WARNING......WARNING......WARNING......WARNING......WARNING.......WARNING!!!!!!!!
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS, IN THE IMMORTAL WORDS OF RIVER SONG, "SPOILERS!"
STOP NOW IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ALL 11 EPISODES OF THE SANDMAN.
Okay, that said, let's begin. The Sandman.
The Sandman is a series based upon the comic books (which I admit I didn't read, but my sons and all their friends did) and is, I'm told, very faithful to the characters and the story. You don't have to have read the comics (though I'm told you should) to watch this series. There's a host of characters, so bear with me as we go through them. Also, there are LOTS of stories and characters I'm not including, not because they aren't memorable, but for the sheer volume.
The main is, of course, the title character The Sandman, also known as Dream, as known as Lord Morpheus. There are many, many legends and myths (we meet Biblical Cain & Abel, for example) and to me, all the names he is known by follow the traditional Greek/Roman Gods/Goddess with their multiple names.
Dream is a VERY flawed character. He's one of the Endless, those who aren't quite Gods, (he's the 'Dream Lord' not the 'Dream God') but definitely aren't mortals. Dream is, as one character (Death, more on her later) puts it: "The stupidest, most self-centered, pathetic excuse for an anthropomorphic personification on this or any other plane". He is, at the beginning, arrogant, unfeeling, and cares mainly for himself. He has one heck of a history in which he shows his selfish, unforgiving side, and seems to think of humans as 'lesser'.
We meet him from the first moment, in voice-over, and let me tell you, he grabs your attention and never, ever lets it go. The actor portrays him so real, drawing you in with smokey (sorry for the pun) dreamy voice, depthless, expressive eyes, and tall, ultra-thin form. He commands the screen, and never relinquishes it (though Death does steal a bit here and there). We see MORE from Dream from his eyes and expressions than his words. He walks into an uncertain battle with a stooped, slow walk and leaves after victory with a swagger and a grin.
It's memorizing and so well done, he will forever be known as Dream, regardless of what he does in his future.
Dream is captured, by mistake, by a man who is grieving the loss of his son in WW1. This man wanted to capture Death, and force her to return his son to him. When he discovers he has Dream, not Death, he keeps Dream a captive regardless, thinking Dream will somehow return his son anyway-- and egged on by The Corinthian (more on him later). While Dream is held, first by the man, then his son, for over 100 years, many humans 'fall asleep' in a not dead, not alive state while his realm ('The Dreaming') begins to disintegrate and those who inhabit the realm he created, the Dreams and Nightmares, leave until only the very loyal Royal Librianian Lucienne (another outstanding performance) remain.
Let me tangent for a moment...Lucienne is the best friend we all deserve and the most loyal, enduring soul ever met. She puts up with a lot from Dream, not the least is having to watch her beloved library vanish during the years of his captivity. The library, by the way, contains every book ever written and even those thought about but not written. THAT's where I'd like to spend eternity. But I digress...
Dream must go to Cain and Abel (Abel beautifully tells us why he must be murdered over and over by his brother Cain, the first victim, and the first murderer) and take the 'one creation that is still intact'. It's heartbreaking for everyone, including Dream, who has tears in his eyes as he does what he must to restore The Dreaming. He also tries to make amends with the brothers, with a cute little creature named Goldy.
Dream's visit with the Muses is also a stand-out... terrifying and even a bit humorous. Well played by 3 actresses who are maiden (beautiful, young, flirty), mother (plumb, older, and mommy-like), and crone (old, a bit mean, and scary).
Dream has to go on a journey to reclaim his 'tools': His sand, his helm, and his ruby, which he believes he can't do without nor rule and build. He also has to locate all the Dreams & Nightmares who haven't returned, including mega bad guy The Corinthian (more on him later). The first five episodes are Dream's journey to reclaim these tools, from modern-day London and meeting the ancestor of someone he knew centuries ago (Demon hunter Joanna, played by DW's Clara, Jenna Coleman) to a mad man who wants to reveal 'truth' no matter how shattering (HP's Lupin, now a very bad, mad guy) to Hell, where he must battle Lucifer herself (absolutely brilliantly portrayed by GoT's Brienne).
