“A Tale of Graceful Ends,” the last episode of this season of The Sandman, ended on a very conclusive note. I was half torn between hoping Dream would still find a way to make it out alive and knowing deep down that passing on and leaving the Dreaming would be the only logical way out for his character.
The entire episode is a long send-off to its main character, with the subjects of the Dreaming organizing a funeral for their former lord and master. Everyone attends—the rest of the Endless, the delegations we saw fighting for the rulership of Hell at the beginning of the season, Hob and Johanna, Constantine and Rose Parker. Everyone gets their turn at remembering Dream, and it comes to the surprise of absolutely no one that the best speech of them all is Desire’s, who is, hands down, the most charming member of the Endless and one of the best characters of the entire show.
Their speech hammers once more on the idea of family that has served as the common thread for the entire season. Dream and Desire never liked each other, always at each other’s throats and bound together only by the circumstances of their birth. But Desire, ultimately, will miss annoying him, that brother who “never had the sense to come in out of the rain”—which I found a truly beautiful description of Dream’s general character and attitude.
And in the meantime, the new Dream, Daniel, roams the halls of his new castle, trying to make sense of it all. Like all new rulers who have a giant burden of responsibility thrust upon them suddenly, he finds himself swaying under the weight of his new role. He tries to seek counsel from the people who advised his previous incarnation, like Merv or Fiddler’s Green. But it’s the latter who tells him that change is a good thing, we should embrace when it comes rather than trying to reverse something’s end—it’s endings, after all, that give stories their meaning.
If there’s one thing I love, it's when stories look inward to themselves and reflect on the medium of storytelling as a whole, which is why this little scene between Daniel and Fiddler’s Green is probably one of my favorites in the entire episode.
There are two very strong contenders for the title of favorite scene, though. The first is the emotional reunion between Lyta and the man who just the day before was the baby she held in her arms. Jacob Anderson and Razane Jammal truly gave it their all, because it’s such a moving scene that I found myself crying together with them. The concept of finding someone you loved and lost in your dreams is so real, so true, and perfectly captured by the metaphor of the show.
And then, of course, there’s the scene between the old Dream and William Shakespeare, who wrote two plays on his commission—A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest. Again, I am nothing if not a Shakespeare lover and so every single thing that mentions him simply has to be my favorite, but the idea that Dream is ultimately Prospero, who has changed and so has left his island—himself, since Dream tells Shakespeare that he is an island—is such a beautiful way to bring about the end of the story.
He is freed at the end of the show, just like Prospero is freed at the end of the play.
The family remains, of course. They are the Endless for a reason. But they also change, welcome new members, say goodbye to old ones, and ones who don’t want to be found—like Destruction, of course, who has a truly good brotherly moment with the new Dream in a way he never could have had with the old one. The show ends by reminding us that things will continue, even if they will not have the same face.
A special note that, I’ll be honest, made me raise my final rating to the Corinthian and Johanna. I love when a ship ends well. Again, I hope they have a long and rich life of hunting supernatural criminals and terrorizing each other in their dreams.
Overall, I think this season did a good job at revisiting the grand lore of the world of The Sandman, touching on everything at least briefly in what was definitely a collective farewell to it all. It also really delivered on its core themes of family and the ability to change one’s way, with some truly good moments.
On the other side of the coin, its pacing was a bit all over the place because it had to cram so many things in—but the result is still good, still enjoyable, still magical.
Episode Grade: A-
If you’ve loved this season of The Sandman, you’ll be happy to know it's not quite over yet. A special bonus episode, titled “The Sandman Presents: Death: The High Cost of Living,” hits Netflix on July 31. Come back to read Winter is Coming for our thoughts on the bonus episode, plus more updates on sci-fi and fantasy shows.
The Sandman recaps and reviews: Season 2, Volume 2
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