The Sandman (2022) / Characters

This page contains unmarked spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

open/close all folders

The Endless

In General

The Endless are a family of anthropomorphic personifications of primal universal functions.

Above the Gods: They aren't technically gods and the Corinthian specifically calls them "more than gods."
- The Three-in-One back this up by saying that while most of the pagan gods have lost their power and "died" the Endless never fade. The difference is that Gods Need Prayer Badly, whereas the Endless literally are the things they embody and will exist as long as death, dreams, etc do. Anubis or Hades may be a god of death, but Death is death.
Anthropomorphic Personification: Of the concepts which their names represent.
Badass Family: The seven siblings are among the most powerful beings in existence. Even some of their other relatives are legendary figures, such as Dream's son Orpheus.
Domain Holder: They each have realms where their power is supreme over all others and traveling to another's realm leaves them vulnerable partially to that realm's masters.
Family Theme Naming: The names of all the Endless siblings begin with the letter "D" (and Dream is the only one where the second letter isn't "E").
A Form You Are Comfortable With: They are cosmic forces who interact with most characters in the guise of humanoid beings. Their favored forms are somewhat influenced by who is viewing them; for instance, Dream appears as an African prince when speaking with his lost love Nada instead of the Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette he most often appears as in more recent times, and the cat prophet in "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" sees him as the Cat of Dreams.
The Ghost: Destiny and Delirium are mentioned and their sigils show up in Desire and Dream's galleries (a book and a blob of colours, respectively) but they never appear in the first season. The most we learn about them is that Destiny is one of the elder siblings and not someone Desire cares to cross, and Delirium is one of the younger siblings and apparently more inclined to side with Desire and Despair. Slightly more is revealed about the Prodigal; see below.
Hero of Another Story: Or Villain of Another Story due to their morality and actions being beyond human understanding. Just like Dream, each one of the Endless reigns over their own realm, which more than implies their own trials and troubles in properly running them, never mind what they get up to in the mortal realm and beyond. Dream just happens to be the one we're following.
Humanoid Abomination: They appear humanish to most but it's made clear this is not their "true" form and in fact they most likely do not have a true form.
Sentient Cosmic Force: The Endless aren't a "who" so much as a "what." The human-esque forms that we see them as are nothing more than their "physical aspect", and while going after their physical forms can certainly harm them, as was the case with Dream when Burgess imprisoned him, they are more like this.
Time Abyss: They all come from the very beginning of all things, though they were not all born at the same time and some are younger than others.

Dream

Dream / Morpheus

^{Click here to see Dream as Kai'ckul}

^{Click here to see him as the Dream of Cats}

Species: Endless

Played by: Tom Sturridge, Ernest Kingsley Jr. (as Kai'ckul in "A Hope in Hell")

"To face your fears and fantasies in Dreams and Nightmares that I create... and which I must control, lest they consume and destroy you. That is my purpose and my function."

The lord of sleep, personification of dreams and nightmares, and ruler of the Dreaming, he has spent over a hundred years trapped on the mortal plane. After finally escaping, he begins to seek out the items of his power and rebuild his realm after it was abandoned by its residents in his absence.

