The Sandman, Season 2: When Its Creator is the Series' Own Worst Nightmare
By John Kirk
Rating: A-
Officially, The Sandman, Season Two isn’t being cancelled for the reasons one might think.
But … really?
Divided into two volumes, Season Two of The Sandman amounts to an abbreviated version of one of the best comic sagas of all time. Written by Neil Gaiman, who also has to be one of the most significant comic writers and fantasy novelists of the 1990’s and up, this incredible fantasy is now marred by the controversy and allegations surrounding its author.
These involve at least eight women with accusations of sexual assault and abuse. Among them: a former nanny who has filed human trafficking lawsuits against Gaiman and his estranged wife. Gaiman denies accusations of non-consensual sex and is fighting the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds while claiming it’s a fabrication.
Tom Sturridge as Dream of the Endless seeks to save the human Queen, Nada (Umulisa Gahiga) from Hell.
It's common knowledge that there will be no Season Three of this incredible story. That alone makes this season more precious, knowing it’s the last. Entertainment Weekly quoted showrunner Allan Heinberg that there was no contractual obligation to complete the second season, and that the allegations had nothing to do with the decision to cancel the series. The plan, he said, was to conclude the series with Season Two, but … I don’t know.
Too many reasons are being given for the popular show’s demise. Apparently, there were also reports in Variety that Netflix found that the cost was too high for the series and the audience numbers they received was too low. It seems that there is every attempt to downplay Gaiman’s sexual allegations as the reason for its cancellation.
There is no dispute that Gaiman’s alleged activities have brought his work into disrepute so why not just accept that the controversy is a good reason for the show’s demise?
One can praise the storytelling without praising the storyteller. Though the work is amazing, I believe it best to confine judgment of the creation to its own merits, its performances, photography and effectiveness of its adaptation to television.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“After a fateful reunion with his family, Dream of the Endless (Tom Sturridge) must face one impossible decision after another as he attempts to save himself, his kingdom, and the waking world from the epic fallout of his past misdeeds.
“To make amends, Dream must confront longtime friends and foes, gods, monsters, and mortals. But the path to forgiveness is full of unexpected twists and turns, and true absolution may cost Dream everything. Based on the beloved award-winning DC comic series, the second season of The Sandman will tell Dream's story arc in full to its thrilling conclusion.”
The first volume of stories feels arbitrary and truncated given the extent of the work that could be covered and the cherry-picked tales that were featured. The Sandman comic consists of over 80 stories compiled into four Absolute volume collections along with other bound volumes. These are stories that are treasured by fans and to see them come to life on the small screen is a pleasure for them.
But there can be no doubt that Tom Sturridge is Dream of the Endless. His performance is perfectly presented, down to every mannerism or tonal inflection. The way he interacts with his family is a focus of the selected stories in this series is mind-bogglingly exact. The Endless are a collection of brothers and sisters, either older or younger, reacting to each other within this hierarchy as siblings know all too well. Dream is the middle child, finding his own place within this supernatural family.
Beginning with stories from The Season of Mists in which Lucifer (Gwendoline Christie) decides to abdicate his throne, we see a series of cherry-picked jewels from within this rich collection of Dream’s adventures. Part of Lucifer’s revenge against Dream is to get him to pick the new successor to Hell, which means pitting him against a virtual array of supernatural, mythological and conceptual forces of order who seek Hell for their own aims.
Jenna Coleman’s reprise as Lady Johanna Constantine is also a high point of the series. A favourite to Doctor Who fans, Coleman’s character is also a touchstone for fans of the comic character, John Constantine, the cheeky and insolent occultist of DC Comics fame, who also cameos in many issues of The Sandman. Lady Johanna is his ancestor and Coleman plays her well, showing where her descendant’s taste for the paranormal comes from.
My personal favourite is A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring Jack Gleeson of Game of Thrones fame who plays Puck. This episode is a true masterpiece that unites Shakespearean and English/Celtic Faerie lore in a story that reflects the high fantasy of the comic.
Despite its truncated treatment of the immense encyclopedia that fans will undoubtably question, this is a massive accomplishment in adapting the stories of Dream of the Endless to television. Full kudos to Showrunners Allan Heinberg and Jamie Childs for adopting the storytelling as their own and remaining faithful to the story. It’s rare to see an adaptation that matches the original text that fans loved. There must also be an emphatic and enthusiastic nod of appreciation to the cast as well, seeing all of those characters of smoke and mists made flesh by the talented cast’s portrayals.
It’s the attention to detail in the adaptation that screams masterpiece. But there are other stories within this saga that demand that same sort of attention and while the stories that we see are truly rich to behold, with performances that stand on their own merits and defy the nature of the characters’ creator, they’ll never be told.
That is probably the heaviest criticism that can be levied against the series.
Meanwhile, out of a nightmare comes a powerful and resonant Dream.
The Sandman: Season Two, Volumes 1 & 2. Directed by Jamie Childs. Stars Tom Sturridge, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Esmé Creed-Miles, Adrian Lester, Barry Sloane, Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Ferdinand Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Razane Jammal, Ruairi O’Connor, Freddie Fox, Clive Russell, Laurence O’Fuarain, Ann Skelly, Douglas Booth, Jack Gleeson, Indya Moore, Steve Coogan, and Boyd Holbrook.
Producers: Allan Heinberg, David Goyer, Neil Gaiman
Volume 1 of Season Two streams on Netflix July 3. Volume 2 streams July 24 with a bonus episode released on July 31.