Sandman Finale Revealed! What’s the Epic Ending of Netflix’s Fantasy Series?

Warning, spoilers ahead! This article reveals the ending of the Sandman series. If you haven’t watched it and don’t want to know the details, please stop reading now.

It’s time to bid farewell to the Sandman series, and with it, its main character Dream, also known as Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), one of the Endless.

In the penultimate episode, Dream summons the Kindly Ones – who have brought destruction and death to his realm through their avatar, Lyta Hall (Razane Jammal), the mother of young Daniel Hall whom she believes to be killed by Dream.

When Morpheus demands that these Greek goddesses of vengeance stop ravaging his kingdom and harming those under his protection, they remind him that they cannot leave until their task is completed. In other words, they will not be satisfied until Dream is dead. This is the price Dream must pay after he shed family blood by killing his son Orpheus at the end of volume 1, even though it was at his son’s request.

This grim fate is no surprise to the Sandman, who had realized that granting his son’s long-held wish to die would have tragic consequences.

An Epiphany

“Dream knows that by killing Orpheus, he will die himself. But he refuses to let his son suffer a moment longer,” explains Allan Heinberg, the showrunner of the series, at Tudum. “It’s less a slow suicide, I think, than Dream presenting himself for his son in a way he couldn’t have done thousands of years ago, or even at the start of the series. When you love someone that much, you’re ready to give your life for them.“

It’s a major turning point for Dream as he does something he has never done before. “He allows himself to be taken rather than continue causing pain to those he loves,” says Heinberg. “Dream learns to love and be loved, and what true love really means. But by doing so, he must die and essentially be reborn as Daniel Hall, as a different Dream.“

How Does Dream Die?

At the edge of his realm, facing the Furies, the Lord of Dreams sends Matthew the Raven (Patton Oswalt) on one last mission: to summon his sister Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). “There’s a price to pay for what I’ve done, and I must pay it,” Dream tells Death in their final conversation. “I’m tired, my sister. I’m very tired.“

Death, asking if he’s ready to go, reaches out her hand, which Dream takes. A blinding light fills the screen, signifying the death of Dream of the Endless.

Tom Sturridge recalls that the conversations he had before Dream’s death were about his character’s mindset in those final moments. “I think what we arrived at, is that he was so eager to rest and so at peace with the idea of finally being able to sleep.“

Why Does Baby Daniel Become the New Dream?

Recall that in Season 1, Lyta Hall becomes pregnant with the child of her deceased husband Hector (Lloyd Everitt) in a dream that was made real due to her proximity to her friend Rose Walker, a dream vortex. Consequently, Daniel is the first and only human child to be conceived in the Dream Realm. After destroying the ghost of Hector, Dream tells Lyta that the child belongs to him.

In Season 2, Episode 8, Loki (Freddie Fox) throws little Daniel into a fireplace, burning away his humanity so that he can become the new lord of dreams. Following Dream’s death in Episode 10, baby Daniel transforms into his adult form to become the new Dream (played by Jacob Anderson) – dressed in a long white coat and still wearing his green stone eagle necklace, which was given to him by Dream and serves as a symbol of his power.

How Does Season 2 of Sandman End?

Episode 11, titled “A Tale with Elegant Ends,” serves as a farewell to Morpheus, the former Lord of the Dream World. His funeral is attended by those most important to him, including his siblings the Endless with Destiny (Adrian Lester), Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), Desire (Mason Alexander Park), Despair (Donna Preston), and Delirium (Esmé Creed-Miles). Destruction (Barry Sloane), however, chooses not to attend the service, true to his reputation as the family’s black sheep but instead comes to offer some advice to the new Dream.

Among the guests are Hob Gadling (Ferdinand Kingsley), Morpheus’ immortal human friend; Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman), a necromancer and adventurer; Alex Burgess (Laurie Kynaston), Dream’s former captor from Season 1; and Nuala (Ann Skelly), a royal envoy from Faerie who becomes one of Dream’s trusted allies before his disappearance.

The episode also focuses on Daniel, the new Dream of the Endless. Having only lived eight months in his human life and now possessing the powers of a god, Daniel is unsure of what the role entails or where to begin. He turns to Morpheus’ closest friends, including Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong), for guidance but finds they are not quite ready to welcome him as their new Lord.

“He’s adjusting. He has questions, he needs all the advice he can get, and relies on Lucienne and Matthew to help him carry out his duties“, explains Heinberg. “At the same time, Lucienne and Matthew are devastated without Dream. They are mourning. They have no idea who this kid is and, in a way, they resent his presence. They are trying to figure out whether to stay or go. This emotional knot is what the funeral episode is based on.“

Sandman concludes with Daniel meeting his new siblings (excluding Destruction) at a family dinner.