Sandman: Was the wait worth it?

For over thirty years, fans of Sandman waiting for an adaptation. The author of the comics, Neil Gaiman, promised, in the distant past, the possibility of having a movie. Many years and countless promises later, the comic book adaptation rumor has become a running gag among fans. 

However, that joke was killed in 2019 when the Netflix announced the partnership with DC Entertainment and Warner Bros to produce a series. And that's when a second problem began for those who liked the Sandman or were merely interested: the lack of faith in adaptations.  

I confess, I don't have much belief in the productions of Netflix and, except for Stranger Things, I try not to get carried away with the promises. After all, the list of bad adaptations I've already watched is considerable, and I don't want to go through an experience as frustrating as watching it. Game of Thrones for so many years and in the end it ends that way. 

Fortunately, this time around, the curse of horrible adaptations wasn't the case, at least not yet. Thinking now, it took 30 years of waiting, the birth, growth and popularization of streaming so that, finally, the general public could appreciate such an important and human work.

Preludes and Nocturnes, the first part of the season

The first season of Sandman is divided into two narrative arcs, the first part about the Preludes and Nocturnes, and the second, which we will talk about next, the Doll's House. This division is inserted not only with different characters throughout the story, keeping only the protagonist Morpheus, but also with a different color palette from the beginning of the series to its end.

The start of the season opens with Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), putting on his helmet and warning lucienne, his right-hand man in the realm of dreams, who would go in search of something that ran away. It is understood that the personification of Dreams is behind one of the Rebel Nightmares, played by Boyd Holbrook.

It will be at that moment that the plot main starts. Morpheus will be imprisoned for 100 years by the leader of an occult sect, Roderick Burgess, or Magus — played by Charles Dance, and just like in Game of Thrones, manages to bring in despicable characters.

the prison of Morpheus it is important both to develop this first part and to revisit some themes of the second part. With his years in the glass cage, there is the loss of powers and the theft of them by Ethel — mother of the great villain John dee. As for elaborating, very superficially, some confrontations between Alex, the rejected son of Magus.

The large flow of content in a single episode is not repeated in the others, as the sequence of history and facts occurs in a well-constructed and fluid way. When Morpheus finally breaks free, after Alex erases the spell that held him, he can finally seek revenge on the Burgess family and regain his powers.

The next episodes being 2, 3 and 4 will be the seamless transition from the beginning of a hero's journey to its conclusion. Morpheus will have to face two other outstanding characters, Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) and Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie).

The first, Johanna, is the highlight in the humor scenes, doing justice to the base character of the comics john constantine. This revamp explained in the series by Neil Gamian, one of the producers, is: in addition to the copyright issue, the new character also gave him more creative space, being able to innovate.

Now, if it's to talk about a star of the initial arc, it sure is Lucifer. The fallen angel and king of hell, receives Morpheus for casual conversation. As the quest for the helmet unfolds, Morpheus faces Lucifer in an argumentative battle, exploring much more than just effects — adopting a new mode of narrative resource.

In addition to the genius of the dialogues in this part, Lucifer has one more appeal. The characterization of the character is a mixture of darkness and light, abusing elements such as her black wings and her angelic appearance. Particularly, I loved the choice of actress, because Gwendoline it has a delicate face, and it possesses, in equal measure, an oppressive presence. All these features are reinforced in its elements.

At the end of this arc, we finally know more about John dee, Played by David thewlis. Unlike other adaptation series, here we take extreme care with the villains. It's not just a sad, unmotivated character. No, John is his own development and goes, at times, on a similar path to Morpheus.

John dee breaks free, conquers his power and wants to use it to build what he believes is right, just like the protagonist, but being a human.

The scene of the massacre in the cafeteria is his turning point, putting aside his “poor thing” character and assuming his desire: to transform the world into something worse, to take away from humans the power to dream. John's means are justified in all conversations with more human characters, and in his lines.

In the fifth episode, finally, the confrontation of Morpheus e John dee. The battle is similar to Lucifer, having concepts of the fantastic world. And, in the midst of the confrontation, the protagonist has one of the biggest peaks of development in the season. By absorbing the ruby, in possession of John, Morpheus regains his power and understands: he's another being after all the years he's been kidnapped, embracing that part is taking back his power.

The Doll's House, or the second part of the season

For the second part of the season, the arc is an adaptation of The Doll's House. We start the story with the most philosophical tenor, focused on the tasks that the perpetual have and on the human essence. This walk through human concepts and anxieties is not inserted as a pessimism, but is portrayed by the Death, sister of Dream ou Morpheus.

The fun-loving sister who represents a more lively character than the perpetual others has an entire episode for her rambling. The narrative moves from an adventure in search of power to a conversation about accepting another side, the human essence and kindness.

It can be considered that the introductory episode of this narrative arc behaves differently from the others. It's more cheerful, has brighter colors and takes place during the day, expelling the heavy aesthetic of the previous episodes. It also presents the Hob, the human who Dream found every 100 years. This friendship passes through historical periods, portrays famous figures and brings the first Johanna Constantine, focusing on mood.

