piece that is one of the best television episodes that I’ve seen.

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Tom Sturridge is excellent as Morpheus. The character is an instantly iconic one in his Goth looks and sulky behavior. He gets a great arc where he grows to become more caring toward the season’s end and he gets to share a meaningful relationship with most of the series’ other personalities. The Corinthian is another standout and the show’s most memorable villain played so charismatically by Boyd Holbrook. He was such a huge, menacing presence that his demise felt too quick and anti-climactic.

David Thewlis was just fantastic as John Dee, a deeply troubled man who gets to have one of the most moving arcs on the show. Matthew the Raven is a wonderful sidekick well voiced by Patton Oswalt while Lucienne’s warmth is well contrasted with her master’s coldness. Of the other characters, Constantine is cool but shortchanged in screen time, Gwendoline Christie killed it as Lucifer and the fight that she has with Morpheus is unexpectedly subdued and unique, Destiny is a memorable villain of sorts and the serial killers were suitably menacing and over-the-top.

Most of the show’s supporting characters are surprisingly well developed, but the series still has too many of them, leading to a disorganized mess. There is also an issue of wokeness that is all too typical for Netflix. The majority of the characters are LGBT, which is not only unrealistic but painfully aggressive and just plain annoying.

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The Sandman is visually arresting. It is clear that Netflix invested a lot on this show, resulting in incredible VFX and gorgeous cinematography and production design. It would be a real shame if the show does not get renewed for another season. The score is also great while the dialogue is clever and sophisticated throughout. I just wish that the pacing and editing were better.