The Sandman (TV Series) Lost Hearts (2022) User Reviews

Children of the Endless

[slak96u · 8/10 · 6 August 2022]

Satisfying conclusion to season 1, excellent series all around. The first half was stronger than the back half, fo me, I feel like there were some issues with pacing and tone episodes 7-10. Certainly not bad, just not as good as 1-6. With a series that stays so absolutely focused on its source material it will be very interesting to see how S2 will be treated, I'm looking forward to it.

This is one of the best comic book television adaptions ever, certainly the most unique and visceral. It ranks up there with The Boys and Daredevil.

Well done.

Season One Review

[southdavid · 8/10 · 12 August 2022]

Full disclosure. I love Neil Gaiman and have read pretty much everything that he's written - apart from his magnum opus, "The Sandman". I'm not really sure why I haven't got around to it, I think it has something to do with always having this beloved thing that I haven't started yet. I think it also had something to do with knowing that an adaptation was likely in one form or another and hoping to come to that fresh. I really liked this series, though I will accept that it feels more like a taster season, than a genuine run.

Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), ruler of the realm of dreams is trapped for 100 years by the occultist Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance). On his escape, he discovers that the dream realm has fallen to ruin and the rebuilding process will require reacquiring three tools that were taken from him in his capture. One sits with the son of his former jailer, one with another mystic Joanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) and one is in possession of a demon, and has been taken to hell, where Lucifer Morningstar (Gwendoline Christie) awaits a reunion with Morpheus.

Infused with the wild imagination that I always find in Gaiman's work and stunningly brought to life with expensive looking special effects, "The Sandman" is often a mesmerising show just to look at. Its performances are universally excellent. Sturridge generally just has to stand there looking sad to effectively play Morpheus, but the occasional cracking of the stoicism is underrated. Coleman and Christie - both of whom' s casting raised the odd eyebrow are excellent, but their performances are almost entirely contained within single episodes. Boyd Holbrook though is wonderful as "The Corinthian" the primary antagonist of this first run.

I will say again, it does perhaps feel more like a taster menu than a genuine season of TV. The fetch quest aspect of the first four episodes is completed, then we get two episodes that almost operate as stand-alone stories, then four more to complete the vortex/Corinthian story. I'm not overly complaining about this, but I do feel that people with less prior investment in the series than me might have struggled to connect with the season a bit because of this. This method though does allow us to have the staggering episode six though, "The Sound of Her Wings" which is two standalone stories, each of which contain more emotion and commentary on the nature of human existence than most entertainment will attempt to get near.

I really liked it, an awful lot and hope that enough people have engaged with it to convince Netflix to make more. (I need to start reading it!).

Promising.

[W011y4m5 · 7/10 · 7 August 2022]

Thankfully with its epic, grandiose finale, "The Sandman" finally begins to play to the strengths of its premise once more, focusing on the scheming & subterfuge of various power thirsty houses (existing within their own individualistic realms), each one vying for the other's downfall in what has essentially become an endless game of thrones (not exactly hard to imagine that's precisely the thing Netflix "dreams" for this to eventually become) - which helps reassure the audience this series is back on track again, after what may have been perceived to have been a bit of a wobble after mid-way through.

Moreover, in regards to these unique "gods", it's this peculiar dynamic which makes the show so interesting, seeing ancient, inhuman entities - which should theoretically be above such trivial, primitive pursuits - operate in tandem with on another on the surface (intended to work in perfect harmony to keep the universe turning) whilst actively seeking to trip their sibling counterparts up in private, creating discord & unrest in a petty squabble through time, devising plans which take centuries to unfold, manipulating the very lives they're meant to serve at the behest of, going against their own creator - risking the entirety of existence - solely to pursue their own selfish ambitions / fulfillment.

This struggle (the maintenance of order at the expense of one's self VS the inevitability of impending chaos, should one deviate from their predestined path) created from such juvenile, petty rivalries is precisely the thing that makes this concept so fascinating & fun to watch as it's unlike anything I've seen before (politics with gods plotting, instead of mortals) & thus, I'm reassured to see in the episode's concluding moments, the foundations are set for further expansion in this direction - instead of focusing on random humans we care very little about... Who are fleeting & expendable, in the grand scheme of things - in comparison to these ageless deities.

All in all, I'd say this debut season has been a story of two halves; the opening 5 installments were utterly incredible, whereas from the 7th onwards, the narrative seemed to lose its sense of purpose. However, I'm really glad to see the writing reassure me (by the end) there's a clear future carved out for new seasons, should the streaming service be wise enough to grant them.

Ends with the promise of a new season..

[boomer-kris · 9/10 · 7 August 2022]

The finale ties up the first season, and goes on to set up a season two. Lucifer and Desire are both very strong characters, and the actors playing them are great.

