All 11 episodes of The Sandman, ranked worst to best

Episode 10: “Lost Hearts”

The Sandman ends its first season by closing out the Doll’s House arc, and it gets the conclusion it deserves, which is to say that it’s stirring, imaginative, fun, and a bit messier than other arcs from later in the comics. The story is still getting its sea legs at this point.

The Corinthian dies in this episode after giving a pretty hilarious keynote speech at the cereal convention, so it’s as good a time as any for me to air some of my grievances about him. So the Corinthian is a famous character from The Sandman because he has rows of razor-sharp teeth where his eyes are supposed to be, which is why he’s always wearing sunglasses. I thought Boyd Holbrook played him ably, but I have no idea — no idea — why the show gave away the game so early; the Corinthian revealed his mouth eyes in the second episode, so when he whips off his glasses in the finale, it doesn’t have the impact it should. His death scene wasn’t bad, but that was a weird, weird choice by the producers.

After dispensing with the Corinthian, Dream turns his attention to Rose, who cannot control her powers as a dream vortex. It looks like he may have to kill her, but at the last second, Unity is able to take her place, sacrificing herself for the great-granddaughter she never knew. It’s a sweet twist, we get to see all of Rose’s housemates in their dream states again, and the show ends with a hint that Dream may be willing to soften and change his views on things. All in all, a very solid finale.

Oh, actually, the episode ends with a cliffhanger where Lucifer plots to get revenge against Dream. Can I have season 2 now, please?