Actually Pretty Funny: When he meets Jed Walker when the latter is playing superhero, he finds it amusing that Jed calls himself the Sandman, when Morpheus is the real deal himself.
Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the original comic book, while Jessamy the raven does appear in a later story (set earlier in the timeline), whatever happened to her is never revealed, and we don't even know if she was the raven preceding Matthew. Here, Jessamy is shown to have been Dream's raven when he was captured, and her death when she attempts to help Dream escape clearly devastates him, to the point where he initially resists taking on another raven again.
Adaptational Attractiveness: While his default form in the comics wasn't exactly hideous, he had snow-white skin, black eyes, and a wild mane of unkempt hair—all of which gave him a rather unsettling appearance, making it quite clear that he wasn't human. By contrast, the show's version has a more human appearance, with Tom Sturridge's natural looks left mostly unaltered. Lampshaded by a few members of the cast and crew, who noted Sturridge's "sexual chemistry" with almost everyone on set.
Adaptational Hairstyle Change: In the comic, he is often depicted with a huge mane of '80s Hair. In the TV series, Dream is mostly depicted with much shorter though still spiky hair. This reflects the Setting Update (the comic was first launched in 1989, the TV series had its first release in 2022), though it was also for the purposes of pragmatism; the make-up department did try out Tom Sturridge with the massive hair from the comic but it reportedly looked ridiculous onscreen, so they toned it down. In the comic, Dream did occasionally switch to shorter hairstyles too.
Adaptational Jerkass: While for the most parts this version is a bit nicer, at some points he's actually worse than in the comic.
- Alex offers to release him the moment he is in a position to do so, asking only that Morpheus promise not to take any retribution. Morpheus refuses, since he isn't willing to let Jessamy's death go unpunished, even though Alex only killed her on Roderick's orders and clearly regrets it. In the comic, Alex kept asking for immortality and power along with the clemency, proving himself no better than his father.
- He's also more dismissive of Lucienne than he was of Lucien in the comic; at one point telling her that she's stepping above her station and that she's supposed to be his librarian, not any sort of second-in-command. While Lucienne is more outspoken and active than her comics counterpoint, Dream in the comics in general saved his disdain and coldness for people who were being arrogant or hostile, not those who were genuinely trying to help him.
Adaptational Mundanity: While Dream is as much an Anthropomorphic Personification as his comic book counterpart, a lot of his more inhuman attributes are either omitted or downplayed, in part because they didn't transfer to film very well. While he is extremely pale, his skin isn't white as paper. Instead of having black eyes that shine like a starry night (at least, all the time), he has Creepy Blue Eyes. His hair is much more tame, and his robes (if he even wears them) lack their distinctive flames.
Adaptational Nice Guy:
- By the end of Season 1, he is shown to be more willing to accept criticism and change, much more so compared to Dream at this point in the original comic book series.
- In the original comics, Constantine had to specifically ask for Dream's help in getting rid of his Past Experience Nightmare; in the show, Dream does it unprompted.
- While he still essentially takes Hector away from Lyta and tells Lyta he'll one day come for her child, here he not only has a better reason for doing so (Hector and Lyta staying in the Dreaming is accelerating its destruction), but he at least explains his reasons first, apologizes and allows them to say goodbye, as opposed to the comics where he essentially just erased Hector without any comment or explanation other than it's not seemly for the dead to remain among the living, and Lyta should just be grateful for the extra time she had with her husband.
- He's also a lot warmer with his ex-wife Calliope when he comes to her aid and far more eager to help her. He also declares that Calliope endured an even worse torment than what he endured.
Amicable Exes: In "Calliope", it's revealed she and Dream were once married, but split up after their son Orpheus's death. He answers her calls of distress and when asked if he still hates her, he quietly admits he doesn't. The two part ways on friendly terms, wishing each other good fortune.
Anguished Declaration of Love: Makes one to Nada while she pleads for his forgiveness while ultimately refusing to help her.
Animal Motifs: Has two: ravens and cats. He always wears black with dark, messy hair resembling a tuft of feathers and is usually accompanied by a raven companion. In addition, we see a black cat moments before he reveals himself to Alex Burgess after escaping, and he even takes the form of a cat in "A Dream of a Thousand Cats."
The Anti-Nihilist: When confronting John, he refutes the latter's statement that all he did was take away the lies of all the people who went insane and ultimately killed themselves or each other by stating he took away their dreams. Even if dreams aren't real when the people have them and may never become real, they still motivate people to keep on living and try to make those dreams become a reality. Without those dreams, they fall into despair and, eventually, death.
Appearance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: He occasionally appears to others differently based on their perceptions or beliefs; this is shown specifically in the case of Nada who sees him as a young black man of her own tribe and in 'A Dream of a Thousand Cats' where he appears as a large black wildcat.