Season review

[garabedian123 · 8/10 · 22 August 2022]

...This show is amazing...but has terrible...terrible endings. Twice!

The season starts off on a different story arc then the one it ends on. And sadly too as the build up for both story arcs are incredible. And yet they both end on weak anti climatic endings that just feel too easy.

Break a gemstone or...break a heart shaped gemstone...lol the same weak ending is used to end both story arcs. And its stupid. And yet the world is so interesting. So many characters that Morbius has pissed off. And for good reason too. Hes a jerk...who is learning i guess.

An Immersive Adaptation - S01 Review

[JoshuaMercott · 8/10 · 7 August 2022]

It was great to finally see the much-celebrated comic books being adapted into a satisfying and intricate series with ten solid episodes packed with good pacing and thrills galore.

Directors Jamie Childs, Andrés Baiz, Louise Hooper, Mairzee Almas, Mike Barker, and Coralie Fargeat did brilliant work breathing life into these characters, which were first created by the ingenious Neil Gaiman.

Gaiman was in the writing room for this Netflix production. On screenplay were David S. Goyer, Allan Heinberg, Jim Campolongo, Austin Guzman, Ameni Rozsa, Lauren Bello, Heather Bellson, Alexander Newman-Wise, Vanessa James Benton, and Jay Franklin, all of whom did excellent and diligent work transferring these decades-old characters from page to screen.

David Buckley's musical scoring more than set the perfect 'dark' note in "The Sandman". Will Baldy, Sam Heasman, and George Steel did noteworthy cinematography. Sharp editing by Kelly Stuyvesant and Jamin Bricker. Outstanding production design by Jon Gary Steele. Set decoration, stunts, VFX, CGI, sound effects, and art direction all did praiseworthy work for this production. Sarah Arthur's costume design was magical in more ways than one. The hair-makeup team did outstanding work as well.

Dream, aka Lord Morpheus, aka the Sandman, played by Tom Sturridge, was unforgettable - his nuanced performance has to be seen to be appreciated.

Matthew the Raven, voiced by Patton Oswalt, was notable. The Corinthian, played by Boyd Holbrook, was perfection. Rose Walker, played by Vanesu Samunyai, was good. Jed Walker, played by Eddie Karanja, was also good.

John Dee, played by David Thewlis, was great. Ethel Cripps, played by Joely Richardson, was quite good. Desire, played by Mason Alexander Park, was notable. Johanna Constantine, played by Jenna Coleman, was remarkable. Barnaby, played by Sam Hazeldine, was great.

Death, played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste, was quite good. Gilbert, played by Stephen Fry, was memorable. Roderick Burgess, played by Charles Dance, was great. Lucienne, played by Vivienne Acheampong, was quite good. Unity Kincaid, played by Sandra James-Young, was amazing.

Bette Munroe, played by Emma Duncan, was great. Marsh Janowski, played by Steven Brand, was good. Mark Brewer, played by Laurie Davidson, was notable. And so were Judy Talbot played by Daisy Head, Kate Fletcher played by Lourdes Faberes, and Gary Fletcher played by James Udom.

Squatterbloat, played by Martyn Ford, was quite good. Rosemary, played by Sarah Niles, was memorable. Hob Gadling, played by Ferdinand Kingsley, was quite good. Hal Carter, played by John Cameron Mitchell, was great.

Lucifer, played by Gwendoline Christie, was excellent. Her suave manner and artistic take on this ancient character - which was a genderless-but-inclined-toward-male character in Neil Gaiman's books - was captivating to watch.

All other cast and crew did amazing work in "The Sandman", now streaming on Netflix.

I may not be as brilliant as Gaiman nor even a fraction as prolific as Netflix, but I did dabble in my own writing with the possibility that Lucifer may be female. This was years before "The Sandman" series came to Netflix. I indie-published the final manuscripts of my 5-part "Dark Seraph" series of fantasy-scifi novels on Amazon in 2017, but I started writing these stories thirteen years earlier.

The Lightbringer is at the heart of each of my books, which you can find on Amazon Kindle. When I heard the news that Gwendoline Christie was cast as Lucifer, it made my heart skip a beat, in the pleasant sense. I felt prompted to add a few of my own excerpts featuring the Lightbringer in my Instagram (@ iambijeshnagesh): 1 2 3 4 5 6.

In my "Dark Seraph" series, you will find I based Lucifer's character on biblical lore, with necessary twists and spins. I've always believed that Lucifer has been one of the most misunderstood entities in the world. I hope my take on the 'Dark Seraph' would someday illuminate her Truth to the world.

I take this moment to wish Gaiman and Netflix the best of luck for "The Sandman", which I thoroughly enjoyed watching. It was one of the best adaptations of 2022 - even the last few years, perhaps.

