The Sandman Season 1 Review

The Sandman (2022), Netflix, Review

The Sandman is a Warner Bros television series distributed by Netflix and an adaptation of the Neil Gaiman Comic series of the same name distributed by DC. The series was released on the 5th of August 2022 and currently holds an approval rating of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.8/10 rating on IMDB (as of the 17th of August 2022).

The Premise of The Sandman

As the comic, The series of the Sandman follows the story of Morpheus, the personification of Dreams, the ruler of his Relm 'The Dreaming' and one of the seven Endless. The Endless are the embodiment of natural forces and powerful beings with specific roles within the Universe.

The series begins with Morpheus whilst in an attempt to capture a Nightmare known as Carinthian, is captured by British aristocrat Roderick Burgess using a magical, occult ritual designed to capture Death. Burgess was attempting to capture Death in an effort to force the resurrection of his dead son. However, failing to do this and instead capturing Dreams, Burgess, steals Morpheus's totems of power consisting of his Helm, a pouch of Sand and a Ruby.

Review of The Sandman

Much of the hard work of developing a strong storyline has been done by the comic book series' amazing work, which is an absolute work of Art. The story obviously requires some adaptation to translate that work of art into a watchable Television Series. The Sandman is a good example of how this is done. Some elements could have been better, such as some of the casting decisions, but overall, that didn't affect the actual story as it unfolds on screen.

Visually the show is incredible, dealing with the darkness of the Dreaming and the earlier times of the Waking world versus the brightness of the modern waking world, and vibrant parts of the dreaming were wonderfully done and assisted in setting the tones and emotions of the show as the story arcs shift and develop.

Tom Sturridge does an outstanding job of bringing the iconic character of Dreams to the screen, and other notable performances go to Kyo RA, and David Thewlis for their portrayals of intense characters.

The show is ten episodes that flow very nicely, and at 50 minutes, an episode does very well at keeping you on your toes and interested from one episode to the next.

The stand-out Episode for me is 24/7, a pulp fiction-esque scene set in a diner where John Dee, with the power of the ruby, removes the ability to lie from those living in the waking world.

This could have been released as a one-shot and would still work just as well.

Highly recommend this show and am happy to give it a solid 4.5 out of 5.

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