“The Sandman” is finally back for a second and final season.
Netflix’s adaptation of the Neil Gaiman comic series got off to a strong start when the first season debuted, chronicling the story of Dream (Tom Sturridge) from his capture by an occultist to the rebuilding of his realm, Dreamland. The second season promises a war with Hell as the Endless begin to butt heads in ways that might be felt in the waking world.
Here is what you need to know about Season 1 of “The Sandman” before diving into your Season 2 binge.
Dream was captured by mistake
The series starts with wealthy occultist Roderick Burgess hellbent (get it?) on capturing Death after struggling with the passing of his son. He manages to trap Dream instead, and The Corinthian ends up helping Burgess just keep him imprisoned. Dream is stuck in the basement prison built by Burgess for years, but manages to finally escape after the occultist dies.
Dream returns to his realm only to find the place is in disarray and his primary tools of his trade – his helm, his ruby, and his pouch of sand – are missing. He sets out to reclaim them.
Dream saves the universe from The Corinthian
The season follows Dream, aka Morpheus, through the various realms of his siblings, tracking down his tools so he can rebuild the Dreamland. While all this is happening, The Corinthian is plotting a universe-ending scheme that involves Rose, who the villain is now convinced is the Dream Vortex, a rare entity whose dreams overlap with those around them that sows chaos and can destroy both the Dreamland and waking world.
Dream manages to stop The Corinthian before the lines between reality and dreaming get too tangled, but Rose flees to Dreamland. Morpheus arrives and convinces her that her existence is deadly to the entire universe, and Rose agrees to sacrifice herself to save everyone else.
Luck for her, Lucienne shows up with Rose’s great-grandmother Unity, who, after some research in Dream’s library, learned that she was supposed to be the Dream Vortex before getting pregnant with Rose and passing it on. She asks her granddaughter to hand the power back to her, and she will sacrifice herself instead.
Loose ends with Desire and in Hell
Dream realizes in the aftermath of the Dream Vortex fiasco that the person who impregnated Unity was his sibling, Desire. He appears in Desire’s realm and warns him to stop meddling and that the Endless are meant to work for humanity and not use them. It’s likely not the last we’ll see of their conflict.
The season ends with a trip to Hell. Lucifer and Azazel, representatives of the Lords of Hell, are discussing war plans. The pair agrees to move forward with a war against both Dream and the waking world.
