‘The Sandman’ Season 2 Ending Explained originally appeared on Parade.
Warning! The following contains spoilers for The Sandman, Season 2, Vol. 2.
The Dream is dead, but a new one has arrived.
The Sandman has concluded its two-season run (though there is still one more special airing on July 31). And we now know how Lord Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) has met his fate. The streamer had announced earlier this year that the second season would be the last, and the show delivered a poetic ending.
The season was heavily inspired by The Kindly Ones arc (written by Neil Gaiman). While Season 1 saw Morpheus attempt to reclaim control over The Dreaming after years of imprisonment, Season 2 saw his acceptance of the idea that he’d pass ruling the realm over to someone new.
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Over the course of Vol. 1, Dream is drawn into a series of events that span both realms and lifetimes. A gathering of The Endless sets off a prophecy of doom, and Dream is determined to resolve an ancient wrong by descending to Hell to rescue Nada (Umulisa Gahiga), his former lover. There, he finds that Lucifer (Gwendolyn Christie) has abdicated, leaving control of Hell to Dream—though it’s not without competition from various others who vie for the throne. While Dream does ultimately free Nada, she refuses to accept his apology (he had condemned her to Hell for centuries, after all).
Over the course of The Sandman Season 2, Vol. 1, Dream is drawn into a series of events that span both realms and lifetimes. A gathering of the Endless sets off a prophecy of doom, prompting Dream to right an ancient wrong by descending into Hell to rescue Nada (Umulisa Gahiga), his former lover, whom he once condemned. There, he discovers Lucifer (Gwendolyn Christie) has abdicated, leaving Dream in control of Hell, a position that attracts competing claims from various characters. Though Dream ultimately frees Nada, she refuses to forgive him.
Soon after, Dream reconnects with his sister Delirium (Esmé Creed-Miles) to search for their estranged brother Destruction (Barry Sloane), who explains he abandoned his role because mortals are already capable of immense chaos. Deeply changed by the reunion, Dream then visits his son Orpheus (Ruairi O’Connor), who had been granted immortality while trying to save his deceased wife. After centuries of refusing his son’s pleas for release, Dream finally grants Orpheus peace. But in doing so, he commits the unforgivable sin of spilling family blood, triggering consequences that ripple into Vol. 2.
Between Episodes 7 and 9 of The Sandman Season 2, Lyta Hall, consumed by grief, becomes convinced that Dream is responsible for the death of her son, Daniel, unaware that Loki and Robin Goodfellow kidnapped him. While The Fates (aka The Kindly Ones) will not kill Dream because he hurt Daniel, he has spilled his own family’s blood, and so they guide her through The Dreaming. While Morpheus is summoned away to the realm of the faerie in an attempt to warn him of the coming threat, Lyta is guided through the Dreaming and launches a destructive rampage, killing beloved denizens like Gilbert (Stephen Fry), Abel (Asam Choudry), and Merv (Mark Hammill).
Here are some of the biggest questions answered in the final season of The Sandman.
Related: Neil Gaiman’s ‘The Sandman’ Cancelled at Netflix Amid Growing Controversy
Does Dream die in The Sandman?
Yes. Accepting the inevitability of his doom, Dream retreats to the edge of his realm, where he meets The Fates. He has Matthew (Patton Oswalt) summon his sister Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). She meets him there, and the two touch. Lightning strikes all around them before the world eventually subsides into a flash of bright white light.
Who is the new Lord of Dreaming?
In Season 1, Lyta became pregnant with her dead husband’s child, which became a reality due to being in close proximity to a dream vortex, Rose Walker. Daniel was the first and only human child to ever be conceived in the Dream Realm. In Season 2, Loki places Daniel in a fireplace, burning away his humanity.
As Morpheus disappears, Daniel undergoes a metaphysical transformation, emerging as the new incarnation of the Lord of the Dreaming (played by Jacob Anderson of Game of Thrones and Interview With The Vampire).
Related: Netflix Finally Shares Huge Update For Long-Awaited Second Season of Hit K-Drama
How does The Sandman Season 2 end?
The finale episode opens with the funeral for Morpheus. It is attended by his siblings, including Destiny (Adrian Lester),Desire (Mason Alexander Park), Despair (Donna Preston), Delirium and Death. Other guests at the funeral include Hob Gadling (Ferdinand Kingsley), Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman), Alex Burgess (Laurie Kynaston), Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook), Rose Walker (Kyo Ra) and Nuala (Ann Skelly).
As the new Lord of Dreams, Daniel begins embracing his role, recreating Abel at Cain’s request and reviving Merv using a newly grown pumpkin. When he tries to bring back Gilbert, the Fiddler’s Green refuses, explaining that death must retain its meaning. “Lord Morpheus died for love, for his son, for his Kingdom, so you could be the kind of Dream he couldn’t be,” Gilbert tells him.
Daniel then receives guidance from Destruction, who assures him he already possesses what he needs to rule, quoting their sister: “Not only can we know everything, we do. We just tell ourselves we don’t to make it bearable.” Destruction reminds him that, as Dream, he defines reality, and if it ever becomes too much, he can walk away. Morpheus’s body is set adrift down a starry waterfall, vanishing into the cosmos. Lyta visits Daniel. Though he could punish her, he chooses compassion, recognizing that pain and loss don’t always stem from our choices. “You have suffered enough,” he tells her. Finally, Lucienne decides to step away from her role after years of service, though she offers one last piece of advice by noting Daniel is the first Endless to be part human. She guides him to join the rest of the Endless for dinner.
The Sandman Season 2, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are now streaming on Netflix, with one final special episode set to premiere on July 31.
Related: ‘Wednesday’ Spinoff Currently in the Works at Netflix
‘The Sandman’ Season 2 Ending Explained first appeared on Parade on Jul 25, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
