Dream (Netflix)

This article is about Dream from the Netflix adaptation. You may be looking for Dream from the comic series.

Dream, also known as Dream Lord, The King of Dreams, Morpheus, The Sandman or Oneiros, is the titular protagonist of the Netflix adaptation series The Sandman. He is one of the seven Endless, a familial group of cosmic entities as old as time itself. As his names indicate, he is the sole ruler of the Dream Realm, responsible for the forging and shaping of the dreams and nightmares that are experienced by all mortal beings. His only companions are his librarian Lucienne and his raven emissary Matthew.

History[]

Imprisoned by Roderick Burgess[]

Netflix The Sandman 101 Sleep of the Just 10 Dream — Dream imprisoned

In his attempt to apprehend The Corinthian, who had escaped The Dreaming and was wreaking havoc in the waking world, Dream was captured by the sorcerer Roderick Burgess and imprisoned in his cellar, where Dream remained a prisoner for over a century, during which time he watched as not only his raven Jessamy died, but Roderick Burgess as well. However, after the binding seal to his cage was broken, Dream managed to escape his prison and punish Alex Burgess for his imprisonment with the gift of eternal sleep. Morpheus then returned to The Dreaming, where he learned from Lucienne that in his absence, the realm began to decay and some of his creations fled.^[1]

Searching for his tools[]

Netflix The Sandman 102 Imperfect Hosts 16 Gregory Cain Abel Dream — Dream sacrificing Gregory

Dream returned to his palace with Lucienne in tow to see what little remained of his creation. Too weak from the loss of his tools, the sand pouch, helm, and ruby, all of which were taken by his captors, Dream sought to summon Three-in-One, as they could reveal the location of his missing items. But in order to do so and to even acquire something of value to pay The Fates, he first had to replenish his strength, and did so by absorbing Cain and Abel's gargoyle. Through Gregory's sacrifice, Dream was able to gather offerings from the dreams of others to give to The Fates. From them, Dream learned where the items were last, deciding to go after his pouch first, with its last known owner being a woman named Johanna Constantine in London.^[2]

Netflix The Sandman 103 Dream a Little Dream of Me 02 Dream Matthew The Raven — Dream and Matthew

Dream managed to track Johanna down, where she was in the middle of exorcising a demon named Agilieth, who claimed to know the whereabouts of Dream's helm, but before Dream could bargain with him, Johanna sent him back to Hell. Turning his attention back to Johanna, Dream requested she return his sand pouch, though she could not recall its last known location, but she agreed to help him search for it after he tracked her down to her home. There, she realized that she left the pouch at the home of her ex-lover, Rachel. Upon their arrival, Dream and Johanna discovered that Rachel had been using his pouch, which in turn had been slowly killing her. And with Dream recovering the pouch, Rachel would soon be dead. Though, as a kind gesture, Morpheus sprinkled sand from his bag over Rachel, putting her in a dream.^[3]

Netflix The Sandman 104 A Hope in Hell 08 Lucifer Dream — Dream is hope

Dream and Matthew traveled to Hell in search of his helm. At the gate, they were greeted by a demon named Squatterbloat, who guided them to Lucifer's palace. On the road to Lucifer, Dream crossed paths with an old lover named Nada, who Dream sentenced to an eternity in Hell for her betrayal. After convening with Lucifer, Dream used his sand to bring the demon in possession of his helm directly to him. Dream demanded his helm back from the demon Choronzon, but if Dream wanted it back, he'd have to fight for it. However, if he lost, he would have to serve as Choronzon's slave in hell for eternity. Dream chose to represent himself in the battle, whilst Choronzon chose Lucifer, who Dream ultimately defeated in this battle of wit and mind. With his helm, Dream was able to track down his ruby, but he discovered that it had been altered just before it emitted a blast that knocked him unconscious.^[4]

Netflix The Sandman 105 24 7 09 Dream John — Dream regained his power

When Dream awakened from the blast, he discovered that the ruby had been taken, and he tracked the thief to a nearby dinner, where he had murdered several employees and customers. Dream demanded John return his ruby, but John instead believed it was his birthright and sought to claim what remained of Dream's power. And so, the two of them went into The Dreaming, where John proceeded to drain what remained of Morpheus' power. However, in taking all of Dream's power, the ruby shattered and all of Dream's power returned to him. Rather than killing John, Dream decided to spare him, putting John to sleep and returning him to the hospital from which he escaped.^[5]

Reconnecting with Death and meeting Hob[]

Dream was tracked down by his sister, Death, with whom he shared his troubles. After regaining his tools and getting revenge on those who imprisoned him, he thought he would feel fulfilled, but he didn't. Feeling down, Death asked Dream to accompany her while she worked. From her Dream received some much needed advice and guidance.

