This review was made possible by Popped receiving advanced screeners of The Sandman Season 2 from Netflix.
Just a measly few weeks following the release of Season 2 Part 1 of Netflix’s The Sandman, the conclusion to the thrilling first batch has arrived. The shock of what seemed like a premature finale having settled, the first part did an excellent job easing audiences into the end, and it’s gratifying to say that the second part gracefully wraps the story up into a fulfilling ending that will leave you with an overwhelming bittersweet feeling. Tom Sturridge cements himself as the perfect casting for the role of Dream of the Endless in a final run that pushes the lord shaper into unfamiliar territory, one that even an entity as powerful as he may not be able to come back from.
Nothing Is Endless for ‘The Sandman’
We last left Dream after he had taken the life of his own son, Orpheus, reduced to only an undying head. Orpheus was left guarded by an order of priests after a confrontation with his father left them estranged. With family blood now spilt, the clock begins to count down on Dream’s existence, breaking a long-held rule amongst the endless. Putting him right into the sights of the Kindly Ones, with his death becoming all too clearly imminent. Volume 2 centers on Dream coming to terms with his final days, still of course looking for a glimmer of hope that may lead him down a different path, still he makes the preparations necessary and properly names Daniel Hall as the heir to the dreaming and the one who shall take his place if he is to truly meet his end.
However, Dreams’ final days are thrown into disarray as his newly appointed heir is suddenly taken from his home by the mischievous Loki and Robin Goodfellow. These unforeseen circumstances lead to Dream turning to those whom he’s always been able to rely on, and others that he hasn’t, with a few new tweaks.
It Was All A Dream
It’s difficult to go into a lot of detail pertaining to this season simply due to the finality of it all and the revelations revealed. To put it simply, the final episodes of this season are executed very well, with great direction from Jamie Childs. The best part of this show will always and forever be Tom Sturridge. The casting is just absolutely phenomenal, and the worst part about this season is the fact that it’s ending as Sturridge has grown into this role so well. Even here in these final episodes, they manage to take the character to new places, giving him much more depth as he’s forced to face the fact that his existence is in danger and for once, something might actually be able to kill him.
The best part about this performance from Sturridge is seeing a Dream pushed to his limits, seeing him overwhelmed with desperation, with grief, for once he doesn’t know what his next move is going to be. A man once thought to be incredibly sure of himself and exuding ironclad confidence is rattled with his own departure, even if it was for a just cause, he is still guilty. Sturridge manages to express these emotions in a manner that feels honest to the character, staying within the boundaries of this characterization without getting too out there.
This also may be the first time that the multi-part release model actually worked for a Netflix series. The streamer has been doing this for a while now, much to the annoyance of viewers, with the trend set to continue on series like Wednesday and Stranger Things’ upcoming releases. Here, this release model may benefit the series, and it’s likely due to the fact that this show is based on and takes a similar structure to comic books. Comics have always run through arcs within a matter of a handful of issues, and the first part works as a pretty strong build-up for this final volume. It may even make the first volume even better, thinking back on it, but a proper rewatch of it would be needed to fully prove that point.
Friendly Faces and Fierce Foes
Many will remember Boyd Holbrook from Season 1, playing the sadistic nightmare come to life known as the Corinthian. One of the many messes needed cleaning up following Dream’s absence, who’d led the lord shaper on a wild goose chase, bringing mayhem to every corner he turned. Holdbrook returns yet again, this time as a much different Corinthian, who is much more of a delight than the other guy. Corinthian learns to play well alongside yet another return from season 1, with Jenna Coleman suiting back up as the snappy demonologist known as Johanna Constantine. Together, the two of them aid Dream in his darkest hour, at his most vulnerable.
Coleman and Holbrook are a great pairing here, with fantastic chemistry that makes their furthering dynamic a joy to watch unfold. Seeing how the two of them work together, specifically with Coleman learning to trust him after what the first one did. Johanna was a fan favorite in the first season, with many hoping to see the character get her own spin-off. Chances of that are slim to none now but people will absolutely get a much heftier serving of the character here, which may satiate the appetite for that character to the best of the creatives’ abilities.
Season 1 introduced us to Lyta Hall, who once resided in the dreaming alongside her late husband, Hector Hall. Together, those two conceived a child that would become the first to be born in the dreaming. This child would go on to become Daniel Hall, Morpheus’ named successor who’d eventually be kidnapped by Loki and Robin Goodfellow. Working against Morpheus in order to get out of a debt Loki owed him for his freedom. Freddie Fox plays the role of an effortlessly sly and devious Loki alongside Jack Gleeson, who makes a long-awaited return to acting here. Fox and Gleeson are quite fun together, a sort of reverse Johanna and Corinthian situation here, with the two of them being madly in love with the worst parts of each other. The season seemingly builds them up as the main antagonists but they only act as the catalyst for the real foe. Lyta Hall, played by Razane Jammal.
Lyta takes a page out of the Wanda Maximoff guide to motherhood, seeking vengeance for what she’s lost, being led to believe Morpheus took and killed her son Daniel. Lyta is manipulated by those seeking to fulfil their duty in killing Dream, the Kindly Ones, who act as merciless and cruel stewards of destruction towards Dream and the dreaming. Lyta herself is basically just left in the dark for much of the season, pulled back into focus after being most absent from Volume 1. Lyta is a decent foe, mostly propped up by the Kindly Ones’ ruthlessness as she’s mostly just their living, breathing weapon. Her only real motivation is to get her son back. Desperate enough for that goal, she’s willing to submit to the Kindly Ones influence and become their vessel and manages to ruffle a few feathers, but gets an interesting end to her story that we can’t get into here.
‘The Sandman’ Season 2, Part 2 – Final Thoughts
All good things must come to an end, and a good thing this was. The final season of The Sandman is a thrilling and strong adaptation of the comic book series. Tom Sturridge delivers an all timer performance and joins the greats amongst the best comic book castings of all time, alongside a strong cast that This seasons wastes no time and delivers a fulfilling conclusion to Dreams’ story and an incredibly satisfying, yet bittersweet, ending.
The Sandman Season 2, Vol. 2 is now streaming on Netflix. Check out a trailer for The Sandman Season 2 below:
The Review
The Sandman' Season 2, Part 2
All good things must come to an end, and a good thing this was. The final season of The Sandman is a thrilling and strong adaptation of the comic book series. Tom Sturridge delivers an all timer performance and joins the greats amongst the best comic book castings of all time, alongside a strong cast that This seasons wastes no time and delivers a fulfilling conclusion to Dreams' story and an incredibly satisfying, yet bittersweet, ending.
