- Title: The Sandman – The Doll’s House / Playing House / Collectors / Lost Hearts
- IMDb: link / link / link / link
After imprisonment, recovering his lost items, and a standalone episode with Dream (Tom Sturridge) and his sister, the next four episodes of The Sandman center around a young woman named Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai) who is a Dream Vortex, a generational power dangerous enough to destroy all of the Dreaming. The episode folds back in the Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook) and ultimately reveals a decades-old plot by Desire (Mason Alexander Park) against her sibling. Rose and Dream’s interactions sway from friendly to confrontational leading to Dream helping to save her brother (Eddie Karanja) but also left with a harsh responsibility towards the Dream Vortex.
Ultimately, the plot being dragged out over four episodes doesn’t feel necessary especially when the payoff of the reveal and the confrontation between Dream and Desire is rushed through without proper explanation. And the entire serial killer subplot feels shoehorned in for the sole purpose of its resolution. Other than one rather obvious reveal, there’s not much gained from the amount of time spent introducing Rose’s new friends. In terms of ongoing storylines, we do learn Desire isn’t done playing in Dream’s affairs, Dream has machinations towards the baby born out of the dreaming, and the fallout of his imprisonment and trip to Hell will have consequences for the Dream Lord.