Been There, Shaped History: During one of his centennial meetings with Hob Gadling, he becomes intrigued by a young playwright named Will Shaxberd, who is known for the poor quality of his plays. Dream, knowing Shaxberd to be a better playwright than people give him credit for, speaks to him and gives him words of encouragement. This man eventually became William Shakespeare. Moreover, it's implied that Dream had more involvement than simply encouraging him.
Beware the Quiet Ones: Rarely does he speak above a soft, low whisper in any given situation. Still, very few beings who know about him are willing to risk his wrath, and those who don't know about him quickly discover why one does not cross the King of Dreams and Nightmares. Said discovery usually involves getting inflicted with a vicious amount of Mind Rape by yours truly.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: Dream isn't intentionally malicious, but being so far above humanity, he tends to see things in the big picture so much that he often comes across as callous.
Break the Haughty: His century-long imprisonment - by an amateur human magician no less - and subsequent stripping of his artifacts of power was a heavy blow to his ego, worsened by his Fatal Flaw of Pride making it specially painful and unnecessarily harsh to endure.
Byronic Hero: Oh yes. He's aloof to the point of cold-heartedness, brooding, ultra-serious and lacking in social skills. He can come off as downright cruel at times and is slow to forgive, but he has good intentions and is even straight-up heroic at times. Many of his morally questionable actions are done for the sake of the greater good; he simply doesn't think to soften or explain his actions to those caught in the crossfire. He isn't completely lacking in empathy and is beginning to realize how important other people are to him, after spending thousands of years as a loner who insists on doing everything himself. Fittingly, Tom Sturridge previously played Lord Byron himself in the film Mary Shelley.
Cartwright Curse: When Joanna asks if he has exes while discussing how awkward visiting her own ex will be, Dream looks uncomfortable and appears to sympathize with her belief that love never ends well. So far, he's revealed to have at least two relationships that ended very badly; he banished his human lover Nada to Hell because "she defied [him]" and still hasn't forgiven her after ten thousand years, and had a messy divorce from his Muse wife Calliope after their son died (although he at least manages to become Amicable Exes with Calliope).
Cold Ham: Tom Sturridge is constantly speaking in a way that is emotionless and whispery, yet manages to convey all of the dramatic gravitas and weight befitting of a being such as Dream's stature.
Cool and Unusual Punishment: Dream putting people into an endless Forced Sleep is merciful by his standards. It's when he gets creative that you know he's mad. The gathering of serial killers are punished by having their delusions stripped away and being forced to understand the suffering they've inflicted, while Madoc's punishment for enslaving a muse is to experience a constant stream of inspiration until he breaks and releases the muse, after which he's so burnt out he can't even remember her name.
Cool Mask: One of his artifacts of power, a nightmarish gas mask.
Dark Is Not Evil: He's an Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette who wears all black, is known for keeping a raven companion, is cordial with Hell's hierarchy, and is the creator of all nightmares, but that doesn't make him a bad guy. While he certainly has his moments, he is ultimately a neutral entity who has the universe's best interests at heart.
Deadpan Snarker: Extremely deadpan, and also rather subtly so, to the point where some of his snark barely sounds like snark... until you pay attention to his actual words. Some of his remarks and replies are pretty sharp jabs.
Death Glare: Gives Alex a chilling one after the boy kills Jessamy. He also provides a lot of these throughout the series: most notably in the episode "Calliope" where he delivers a cataclysmic look to Richard Madoc anytime he looks at him, or even just when the man is discussed.
Defrosting Ice King: He is very cold in most of his interactions, but he does mellow a bit, albeit very very slowly. He goes from being enraged by Gadling's suggestion that the two are friends to outright referring to him as a friend in their next meeting. Similarly, while he behaves very prideful in most of Season 1, by the end he becomes less resistant to change, allowing Gault to become the dream she aspires to be and letting Lucienne take on more responsibilities rather than insisting he would handle everything on his own or harshly punishing his dreams and nightmares for going against his orders. In both cases, he begins showing more emotions by the end, openly smiling and contrasting his usually stoic demeanor.
Dimension Lord: He rules the realm known as the Dreaming, which unfortunately has fallen to ruin during his imprisonment while its various residents fled to the waking world.
Dream Weaver: And Nightmare Weaver. He is the King of Dreams and Nightmares, having created all of them.
Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Downplayed compared to the comics, where he had chalk-white skin, but he's still pale and dark-haired.
Everyone Has Standards:
- Dream was not pleased when he learned that Hob Gadling was involved in the slave trade, saying that 'it's a poor thing for one man to enslave another' and highly recommending that Hob find another trade.
- Dream was imprisoned and humiliated, but he considers what Fry and Madoc did to Calliope far worse. For her own part Calliope doesn't even want to compare their respective suffering.