The tale was fantastic, in the literary sense. Episode 5 "24/7" was a masterpiece in filmmaking, to offer just one clue as to how great this series turned out. The whole season was immersive and rich in detail, leaving little to guesstimation and plenty to admire.

Aside from a few 'compressed' sequences that served to keep the focus on the core storyline, the show came across as a winner in several regards. I honestly wouldn't mind watching ten seasons of this tale, but for the time being Season 2 of "The Sandman" will suffice.

Genius

[john-allen76-1 · 10/10 · 19 August 2022]

The people who want stuff at 100 miles an hour are the ones who give this brilliant work of art a bad score.

You have to be patient and just enjoy the wonderful performances and awesome scenery.

Endless Vortices

[Calicodreamin · 6/10 · 9 August 2022]

The unexpected heartwarming end to a rather odd and yet mysterious series. Throwing in a hail mary pass at the end to set up further seasons was a nice touch.

It delivered

[athenabvb · 10/10 · 25 August 2022]

A great conclusion to an amazing journey.

Thankfully, the finalle was nothing like the last episode, but it followed the theme of the whoel season. It had great performancies, amazing visual effects and a much better plot.

A clever trap was revealed in a "oh, damn!" moment. Desire I knew you were great. Fantastic behind the scenes manipulator. A great way to show how patient these Endless are -they have all the time in the world after all.

For next season, I want to see more of Dream being an uncle, the family of the Endless (more Death and Desire please). Johanna Constantine, Hob Gadling, and LESS Corinthian.

Mary Sue

[Stentheugly · 6/10 · 5 November 2022]

This episode perfectly sums up the problems with recent writing trends. Rose is such a Mary Sue that you know she will never be in any real danger. It kills suspense in what is supposedly a tense scene when you assume the protagonist will come out unscathed. You know she will be okay and do the right thing so the only thing you have to wonder about is if there will be a lecture on something before she gets her way. Besides this the visuals are impressive and there are no noticeable plot holes. But overall it does feel lacking for a story ark conclusion. Rose having at least one personal flaw or change in attitude would have made her story more interesting.

[8.2] You can do whatever you want!

[cjonesas · 8/10 · 4 November 2022]

Episode 10: "More than good" interesting of an episode with a "highly" deep fantasy messages, gorgeous cinematography, average to nice CGI and visual effects for the pleasure of eye candy lovers. Deep storyline and plots adaptation doing justice to the comics, a somewhat unrealistic and weak flow at the same time while the vibe is shinier, all the while telling the story in a mishmash way. The weakest link of the episodes so far is its convoluted, sort of slow burn storytelling, having all the bright ingredients, but sort of falling to efficiently grab viewers interest, besides this episode!

Would have loved for Rose to become one within the vortex and leave The Sandman forever...

Good ending to a second rate story

[ha77y73ad97 · 7/10 · 9 September 2022]

The first part of the series was so good but the second half fell flat in comparison. This is a very good run of comic that i have been happy to see this brought to the screen.

The depiction of Dream was prefect throughout this series and i cannot fault this enough! Truly carrying this series and so much that i wanted to see more of death in this series and in the second part of the sandman comic run death is going to be a main stay character.

Overall it wrapped the series and the stories up well and possibly teased this for a second series which i do hope that this gets picked up, even if its one of the most expensive series they've made from my understanding.

Scattershot and Silly

[grinningelvis · 2/10 · 3 September 2022]

This final chapter in The Dolls House adaption is painful. I can't imagine what this looks like to someone unacquainted with the comics, because what's onscreen makes little to no sense - and being honest, the Dolls House comic is by far the most clumsy of the Sandman arc.

From an objective distance, nothing here pays off. There is little doubt about this story's resolution aside from what fate Lyta Hall deserves. Without properly framing the consequences or intent of the Doll House storylines, the rest if the series is in real jeopardy. That's explicit in the painfully awkward scenes with Rose, Unity, and Jed. This is bottom-barrel acting with Sturridge quizzically standing to the side of banality is indicative of big problem this series has with tone. Since we have no sense of what The Dreaming truly is, how are we supposed to understand the consequences of The Dreaming collapsing. And when we finally get to see Corinthian in his element, we realize how little we actually understand about the motives of any of these characters - especially Dream and Corinthian.

But moreover, this is a tremendous disservice to Rose Walker - a character who SHOULD be the audience caught in a fantastical reality. Instead, this Rose is flippant and unimpressed - as am I - by how little spectacle and significance THE LITERAL END OF THE WORLD merits. If Rose is unimpressive and confusing, Jed is a tonal disaster. Nuf said. It's badly written, badly performed, and miserable to watch.

