[TV] THE SANDMAN - DREAM'S JOURNEY

This is one of those series that doesn't feel like a normal fantasy show... It's dark, weird, emotional, sometimes confusing, and then suddenly you'll get an episode that feels completely different from everything that came before it.... I liked that...

The plot is about Morpheus, also known as Dream or the Sandman, played by Tom Sturridge... He's one of the Endless, ancient beings who basically represent different parts of existence... Dream controls the world of dreams, but after being captured and imprisoned for more than a century, he eventually escapes and discovers that his kingdom has fallen apart in his absence So he has to rebuild his kingdom, recover his stolen tools and fix the damage caused by his imprisonment...
Sounds simple enough but It really isn't...

This show throws mythology, demons, gods, humans, nightmares, immortals and all kinds of strange creatures at you and somehow, it mostly works...

What I liked most about The Sandman is the atmosphere...

This show has a very particular feeling... It's dark and dreamy without constantly trying to scare you.. There are scenes that look like they came straight out of somebody's imagination after falling asleep at 3am..

The visuals are beautiful too but honestly, Tom Sturridge's performance is what holds everything together for me.

Morpheus is not your typical hero.
He's quiet.
He's stubborn.
He's proud.
He's sometimes cold and honestly a little difficult to like but that's also what makes him interesting...

You're basically watching an immortal being slowly realize that having enormous power doesn't automatically make you wise and that becomes one of the biggest themes of the series...

Morpheus has existed for thousands of years, and he's so used to doing things his own way that he struggles to understand that people and even immortals can change and I think that's where the emotional side of the show comes from...

There are moments where I wasn't even thinking about the fantasy stuff.. I was just watching this lonely, ancient being trying to understand relationships, love, regret and responsibility...

Then you've got Death.
Kirby Howell-Baptiste's Death is honestly one of my favorite characters in the whole series...

She isn't portrayed as this terrifying figure coming to collect souls.
She's warm.
She's calm.
She's actually comforting and there's something beautiful about the way the show presents death as something that's simply part of life instead of something that should only be feared...

Then there is Lucifer, played by Gwendoline Christie...
I really enjoyed her version of the character... There's something intimidating about her without her needing to constantly prove that she's powerful and the show is full of characters like this..
Desire.
Despair.
Lucienne.
The Corinthian.
Matthew.
Hob Gadling.
Even some of the one-episode characters end up being surprisingly memorable..

But I will admit something..
This show can be slow.
Very slow sometimes..
There were episodes where I was completely invested, and then there were others where I was sitting there thinking and confused..

The second season especially has a lot happening and because it was the final season, some storylines feel like they're moving faster than they should.

The second season is where the story becomes much more emotional for me... Dream is forced to confront some of the consequences of his past decisions, especially his relationship with his son Orpheus.. Eventually, his decision to grant Orpheus's wish sets up the tragic final part of his story and that ending... Honestly, it hurt...

Without getting too deep into the story, Dream's journey eventually becomes a story about accepting responsibility, understanding love and realizing that sometimes changing means accepting consequences you can't escape...

I actually appreciated that the series didn't try to give him a simple happy ending..

It felt more like a story about endings making room for something new and that's basically what the finale does..

Dream's story ends, but Daniel becomes the new Dream, meaning the world continues even after the person we've followed for the entire series is gone... that was actually beautiful to me.

Overall, I enjoyed the mythology.
I enjoyed the characters and most importantly, I enjoyed watching Morpheus slowly become more human despite being anything but human..

_{image Source}

Rating: 90/100

---

Originally posted through scrobble.life/tv.