- Morpheus was positively disgusted by the serial killers who followed the Corinthian.
  Morpheus': And you, who call yourselves “collectors”. Until now you have sustained fantasies in which you are the victims. Comforting daydreams in which you are always right. But no more. The dream is over. I have taken it way for this is my judgement upon you, that you shall know from this moment on exactly how craven and selfish and monstrous you are. That you shall feel the pain of those you have slaughtered. And the grief of those that mourn them still and you shall carry that pain and grief and guilt with you until the end of time.
Fatal Flaw:
- Pride. When he's imprisoned, he spends the entire time stoically silent, refusing to bow to any of his captors' demands — even if those demands were simply not to hurt them if they set him free — out of spiteful defiance. After he is freed, he lashes out when he finds out that things in the Dreaming aren't running as they once were, seeing any form of defiance to the carefully crafted system he made as a personal insult. He chastises Lucienne when she tries advising him beyond what he sees as her station as his librarian, and has Gault banished to the darkness when she confronts him on his inability to recognize that Nothing Is the Same Anymore. While he tries to argue other reasons to Death, it is clear that his pride is the main reason he did not reach out to his siblings for help after his imprisonment.
  - He's positively giddy at the chance to face Lucifer in a Shapeshifter Showdown. Lucifer is not just the embodiment of his injured pride, but the second strongest being in creation. As such, he relishes a chance to prove his superiority over them. He wins, but if the show follows the comics, this will come back to bite him hard.
  - "The Sound of Her Wings" shows that this has been a problem for him for a very long time, too. During their last meeting before his imprisonment, he nearly destroyed his budding friendship with Hob Gadling because he was too proud to consider that Hob might be right about him needing companionship, especially from a mere human. They do make up at their next meeting, thanks to Death talking some sense into Dream.
- His resistance to change. In the second half of the first season, we see that many of the dreams and nightmares under his charge have undergone their own Character Development in his absence, and Dream stubbornly tries to drag the Dreaming back to the way it once was, struggling to return them all to their assigned roles.
Fisher King: In his absence, the Dreaming withered and decayed. In order to repair it, he must gather all of his tools to regain the power he once had.
Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Double-subverted. When he confronts Gault, he insists she had selfish megalomaniacal motives for interfering in Jed Walker's dreams because she is a nightmare, and seems baffled at her genuine insistence she did it to help the boy and wanted to change for the better.
Good Is Not Nice: He states multiple times that the functions of the Endless, and his function specifically, are to serve the greater good of humanity and their continued survival, but that being said: he has a tendency to rudeness, is callous to the needs or wants of others and must often be prompted to think of others rather than just himself.
Heart Is an Awesome Power: As it turns out, having absolute dominion over dreams and nightmares makes one a really powerful Reality Warper few can go against. And even those who can, like Lucifer, don't dare take any kind of direct action against him because he is just that important to existence as a whole.
Helpless Window Death: Jessamy works for years to rescue him from Roderick Burgess' captivity. She finally reaches his glass prison, giving him a brief Hope Spot before she's shot dead in front of him.
Hope Bringer: It's implied that ultimately, his function is to give hope in what would otherwise be a meaningless universe. The dreams and nightmares he creates exist to help sleepers process their hopes and fears so that they can face them in the waking world.
- He had condemned Nada to eternal damnation in Hell, but even after millennia suffering its torments, she still maintains hope that he will free her one day.
- When playing the Oldest Game against Lucifer, he is declared the winner when he takes on the moniker of "hope", winning because Lucifer can't think of anything that could defeat it, and then is allowed to leave because dreams of Heaven are all that give Hell its meaning.
- In "24/7", we see John use the ruby to take away people's dreams under the illusion of taking away their capacity for dishonesty, only for them to slowly destroy themselves because he unwittingly took away their will to live.
  Dream: Kate dreams of running away, where no one will find her. Garry dreams of proving his father was wrong about him. Bette dreams of creating something that matters to people. Their dreams inspired them. Their dreams kept them alive. But if you rob them of their dreams, if you take away their hope, then... yes, this is the truth of mankind.
- In "A Dream Of A Thousand Cats", he tells The Prophet a story about how cats were once rulers of the Earth and humanity dreamed the world so that they ruled it instead. This gave The Prophet — who at the time was left distraught and despairing when her kittens were taken from her by her owners and brutally killed — a new reason to live; to tell any cat who would hear her and dream of a world where cats are back on top.
Hypocrite:
- He strongly disapproves of Hob Gadling's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, saying that it's wrong to take someone else's choice away from them — when he's previously condemned Nada, his former lover, to imprisonment in Hell, and (at first) refuses to let Gault be anything other than a nightmare.
