Sandman: Season 2 (2025)
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netflix.com
After three long years, The Sandman returns to its final season. I am assuming Netflix didn’t want this release or at a later date, due to the cancellation of Neil Gaiman. I know many fans (now ex-fans) will boycott all his books and projects.
While I am hesitant to support Gaiman’s future projects, I still love the original The Sandman from Vertigo Comics, so naturally I am committed to seeing the television series to its conclusion. In my review of the first season of The Sandman, it broke my heart that I didn’t love it. I couldn’t get past the unnecessary race and gender swap, but I did admit that the story is still very good (“I think the story still holds up.”)
Season 2 starts with the Sandman having to go back to hell to save his former lover, Nada, who was condemned to hell. Instead of finding confrontation, Lucifer gives Dream the key to hell and quits being the ruler of the realm. Now all the demons, Norse gods, Fairies, and Chaos, all came to the Dreaming to demand the key be given to them. After that resolved, we’re introduced to the rest of Dream’s family: Destiny (the oldest brother), Delirium (formerly Delight), Desire, Despair, and Death (who we already met in Season 1). We then start the real plot of Delirium wanting Dream’s help to finding their missing brother Destruction. In order to find him, Dream has to confront his son, Orpheum… where we then get the backstory.
Again, because I own all the comic books and various hardcover collection, I was already familiar with the source material. I did forget some of the details, but for the most part the show adapted the stories faithfully. I had to look at some of the comics, particularly “The Song of Orpheus”, because I couldn’t quite figure out how his newly wed wife died on the television show. She was bitten by a snake, which is clearly shown in the comic book, but in the show, you had to draw that conclusion. In the show, they briefly show a snake (nowhere near them!) and then she suddenly falls to down. I wish they could have made it a little clearer, by maybe showing a something snaking away from her feet.
Anyway, if you know the Greek story, you know he travels to hell to save his wife. Hades gave him two conditions, she must walk behind him, and he must never look back until they are clear of hell. As you know, he did look back and ultimately lost his wife a second time.
The Orpheus storyline was a real highlight for me, especially when we’re re-introduced to Lady Constantine. I will admit, now it made sense to cast Constantine as a woman… You see, as a favor to Constantine for saving Orpheus’ head, the Sandman gave her immortality. That is how I read it, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense for the same character to live through the centuries. In the comic books, John Constantine helped the Sandman, and his ancestor, Johana helped the Sandman in the French revolution. Perhaps the real reason to leave John Constantine out of The Sandman, is perhaps a legal reason. Constantine, after all, has a television show of his own, an animated movie and a second film in development with a brunette version with Keanu Reeves as the titular character.
I think when the show follows the source material, I will overlook some of the problems I have with the show. Again, it still bothers me that Death is does not have that goth iconic look. What they did get right, I do appreciate. Delirium was based on Tori Amos, a chaotic colorful flighty child-like fun character. Some people might find that character annoying, but not me, because that’s how I pictured her from the comic book. They also got Destruction right, although I would have prefer an older-looking actor. They got the talking dog right too. If they turned the dog into a cat or Destruction into a girl, I would complain.
So far, Season 2, which adapts Season of Mist and The Song of Orpheus I like it a lot. We don’t see much of Death, but that will all change with the finale (it won’t air until late July), which adapts Death: The High Cost of Living, the comic by Gaiman and Chris Bachalo.
The second half of Season 2 will air in a few weeks, and it adapts the Kindly Ones other stories. Based on the strong part one adaption of the comic book, I am looking forward to seeing the conclusion.
NOTE: It appears that the show is avoiding A Game of You, which is a good choice, in my opinion, because that story barely had Dream in it.
Rick & Morty: Season 8 (2025)
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adultswim.com
After Justin Roiland, co-creator and voice actor for Rick and Morty was fired/cancelled from his own show due to domestic violence and allegations of misconducts with underage girls…. Rick and Morty Season 7 and 8 seems just fine without him.
As of this writing, only six episodes of Season 8 have aired and they’re all pretty good. You can watch each episode by itself and it wouldn’t really matter, because each episode stands on its own. You can watch it out of order or skip a few episodes, it’ll be fine.
There are some episodes that would reference previous shows, such as the cloned Ricks and Morties… and, in fact, the clones might come back in a future show.
The first episode is about Morty and Summer trapped in a simulation designed to teach them a valuable lesson: never take a phone charger without permission. In the second episode, Space Beth asks for Rick’s help to investigate an assassination … Get gets fired from her job. The third episode is about those clones, the fourth episode is about Jerry turning into an Easter Bunny. Fifth episode is Rick and Morty tries to rob a sleeping ship. In the sixth and latest episode, Beth and Space Beth (not fired from her assignation job) are hanging out and they turn themselves into 12 year olds. It’s my least favorite episode, Beth, as a child is a monster.
Anyway, all the music has been pretty good. We previously covered some of Rick & Morty’s usage of music in their shows, but this season is a real banger. I love the Tori Amos mentioned in Episode 3… her song, “Little Earthquakes” was also played in that same episode.
My favorite song so far is “Pennies” by Ryan Elder. If Elder’s name sounds familiar, he previously teamed up with Minneapolis’ Mark Mallman for their song “Flowers” for an original song for Rick and Morty.
You can listen to both Elder songs on Rick and Morty’s official music channel.
P.S. Speaking of Mark Mallman, if you’re in the Kansas City or Minneapolis area, he will be headlining Minibar on August 1st and the Parkway Theater on August 8th, in support of his 11th studio album Magic Time (Hygh Tension Records). I’ll be posting more details about the Parkway Theater show soon, stay tuned.
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