The Sandman’s powers explained: There really isn’t an explanation

It is difficult to remember what you’re watching when it comes down to it The Sandman Dream is Dream. Not necessarily where he is; that’s easy enough. He can do what he wants DoOn the contrary, he isn’t. For the first half of season 1, Dream is rebuilding — gathering his favorite tools in order to get his powers back up to snuff. It’s not clear what those powers actually are. Perplexing as it may be, this isn’t really what The Sandmanyou are about. It is okay to be lost, it is a way of finding a deeper story.

Hearing someone tell you that an annoying thing does not matter isn’t a very satisfying answer, so let’s get into why. Dream, an abstract personified is both control and. IsThe collective nightmares and dreams of mankind give him the power to accomplish any task he desires, provided that the reasoning can be linked to the dreams. If you are awake, or asleepy, then you can be at his will.

But. You don’t just have to dream about what happens in your sleep. Dreams can also be dreams, stories, aspirations, or hopes. Dream may use these as he chooses. The core of his powers is in the way we interpret and make sense out of things we don’t understand. The bottom line is that the Endless can do anything they wish, provided they have a reason to. Unless, of course, they can’t.

Image courtesy of Netflix

This is what I mean when I say Dream’s powers don’t matter. The SandmanThis is not a drama with traditional conflicts. Although antagonists such the Corinthian can come and go, they do not threaten the human race. The real conflict, however, is with the ActualObligation is an existential threat against Dream. Because the Endless are the ones who can manipulate the cosmos, they also have to keep it stable. (The Sandman’s first episode shows what happens when they do not, as the world of the Dreaming falls to pieces when Dream is captured, and many who slept the moment he was captured never wake up.) They must, just like feudal rulers, find indirect solutions to their problems without waging war.

Season one of The Sandman only states these rules obliquely: in the decorum that must be observed when Dream calls upon Lucifer in hell, in Dream’s cold and stubborn approach to enforcing his rule, and late in the season in a trap laid for Dream by someone with an ax to grind.

These boundaries aren’t just good because they’re interesting limitations; they’re an important part of what makes The SandmanFeel mythic. They are believed to be more powerful than the gods, and older than the Endless because they only exist. These are — believing has nothing to do with whether or not you dream, die, or desire. Knowing that they are bound by an ancient and knotty tangle of customs and bound to their word — All of their word — means that their existence is tied to all existence, part of the star-stuff that we can’t explain yet comprises our very bodies.

Dream and The Endless: They are like gravity. Always felt, yet never understood fully, and both commonplace as well as magic at the same time. Understanding how it works isn’t important; just knowing that it’s there is enough.