Head to the bottom of this post for The Sandman season 2 review directory
The second season of The Sandman reaches our screens after much controversy in light of the scandal surrounding Neil Gaiman, the creator of the original Sandman comics. Season 2 picks up not too much time after the end of the first season. Dream of the Endless, played by an always-brilliant, deep-voiced, and imposing Tom Sturridge, has reclaimed all his objects of power after his time in prison at the hands of the human occultist Roderick Burgess, who was played back in season 1 by Charles Dance.
The very first scenes of this first episode, “Season of Mists,” show Dream intent on reshaping the Dreaming, his domain, including giving himself a brand new castle as a way to truly symbolize a new beginning. It’s a moment that reminds me why I love fantasy so much, with the swelling music and the fantastic visuals—and like in every fantasy, a moment so calm and serene can’t help but be interrupted by the plot banging violently at our protagonist’s door. In this case it takes the form of a summons to all the Endless from their eldest brother, Destiny, who calls each of them to his own domain.
The introduction—or re-introduction—of the members of the Endless family is probably the absolute best part of the episode. Each of these beings is immensely powerful and old as time itself, and yet they are all moving within this incredibly human family dynamic that makes them that much more endearing. My favorite, of course, remains Desire, played by Mason Alexander Park. It could be because they appear on the scene accompanied by “Eat Your Young” by Hozier and I’m always very weak to Hozier, sure, but it’s also because there’s nothing that I love more than a good chaos-stirrer—and that’s definitely the role Desire has within the family, especially when it comes to Dream.
When all the siblings sit down for quite the tense family dinner, that’s when we begin to see some of the plot points of this season fall into place. We learn that there’s one member of the Endless missing: Destruction, whom no one has seen for quite some time. We are also treated to a prophecy, delivered as usual by the Fates to Destiny himself, about “a king [who] will forsake his kingdom, life and death [who] will clash and fray, and the oldest battle [which] begins once more.” And then there’s Desire reminding Dream of the human queen he once loved, Queen Nada, whom he let be condemned to hell for thousands of years.
So even though Destiny had asked all his siblings to stay at his palace and simply talk to each other—in a kind of whodunnit atmosphere that I greatly enjoyed—Dream is spurred into action and decides to go and rescue Nada from where she is imprisoned. That means journeying into Hell where Lucifer Morningstar, played by the brilliantly cast Gwendoline Christie, awaits him while still holding a grudge over how Dream won their battle of wits in what was undoubtedly the first season’s best scene.
And travel into hell Dream does, after visiting some of the characters from last season, namely Hippolyta Hall and her dream-conceived newborn—who belongs to the Dreaming, as Dream reminds her—and Hob Gadling, his immortal friend, who appears in the middle of what seems like a pretty fun dream involving Queen Elizabeth and computers. The episode leaves us with the promise that Lucifer is most definitely planning something to “welcome” Dream to hell, something that Dream himself is clearly expecting and that has us wonder if Dream is the king who will forsake his kingdom—it seems unlikely, since it would maybe be a bit too obvious, but one can never know.
“Season of Mists” leans into what is arguably The Sandman’s strongest point: an episodic narration focused on mythology and lore, loosely tied together by an overarching plot that is undoubtedly important but also often makes way for pure and simple vibes. That’s exactly what happens with the little story-within-the-story detailing the romance between Nada and Dream, the undisputed emotional heart of this first episode. It was very enjoyable, even though the show has definitely had better examples of this—not to repeat myself, but “A Hope in Hell” set such a high standard that everything is being measured against it now, at least for me.
Bullet Point Summary
- Dream rebuilds the Dreaming and is ready to settle into ruling his realm when he receives a summons to Destiny’s palace and a family reunion of all the Endless.
- The six siblings of the Endless—Destiny, Death, Dream, Desire, Despair, and Delirium, plus a missing Destruction—are introduced back to us together with their complicated family dynamic. Destiny warns them of a prophecy given to him by the Fates, “a king will forsake his kingdom, life and death will clash again, the oldest battle begins once more.” It seems like this prophecy is going to be one of this season’s main plotlines.
- Lucifer Morningstar is back and that has to be my second-favorite thing of the episode—followed only by the Endless family and their sibling shenanigans—since very few casting choices have been brilliant like picking Gwendoline Christie to play the ruler of Hell.
Episode Grade: B
The Sandman season 2 reviews:
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 1: "Season of Mists"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 2: "The Ruler of Hell"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 3: "More Devils Than Vast Hell Can Hold"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 4: "Brief Lives"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 5: "The Song of Orpheus"
- The Sandman season 2, Episode 6: "Family Blood"
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