Netflix The Sandman 106 The Sound of Her Wings 13 Hob Dream — Dream and Hob making a deal

Flashback to 1389, where Dream and Death entered a tavern to interact with humanity on their terms. There, they overheard Hob Gadling speak of seeing death and how he never planned to die. Dream questioned why anyone would desire an eternity of human life, to which Death suggested that she grant his wish of eternal life as an experiment. And so, Dream approached Hob and suggested that they meet again in the same tavern in a 100 years' time. 1489, 100 years later, Dream and Hob met at the tavern as planned, where much to Dream's surprise, Hob saw eternity as a gift. Dream was very much interested in Hob's experience and wished for them to meet every century. And they did just that. However, word of their arrangement spread and in 1789, they were briefly confronted by Lady Johanna Constantine. 1889 would be their final meeting for a while. During this meeting Hob suggested Dream sought companionship, a notion to which Dream took great offense, insisting that he needed no companionship, and as proof of that, he left. In 1989 Hob visited the pub and assumed when Dream did not appear that he was still angry after their last encounter. The actual reason Dream did not come was that he was captured by Roderick Burgess. Present day, Dream tracked Hob down to a nearby Inn, where they reconvened.^[6]

Watching the vortex[]

After confirming to Lucienne that there was in fact a new vortex by the name of Rose Walker, Dream learned that her brother Jed had been disconnected from The Dreaming, which would've required knowledge and power, both of which Gault possessed. Gault was a rogue nightmare, last seen in Jed's dream. To Dream and Lucienne's surprise, they were joined in the Dreaming by Rose.^[7]

Netflix The Sandman 108 Playing House 04 Dream Rose — Dream meeting Rose

While Dream did not know the whereabouts of Rose's brother, he suspected her brother was with one of his missing nightmares and promised to help her find him. That night, as promised, Dream reconvened with Rose in her sleep to help her find Jed and track down Gault. Together, they successfully managed to travel to Jed's dream, where he and Rose embraced as Dream confronted Gault, who was posing as Jed's mother. After ending the dream, Morpheus brought Gault back to The Dreaming, where he reminded Gault that they were all born with responsibilities, before sentencing her to a few thousand years in the darkness for her insubordination. Lucienne, however, felt her punishment was unjust, leading Dream to remind her that he was back in charge and that she could return to the library.^[8]

After discovering that there had been some disturbances in The Dreaming, Dream sought out consultation from Lucienne, who suspected that Rose was the cause. She added that Dream's plan to allow the vortex to draw in the missing Arcana was too dangerous. Dream argued otherwise and sought out the origin of the disturbances himself, only to discover that Lucienne was correct and that Rose was bringing down the walls between dreams, thus allowing for Lyta to live in The Dreaming with her dead husband Hector, who Dream sent back to his appointed place before informing Lyta that he would allow her to keep the baby for the time being, but it was conceived in The Dreaming, and one day, he would come for it. Morpheus then proceeded to end the dream, though he was followed back to his palace by Rose, who warned him against coming for her or her friends again. Dream then apologized to Lucienne, who informed him that Fiddler's Green had returned and that The Corinthian was after Rose.^[9]

Defeating The Corinthian[]

Netflix The Sandman 110 Lost Hearts 07 Dream The Corinthian — Dream vs The Corinthian

Dream tracked The Corinthian down to a serial killer convention in Georgia, where he expressed how disappointed he was with his creation. The Corinthian refused to go back to the Dreaming without a fight, stabbing Dream in his hand. Much to dream's surprise, he bled and felt pain, wondering exactly how this was possible. Corinthian had Rose getting stronger every second as Dream got weaker, taking her place at the center of the Dreaming and bringing the walls down between the sleepers' minds, allowing them to dream the same dream, one inspired by The Corinthian. Hoping to stop Rose, Dream confronted her in the Dreaming, where she gained control of her powers and put the walls back up before ending the dream. Awake once more, Dream admitted that Corinthian's failure was his fault before turning him into ash, leaving nothing behind but a fragile, small skull.