Then the bow turns completely. The emergence of Dream Vortex in your human form rose walker and the plans of Corinthians to maintain their freedom are aligned with the presentation of the family of the perpetual. In addition to Death, the second part also introduces us to Desire e Despair, the brothers who want to end the Dream.

In this ending, there are many events. The first is to bring rose walker, who seeks out her younger brother Jed and is alone after the death of their mother, as a second protagonist. The second is to insert a new concept, in environments there are so many others from the world of Sandman, and make the characters to be in the middle of it. And already ahead: Rose has the power to break the barrier between dreams and reality, putting an end to Morpheus.

In this regard, the second part of the season has some problems. There are fewer episodes, and even with the average duration of 50 minutes, there was still little space. You see: Dream has to monitor and find Rose, before she awakens her Vortex power, which can break the walls of dreams and reality. At the same time, the protagonist has to hunt down and bring back his rebellious creations, and among them Corinthians.

The final endings of Sandman are even more rushed. After the confrontation of Dream and his nightmare Corinthians, comes the main dilemma: rose walker must die to keep reality and dreams in peace? What will happen if no one avoids her?

Running over a few more minutes, in the final episode we discover that Rose's grandmother, Unity, it was the original vortex of Dream. It is finally explained that, by the kidnapping of Dream in the first part, Unity spent 100 years sleeping, and Desire impregnated her, desiring the power to be passed down his lineage. Finally, the power comes in Rose being returned to Unity, which can finally rest.

If you're thinking I've told you a lot about the story, you have no idea. There are many important details and points, far beyond this little summary here. Can believe.

The beauty in Sandman

In addition to the different narrative elements between the parts, the series also caught my attention due to the care taken with the scenes. The special effects of CGI they are cohesive and of such high quality that it feels more like a movie than a simple episode. 

When observing the scenes and the construction of the world, it is possible to catch important details such as the change of the color palette according to the moment of the narrative. Or, yet, how the characters have the essence of the base work, but adapting to the modern world. 

Dream still has its dark look and, pardon the joke, emo and edgy, but without being far from our time. The characters' clothes reflect this: they are an example of balance, of the faithful representation of the comics. Come to think of it, there isn't a character that is ugly or that his characterization isn't well demonstrated on screen — either with clothes, hair or acting. The cast helps a lot in this beauty, delivering quality in all aspects.

If I could wish for anything, it's that every show managed to keep elements as beautiful as Sandman. Unfortunately, it's a bad wish because that would end up with bad scenes and, in my opinion, are funny and important to the media in general. 

Are there any defects in Sandman?

Not everything is perfect and there are small flaws towards the end of the season. Despite the average length of the episodes being over 50 minutes, there were still some developments going on, and in the end those endings were rushed. 

For me, the lack of time on the show would not be an excuse, and I could have been more careful at the end, closing the season with the same mastery that it opened. However, the series is still a point out of the curve, because, with an average of 10 to 12 hours in a season, Sandman managed to deliver more qualities than defects.

In all episodes, scenes are not exposed in vain. Maybe the quality suffered from the rush, but Sandman is and will remain one of the best releases of 2022.

Some easter eggs and curiosities

Sandman is indeed a multi-layered work. Featuring incredible adventure and dialogue, the series carried elements from the comics and a lot of historical trivia. Here we have gathered the key points of the season!

Historical facts and a little fantasy

In his works, Neil Gaiman always invests in facts such as wars or epidemics. The difference is that when adopting a certain event, the author, in addition to portraying its effects, seeks through fantasy to explain what happens.

In Sandman, in the first episodes, two references to this feature are shown: the first is Roderick informing you that his eldest son died in the war and the second is with Unity.

The Sleep Epidemic was an outbreak of encephalitis lethargica, and it infected more than one million inhabitants of Europe shortly after World War I. Starting with symptoms of a common flu, the clinical picture worsened until the patients abandoned their bodies and remained asleep.

As until today the disease has not had its origin identified, Neil Gaiman adopted in his work the fanciful version: Morpheus, having lost his powers, cannot return the people who slept back to reality, remaining trapped in the world of dreams.

Abel, Cain and Gregory

Another element present in Gaiman's works are mythological figures from various religions, but mainly from Catholicism. In Sandman itself we have the presence of Lucifer and numerous references to the church.

It couldn't be different, the best-known brothers in the rivalry level of the collective imagination, Cain and Abel, are in Sandman. They are portrayed as brothers who live together caring for a gargoyle, a nightmare, named Gregory. Unfortunately, unlike in the comics, in the series Gregory ends up dying so that Morpheus has some power.

Matthew the Raven

In the first episode, Morpheus has his first messenger crow killed by Alex. In the following episodes, with a lot of rejection, the protagonist will have a new crow, responsible for many jokes. Matthew did not have a well-defined past in the series, but in the comics it is more worked.

The crow's past, as a human, was like Matthew Cable, from Swamp monster from DC. In addition to settling down with a new character in Sandman, Matthew it also served as a test case for a formula that came to be adopted in other DC titles. The relationship of characters from one story to others has become part of Vertigo's identity, conquering fans and building a universe of its own.

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Source: Rotten Tomatoes