‘The Sandman’ Finale: Why [Spoiler] Was Forged in Shock Position

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Sandman series finale, “A Tale of Graceful Ends.”]

The Sandman has come to an finish on Netflix, and in lock step with one of many comics on which Season 2 relies, a brand new however acquainted character was revealed because the story of Tom Sturridge‘s Morpheus got here to a detailed. This new character introduced with it a shock look from an actor who’s no stranger to the world of fantasy TV. Right here, The Sandman showrunner and author Allan Heinberg explains why they wrote the function with this actor in thoughts, and why their efficiency made them crave a Season 3 regardless of Season 2 being the collection’ final.

The 5 episodes of The Sandman Season 2 Quantity 2 debuted on Netflix on Thursday, July 24. The second and remaining season relies on The Sandman: Season of Mists comedian storyline, in addition to Distant Mirrors, within the first half, however the remaining episodes pull from The Kindly Ones and The Wake. Like within the comics, the Dream King faces the implications of spilling Limitless household blood on this installment. In Season 2 Quantity 1 (which got here out on July 3), Morpheus killed his son, Orpheus (Ruairi O’Connor), on the boy’s personal request after having spent hundreds of years as a severed head unable to be escorted into the afterlife by his aunt, Loss of life (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). After going centuries with out seeing one another, Dream reunited along with his son and granted him a boon by ending his lengthy, tragic existence.

Spilling Limitless household blood is against the law punishable by demise by the Fates, known as the Kindly Ones in order to not offend them. Whereas these closest to him tried to forestall Morpheus’ destiny, the Dream King accepted his future and began planning for the top. Morpheus selected the infant Daniel Corridor, the primary youngster to ever be conceived within the Dreaming, as inheritor to his throne. Quickly after, the Kindly Ones, with Daniel’s vengeful mom Lyta Corridor (Razane Jammal) in tow, set off to kill Morpheus after Loki (Freddie Fox) and Puck (Jack Gleeson) made her wrongly imagine that the Dream King killed her son.

Tom Sturridge as Dream in ‘The Sandman’ Season 2 Episode 10 (Ed Miller / Netflix)

Whereas Lyta was incorrect about her child being lifeless, Dream was nonetheless responsible of spilling household blood. As the top of The Kindly Ones comedian depicted, Dream died willingly on the finish of The Sandman Season 2 Episode 10, along with his sister, Loss of life, by his aspect to pay his penance and save the Dreaming. When she requested why he’d select demise now, Morpheus revealed how a lot his son’s demise weighed on him. “I killed my son twice,” he stated. “As soon as after I wouldn’t assist him, and as soon as after I did. I knew what I used to be doing. I knew what the associated fee could be. The Dreaming is not the identical. I’m not the identical…There’s a worth for what I’ve executed, and I have to pay it.” And so, he did.

When Morpheus died, child Daniel was immediately remodeled into an grownup, performed by Interview With the Vampire and Recreation of Thrones star Jacob Anderson in a shock look. Daniel was now the brand new Dream of the Limitless and had inherited Morpheus’ energy. Like within the comics, Anderson’s “grownup” Daniel (he nonetheless has the thoughts of a kid in a approach) is wearing all white in stark distinction to Sturridge’s Dream’s all-black apparel. Anderson has a streak of blonde in his hair as a nod to Daniel’s blonde hair within the comics. He wears Morpheus’ emerald dreamstone on a gold chain.

Sturridge’s Dream was proper to decide on Daniel as his successor, as his humanity made him a extra compassionate ruler of the Dreaming and yet another able to forgiveness — one thing Morpheus took to lengthy to discover ways to do. Daniel forgave his mom for these she killed within the Dreaming of their first assembly within the realm. “Generally, life and demise have an effect on us in ways in which don’t have anything to do with the alternatives we make,” Daniel advised Lyta. “That’s how tales are born.” He promised to see her in her desires. After Morpheus’ funeral, Daniel met his Limitless siblings, bringing The Sandman to a hopeful conclusion.

Right here, Heinberg explains why Anderson was the perfect new Dream to TV Insider. As The Sandman was a part of DC, Daniel Corridor meets heroes from the Justice League and different DCU characters in future comics. There’s additionally a problem the place Loss of life meets Lex Luthor. Heinberg feedback on the potential for the brand new Dream, or different Sandman characters, showing in James Gunn‘s DCU beneath as nicely. Anderson will subsequent be seen at San Diego Comedian-Con 2025, which kicks off in the present day (July 24), to advertise Interview With the Vampire Season 3. A bonus episode of The Sandman about Howell-Baptiste’s Loss of life comes out on Thursday, July 31, on Netflix.

