The first season of The Sandman has arrived on Netflix, and it’s surprisingly good. The TV series manages to capture the quintessential magic of Neil Gaiman’s great comic books while also making it accessible for those who haven’t spent the last decade praying for an adaptation.
The show tells the story of Dream, aka Morpheus, a powerful being responsible for managing the dreams of humanity. One day Dream is captured by an ambitious sorcerer who hopes to use the god-like being for his own ends. It doesn’t quite work out for the magician in the end, but Dream’s kingdom is left in ruins.
The series then follows Dream as he attempts to put his life back together, and we meet a whole host of impossible characters as the Netflix series goes on. none perhaps so intriguing as The Endless, Dream’s brothers and sisters. We learn the identity of three of of Dream’s siblings in The Sandman season one, but another figure is mentioned, The Prodigal. But who is The Prodigal? Well, we have the scoop. Warning spoilers ahead!
Who is The Prodigal?
The Prodigal is the title given to Dream’s younger brother, Destruction. Like Dream, Death, and Desire, Destruction is of The Endless and represents one of the fundamental forces that keep the universe in balance.
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As his name implies, he embodies destruction, but unlike his siblings, Destruction has turned his back on his duties. Three hundred years before the events of the show began, Destruction decided he was going to quit and walked away from his realm.
When he made the choice to leave, his siblings started to refer to him as The Prodigal out of respect for his decision to vacate the office of destruction – although not everyone agreed with him. We imagine if we’re lucky enough to get a Sandman season 2, we’ll hear more about Destruction because his story is far from over.
If you love the work of Neil Gaiman, check out our list of the best fantasy movies, or if you prefer your comic book adaptations to have superheroes in them, we have a guide to the best Marvel series.