‘Sandman’ (Netflix): ending explained, this is how a new enemy is prepared for season 2

Spoilers for ‘Sandman’ below

Many thought that this day would never come. ‘Sandman’ on TV? Impossible. Although you have to forgive the naysayers. Fans have been waiting for an adaptation for longer than Morpheus’ century-long imprisonment, or so it feels given that talks of an adaptation began in the ’90s.

If the excitement has driven you to fervently go through all 10 episodes in one go, then some of the details may be a little hazy in your mind. Over 100 years is a long time to fit in, so let’s clear up some of the more important details.

‘Sandman’: ending explained

Oh, Corinthian, what a mischievous runaway nightmare you have been. As the final episode begins, the fugitive Morpheus has just killed an impostor at his murder convention. Rose (Vanesu Samunyai), who inadvertently goes to meet Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) to pick up her brother Jed (Eddie Karanja), discovers this and tries to leave, but he tries to convince her that he is on her side. . He is apparently just trying to save her from Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), who intends to kill her to prevent the internal vortex from destroying the Dreaming.

Corinthian replies in a very father-son way ‘I’m disappointed in you’, telling him that he wasn’t made to manipulate humans, but to help them face their fears. Corinthian isn’t too happy about being talked down to and Morpheus tries to banish him. Corinthian retaliates and stabs him in the palm of his hand, which shouldn’t work, but he does because of Rose.

The stronger he gets, the weaker the realm of The Dreaming becomes, and in turn, so does Morpheus. She is starting to replace him at the center of The Dreaming. Morpheus meets Rose in the Dreaming, where he finds himself stumbling into the dreams of assassins who, surprise surprise, dream of their murders.

He explains that she must die to protect the waking world as Corinthian tries to convince her that she can use Dreaming for herself. Feeling torn and desperate to live, but also to do the right thing, Rose ends their argument, which was basically being yelled at, and tells them that she will find her own way. She temporarily replaces the walls between realms keeping the world awake and safe for the time being.

Back in the waking world, Morpheus looks at Corinthian sadly. He apologizes to the confused nightmare for so poorly, telling her, “This was my fault, not yours.” He promises to remake it better in the future and goes on to uncreate it, thus destroying it in this form. Corinthian is reduced to an emblem with Morpheus assuring him that “Next time I make you, you won’t be so flawed and petty, little dream.”

He then proceeds to punish his cult following, nicknamed The Collectors. He condemns them to feel the pain and sorrow of their victims and their loved ones until the end of time. The weight of guilt results in suicides and police confessions and that ends their ways, happy to stab.

Rose seeks advice from Lyta (Razane Jammal), who is in the hospital and, despite knowing what will happen to the waking world, selfishly tries to convince Rose to destroy Morpheus. Her desperation to cling to her child at all costs is what causes her myopia. Rose is still undecided, but when she re-enters the Dreaming and sees her friends and her brother Jed in danger due to her very existence, she is convinced of the sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong) learns that Rose’s grandmother is Unity Kincaid, the sole survivor of the sleeping curse from when Morpheus was stopped by Roderick Burgess. This coincides with Rose giving herself to Morpheus. As he remorsefully but with her consent begins to take her life, Lucienne stops her along with Unity.

Unity explains that she was meant to be the vortex of this age before she succumbed to the sleeping curse and passed it on to her descendant Rose. Her exclusion from her dream is what prevented Unity from being the vortex she was meant to be hers and her release from her captivity is presumably what enacted it within Rose.

Unity tells Rose to look inside herself and give her whatever it is that makes her the vortex. Rose does so, removing a crystalline-looking heart that pulses in black and red. Unity takes the heart from her and as she does so she breaks apart and explodes emitting a beam of pink light.

This weakens her and when she asks what’s wrong, Morpheus explains that she died so Rose could live.

Rose apologizes, but Unity gently brushes her off. She tells Rose that she should have died a long time ago and that if events hadn’t unfolded like this, she would never have met her golden-eyed man in her dream and had a child with him.