- He's aghast and offended that Gault wants to be a benign dream instead of a nightmare like he had envisioned her to be... yet he was fine with Gregory being anything other than the nightmare he used to be - though given that Gregory stuck to Cain and Abel's digs rather than escaping into the waking world like the other three, this may be a completely different double standard.
I Have Many Names: Dream's truest name is just that; however, he is also called Morpheus (the Greek god of dreams and sleep), and he has others depending on one's perspective and culture, such as Nada calling him Kai'ckul.
Jerkass Gods: To the extent that any of the Endless are gods, he's not been the most reasonable fellow in his time. For one, he personally imprisoned a former lover in Hell for betraying him. He's also shown to be extremely strict with his creations, not allowing them to act outside of their assigned roles and often punishing them when they try. Although at least, he starts making efforts to correct his past mistakes by the end of the first season.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He usually puts the needs of the Dreaming (and therefore his own) over individuals, and can be quite cruel as a result. However, he's also willing to learn and try to make up for his mistakes.
- Even when Dream is at his weakest and scraping the bottom of the barrel for his own magic, he leaves behind an egg containing a baby gargoyle as a gift to Cain and Abel, as he felt badly about consuming their pet gargoyle for magical power.
- He is also fairly patient with humans whom he knows either were acting out of ignorance or were unaware of the consequences of their actions. For example, he grants Rachel a peaceful death (she and Johanna were unaware of the nature of the Sand that Johanna left in Rachel's possession), he patiently explains to John Dee why dreams are essential for humanity to continue existing, and he gives Lyta and Hector a chance to say goodbye (and only cuts it short when Lyta tries to command Dream to leave his own realm).
- He even gives Rose the choice to stay in the Dreaming after her death, seemingly as compensation for being forced to kill her for reasons out of Rose's control or understanding.
Messy Hair: Like his comic counterpart, but in lesser grade. In his modern preferred form, he sports a rather messy dome of hair that goes sideways, kinda like if it were bed hair.
No Social Skills: It has been pointed out multiple times to Morpheus that he's quite terrible at communicating with others. As perfectly summarized by Neil Gaiman, for all that he has going for him, Morpheus is "a walking car crash when it comes to trying to deal with people".invoked
Not Good with Rejection: By his own admission he loved Nada, and continues to love her millennia later, but he sent her to Hell for "defying" him.
Not So Above It All:
- Dream is stoic to a fault, but even he breaks down and smiles at the chance to best Lucifer. See Fatal Flaw.
- When Death jokingly asks him to ask her how she's been, he pauses and then asks her how she's been with a small grin on his face.
- He's also genuinely amused at Jed's claim that he's a superhero known as the Sandman — with Jed not being aware of just who it is that he's talking to.
The Omniscient: Downplayed. He doesn't know everything, but he has an innate awareness of everyone who visits his realm to dream, which counts for a good bit.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Dream is content to listen to Hob's life story every century they meet, but feels the need to talk him out of the slave trade because depriving others of their choice is truly abhorrent. Hob seems as much convinced by Dream's moral argument as he is that Dream felt strongly enough about the topic to give his opinion in the first place.
Pay Evil unto Evil: Given the opportunity, Dream will not hesitate to inflict horrors on someone he deems guilty—especially when no one is there to contradict him otherwise.
- Since Roderick Burgess (the man who imprisoned him) is already dead by his son's hand and this same son, Alex, eventually gave up in trying to come to an agreement/understanding with Dream, he eventually inflicts the punishment for his imprisonment on the aged Alex. While very much disproportionate, he is still ultimately complicit to the whole centuries-long incident and is additionally responsible for the death of Jessamy, Dream's beloved raven.
- When he finally manages to corner the Corinthian and inadvertently made sure Rose Walker won't side with either of them, he wastes no time unmaking the Corinthian for his rampages.
- Immediately after, he shames the "collectors" at the "Cereal Convention" for their crimes, and takes away their delusions of being heroic or simple hobbyists or things of that nature, forcing them to see what monsters they truly are, which will haunt all of them the rest of their days. Though it wasn't expanded on in the comic, the series shows the consequences resulting from this: it was enough to compel one of the focus serial killers to turn themselves in to the police, and enough for another to commit suicide, with the implication that this same pattern will play out with the other attendees.
- He inflicted Richard Madoc - who had imprisoned and raped Dream's former wife just so he could write - with an abundance of ideas. So many that when he ran out of paper and pen, he resorted to using his fingers and his blood to scribble on the walls. And he did this even as his fingers were worn down to his very bones. Then, even though Calliope asked Dream to remove it, he still ensured that Madoc suffered: instead of countless ideas, he no longer had any, destroying his ability to write once and for all.
