Netflix’s The Sandman season 1 ending explained

We’ve gotten a lot out of season 1 of The SandmanDream’s loss and regaining of his power; diner episodes that will stick in your head long after you have finished the Netflix autoplay. A whole story about Vortex and her brother and all the Dreaming sentient parts that she is missing. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of details to keep track of, even if you DidRead the comics.

You can’t blame Netflix and Neil Gaiman. They were so happy to finally realize this world after decades of hellish development (and not with Gwendoline Christie looking on). But with season 1 ending so deliciously, it feels like it’s a good time to double-check: Did I get everything The SandmanI was trying to understand it?

Why does Desire want to get Dream to spill “family blood”? What’s so bad about that?

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As Dream learns in the final moments of season 1, Rose Walker’s whole existence is predicated on Desire having impregnated Unity while she was asleep during Dream’s absence. Desire accuses Desire of trying to get Dream’s blood clot (either by attacking Desire or murdering Rose Walker), which would theoretically also be shared with Dream.

“This time it almost worked,” Desire purrs. “Oh, poor Dream. I really got under your skin this time, didn’t I? Next time… I’ll draw blood.”

In episode 10 (or even the full season) we don’t get a sense of what’s so taboo about it. But as Dream warns Desire not to step to him, we get a sense that there’s more than just a family rule about it, as he alludes to “all that would entail.”

[Ed. note: Book explanation below; don’t read it if you don’t want to know.]

The Endless, as comic creators know, have some rules that they follow. They are just as old as their own. One of them is to not spill “family blood,” or else bad news It will befall you — namely you summon the Furies, who are no joke and willYou are crazy.

What is Lucifer’s plan?

Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix.

Though things have finally started to come together in Dream’s realm — allowing him to not just return to form but improve himself and life for those around him — Lucifer is less than happy. We find Lucifer still feeling sour after he was embarrassed by a formal challenge in this season. He is not enthusiastic about the joys hell offers. Just when it seems the uncanny lord of all hell is left to simply mope, they’re Visited by a demon who made an extraordinary offer. Lord Azazel pops up to share something on behalf of the “assembled lords of hell.”

“We have [assembled] against yOur enemy — ourDream of the Endless, enemy The armies of hell are yours to command, should you wish to strike,” Azazel says of possible plans to invade Dream’s realm, and then the waking world. “Since none of us may leave hell, we may as well expand its borders until hell is all there is.”

With the generals demanding action, Lucifer promises to act — saying only that the plan was “something I have never done before. Something that will make God… Absolutly livid.”

If you’re curious exactly what Lucifer is cooking up, you can read the comics. Let’s just say, these are big and hellish plans.

What’s the plan for the series? Which stories of the Sandman will you include?

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With 75 issues in the original run of the series, there’s certainly a lot for The SandmanNetflix will allow you to stream the entire series. The first season only covered 16 issues. Preludes & NocturnesCollect 1-8 and The Doll’s House, 9-16) there’s enough for The SandmanIt should be able to go at most four seasons. Polygon is told by Gaiman that he can see the machine running for longer periods.

“If we had our druthers, and the world was perfect, we’d get to go all the way to the end of Sandman Overture [a prequel to the series published in 2013], which strangely would be the beginning of episode 1 again,” Gaiman says. “And we get to do an awful lot of the side stories and interesting byways and diversions along the way.”

That could mean that — Netflix renewal gods allowing — SandmanThis comic is quite long and follows the main story for some time. There are also occasional episodic or standalone adventures. Though season 1 made time for the occasional excursion from the central story, it was largely confined to focusing on Dream’s return to the Dreaming and accounting for all the changes. But as the comics continued, there was less emphasis on the overall arc of the story and more on the small, almost vignette-like chapters of Dream’s journeys. If Netflix’s Sandman can resemble that, then there’s certainly a lot of places for SandmanGo.

Rose Walker to appear in Sandman 2 season?

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The Doll’s House arc in the comics isn’t the last time we see Rose Walker, nor is it the last time we see Lyta Hall and her dream baby. Although the stories have been rearranged slightly to make the season arc more manageable, it is possible that the characters could be back in season 2.

Who is the “Prodigal” that Dream, Desire, and Despair keep talking about?

Although the Endless are all related, there is, apparently, one who stands out from the crowd, referenced only as the “Prodigal” by Dream and his siblings.

It is slow to find the right answer. SandmanThe first season; we only have a few details. However, the comic does have the answer.

[Ed. note: Book spoilers below.]

Dream’s next-in-line is Destruction. The Prodigal represents Destruction. Dream is not the oldest of his siblings even though he shows all of the seriousness and self-regard of an older child. The only Endless child that abandoned his duties earned him the nickname. As Neil Gaiman wrote in the comic companion, the Endless don’t have names so much as titles that describe their actions. Because Destruction left his post, he’s now the “Prodigal,” since he’s without function.

The root of the word suggests that there is a little bit of judgement on the part the Endless brothers and sisters, rather than a simple abdication of their duty. After all, the “Prodigal Son” parable specifically relates to someone leaving home and spending resources on a “reckless” scale. As they are the rulers of their realms, there might be some resentment. The Endless: They’re just like us.

What number of Endless exist? Are they all possible?

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There are seven Endless Children! Though we’ve only met a few so far. They all share the same name D to make it easy for you to distinguish them.

Of those, we’ve met Death, Dream, Desire, and Despair. Dream, however, mentioned a spreading of power between them in his encounter with Desire. This implied that he, Destiny and Death were powerful (and united enough) to hold the rest in check.

How did Dream make a deal with Shakespeare?

We don’t get to see it revealed in the show — yet. But in the comics, Dream’s realm isn’t purely “dreams” as we know them in our sleep; it’s more creation itself, any dream world that might be thought up. That’s how Dream met up with the Justice League, and it’s how Will “Shakesbeard” might have something to offer Dream of the Endless.

We also know the endings of every comic. [Ed. note: Another small book spoiler coming up here.]Dream gifted the Bard with the ability to create immortal stories, and in return, he commissioned two plays. A Midsummer Night’s DreamTo honor the Unseelie Court, Tempest.