The first season of Netflix's adaptation of The Sandman has been received well by both audiences and critics alike. With Season 2 likely to happen in the future, fans are excited for more content of the show in the future.
While all episodes of the first season were decent and offered something unique as well as interconnecting the series together, some episodes were better than others. The Sandman is one of the best science-fiction shows on Netflix and is well worth a watch to anybody stuck for something new to see.
10 The Doll's House
The seventh episode of The Sandman's first season, "The Doll's House" develops Rose Walker and her family while also juxtaposing that with Dream and Lucienne working out the existence of a dream vortex.
Also introduced is Unity Kincaid, who mothered Rose while suffering from the Sleepy Sickness introduced in the first episode as a result of Roderick Burgess imprisoning Dream. The Doll's House feels like the start of the season's home stretch and has lots of great moments with new characters introduced.
9 Playing House
"Playing House" is an episode mired in a tragedy that develops the characters well. The eighth episode of The Sandman's first season demonstrates the danger that dream vortexes cause, with repercussions for both Rose and Lyta.
Dream is depicted almost as a villain in this episode, albeit a necessary one. This conflict between Dream and Rose keeps the audiences hooked as they wait to see how it plays out.
8 Lost Hearts
The tenth and final episode of The Sandman's first series, "Lost Hearts" has a lot going on and brings many plot threads to a close while opening new ones.
Constantine is dealt with as is his cult of deluded serial killers, Rose and Lyta's baby is kept safe from Morpheus, and fans get a scene in Hell hinting at Lucifer's intentions to go to war with Dream. There's even a scene with Desire, showing his true colors and apathy towards Dream. A great conclusion to the first series and one that evokes interest in future seasons.
7 Collectors
The penultimate and ninth episode of The Sandman, "Collectors" takes a horror tone as Rose and Jed are finally reunited but in terrible danger at the hands of Corinthian's cult of serial killers. The episode provides horror, suspense, and some of the best quotes in The Sandman Netflix series.
While Morpheus takes a back seat during this episode, the audience barely notices as the episode steams ahead with multiple plot lines converging. The Corinthian and his cult are the highlights of the episode with many creepy moments that depict the insanity of humans in an engaging way.
6 Imperfect Hosts
In the second episode of The Sandman, "Imperfect Hosts" does some good work to build on the debut episode and continue setting up the series and its plotline. There's a good amount of humor in the episode as well as more character development for Morpheus in particular. A necessary episode that maintains the quality of its preceding episode.
5 Dream A Little Dream Of Me
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is the third episode of The Sandman and is the first proper look at modern-day England, dealing with a modern-day exorcist in possession of Dream's sand. The changes from the source material are one of the things Netflix's The Sandman adaptation does right.
There's some great interplay between Johanna Constantine and Morpheus and the latter learns some important lessons about humanity.
4 Sleep Of The Just
The debut episode of The Sandman, "Sleep of the Just" introduces the audience to Morpheus, his raven, and the Burgess family. Throughout the hour-long episode, we see how Dream is captured for a hundred years and made to sit in a prison, never able to escape.
The Burgess family gets a lot of screentime with Roderick (Charles Dance) in particular being a standout character, owing to him being one of the most deplorable villains in The Sandman. It was a great episode to kick the show off and does well to explain a lot of the backstory without feeling like exposition.
3 The Sound Of Her Wings
The sixth episode of The Sandman's first season, "The Sound Of Her Wings" introduces the audience to Morpheus' older sister - Death. The two catch up while Death performs her job, and it's clear that despite being the one responsible for leading people who have died to the afterlife, she's a friendly face for them all. Death is one of the strongest characters in The Sandman comics and fans were delighted to see her appearance in the TV show.
Also interspersed throughout the episode are montages of Dream meeting Hob, a man that he allows never to die back in the 1300s. Despite the troubles with immortality, Hob is just as happy with being alive in 2022 as he was back in the 14th century. An interesting character, fans will be hoping to see him return in the future as Dream's only human friend.
2 A Hope In Hell
The fourth episode of The Sandman's first season, "A Hope In Hell" is generally considered one of the best episodes of the first season. In this episode, Dream goes to Hell in search of his Helm. The result is some great scenes, tension throughout, and an audience with the Devil herself - Lucifer Morningstar. There are many great comics to read if fans love The Sandman, but none quite match up to how this episode's comic book counterpart and others depict Hell and its minions.
The battle between the Devil and Dream is well-done as are their scenes with each other. By the end of the episode, it is clear the two characters are not friends and it's also made clear that Lucifer will return in the future.
1 24/7
"24/7" is the fifth episode of the first season of The Sandman and was widely acclaimed by both fans and audiences alike for its pacing, concept, and faithfulness to the source material. In this episode, John uses the ruby to free humans from their dreams while sitting at an overnight diner. It's one of the best stories in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman comics and fans were delighted with how the episode adapted it.
Everyone in the diner is manipulated by the ruby leading to true, unfiltered honesty. The result is a lot of sex, violence, and home truths dished out between the characters. While the episode focuses heavily on John, Dream does have an important role to play in the episode and the audience sees how much he cares for humans by the end of it.
The Sandman is available on Netflix.