This review was made possible by Popped receiving advanced screeners of The Sandman Season 2 from Netflix.
Following his freedom and the collection of his objects of power, Dream of The Endless has returned to his realm to rebuild the kingdom of the Dreaming and make up for lost time. Yes, The Sandman has officially returned for the first and also the last time at Netflix, nearly three years after the debut of the first season. Tom Sturridge reprises the title role alongside his eternal aspect siblings to once again, in a season that sees the omnipotent ruler of the dreamscapes confronting things left behind long ago in a much more focused and contained follow-up season.
Endless Potential in ‘The Sandman’
Since day one, one of the strongest aspects of The Sandman has been its casting. Perhaps the best is of the main man himself, Dream. Sturridge’s portrayal of Dream of The Endless is nothing short of stellar. This season alone shows a well-developed performer whose grown into the role quite nicely. The worst part of his performance this season is that you know you’re watching the final days of it, for Sturridge, it’s already over, which makes it even more disappointing. The strongest attributes of Sturridge’s performances is ability to maintain his cadence all while sifting through emotional beats, his melancholy and often somber tone doesn’t tire and feels almost improved upon since the prior season. In the comic book adaptation world there’s a handful of special actors and actresses who’ve really made that role their own. Whether is be Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine or Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin, Sturridge may stake a claim on this character similar to those.
Many will remember the excitement surrounding the casting of Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar in The Sandman Season 1 and the performance that followed. Christie returns again in this first part, even if it is a small role, it has major consequences for the season overall and is what really kicks things into gear. As some know, part of this season adapts Season of Mists, the 8-part story where Lucifer relinquishes his rule of hell and sets free all damned souls and demons that run amuck. Not only does Lucifer relinquish the realm, but puts it into the care of Dream, a fate worse than death and something much more difficult than a bout of fisticuffs with the fallen angel.
One of the biggest things about this season is the introduction of the rest of the Endless, specifically Destruction, Destiny, and the most prominent, Delirium. While Destruction and Destiny’s screen time is limited, Delirium stands out as the most prominent member of the Endless alongside Dream this season, and stands out quite well. Esmé Creed-Miles plays the offbeat and peculiar youngest member of the Endless and really acts as the glue that binds the siblings together this season, as Dream attempts to pull further away from them. Their relationship this season is quite sweet, and it’s nice to see Dream play the big brother role, you can feel the development in his character in the way he shows his love for the people he keeps in company, albeit subtly.
Much More Personal
Season 1 of The Sandman was a much more skewed narrative format, taking place across creation with multiple converging storylines. Season 2, however, gets a lot more personal, with Dream confronting mistakes made in his past that have come to haunt him in the present. The obvious distraught these things have begun to cause him speaks to the testament of the character’s development from the first season to now. A character later on in the first part of this season even comments on it, frankly, the character is stunned at the lengths that Morpheus goes for the ones in his life.
While the first season felt like a fight for the fate of the world, this second season takes a much more somber and personal approach, dealing more with the internal struggles of Dream alongside his siblings. Like previously mentioned, Dream must face the mistakes made in his past regarding love and loss. The structure and pacing of this first part can feel uneven at times, with the early half of the season heating up quite quickly before settling down faster than you may expect, with little time spent riding the high of the Season of Mists climax.
Following the conclusion of that, The Sandman Season 2 Part 1 simmers down for a bit and hits a slight lull before rapidly heating up again to come to an ending full of more despair than both seasons so far have had of the actual character. Like I said, things are feeling a bit even now, and this first part of the season sets up quite a lot of plot threads, and at times it can feel like the show has completely forgotten about something it introduced in an earlier episode. This is, of course, a byproduct of Netflix’s favourite new release model, that all of their biggest shows are getting now. This isn’t a critique of the show now, more a critique of the platform but it feels excessive to be releasing these in parts when you could be doing this week to week which would actually give them more time in between these episode batches than dropping 6 at first, 5 later on this month, and 1 at the end of the month.
We see a clear focus on Delirium alongside Dream, with others such as Despair and Desire taking more of a back seat and at times antagonizing role in the plot. Despair continues to be one of the show’s most wasted characters; she doesn’t get much to do besides show up in scenes that require all of the Endless, and even then never really says a ton. She is, however, one of the few cast members from this show to appear in Dead Boy Detectives alongside Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s Death, but that show got cancelled, and that still stings.Destiny is another weird situation where the he has no real character besides being there to vaguely foreshadow what’s to come. He is an interesting character, and Adrian Lester is doing the heavy lifting there with the stoney demeanor of his performance. He just doesn’t have a ton to do besides read from that big book he takes with him everywhere he goes.Giving the situation the benefit of the doubt considering the character does seem somewhat limited in his abilities when it comes to the stories at hand and his role within the Endless. Thankfully, Mason Alexander Park remains stunning as Desire, while their role does feel a bit sized down they still are able to be the perfect thorn in Dreams’ side and serve as a richly antagonizing force.
Endless Beauty
Something that might be overlooked when it comes to The Sandman Season 2 Part 1 is its immaculate production quality. On almost every front, whether that be hair, make-up, set design, or direction, the show and those in it always look their best. One thing that I kept catching myself doing while watching this season is admiring and ogling the beautiful set design work. With all the realms and kingdoms we visit throughout this season its nice to see each one has its own unique style and flair. In an age where so many opt to build sets as minimally as possible and substitute in VFX and the volume (I’m looking at another certain Netflix adaptation) it’s refreshing to see such intricate detail put into building these locations.
Hair and makeup are another thing this show has never backed down from. Those who’ve read the comics know just how goofy and outlandish the hair can get in this world, and while Dream’s messy crows nest up-top may be toned down for the show, others flaunt intricate hedges of hair with all sorts of twists, twirls, and spikes. Make-up as well can get a bit outrageous for some of these supernatural entities, and that always looks about as accurate as they can get it. These little things just really help your viewing experience feel even more immersive, and care to detail just makes the show feel so much more special.
There also has to be a bit of love for the excellent directing from Jamie Childs, returning from Season 1. The style works well with the material and the aforementioned sets and production design in the show. The framing and especially the lighting work well to really elevate the series and give it that imagined atmosphere.
‘The Sandman’ Season 2 Part 1 – Final Thoughts
The Sandman Season 2 Part 1 is a bumpy yet highly enjoyable return to this epic, high fantasy universe. Tom Sturridge delivers an incredible performance as The Lord of Dreams that should be in conversation for one of the best performances in a comic book adaptation. The biggest thing holding this season back has to be it being shackled by a poor and annoying release model from its streamer. Still, the show remains eccentric and entertaining, with fantastic production quality and a much more focused narrative this time around that doesn’t feel like it’s multitasking, allowing us to really focus on the man of our dreams and his journey as the moodiest omnipotent force in existence.
The Sandman Season 2, Vol. 1 is now streaming on Netflix. Vol. 2 releases on July 24. Check out a trailer for The Sandman Season 2 below:
The Review
The Sandman: Season 2 Part 1
The Sandman Season 2 Part 1 is a bumpy yet highly enjoyable return to this epic, high fantasy universe. Tom Sturridge delivers an incredible performance as The Lord of Dreams that should be in conversation for one of the best performances in a comic book adaptation. The biggest thing holding this season back has to be it being shackled by a poor and annoying release model from its streamer. Still, the show remains eccentric and entertaining, with fantastic production quality and a much more focused narrative this time around that doesn't feel like it's multitasking, allowing us to really focus on the man of our dreams and his journey as the moodiest omnipotent force in existence.