And what are the consequences to the End of the World? Hal, Barbie, Foxglove...everyone lives happily ever after. Except we know that they don't and that doesn't seem to matter to the writing team here because, honestly, they are merely noisy cameos planted so that the story can function in later episodes. Here, even the rape of Unity Kincaid is treated as a ho-hum plot device while Lucienne looks on in an unfunny "told ya so" moment.

How droll. How pointless.

Everything is summed up so neatly (and stupidly) and the multiple endings just become annoying.

The show looks like crap, populated by great actors slumming it and bad actors being elevated by the expectations of fans. That Martin Tenbones is the most compelling character in this final hour should really frighten fans who expect the incredibly complex storylines of "Season of Mist" and "Kindly Ones" to be treated with any kind of nuance or scope. That it takes 10 episodes for us to finally get a glimpse at Lucien's library (and tonally, wtf is up with this aloof, insubordinate Lucienne?) suggests that the stories in those books are less important to the show than just getting on to the next noisy chapter.

In episode 10, Gilbert delivers his deep, Campbellian philosophy about the nature of hope and reality. He might as well be reading the ingredients list off of a cereal box. Watching this, I could only ask "Who is Fiddler's Green", while reading this passage, i never forgot the Gilbert speech.

Like most Netflix endeavors, Sandman gets progressively lost in it's own excuses to exist. Should Season Two happen, this world will have to get much bigger, and judging by this waning effort, it may not be worth the money to try. The creators are simply not up to the task.

Lost hearts, and where Wass it lost?

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 30 November 2022]

Episode 10 of The Sandman starts with The Corinthian confronting Rose and Jed in their hotel room. He promises to keep them both safe from Morpheus, but Rose knows exactly who he is and doesn't fall for his lies. In fact, Rose decides to leave the hotel and head home. Corinthian offers an alternate plan - stay in the hotel and hang about, evading Dream's ravens and work with him. Downstairs, Dream shows up before Corinthian during his keynote speech. With all the killers asleep, reflecting on their killings, Dream reveals that Corinthian has given them something else to fear. Unfortunately, Corinthian has grown in strength since their last meeting, and with Rose Walker at the center of his Dreaming, bringing the walls down between the dreaming and waking world, things don't pose well for our protagonist. Like an angel and devil on either shoulder, Rose finds herself torn between the Corinthian and Dream, who both try to convince the Vortex to do what they feel is right. Given she has to choose one of them, Rose decides to raise the walls for now and choose her own path. Eventually Dream un-creates The Corinthian, destroying him and taking his skull. Dream promises the other Killers that their dream is over and from this moment onwards they will all feel the pain of those they've slaughtered, as well as grief for the fallen. Some killers call themselves into the authorities, while others commit suicide. One thing's for sure though - the Serial Convention is over. With only the first two volumes of The Sandman adapted, it'll be interesting to see what the future of this franchise looks like. Some of the changes made to the source material are going to divide opinion and I wouldn't be surprised if we see this split right down the middle between those who love and those who really dislike this. Personally, I'm leaning more toward the former, with the story faithfully adapting and embracing what The Sandman is really about. Some of the dialogue is a bit clunky at times and not all episodes have worked - namely the change from John Constantine to Johanna Constantine across both the past and present. On the whole though, The Sandman has been an enjoyable watch and you can tell there's been a considerable amount of care put into this project to at least remain faithful to the original vision of this story. That is, of course, helped by Neil Gaiman being part of this project. Given the star power involved and the amount of source material still be to be adapted, it'll be interesting to see what the fate of this show is. For now though, The Sandman bows out on a high, with plenty left on the table for the future.

Really?!

[quiksilva19 · 2/10 · 9 August 2022]

They made desire the bad guy/girl??!! What a joke. That was the worst way to end this season. Desire is the worst character in the entire show. The Despair character was far more interesting. First of all, this depiction of desire would only be desirable for maybe 1% of the entire population on earth. To make us believe that he/she was able to convince Unity to bang him/her is a 1,000% unbelievable. So dumb. You should have made desire a beautiful woman so that at least we could believe this nonsense. I likes the show all the way until the ending.

Goofs

[ladysheky · 1/10 · 17 September 2022]

I noticed that nobody mentioned the most obvious goof of this episode and I am schocked!

As Gilbert left his message for Rose, he must have driven away with his car (the car he drove when with Rose). So whose car was Rose driving, when leaving the hotel with her brother?

Or, if it was Rose's car, then how did Gilbert leave?

It's just such a naive goof.

I really tried my best to follow the storyline and usually, when a story catches me, there is no way I would want to miss a word. But with The Sandman, I am usually on my phone, because it just can't keep my attention. And trust me, I am an until-the-end-watcher, no matter how bad a story is, always waiting for a plot twist (that mostly never comes - oh, the waisted time!).