Pet the Dog: A major part of Dream's Character Development in the series involves him becoming more willing to make up for his mistakes or do little favours for others.
- When Dream gets his pouch of sand back in episode 3, he gives one last pleasant dream of being with Johanna to a dying Rachel, and grants Johanna release from her constant nightmares of the Newcastle incident.
- Fresh from retrieving his tools and power plus a few hours watching Death work her mission of empathy on the recently-departed, he finally finds it in himself to actively look for Hob Gadling—the one mortal he deigned to spend time with outside anyone in the Dreaming. He even opens the conversation by acknowledging that, against his tantrum at their last meeting in a previous century, the guy is indeed his friend.
- Even after all of the damage John Dee caused him and humanity with the ruby, Dream acknowledges that beneath it all, John was just an Unwitting Pawn driven to it by circumstances beyond his control (including being subject to its influence since birth), and returns him alive to the mental hospital he lived in before his escape.
- He decides not to punish Fiddler's Green for abandoning his duties, both because he came back willingly and because — unlike Gault and the Corinthian — he did absolutely nothing to deserve any serious karma.
- While he banishes Gault to the darkness for going against her intended purpose as a nightmare, he eventually shows mercy and brings her back as a dream like she always wanted, recognizing that Nothing Is the Same Anymore and it was unfair of him to punish her for it.
- While it's implied that Dream and his ex-wife Calliope blamed each other for what happened to their son eons prior, by the time they meet in the 21st century, they have both cooled off and missed each other. Even though he clearly hates Richard and wants to inflict divine punishment upon him for hurting her, he respects Calliope's wish not to hurt him beyond provoking him to free her.
Protagonist Title: The Sandman is simply one of the many names he goes by, though arguably the one most well-known by mortals.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Although he often comes off as cold, austere and uncompromising, Morpheus avoids causing unnecessary harm, and he rigidly conforms to his rules for the good of humanity.
The Corinthian: And you don't care about humanity. You only care about yourself and your realm and your rules.
Dream: I contain the entire collective unconscious. Without my rules, it would consume me. Humanity would be consumed.
- He also avoids punishing mortals who were caught up in cosmic forces beyond their control or understanding.
  John Dee: Are you going to kill me?
  Dream: I could. Perhaps I will. But the dream stone was not made for mortals. And it came to you through no fault of your own. So, no, John. I will not kill you. Sleep well, John.
The Sandman: The mythological character gave the series its name. "Sandman" is one of Dream's many names which he is referred to by others in the series.
Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: While confronting John Dee after the mass suicide the latter caused in the diner (plus all the other chaos going on outside), John justifies his actions by saying that all he did was expose the truth of mankind by stopping everyone from lying, and if it leads to self-destruction, so be it. Morpheus counters by saying that the "lies" John had taken away were their dreams, which motivated them to keep on living to make their dreams come true. Everyone in the diner was lying to themselves and to others, but they all had hopes for better lives; when John took their dreams away, they devolved into violence and suicide as they now had nothing to help them go on living.
Scarily Competent Tracker: When Johanna Constantine II pulls a Stealth Hi/Bye on him, Dream is easily able to find her again when she falls asleep due to all mortals being connected to the Dreaming.
Sealed Good in a Can: He has spent the last century or so locked up by humans who had hoped to gain immortality by trapping his sister Death. It's implied that they continued to do so simply out of fear of what he'd do to them in retribution for his imprisonment.
The Stoic: In most of his scenes, though there are times when there are cracks in his walls.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: As incredibly aloof and outright callous as he can come across most of the time, Dream is more than capable of displaying great compassion and empathy towards others.
Tranquil Fury: Even at what appears to be his angriest, Dream still sounds cold and calm. From threatening bodily harm onto Desire, after finding out about them siring a child with Unity, leading to Rose becoming the vortex, to coldly enacting his vengeance onto an elderly Alex. Even with Richard who had hurt Calliope, Dream speaks calmly, but his actions show how truly furious he is beneath the surface.
Underestimating Badassery: The Lord of Dreams doesn't sound like a particularly impressive moniker even to those who understand what he is, but Dream is happy to demonstrate that "dreams" actually covers a very broad range and he can do some frightening things with that power if motivated.
Unscrupulous Hero: He isn't a superhero, he's a god (or is certainly god-like). His existence and duties are an inherent necessity in the universe, and he tends to them dutifully, but sometimes those duties put him in a moral grey area. He can also be very prideful, and sometimes inflicts Disproportionate Retribution when his pride is wounded.
Vengeance Feels Empty: Discussed during the opening of "The Sound of Her Wings": despite getting his items back and being more powerful than ever, he, in his own words, instead of feeling good, feels empty and lost.

