The Sandman landed on Netflix to the praise of many. And the screams of many toxic fans. You see, there seems to be a great deal of assumed ownership of this property by rabid fans that even Neil Gaiman has had strong words about. The Gate Keeping of this IP is very strong. So what better way to find out why, then to get one of those rabid fanboys to watch the series, and then write a review!?
And so I conjure Wayne. A man who hasn’t laughed since the Cuban Missile Crisis. A man so apathetic to the world that only the Lord of Dreams can rile him up. So what is his take on the show? Let’s find out.
Wayne reviews The Sandman
Spoiler warning
What is a dream? Why do we dream? These are questions pondered by philosophers and psychologists through the ages. We dream and that is all that we really know. Sigmund Freud proposed that dreams are our unconscious thoughts, desires, wish fulfilment and motivations. But what if humanity’s collective subconscious as expressed through dreams created the very fabric of reality. What would that say about us humans?
Through Neil Gaiman’s expression we get to see what that world would look like. Wrapped in a fantasy world where dreams reside and only visit us in our sleep. Dreams can provide purpose and meaning or create terrors that need to be faced, to be overcome. Humanity might create the dreams but the dreams, themselves, shape humanity. And lord of this world is Morpheus. He is arrogant, apathetic and vindictive. But more importantly he has been trapped by a mere mortal.
So begins the story of the Sandman. The graphic novels have been adapted into a new series by Netflix. The comics were first published in 1998 by Vertigo. The original comics were subsequently bound into volumes and the series covers the first 2 of these volumes. Each of which were a self contained story line within the larger universe. The stories examine what it is to be human and this is a journey of discovery that Morpheus himself has to undertake to understand empathy, compassion and forgiveness.
Preludes and Nocturnes
The first six episodes are based on the “Preludes and Nocturnes” compilation which is about purpose and meaning in life. It undertakes to show us how living exclusively in your dreams is a life not lived. We explore a Hell where forgiveness is the key to heaven. Eternal suffering is based on the ability to forgive yourself or for someone else to forgive you. I think that this is a hell where many people might find themselves trapped in our real world. We also explore a humanity where morality is replaced with truth. The truth is always told and impulsive thoughts always acted upon no matter how dark and twisted.
We are presented with Dream (Morpheus) captured and imprisoned by a magus, Roderick Burgess. The magus steals three tools from Dream and imprisons him until Dream will grant him powers. Dream is not in a bargaining mood and remains imprisoned in the Burgess’ basement for ninety years. All the while his world is crumbling and the denizens are leaving. After Dream escapes he sets off to find his tools, reap revenge and to mend his realm and ours. His travels bring him into contact with humans which teach him empathy and compassion. It also leads him to the question of purpose and meaning.
The Dolls House
The last four episodes are based on the second compendium called the Doll’s House. It follows the story of Rose, a young woman who is trying to find her young brother who is in foster care. Rose stays in a House of a performer named Dolly and we get to meet the long term residents of this house. Their stories all unfold through their waking interactions but also their dreams.
Rose is a Vortex and has a gift that allows her to enter and shape the dreams of others. The series digresses a bit from the comic here as we don’t really get to spend enough time with the fellow residents of the house so we don’t get to know their stories as well as we could. I do agree that this would have created pacing issues with the show if it had been included. However, I do feel a loss as the Sandman is really about the very human stories that the audience can relate too.
The story is one of juxtaposition between what is and what could have been.
As a fan of the The Sandman…
My first reaction to this was that Morpheus was miscast. But I may have been hasty in my decision. I felt that he does not have the gravitas for Morpheus as we encounter him at first. This is not helped by certain production decisions that are used in episodes three and four. But Tom Sturridge did grow on me as Morpheus and by the middle of the series I think the actor matches the role of Morpheus who is on this journey of self discovery. However, the last episode goes too far and we land up with a character who is no longer flawed but is now a compassionate, empathic leader. The character of Dream should be flawed by his characteristics to be able to grow through future stories.
Characters
David Thewlis as John Dee is perfection. The first part of the series is dependent on him and he absolutely nails it. It is incredible how likeable and repulsive one character can possibly be.
Jenna Coleman plays Johanna Constantine. Johanna Constantine is a master of the occult, demon wrangling, kick arse. She is badass and could intimidate a demon into giving her its lunch money on the way to school.
And Netflix, yes please make a spinoff series about her but just don’t mess it up. She is a gender swap of John Constantine in the graphic novels. And this is one of the production issues that cause Dream to not be as dominant as he is in the comics.
In the comics, the badass John Constantine kind of shits himself upon meeting Dream. Having a strong female character being intimidated by a man would not sit well. So we have a gain being the inclusion of a strong female character but that comes at the cost of Dream not having the gravitas that he should.
The next production issue is Dreams’ visit to Hell. For dramatic effect our “hero” is placed with his back in the corner surviving only after digging deep into his last resolve. The comics is Dream always having been in control and him being down was just him manipulating his opponent. Dramatically the first option makes for better viewing but I feel we lose a bit of the character development and again we do not get to understand the power that Dream wields.
Matthew the Raven just irritated me. I don’t know why. (Nick: ‘Probably because Patton Oswalt, who voices the Raven, is irritating).
Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian is superb. And he has been given a much bigger role than in the graphic novels which is well used to tie the stories together.
We also have the issue of the climax of the first series happening at episode five. The second series being slower makes the series pacing very strange. I think the story of the second series gets lost. The Doll’s House comic was for me personally a very insightful piece of art and it gets a little lost after the fast paced fury of the first five episodes. It is a little bland in comparison. The happy ending is true to the source material but feels overly sweet in this iteration.
I felt the Doll’s House both rushed and at the same time not as entertaining as the first story. The characters were not as compelling and that was sad for me as the whole point of these stories is that it’s about the characters.
Conclusion
7.5/10
Despite the issues that I have with The Sandman, I thought that it was a decent adaptation. I think it’s great that people who didn’t get to read the graphic novels get to experience The Sandman.
In conclusion I say it is well worth a watch. Don’t let my issues dissuade you. It’s a roller coaster of a ride!
All the series and all the movies couldn't put society back together again.