Most "Ending Explained" articles are far from necessary, but the season finale of Netflix's The Sandman series does pack quite a lot in, and might even be a little confusing for someone who hasn't read Neil Gaiman's comic.
The last four episodes adapt "The Doll's House" arc, which introduces Rose Walker as the latest Dream Vortex - a powerful anomaly who is capable of shattering the barrier between the Waking World and The Dreaming, destroying both in the process.
Rogue nightmare The Corinthian plans to use Rose to break free from his master's control, and almost succeeds before she realizes what he's up to. Morpheus then "unmakes" his creation.
Morpheus is only permitted to take human life when they pose a direct threat to The Dreaming or any of the other realms, so decides that he must reluctantly kill Rose in order to avert disaster. However, it's then revealed that Rose's great-grandmother, Unity Kincaid, was actually supposed to be the Dream Vortex, but when she fell into "sleep sickness" after Dream was captured by Roderick Burgess, the immense powers were passed down to Rose.
Unity once again becomes the Vortex and sacrifices her life to save her great-granddaughter's, ending the calamitous threat.
As it turns out, this was all an elaborate scheme by Desire to trick their brother into spilling family blood, thus leaving him vulnerable (it's one of the few things The Endless are forbidden to do). Desire impregnated (raped, if we're going to be blunt about it) Unity during her long sleep, making Rose a member of The Endless family.
Their plan foiled, Desire goes back to the drawing board - but Dream is now well aware of his treacherous sibling's machinations.
Morpheus will soon have more pressing problems, however, as Lucifer is seen plotting her revenge in the episode's closing moments. This suggests that season 2 will skip "Dream Country" (a collection of four independent stories) and move on to "Season of Mists." If you've read The Sandman, you'll know that the Morningstar's quest for vengeance is not as straightforward as an all-out invasion of The Dreaming!
Have you guys finished the first season of The Sandman yet? If so, what did you think? Drop us a comment down below.