Review of the second season of the series «The Sandman»

At the time of release of the first season with «The Sandman», Netflix has relied on visual magic, fidelity to Neil Gaiman’s comics, and a dreamlike atmosphere in which it’s easy to get lost. Almost three years have passed — and now, after a long wait, «The Sandman» has returned with its second season, released in the new reality of streaming cuts, slashed budgets, and the closure of promising projects.

«The Sandman»

Genre fantasy, drama
Project manager Allan Heinberg
Starring Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Esme Creed-Miles, Jack Gleeson
Premiere Netflix
Year of release 2025
Website IMDb

Fortunately, this is not the case when the creators have lost ground. On the contrary, the season looks even more confident than the previous one and keeps the same high bar, while giving the audience more emotions, more stories and an even deeper immersion in this bizarre universe.

The new series develops several lines at once, and what’s most pleasant is that none of them looks superfluous or artificial. The characters travel between worlds, encounter ancient gods, fictional creatures, and their own fears, and most importantly — continue to explore themselves.

Each line is not just another adventure, but a metaphor for the internal struggle between duty and freedom, fear and acceptance, immortality and death. Philosophical overtones in every dialog; sometimes too straightforward, sometimes at the level of allusions and symbols.

At the same time, the script does not shy away from politics — questions of power, divine self-sufficiency, identity crises, even transformations of social structures — all of this is woven into the events so organically that it does not feel superfluous or pulled by the ears. But the rhythm in some episodes is a bit unbalanced. Sometimes it’s too slow, and sometimes the events come without a pause.

Every frame here can be paused and hung on the wall. The graphics are gorgeous — from the design of Hell to the architecture of Dreams, from the images of the Infinite to the transformations of the characters. The worlds look realistic and mystical at the same time, which is rare even among large sci-fi franchises. In the second season, it feels even stronger, as if the series itself has matured along with us.

The main actors did not disappoint either. Tom Sturridge, as before, fits perfectly into the image of Morpheus. His voice, look, and inner silence create an aura around the character that you want to trust. The new characters are not lost, each has its own charisma and purpose, and the casting in general looks very thoughtful. Even minor roles attract attention, leaving an emotional mark.

The real discovery of the season was Esme Creed-Miles, who played Joy, one of the new Limitless. Her appearance is like a breath of fresh air: she combines childlike naivety with an unsettling implication of power that can be destructive. In each scene, she seems to maximize her presence, while not going beyond the style of the series. This is the case when the actress does not just play the role, but personifies the very idea of the character. Her joy is not superficial, not cardboard, it contains loneliness, pain, and unresolved chaos, which makes us wonder what we consider true happiness.

Yes, sometimes the narrative stalls or surprises with the actions of the characters, but these moments do not spoil the overall structure. This show is not about dynamics or a twist for the sake of a twist, but about how content and form can intertwine in an aesthetic dream, where beauty is more important than pace, and an inner monologue is more valuable than bright explosions.