Death

Species: Endless

Played by: Kirby Howell-Baptiste

"I mean, people feel as pleased to have been born as if they did it themselves. But they get upset and hurt and shaken when they die. But eventually, I learned that all they really need is a kind word and a friendly face."

The personification of death and one of Dream's siblings.

All-Loving Hero: All of humanity knows her, and she knows them. She's the kind face who brings you into the world when you're born, and is waiting to greet you as you die and bring you to the other side. No judgements, no fear, just understanding.
Because It Amused Me: Overhears a peasant named Hob Gadling loudly declare that unlike everyone else who just went along with dying, he wasn't going to die. Out of her own amusement and Dream's, she decides to grant Hob's wish.
Big Sister Instinct: Tells Dream how worried she was when he went missing, and tells him how he should have tried to reach out for her.
Cool Big Sis: As always, to Dream. She's loving, supportive, and always ready to lend a hand — but she's also not afraid to call him out when he's being a douche.
Celebrity Paradox: Jed is a fan of DC Comics. Earlier the same year the series debuted, 2022, Kirby Howell-Baptiste could be heard in Catwoman: Hunted, voicing Wonder Woman's archfoe, the Cheetah.
Dark Is Not Evil: As in the comics, Death is a Perky Goth rather than a classic Grim Reaper who makes it clear to those she claims that she's nothing to be afraid of, just inevitable.
Don't Fear the Reaper: She, possibly because she's always directly interacting with humans, is very personable compared with her other siblings, and quite gentle with the people she collects. She is infinitely patient with them, as they are obviously reluctant to die and it's this gentleness that helps them accept their fate. At one point, she allows a Jewish man dying of old age to recite the Shema Yisrael, the prayer devout Jews hope to recite before they die to guarantee a place in Heaven, before she takes him.
Earthy Barefoot Character: She likes to take her boots off and feel the ground under her feet once in a while. She even tries to get Dream to do it, to no avail.^note
Iconic Item: Her Ankh necklace that she wears, which is called the "key of life".
Nice Girl: She's easily the nicest of the supernatural beings presented in the series, always having a kind word for all and nothing but patience for humanity, where many of the rest seem on the verge of being Jerkass Gods just waiting for an excuse to attack any human who annoys them.
Psychopomp: Death's job isn't to kill people, but to appear when it's their time and gently help them with their fate and guide them to the afterlife.

Desire

Species: Endless

Played by: Mason Alexander Park

"Can I get you... anything you desire?"

