TV Review: The Sandman Season 1
The first season of The Sandman was released August 5th on Netflix. The show is based on Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comic series, which had 75 issues running from 1989 to 1996. I reviewed the first two volumes of that series here on the Geeky Waffle. Gaiman was brought on as developer and writer for the show, which is a great relief to fans since his adapted works without his involvement are generally less well done. The show has ten episodes that cover the first two volumes of the comic series, with a bonus eleventh episode that was released August 19th and contains two short stories within the same universe.
I was worried about how I would like the show since I’m sensitive when it comes to gore and violence. When I read the first two volumes of the comic series, I really liked the story but disliked the graphic violence enough to not continuing reading the series. There is certainly violence and graphic depictions in the show as well, but in a way that I could better handle. I found that the show did a pretty good job of hinting at upcoming violence or graphic imagery so that I could easily look away if I needed to. But there’s also something about illustrated gore that appears more horrifying than it is in reality. So if you’re afraid of the level of violence, certainly take caution, but don’t let it keep you from watching this incredible show.
The casting for The Sandman is phenomenal. Tom Sturridge as Dream/Morpheus is perfect; Dream tends to be rather haughty and emotionless, but Sturridge played his character development well as Dream learned to be more empathetic. Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian and David Thewlis as John Dee were perfectly creepy without being overdone. I hope to see more of Mason Alexander Park as Desire- such a complex antihero. And so many fantastic women bringing their A-game: Vivienne Acheampong as the ever-capable Lucienne, Vanesu Samunyai as the vortex Rose Walker, Sandra James-Young as Rose’s great-grandmother, Razane Jammal as Lyta Hall, and Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine. Not to mention the three Fates played by Dinita Gohil, Nina Wadia, and Souad Faress. And possibly my favorite woman character, Death, played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste. We are blessed with so many strong women in this show!
It was really interesting to see how the tone of the show shifted slightly after Dream finished collecting his three sigils and began tidying and rebuilding his realm. The show went from dangerous quest to a time of self-discovery and renewal, which kept the story endlessly entertaining. I was worried that the story might fall flat after Dream regained all of his power, but in fact his initial quest was more like a prologue. The vastness of The Dreaming shows that there are so many more stories yet to be told, and so much the show can share with us. The introduction of Rose Walker was the strongest part of the show; her character as a vortex worked both for her own plot and to keep the entire show anchored. Vanesu Samunyai pulled focus as Rose in such a delightful way, and I hope that we see more of her in the future. The story didn’t end on a cliffhanger, but certainly left the door open to more seasons. Gaiman has said that Netflix will decide whether or not to greenlight more seasons after this first season is out for one month, so don’t hesitate to watch multiple times if you like it!
The surprise release of an extra episode on August 19th was such a treat! It begins with a 16 minute animated short, Dream of a Thousand Cats, which was definitely a delight for this cat-lover. Tom Sturridge voices The Cat of Dreams and Gaiman himself voices the Skull Bird. That short was followed by a live-action 46 minute story about Calliope, previously married to Dream, who was imprisoned by two male authors and forced to be their muse. Melissanthi Mahut shines as Calliope and we get a scene with the mesmerizing three Fates again. The Calliope segment will definitely get you angry at selfish and egotistical men! I doubt we’ll get any more bonus episodes, so I’ll be keeping my eyes glued to Gaiman’s Twitter account for any renewal announcements!
