Dream starts his quest to recover his stolen possessions.

Now that he is free from his bondage, Dream discovers from royal librarian Lucienne why his kingdom, The Dreaming, has fallen to ruin during his century-long absence. Of primary importance now is his need to recover his helm, pouch of sand and ruby dreamstone.

First stop is a visit to Cain (Sanjeev Bhaskar), Abel (Asim Choudhury) and Gregory the gargoyle to help power himself up before an audience with the Hecatae. It’s a lore-rich episode, with Dream given some clues as to where his quest must take him next.

We also get to spend some more time with the series’ main villain the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook), and meet Ethel Cripps and her deranged son John Dee (David Thewliss), thus answering a question I had as to how prominent their roles would be in early episodes (they are absent in the first few issues of the comic). In the case of the Corinthian we’re privy to additional meddling by him ahead of his main Doll’s House arc, while Dee’s exploits are stripped across multiple episodes rather than being contained to two issues.

It’s the show’s willingness to mix things up for the greater narrative good that demonstrates the confidence it has in its material. All the major beats are here, but just not necessarily in the order you’d expect them. There was a lot of world building in the series opener, with a further deep dive into the lore here. This is the first of four consecutive episodes directed by Jamie Childs, this one written by Allan Heinberg.

Verdict: The Sandman continues to look gorgeous at the same time as it serves up a rich, involving story. Oh, and the guest stars are well-chosen and in abundance. 9/10

Nick Joy