A spoiler-free rant featuring my latest TV obsession: The Sandman is a dark, dreamy, and whimsical piece of storytelling, and Netflix needs to renew it right now.
After the success of Good Omens’ debut season in 2019, it’s safe to say that The Sandman was on my immediate “to-watch” list, which, considering my general failure to keep up with what most people are streaming these days, is quite a big thing for me. As an avid reader, book-to-screen adaptations always pique my interest, and this show is no different. Gaiman’s uncanny ability to infuse whimsy into the darkest of themes while telling complex stories set in incredibly fantastical worlds, fellow fantasy lovers are likely to fall completely in love with this show the way I did. It is a masterful work of gothic horror that delighted and disturbed me in equal measure, forcing me to watch parts of it behind my fingers and through squinted eyes, shouting my horror one moment, and then rapidly live-texting my best friend, ranting about the cinematic and narrative beauty of the show the next. I kept describing it as a literary work of art; and if you’re looking for me to tell you exactly how a TV show could be literary, you’re out of luck.
From episode one, the viewer is totally immersed in this strange and fascinating world ruled by societal elites fueled only by greed (sound familiar?). In an attempt to conquer Death, a particularly wealthy occultist mistakenly summons and entraps Dream of The Endless in Death’s place. He is unceremoniously yanked away from his mission to contain a rogue nightmare, stripped of his possessions, and left naked and alone. His only ally on Earth is killed, and the selfish humans who ensnared him attempt to barter with him for the decades he is bound there. Trapped without his tools, the world of dreams encroaches on the waking world, allowing nightmares to run rampant and humans to suffer from endless sleep. And so begins The Sandman: with our eponymous main character searching for his escape from his prison made at the hands of arrogant humans, while the world devolves around him.
While this set-up may initially feel like it’s gearing up for something specific, it is soon quite clear that we, the audience, are not being taken on a straight line from point A to B; rather we are being taken on a chaotic yet controlled and purposeful journey. This show’s ability to be so wild and unpredictable while maintaining a well-planned and multifaceted storyline is one of the many things I love about it! I had no idea what was going to happen at any given time, and even when I set up certain expectations, the show completely destroyed them and pivoted somewhere else. It leaves the viewers on their toes, which I personally find to be a riveting way to tell a story—although, I’m cognizant of the fact that some viewers may feel frustration and confusion in place of what could only be described as my blind trust in creators. Fans of shows like ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency’ will know what I mean. It’s fun, and at the same time, it’s unnerving, and I really love this weird middle ground as it leaves you at the whim of the creators—and you can only hope that they execute it well. Fortunately for me, The Sandman really was phenomenal. Despite the ambitious overarching plot, and the plethora of underlying subplots, what could’ve ended up being messy and confusing, was instead beautiful and fun (and confusing—but in a good way). The story is one of the most unique pieces of work I have ever had the pleasure of consuming.
The cast and characters for this show were absolutely brilliant and wonderfully diverse. Humans behave bafflingly (as we do) for their own self-interested means, unaware of the dark implications of the disturbing events occurring around them, in a way that was so believable despite the viewer feeling generally aggravated by these characters’ behaviours. Non-human entities really brought this otherworldly feeling; this omnipotent mindset, somehow not too different from humans despite their godliness, inspires an odd sort of empathy that grows within the viewer. The show’s take on The Endless (Death, Desire, Despair, Destiny, Destruction, Delirium, and Dream—although not all of the siblings are present yet) are wholly unique and endlessly fascinating. With every on-screen appearance, I was absolutely dying for more information: who are they? Where do they come from? What do they do? What’s their history? Did they build the world, or did the world build them? We meet dreams and nightmares created by Dream to provide some sort of balance to humanity. They are also non-human entities, with the sole purpose of fulfilling what they were created to do, and while some are happy to do just that, others express resentment towards a role they had no choice in. All of this is to point out the incredibly intricate worldbuilding that unfolded for the viewer as the episode progressed, painting a vivid narrative that seems to ask as many questions as it answers.
The cinematography was in a whole other ballpark than anything I’ve seen on TV in a long time. The writing and production strive to stay true to the source material (I’ve been told), both in content and general vibes. I kept asking (but never really Googling) how large the budget was because the CGI/editing was really rather impressive. There was a miraculous amount of scene-setting that would’ve been downright impossible to do on a set alone, and the show’s use of light, colour, depth, and scale was truly masterful. It could’ve so easily looked cheesy and wrong if mishandled in the slightest, but it was not. Instead, it set the stage for scenes that were moving and disturbing and beautiful—and always gave me the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.Now enough of my ranting and raving—I urge you to check out this weird and gorgeous show and judge it for yourself. Beware that it really is very dark (feel free to reach out to me, or just Google if you’re looking for content warnings), that the interweaving stories may leave you confused (in a good way, at least for me), and the characters may endlessly frustrate you (also in a good way—people are complex!) I found that this show (fittingly) haunted me in my dreams, and in my waking hours. I am so stoked to see what the creators have in store for us next.