Netflix The Sandman 110 Lost Hearts 04 Dream Desire — Dream threatening Desire

After punishing the other killers at the convention, Dream went searching for Rose in her dream, where he explained that if he didn't kill her, she would destroy the waking world. So, Rose accepted her fate, but Lucienne and Rose's great-grandmother Unity intervened, revealing that according to the book of Unity's life, she was meant to be the vortex, but because Morpheus was imprisoned and locked out of The Dreaming, that fate was handed down to Rose. Rose then reached deep down inside herself and handed to Unity the vibrating heart shaped red crystal that made her the vortex, resulting in Unity dying in Rose's place. Unity then mentioned how she met a golden-eyed man, with whom she conceived a child with many years ago. In this, Dream realized he had been betrayed by Desire and went to confront his sibling, before returning to The Dreaming to begin his creation of new dreams and nightmares.^[10]

Rescuing Calliope[]

Netflix The Sandman 111 Dream of a Thousand Cats Calliope 14 Dream Calliope — Calliope saying goodbye to Dream

Dream received a message from Calliope, who was being held captive by a man named Richard Madoc. While only Richard could free her, Calliope hoped that Morpheus could inspire him to let her go. For her imprisonment, Morpheus insisted that Richard not only let her go, but that he be punished. And so, he waited for Richard to return and demanded that he set Calliope free, though Richard pleaded with Dream, as he needed the Goddess for her inspiration. If it's ideas that Richard sought, Dream offered them in abundance, flooding Richard's mind with so many stories that he could barely think. Overwhelmed, Richard eventually conceded and released Calliope, who thanked Dream for his help and intended to ensure this never happened again. In their brief time together, Calliope noticed that Dream had changed and asked if he still hated her for leaving him and blaming him for what happened to their son, but he did not. He had learned much in recent time, and no matter what, he did not hate her. Calliope asked if she could visit Morpheus in the Dream Realm, so that they could finally talk about their son and grieve properly. One day perhaps, he responded, but Dream wasn't quite ready yet.^[11]

Physical Appearance[]

Dream is a thin, tall man with extremely pale skin and silver eyes. He has black hair which is currently short but has varied greatly in length and style over the centuries.

He normally wears an ankle-length black robe and black uniform, while incarcerated he was completely naked.

Powers and Abilities[]

Dream Personification: As the personification of sleep, dreams and nightmares. Dream has divine, omnipotent authority and absolute control over dreams and everything linked to them. With these powers, he is almost completely omnipotent.
- Magic: Dream can use magic like the rest of his siblings, all of his spells and enchantments are based on dreams.
- Oneiromancy: Dream can give people pleasant dreams and even send messages and visions through them.
  - Nightmare Inducement: Dream can induce fearsome nightmare into people whose greatly offend him.
  - Dream Tracking: Dream has the ability to track and locate people through their dreams.
  - Curses: Dream can cast and create powerful curses through magic. He can curse someone who has troubled him suffering from nightmares for eternity with ease, induce guilt and madness.
- Telekinesis: Dream has the ability to move an object with the power of his mind, shown when he was able to unlock and open a door without physically touching it.
- Creation: Dream can create living beings and things that exist in his realm.
- Immortality: As a cosmic entity and the personification of dreams. nightmares and sleep, Dream is eternal, Dream has existed since the beginning of creation, he cannot get sick, age or die from weapons.
- Teleport: Dream can teleport anywhere in existence through his magic sand.
- Shapeshifting: Dream has the ability to shapeshift at will, he can turn into a young African American, a black cat, or anything he wishes.
- Persuasions: Dream can persuade the minds of other people to obey his compelling suggestions.
- Reality warping: Dream can warp reality, as shown in his fight against Lucifer.

Weaknesses[]

Magic: Despite being an Eternal, Dream is still susceptible to the effects of magic as it can be summoned and imprisoned through specific spells and rituals.

Appearances[]

Season 1[]

Behind the Scenes[]

The creative team auditioned approximately 200 actors before casting Tom Sturridge. The Sandman has been listed as the Top 10 Webseries on Netflix as per Daily Research Plot.