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Netflix Sandman ending explained

Morpheus and the Dreaming become live-action in a TV series based on Neil Gaiman's comic, and our Netflix Sandman ending explained covers the entire conclusion

What happens in the Netflix Sandman ending? It’s finally happened: someone adapted The Sandman. The Netflix series based on Neil Gaiman’s popular comics brings the Endless to life, with Morpheus of the Dreaming at the forefront.

Throughout the first season, we’re introduced to Gaiman’s expansive mythology that includes dreams, nightmares, Hell, and our Earthly realm, with plenty more hinted at. Desire, Lucifer, Lucienne, and the Corinthian share centre-stage with Morpheus, with other eccentric characters, Mervyn Pumpkinhead making brief appearances as well. The TV series packs a lot in, and it’s really only the tip of the iceberg.

That said, it’s easy to be left with some lingering questions after the Netflix Sandman ending. After all, it’s not like anyone stops and derails the show to get more in-depth with what’s going on. Instead, you can only go along for the ride and hope it makes sense later. We can confirm there is indeed method to all the magic, and we’ve laid out exactly what happens in the closing episode for you.

What happens in the Netflix Sandman ending?

The first season of The Sandman has quite an emotionally cathartic ending. To start, there’s the Vortex. Morpheus plans to kill Rose Walker because it’s the only method he knows of to stop Vortexes. At the last minute, though, Unity Kinkaid, Rose’s grandmother, comes and gets the Vortex transferred into her, sacrificing herself to save her granddaughter.

Netflix Sandman ending: Tom Sturridge as Morpheus in The Sandman

See, the Vortex was actually in Unity, to begin with. She was one of the kids who entered an unending sleep when Morpheus was imprisoned and had a daughter while in the coma. This transferred the magical anomaly to her child, and then to her grandchild, Rose. Once Unity has the Vortex, Morpheus obliges, and she’s the one who dies instead.

This leaves Rose a normal person who lives in London and becomes a successful novelist, as she’d always hoped. Meanwhile, Morpheus begins rebuilding the Dreaming. New nightmares are forged to restore balance and order to the once incredible kingdom.

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Gault is restored, complete with butterfly wings, but the Corinthian remains gone for the time being. In a show of respect, Morpheus tells Lucienne she can run the Dreaming while he gets into the nitty-gritty of making new dreams and nightmares.

Netflix Sandman ending: Tom Sturridge as Morpheus in the Dreaming

Morpheus pays Desire a visit to challenge them for trying so valiantly to take him down. Getting Morpheus stuck in a cage for decades, making sure the Vortex was passed to another child, none of Desire’s schemes worked. Morpheus tells them to stop interfering, or there’d be a more violent reprisal later.

Meanwhile, in hell, Lucifer gets a visit from Lord Azazel, who has a proposition. The armies of hell are at Lucifer’s command, if she’d like to form an alliance to invade the Dreaming, then the waking world, and then the ominous Silver City. She agrees, setting up The Sandman season 2.

Netflix Sandman ending: Morpheus and Rose Walker

Who is Rose Walker’s grandfather?

Unity Kinkaid speaks of being visited by a man with golden eyes in her dreams, leading to her giving birth. This is revealed to be Desire, who impregnated Unity to pass the Vortex from mother to child. The plan took longer than expected because the Vortex skipped a generation to activate, but once it did, Morpheus had some trouble with it.

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Alas, he managed to get it all under control. Desire, for all their efforts, got a stern warning from Morpheus about line-crossing when it comes to the games the Endless play together. Ever the conniving one, Desire makes it seem like they’re ready to create more calamity in the future.

Netflix Sandman ending: Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer

What is the Silver City?

The Silver City is some deep DC Comics lore. It’s a location that actually dates back to the ’40s, before Gaiman brought it into the Sandman. Essentially, it’s the Angel capital, where angelic beings live and are created.

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As you might guess, the Silver City is a vast, shining metropolis whose shimmering architecture defies all logic. It’s believed to predate creation, and the inhabitants have existed for millennia, like the Endless. Duma, the angel of silence, and Remiel, the angle of hope, are two of the more prominent characters, getting their own arc in the Sandman comics.

Lucifer hates the Silver City because it’s the opposite of Hell. Hence their ultimate goal is to invade and take over. We’ll have to wait for The Sandman season 2 to find out how successful they are.