Another slight tangent: Lucifer, female, is utterly seductive, sweet, and terrifying in her evilness. She is a bit like a southern lady: all sweetness and light on the outside with darkness behind the sweet. She reveals herself in expressions: Even when 'pleasantly' asking Dream about his family, her eyes are cold, hard & evil. I hope we see more of her, even if she is one of the bad guys, because she is such a dream (hahaha) to watch on screen. Their battle deserves all the awards in the world for sheer memorizing talent, emotion, and unable-to-walk-away watchability.
Episode 5, where Dream fights for his last tool, his ruby, is also TRIGGER WARNING disturbing for how John (HP's Lupin) decides to use the ruby to make every human reveal and act on 'the truth'. It gets violent and bloody, unbelievably cruel, with the final battle between John and Dream one for sheer unpredictability. John's 'punishment' also shows how Dream has grown in his journey: Once he would have killed John without a thought, but now he picks a more fitting ending. We also see Dream's concern for humans, his determination that their lives are not 'just dreams alone', and how truth is not always black and white.
For me, Episode 6, 'The Sound of Her Wings' is the best overall episode. It is beautifully acted and written. This is Death's episode, Dream's 'big sister', who is determined to smack her little brother into shape, get him out of his morse depression, and knock some bloody sense into him. She's the Big Sister we all want: a bit bossy, compassionate, caring, and knowing just what to say and when to say it. She gently guides Dream to what he needs most to realize and shows him her work in a new light.
Let me say, for sheer utterly toxic, dysfunctional family, I doubt you find one more so than Dream's: He has 6 siblings: Delirium, Death, Desire, Despair, Destiny, & Destruction. He's the third born. We hear Destruction is 'the Prodical', the one missing for years. We meet three of them: Death, Desire & Despair. Desire & Despair are twins, and Desire is one evil little pissant you just want to smack (and revealed at the end, the 'puppet master' who set everything up in this entire season to try to destroy Dream).
As a TRIGGER WARNING: Yes, we see Death doing her job. It is beautifully done, and acted, with the sound of her wings and the briefest of glimpses of the shadow outline of them. There is a scene where she comes for an elderly man, and since I watched this 2 days after the 5th anniversary of my father's death, it was particularly poignant to me. Death also comes for an infant, a drug addict, a man robbed in the street, a woman dying in hospice, a man on his honeymoon, and a man playing football. Again, it is gently shown, portrayed, and we can only hope when the actual Death happens, this is the way it comes for all of us. Death also reminds Dream they exist solely FOR and BECAUSE of the humans, that their purpose IS their function, and they are there to serve them. "I need them as much as they need me."
In this episode, we see a 'bet' between Death & Dream, from back in 1389(!): In a pub, a man named Hob, who brags he doesn't fear Death & has seen it, since his whole village died in 'the Black Death', and determines he is not going to seek death or ever die. Dream bets Death "in a century he will beg for you to get him, he'll be tired of life". Death takes the challenge and allows Hobs immortality. Dream tells Hobs every 100 years they will meet at the same pub, for Hob to tell Dream how he feels about life. We then see this pub every 100 years (pay attention to the 'background chatter', the issues discussed in 1389 are very much the same issues discussed every century, and will be forever; the music, and the brilliant changing London skyline). To Dream's amazement, Hob loves life, even when he loses everything, even when his family dies, and even as the world changes beyond anything he could have imagined. We meet Shakespeare, hear about slavery, inventions, changing professions, and see Joanna's (from above) ancestor. It's a wonderful arch that teaches Dream some very valuable lessons about life, humans, and even friendship. We also have mentions of Dream's 'other activities' those off-screen, so to speak, which I hope we see in future episodes.
