The Sandman: All episodes reviewed and explained

Episode Ten: Lost Hearts

“Lost Hearts” is the season finale and the conclusion of “The Doll’s House” story arc. The episode continues exactly where the last left off. The Corinthian has just killed Fun Land in front of Rose and Jed, and now he’s trying to convince them that he’s the good guy.

In truth, there are no “good guys” inside a serial killer convention; there are bad people and worse people. The Corinthian might have killed Fun Land, but both have horrible motives. Funnily enough, it’s the Corinthian who tries to claim that Dream is the bad guy. He tells Rose that, as the Vortex, Dream will be forced to kill her. And he’s not wrong.

The Corinthian delivers his speech

Of course, The Corinthian couldn’t leave the convention without delivering his speech as the guest of honor. If it wasn’t about murder, his speech would actually be pretty impressive. He’s a charming man. I like how he tries to explain the reasoning behind murdering innocent people, calling everyone “entrepreneurs.”

Just as he’s about to get a standing ovation, Dream shows up. He chastises the Corinthian for inspiring murder in the Waking World. Seeing them confront each other is a really nice payoff.

There’s a great moment where the Corinthian stabs Dream and weakens him, drawing blood…which nobody expects. As Rose becomes more powerful, Dream gets weaker.

We see Rose Walker alongside Jed in a dream, seeing all of the serial killers live our their gruesome fantasies. It’s very ethereal; we forget which parts are in dreams and which are in reality. Dream and the Corinthian each try to convince her to join their side, and she is very much stuck in the middle.

Eventually, Dream realizes his mistake — that he created the Corinthian poorly — and ultimately uncreates him. All that’s left is a little skull (which is actually quite cute).

The Vortex

The next time Rose sleeps, she once again converges with dreamers. Her housemates all gather in her dream, witnessing each other’s dreams. At one point. Barbie spots Ken cheating on him again. Chantal and Zelda are there too, as is martin Tenbones.

That’s when we finally see the vortex itself descend upon The Dreaming and swallow all of the dreamers, save Rose. Dream confronts her and tells her that the vortex must be killed for everyone to be safe.

Unity Kinkaid and Lucienne

While Unity Kinkaid is asleep, she visits Lucienne’s library in search of a book. She is after a very specific book: the story of her life if things turned out differently. Lucienne is on-hand to assist her, at least until she realizes that Unity is related to Rose Walker.

Life and death

Dream tries to comfort Rose by telling her that death is not as bad as mortals believe. He knows that he must kill her. However, that’s when Gilbert (Fiddler’s Green) arrives just in time to offer himself in exchange for Rose’s life. Dream has none of it.

While Dream does not wish to punish Fiddler’s Green, he orders him to return to his role in The Dreaming. That’s when we learn: Fiddler’s Green is not actually a person, it is a place inside The Dreaming. Seeing him transform out of a human form into a lush, green forest, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful, touching moments in the entire series, executed perfectly.

Dream is fully on board to kill Rose, with her consent. But at that moment, Lucienne and Unity Kinkaid interrupt him. It’s at this moment that we learn that Unity was supposed to be the original vortex, only it was passed to Rose Walker through her lineage. As a result, she offers her life as the original vortex, to which Dream obliges.

This is a fitting end to Rose’s story, with all loose ends being tied up. But there is one more twist: Dream realizes that the person who raped and impregnated Unity is his meddling sibling, Desire. This makes Rose Walker and Jed children of the Endless.

Dream confronts Desire

After realizing that Unity Kinkaid was raped and impregnated by Desire while suffering from the sleepy sickness, Dream pays his sibling a visit.

I do think that Desire’s role this season lacks a payoff. They’re basically the troublemaker; literally causing the birth of a child of the Endless. And what punishment do they get for this horrendous, dangerous act? A stern telling off from Dream for meddling in his business.

Something a little more dramatic would’ve been a nice payoff. That said, Mason Alexander Park plays the part wonderfully. They’re undoubtedly one of the stand-out performers in the show.

I also really like David Buckley’s theme for Desire. The score has a beating heart, much like the beating heart of Desire’s realm, The Threshold.

Lyta has her baby

On a more heartwarming note, we finally see Lyta Hall give birth to a baby boy, a child conceived inside The Dreaming. Expect the baby to be important moving forward.

Dream revives Gault

With his realm rebuilt and freed from the threat of the Vortex, Dream spends some time cleaning things up. We see him modifying Gault so she’s beautiful; she has wings this time. However, he refuses to create a new Corinthian…for now, anyway.

Returning to Hell

Before the season draws to a close, we briefly return to Hell, where Lucifer is planning something.  We briefly see Azazel, who plays a role later in the comics. If this show is lucky enough to get a season 2, we’ll probably see an adaptation of Season of Mists, where Hell will play a big role. The show basically ends on a cliffhanger. Here’s hoping Netflix sees it through.

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