The Sandman, a fantasy drama from Netflix, was released on August 5, 2022. It is perhaps one of Netflix’s best productions, ranking up there with HBO’s Game of Thrones and the famous comic series from Neil Gaiman, which debuted in 1988. Neil Gaiman collaborated with David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg to create the Morpheus-centric series, King of Dreams.
The fantasy drama, created by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television, stars Tom Sturridge in the lead role as well as supporting performances from Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry and Sanjeev Bhaskar.
The task of adapting Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman was daunting, and for over 30 years Gaiman aggressively discouraged any low-quality versions from appearing on film. Before fans watched the first episode of the recently released Netflix version, it seemed almost impossible; after that, the rest is history.
The Sandman season 1 episode 1
The sand man Season 1 Episode 1: sleep of the just
Viewers should be aware that the main character of this Netflix fantasy drama, also known as Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams or Dream, is an immortal being who anthropomorphizes the phenomenon of dreams and plays with the state of sleep.
His domain is called Dreaming and he has the ability to create and alter dreams and nightmares. He carries his powers in three totems, or tools, as he calls them: a sandbag, a helmet, and a ruby necklace. The other six endless siblings are Death, Desire, Fate, Delirium, Despair, and the Prodigal. He is simply one of seven endless siblings.
The first episode of The Sandman is set in 1916, when occultist Roderick Burgess tries to summon and capture Death in order to ask the legendary being to bring back his sadly deceased son Randall. Instead, he called Dream, who was now capturing Corinthian, an escaped nightmare.
When Corinthian revealed the formula for using Dream’s tools to achieve anything while keeping him imprisoned in a single cage where no one was allowed to sleep, Burgess’ original goals evolved into a lust for power, wealth and status.
The rest of the show focused on a dream that was held captive and the harm its absence has done to the human world. He remained in this cage for more than a century, while becoming richer and more powerful.
Alex, his other son, had several times considered releasing Dream but refrained out of fear for his father. He even shot Dream’s pet crow, Jessamy, to prove his allegiance to his father and earned Dream’s ire.
The mystical circle that had kept Dream imprisoned in this cage was finally broken by Alex’s partner, Paul, and one of the two guardians fell asleep, freeing the Dream King after a century of captivity. He sentenced Alex to an eternity of pain and satisfaction. The Dreaming was now in ruins when he returned.
The Sandman the first episode set the tone for the rest of the season
The tone of the season was set by the opening episode, Sleep of the Just. We know that Dream will recreate the Dreaming now that it’s finally free.
The Sandman immediately clarified that it would not be a drama with a lot of action. It is for people who love exploring narrative details. The pacing of the Netflix series gives viewers plenty of time to get to know the characters and connect with the plot.
The sitcom doesn’t stray too far from the comics, as viewers familiar with them may have noticed. The most obvious departures from the comics were Jessamy the Raven, who barely appears in the comics, and Corinthian, who doesn’t appear until The Sandman #10 (The Doll’s House).
Besides plot and pacing, the series’ visuals were spectacular and accurately depicted the world Gaiman had created in his books. The graphics and the way the scenes are presented reveal his involvement in the creation of the series.
Only Netflix offers all 10 episodes of The Sandman for streaming.