Episode 7 begins, to me, with a brand new arch...although it has ties to the first six. Rose, a woman looking for her brother, unknowingly holds a power that can destroy worlds, all worlds. We also see more of the 'missing nightmare' from The Dreaming, The Corinthian, and a very disturbing episode of an unconventional convention of 'cereal' (serial killers). TRIGGER WARNING: This is violent, gruesome, and very, very disturbing with descriptions of hunting victims, preying on and abusing children, and murder. While Dream is victorious, and The Corinthian is destroyed, what Dream does to the serial killers shows his growth: Once he wouldn't have cared, but now he is determined they will be punished for their horrific crimes against other humans. It's a justified ending.
We follow Rose as she learns who and what she is, and prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice of herself for her friends, and the worlds. Yet her great-grandmother (she was one of those affected by the asleep not awake disease) discovers she is supposed to have been what Rose is, and saves her by switching their places. It's nicely done but didn't hold me as much as the first episodes.
Stand out here includes 'Fiddler's Green', (Stephen Fry) the sweet, seemingly befuddled older man who tries to help Rose.
We also see the ruthlessness Dream holds inside when he confronts his sibling Desire over his manipulations. When Dream tells Desire, "mess with me or mine again and I shall forget we are family.. think you can stand against me, against Death, against Destiny?" we completely believe Dream will utterly destroy Desire, sibling or not. And if Desire had any brains, he'd slink away and keep a big distance between himself and his big brother. But Desire isn't smart and is only more determined than ever to bring Dream down.
In addition, again, we see the growth of Dream: He reminds Desire "we are the servants of the living, not their masters" and they exist "only because the humans know in their hearts we exist" and "we do not manipulate them....they manipulate us... you would do well to remember that" we see the change from arrogant Dream in Episode 1 to this more mature, listened-to-big-sis Dream. It's a big moment, not the least diminished by seeing him threaten and scare Desire, if only for a few moments.
And we see Lucifer, still smarting from losing the battle to Dream, plotting to bring Dream to his knees in a way that will "make God absolutely livid".
OOOOO GIMME GIMME GIMME SEASON 2!!!!!!
Episode 11 is Two shorts that stand-alone...Not really connected, yet the same characters. 'Dream of a Thousand Cats' is making me look at every cat I see a bit differently (and is the only one animated) while 'Calliope' is both angering and heartbreaking, especially in the bits we get of her history with Dream (and chilling performance by Doctor Who's Rory, Arthur Darvill).
Bottom Line:
What I LOVED:
* The writing is fantastic, with very few out-of-place or stilted conversations. There is so much told by actions and expressions it almost overpowers the actual spoken words.
*The Acting: Top notch and each actor totally fits and is believable as his/her character. New faces and familiar ones mix and begin utter 'real world' elements to this series, breathe their characters into life, make us care or hate them, and want to see what happens next, making it one of the best I've ever seen.
* The filming/sets/views: Magical. No other word fits. From the 'The Dreaming' and various dreams to the 1920s, to each century for Hobs, to the present day, everything was flawless. Costumes are amazing, and Dream's long black coat is much like The Doctor 10 Tennent's, so much a part of him it also seems as alive as Dr. Strange's cloak. The camera angles, from Dream entering the massive gates of Hell with his faithful raven Matthew flying above him, to the way we see Lucifer as larger than life, to the gentle beauty of Death, to the mists, vortexes, 'mirror' skies of changing scenes, to the utter chaos of Desire's 'home' it is like, seriously, living in a dream. Every detail is immaculate: homes look like typical homes, nothing is out of place (no coffee cups aka GoT on the table), and exquisite detail in the bars of Dream's cage, the family pictures, the books, and the difference between wealthy and struggling.
* The overall tone is one of hope (a word that figures VERY prominently), even in the darkest.
What I Didn't Like:
* There's only 11 episodes and I want more NOW.
* The trigger warnings above were a bit hard for me, and the level of violence is a bit tough. This is NOT a children's story and I wouldn't let a child watch it.
Binge this. You will NOT be able to stop at one episode, especially in the first 5.
I'm off to find some comic books....
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