In an unusual move for a Netflix series, the final episode of The Sandman includes a post-credits scene, and it has now been officially released online.
Spoilers follow.
With his realm in danger of being obliterated by the Fates, aka the Furies, aka the Kindly Ones, Morpheus ultimately decides to give his life to save the Dreaming, with Death taking her brother's hand in a flash of light.
When Daniel Hall, the first child conceived in The Dreaming, grows to adulthood in order to fulfil his role as the new Dream Lord, we learn that the character is played by Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones, Interview With the Vampire).
Are there more stories to tell featuring Daniel? Maybe, but the post-credits sequence is not so much a tease of what's to come as a meditation on Morpheus' arc over the course of the series.
The scene finds the Kindly Ones back at their realm, reading the following from a fortune cookie: “Flowers gathered in the morning; Afternoon, they blossom on; Still are withered in the evening; You can be me when I’m gone.”
The ladies dismiss this "motto" as "bad poetry" but it represents the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth, specifically as it pertains to a part of Morpheus living on in the new Dream of the Endless.
"In the comics, it takes place at the end of The Kindly Ones [the ninth collection of issues], before the wake and the funeral and all the stories that come after The Kindly Ones," showrunner Allan Heinberg told EW in a recent interview. "I loved it and I decided to move it to the end after the wake. In that last scene where Daniel meets his family for the first time, and Lucien sees that there's a smile on his face and knows it's going to be okay, cutting right to the Fates felt like it undercut that moment a bit.
We debated whether or not to lose it entirely. In the end, I really wanted to save it because I'm a huge fan of it. I don't think I added anything to it. I think it's exactly what was written in the comic. Netflix was very generous and agreed to make it a post-credits scene, even though, as you know, Netflix's relationship with credits and the audience's relationship with credits are fairly complex. So it was no small feat for them, but they did it."
You can check out the scene for yourselves at the link below.
Season 2's synopsis reads: “After a fateful reunion with his family, Dream of the Endless (Tom Sturridge) must face one impossible decision after another as he attempts to save himself, his kingdom, and the waking world from the epic fallout of his past misdeeds. To make amends, Dream must confront longtime friends and foes, gods, monsters, and mortals. But the path to forgiveness is full of unexpected twists and turns, and true absolution may cost Dream everything. Based on the beloved award-winning DC comic series, the second season of ‘The Sandman’ will tell Dream’s story arc in full to its thrilling conclusion.”
Season 2 stars Tom Sturridge, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Esmé Creed-Miles, Adrian Lester, Barry Sloane, Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Ferdinand Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Razane Jammal, Ruairi O’Connor, Freddie Fox, Clive Russell, Laurence O’Fuarain, Ann Skelly, Douglas Booth, Jack Gleeson, Indya Moore and Steve Coogan.