Netflix's The Sandman combined familiar mythology and folklore with fresh ideas creating one of the best fantasy shows we've seen in a while. But who are the Endless in The Sandman?
Dream is not exactly a god, but rather one of the Endless. In the first season of The Sandman we get to see some of Dream's siblings.
But what exactly are the Endless, and have we seen all of them? What would a potential Season 2 entail, as far as they're concerned?
What Are the Endless in The Sandman?
The Endless are extremely powerful beings in the DC universe, created by Neil Gaiman in the comic series The Sandman.
While they are no gods as such, they powerfully represent and embody the forces they're named after.
As we saw in the Netflix tv series, each of the Endless rules over their own domain, and they can meet one another by holding the sigil of the one they want to visit.
As is the case with most immortal families is mythology and fantasy fiction, their relationships with each other are dysfunctional, to say the least.
Desire Hates Dream and vice versa, but, of course, there are Endless who remain on good terms such as Dream and Death, or Desire and Despair.
Who Are the Endless?
In the Netflix series, we only meet four of the Endless, while the rest as simply mentioned.
In total, there are seven Endless:
- Dream, also known as Morpheus (also called Oneiros by the muse Calliope) is our protagonist. He's a personification of both dreams and fictional stories and frankly one of the most interesting characters in comics ever. As Lord of the realm of "The Dreaming," he was held captive for over a century and a large part of his character arc entails overcoming his bitterness and proneness to arrogance, becoming softer and more open to chance.
- Death is presented as a black-clad, rather gothic-looking young woman but she subverts other tropes related to death by being the most pleasant of the Endless by far. She and Morpheus are on really good terms, with an episode devoted to them reconnecting after his long captivity.
- Desire is an androgynous individual who is canonically non-binary and frankly captivating to watch. They have a soft spot for their twin, Despair, but they are otherwise rather cruel, going so far as to concoct a plan that would kill Morpheus, had it succeeded.
- Despair is Desire's twin sister. The two share an extremely close relationship with Desire confiding their plans in her. So far, Despair seems more mild-mannered and rather tame compared to Desire. She's often seen self-harming with her sigil.
- Destruction is one of the Endless who don't make an appearance in the tv series though the does get mentioned a lot. He's now known as the Prodigal because he has abandoned his duties as an Endless, causing much controversy among his family.
- Destiny is the oldest sibling and presents as a blind man. Compared to the rest of the Endless, who are their function but also characters in their own right, he's the one most closely related to his function.
- Delirium who is only mentioned once by Morpheus during his confrontation with Desire is the youngest of the Endless. She presents as a young girl with a colorful appearance. She was once known as Delight, but a traumatizing event changed her into her current, rather confused state.
Hopefully, The Sandman Season 2 will be announced so that we can get to know all of them better!
Related: The Sandman: What Kills Hope?
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