The Sandman which is currently the one of the most streaming shows on Netflix which has followed its August 5, 2022 premiere, has provided us with a special bonus two part episode. Anyone who has binged this in a day will be craving for more. It takes you into a world of imagination and darkness starring our Dream lord, Morpheus who is brilliantly played by Tom Sturridge who is known from the HBO series Irma Vep and the series Sweet Bitter. It captivates and draws in you like a dream right from the start. A trippy and wonderful masterpiece that will take your mind into a loop. A second Season hasn’t been officially announced but this bonus episode which is two parts equally beautiful we can be sure everyone will want it. The episode blends two magnificent retelling of stories which were the most popular tales in the original Sandman comics. The series is based off of the DC Comic The Sandman which was written by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringeberg.
The first part of the episode is called “A Dream of a Thousand Cats” which was very interesting and stylishly done adaptation of the two. This was the series first animated installment and was very well executed. It was taken from the original The Sandman Comics, #18. It was a direct adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s original script with Gaiman even himself making a vocal cameo as the Crow/Skull Bird. It perfectly coincided with the second part of the episode and deals with the series most fundamental theme which is the impermanence of reality and the unifying power of shared stories. This part of the episode showed a group of cats who teamed up with the Dream of the Endless cat to take over the world. It was directed by Hisko Hulsing who also did the Production Design as well. Playing the voices of the characters are Sandra Oh who voices The Prophet Cat, Rosie Day who voices The Tabby Kitten, David Gyasi who voices The Grey Cat, Joe Lycett who voices The Black Cat, James McAvoy who voices the Golden-Haired Man, David Tennant who voices Don and Georgia Tennant who voices Laura Lynn, Michael Sheen who voices Paul, Anna Lundberg who voices Marion, Nonso Anozie who voices Wyvern, Diane Morgan who voices Gryphon, Tom Wu who voices the Hippogriff and lastly Dream of The Endless Cat who is voiced by Tom Sturridge.
The second part of the episode which is called “Calliope” who is played by Melissanthi Mahut. We see her as the lead character, as well as Arthur Darvill who plays Richard Madoc, Kevin Harvey who plays Larry, Amita Suman who plays Nora, Derek Jacobi who plays Erasmus Fry, Nina Wadia, Souad Faress, Dinita Gohil, reprise their roles as Fate Mother, Fate Crone, and Fate Maiden from The Sandman Series. We also see more of our Dream of the Endless, Morpheus played by Sturridge. This last part shows Calliope who has been imprisoned by Erasmus Fry and then given to Richard Madoc for inspiration. She calls out to Dream who helps her be free from the clutches of Richard. Calliope is a character from The Sandman original comics. Her origins stem from Greek mythology. A daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, Calliope was a Muse, a goddess capable of inspiring great works of art. Calliope was one of nine Muses in Greek mythology but is heralded as the wisest of the Muses and presided over eloquence and epic poetry. As we see in The Sandman, Calliope was the mother of Orpheus and was a wife of Morpheus. It is directed by Louise Hooper who has previously worked on Flesh and Blood. Hooper and Hulsing have previously worked on The Sandman and joined forces and directed the tenth episode.
Here you can watch the official trailer for Season 1 below courtesy of Netflix.
You can watch the beginning part of the series which is streaming on Netflix and binge to your hearts content. I think it will be sooner rather than later for a Season 2 announcement.