Within the story of The Sandman, the outdated Dream dies as a brand new Dream is reborn. On this case, Tom Sturridge’s Dream dies and is reborn as Jacob Anderson’s Dream. What do you are feeling Anderson brings to the function of Dream in comparison with Sturridge?

Allan Heinberg: I believe Jacob brings pleasure wherever he goes.

I believe the top of the collection is a really hopeful one, and when Daniel meets his household, a really joyful one. Lucien (Vivienne Acheampong) even says, “You already know, you do have a selection. This time round, you may really take pleasure in them.” And also you really see this as an unbelievable smile on Jacob’s face. You suppose he’s going to take pleasure in it this time. He’s not going to do that the best way he did it final time. It is a totally different Dream.

Jacob is so earnest, however not naive, and open. You noticed in that scene with Lyta — [he is so] very ethical, and he brings such grace to the function, and such humanity to the function, which, as you noticed by means of the collection, Morpheus struggled with all the time. Humanity to Morpheus, particularly to start with, it’s a nasty phrase to him, humanity. He [just] can’t relate.

And by the top of it, it’s his humanity that finally ends up being a very powerful ingredient to him. The brand new Dream must be extra human than he was, as a result of he looks like he wasn’t the Dream that we wanted. He let himself down. He let his household down. He let his son down. I believe that’s a variety of the rationale why he makes the choice he does in Episode 10, to deliver Daniel into this realm.

Souad Faress as Crone, Nina Wadia as The Mom, Razane Jammal as Lyta Corridor, Dinita Gohil as The Maiden in ‘The Sandman’ Season 2 Episode 11 (Netflix)

What made you gravitate in direction of Anderson when casting the brand new Dream?

Simply seeing the variability in his work, seeing the core of his work, how clever he’s, and the way emotionally out there he’s.

After I met him, the problem for me was going to be easy methods to even describe what this function is to somebody like, “You’re an 8-month-old, however you’re a grown man. You’re not doing a Tom Sturridge imitation, however he’s inside you in a bizarre approach.” Why would anyone need to play this half? It’s very tough to even wrap your head round.

And to my aid, Jacob stated, “I simply need you to know, large fan of the comics, large fan of Season 1. Tom Sturridge is unbelievable. I might like to play this half.” I didn’t even have to explain what the half was. He was like, “The truth that you’ll even suppose that I might, that I may very well be Daniel is the very best type of flattery.” He was throughout it.

I principally wrote the script with Jacob in thoughts.

We obtained suggestions early on that within the early draft of the define that Daniel was missing an arc. We have been form of simply seeing him react as he does within the comics. He meets folks and he reacts, however he doesn’t have his personal arc. And I believed he simply desires to grasp how he obtained right here and what he’s purported to do now. He has a variety of questions and the viewers goes to have a variety of questions too. So, to have the ability to enable Jacob to ask all these questions and actually really feel all of that confusion and making an attempt to battle by means of it to one thing was an enormous reward. He executed it effortlessly, brilliantly, and emotionally.

But in addition I noticed a little bit little bit of Tom’s reserve typically, in a approach that was precisely proper. You already know, just like the Tom model, the Morpheus model, would present up with [like with] Lyta Corridor in the best way that it was completely purported to. And then you definitely see Daniel turn out to be his personal model of Dream, which I believe is miraculous. I may watch it again and again.

Netflix

Within the comics, Daniel Corridor goes on to have many additional adventures, a few of that are with some DC characters, like in Scott Snyder’s Darkish Knight: Metallic, he interacts with Batman. Do you suppose there could be a spot for him within the new DC Universe?

I don’t know. We from the outset, we began Sandman, earlier than James Gunn and Peter Safran took over, and we very clearly stated we’re separate. We aren’t a part of the DC Universe, which allowed us to do Joanna Constantine [Jenna Coleman], as a substitute of John Constantine. It allowed us to form of play by our personal guidelines in relationship to the DCU.

I made Jed [Walker, Eddie Karanja] a fan of DC Comics in order that, you already know, the DC superheroes may present up in in that type, like it is a universe knowledgeable by DC Comics. If there was a creator, or if James or Peter needed there to be crossover of some form, that might be pleasant to me. However it could be a choice of theirs reasonably than a choice of ours.

I designed the top of this season with a potential Season 3 in thoughts, as a result of I like Jacob a lot that I simply needed to proceed watching him play this half endlessly. So, in Season 3 of my Ds, yeah, there’s every kind of stuff happening. There are every kind of crossovers happening.

We’ve gone out of our solution to make ourselves a sort of separate entity, except, on the DC Studio aspect, in the event that they needed to have Kirby [Howell-Baptiste] are available in and be a part of their universe, what a thrill that might be.

The Sandman, Season 2 Quantity 2, Accessible Now, Netflix

— Reporting by Erin Maxwell