THE SANDMAN premiered season two of its eternal fantasy story, based on a DC comic written by Neil Gaiman. Exploring the mythological gods who travel through hellish realms brings this story full circle, amid much emotional angst and sadness.
Tom Sturridge portrays the central character Dream or Morpheus. His interpretation is dark, slow, and extremely monotone. No wonder he is called Dream because he can lull anyone into a deep slumber. Myself included. I’d enjoy a bit more of a variation in tone and pitch. I assume his power starts with quiet monologues and falls from there. It was tough watching at times.
The entire season, as I see it or don’t, was filmed in shades of gray and black. Every murmur was spoken quietly, except Delirium and Darkness. My favorite characters were the Librarian and Orpheus, simply because of the variety used in their voices. It is just too tough to always stay within the nondescript, filmy world of God’s power. I did enjoy the references to the HADESTOWN plot. Now that I could relate to, but the whole season was very inconsistent with content choices. There were many fillers taking viewers back centuries, featuring ageless stories. This series requires tons of concentration and belief in the history of the gods.
THE SANDMAN was just not my cup of tea, even though I thoroughly enjoyed season one. If audiences are fans of the graphic novel, then these latest episodes will be perfect. I leave it all entirely in their hands to decide, but don’t take too long. Cruel, vicious demons walk among us.
THE SANDMAN is streaming on Netflix.