The revelation of a golden-eyed man leads Dream and Lucienne to realize that Desire was that golden-eyed man and has been plotting against Morpheus.

Don’t worry, we’ll explain it to you.

Morpheus reveals to Rose that she and Jed are children of the Endless: so he promises to leave Rose alone, telling her that she has suffered enough. Later, Morpheus confronts Desire about her plans to destroy him. It appears that the cheeky Endless took advantage of Morpheus’ imprisonment by fathering a child with Unity. They knew that this child would become the vortex and Morpheus would be forced to kill them. ‘Family bloodshed’ is apparently a big no-no that would have caused catastrophic events. Or that’s what the series alludes to.

Morpheus threatens Desire and warns them not to mess with him and his kin again in the future, unless they want to take on the power of Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Destiny and him. Apparently, Desire is not so interested in that and is aligned, at least for now, on the subject. As Morpheus walks away, Desire promises that he will draw blood next time.

Back in dreamland, Lucienne approaches Morpheus, who is hard at work creating what she believes to be a new nightmare. She tells him about a new Rose Walker book that shows up at the library and that she seems to satisfy him despite the problematic description of her.

When she asks him what he’s creating, maybe a new Corinthian? Morpheus tells her that the world is not ready for a new Corinthian and asks her to hold on to the emblem of her failed nightmare. She then reveals to a remade Gault that he has become a dream and apologizes, thus making up for his harsh treatment of her.

Back in the literal pits of hell, Lord Azazel prevails over Lucifer. He has forced this impromptu meeting by decision of the Lords of Hell. Azazel presses Lucifer forward with plans to expand Hell’s borders by attacking the dream world, followed by the waking world and one day the silver city. He tells them that the generals order action, to which they reply, “Then I will act.”

Once he’s gone, Lucifer reveals that they’re about to do something that will bring God “absolutely furious and Morpheus to his knees.” Tense, exciting moment. Gwendoline Christie uttering that line is arguably one of the best things on television, but the insidiously intriguing question is who is Azazel? And why do they have such influence over the ruler of hell?

Anyone who can intimidate the ruler of hell is someone to watch out for.

Who is Azazel?

If you imagine Lucifer Morningstar at the top of the pecking order, Azazel isn’t far below. He is the co-ruler of hell. However, he yearns for the top spot, which explains why he is breathing down the back of Lucifer’s head with a heat hotter than the flames of hell. As the comics story progresses, he intends to share his position as ruler of Hell with his fellow demons Merkin and Chorozon. This version of Azazel however doesn’t seem like the type he would share, so it’s likely that the series deviates from this narrative.

The original story shows Azazel trying to make a deal with Morpheus to return his lover Nada (who is imprisoned in Hell) in exchange for the keys to it. When Morpheus refuses, he threatens to consume Nada in return. But Morpheus manages to imprison him.

If this has already happened, it would explain why Azazel is desperate to see the Dreaming fall apart and ruin Morpheus. He would also explain why she has swallowed her pride enough to gather the Lords of Hell to formulate a plan for such an attack.

There are always variations between page and screen, but it seems very likely that Morpheus is under attack and that Lucifer should also have his back.

Will Lyta take revenge on Morpheus?

Azazel isn’t the only one with the potential to bring Morpheus to his knees. When Roderick Burgess lost his child, he was so outraged that he sought to capture Death and have her bring him back to life.

Instead, he caught the King of Dreams, which landed him in a century in prison. Given that knowledge, Lord Morpheus would be wise not to underestimate humans and what pain might encourage within them.

So getting hold of Lyta’s baby may not be as easy as you’d like to believe. Lyta still blames Morpheus for breaking her last bond with her husband and banishing her ghost self from the paradise of her dreams. Things could get ugly if she goes ahead with the idea of ​​getting the baby.

‘Sandman’ season 1 is now available on Netflix Spain.