The Sandman ending explained: New threat for new season?

Neil Gaiman's comic book adaptation, The Sandman, finally premiered on Netflix on August 5, 2022. The brilliant show hit every right note in recreating the fascinating world of dreams, mythology, and demons. Taking the viewers through a web of beautifully curated storylines, the show ultimately resulted in a confrontation and a sacrifice.

It follows Morpheus, also known as Dream (Daniel Sturridge), as he goes through phases of struggle after being imprisoned by a cult. He eventually ends up facing a Dream vortex, which threatens to destroy the world as we know it.

The final episode has both revelations and resolutions, with the final confrontation being one of the more crucial parts of the debut season. The Sandman is also aptly slated for a second season by the end of its final episode.

Read on to find out what exactly happened at the end of The Sandman.

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The Sandman ending: A resolution and a new beginning

The Sandman had plenty of material to keep this season soaring throughout the ten episodes. It all culminated in the finale, where Morpheus finally took down The Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook), who has been a character of concern throughout the season. Morpheus managed to turn Corinthian into dust and left Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong) to safeguard the skull.

Morpheus also solved Lyta (Razane Jammal) and Hector Hall’s (Lloyd Everitt) dream vortex loophole. In the end, it turns out that a 21-year-old woman, Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai), is the Vortex that threatens to destroy the world. Rose Walker did not have any idea about this. Though Morpheus was reluctant about killing the young woman, that was the only possible way to stop the rapidly degrading wall between dreams and reality.

Just as Dream is about to kill Rose, Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong) and Rose’s great-grandmother, Unity (Sandra James-Young), come and stop him. Unity explains that she is supposed to be the Vortex, but due to her long sleep during Dream's imprisonment, the power got transferred to Rose.

Thankfully, Rose is able to give the powers back to Unity, who in turn sacrifices her life to protect Rose and the rest of the world. Unity dies a peaceful death, knowing that she has saved the world. But the ending had a lot more to it. The series seemed to have concluded here, but it had some surprises left for the last bit.

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How did The Sandman set up for season 2 with its ending?

The Sandman left behind one last cliffhanger before the series concluded with its tenth episode. As things seemed to look bright for Dream, another dimension depicted a conversation between Lucifer and the infamous Azazel. With the latter's insistence, the former decided to go and invade the dreamland to get back at Morpheus.

Lucifer says that she is going to do something that will "that will make God livid and bring Morpheus to his knees." Whatever this plot is, it will form the backbone of the next season of the show. Though there has been no confirmation about the show's renewal yet, it won't be long before the network does it.

This season stuck pretty close to the source material, so the next season, too, should follow the same pattern.

All the episodes of the show season one are now streaming on Netflix.