One of the Endless and Dream's siblings, they're the personification of desire, including lust but also wanting things in general. The twin of Despair.

Adaptational Consent: Instead of raping Unity Kincaid in her sleep, as they did in the comics, here they romanced her in her dreams thus attaining some form of consent. Unity still remembers them and their relationship fondly to the modern day. Then again, considering Unity was unaware of Desire's true identity and motives, this could still be considered dubiously consensual.
Adaptational Dye-Job: In the comics, they were a Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette, but here they are portrayed as blonde, although it's worth noting that none of the Endless have a "true" appearance. (Mason Park has naturally brown hair.)
Adaptational Villainy: It's implied they orchestrated Roderick Burgess' capture of Dream, something that is not hinted at in the original comics. It's only minor though, as they were still trying to destroy their elder brother, they just weren't involved in that particular incident.
Annoying Younger Sibling: A seriously twisted variation of this. Desire's motivation to screw with Dream and their general behavior around him is not unlike other common versions of the trope, but this trait on an immortal, primordial force of the universe means their games are much more vicious. Their Blue-and-Orange Morality (a trait that all Endless share, to varying degrees) means that they care very little if human beings or entire universes are caught as collateral damage of their games.
Cat Girl: One of their outfits, as seen in the above picture, evokes this. It includes an animated tail.
The Chessmaster: There are hints that Desire was ultimately the one who orchestrated Dream's capture and imprisonment; at least, they themselves make a few comments when talking to Despair that definitely suggests this to be the case. Furthermore, it was Desire who fathered Unity Kincaid's daughter, all in order to cause a dream vortex to form when Dream returned to power, with the goal of forcing him to (unknowingly) kill his own family and bring the vengeance of the Furies down upon himself. The whole plot is basically this: Roderick Burgess falls into despair after his son's death and that despair is so deep that he is ready to capture Death of the Endless so he can fulfil his desire to see his son again. At the same time, The Corinthian has desire to rise above his station as a nightmare and stalk and kill people in the real world. Dream is captured when he comes to take The Corinthian back into Dreaming or undo him. The scheme requires both Despair and Desire.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: They seem to have no love for their brother Dream, but are nothing but affectionate with their twin, Despair.
Gender Bender: Like in the comics, Desire is non-binary but can take the form of man, woman, both, neither and everything in between. Unity specifically remembers them as being in male form and Dream refers to them impregnating her as "fathering" the child.
Graceful Loser: They aren't particularly upset when their schemes against Dream fail. Considering how long the Endless live, they've got all the time in the world to plan new schemes. Desire takes some amused satisfaction in knowing the affair with Rose Walker "got under Dream's skin," before promising to eventually draw blood.
Greater-Scope Villain: They orchestrated most of the challenges Dream faced throughout the first season, from his imprisonment at the hands of Roderick Burgess to Rose becoming the modern-day vortex, with more plans seemingly in store. However, they're less actively antagonistic than the Corinthian and have yet to get directly involved in the conflicts they've masterminded, with Dream only discovering their involvement at the very end of the season.
Heartbeat Soundtrack: Desire's Leitmotif is punctuated by ominous heartbeats, implied to be from the heart of the Threshold— their realm.
Hypocrite Has a Point: Desire claims that the reason they and Despair like to "play their games" with Dream is because they see him as self-important and in need of humbling. This of course is Desire talking, who is selfish and vindictive by nature.
It Amused Me: They don't seem to have any reason to antagonize Dream. They're just doing it because it pleases them to do so.
It's All About Me: Desire is utterly self-centered. It says a lot that their home is a giant statue of themself.
Non-Action Big Bad: Barely shown outside of their own chambers, preferring instead to manipulate from behind the scenes. The onscreen confrontations are subsequently left to John Dee and the Corinthian.
No Sense of Personal Space: Desire likes to get up close with people.
Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: Like the other Endless, Desire doesn't actually have a gender. That being said, they are androgynous in appearance, and Death uses they/them pronouns when referring to them.
Pet the Dog: While undoubtedly a total Jerkass, Desire does get a few Pet the Dog moments nonetheless.
- They're very loving and affectionate with Despair. Mason Alexander Park opined in an interview that they like to include her in their schemes as their way of making her happy (at least as close as Despair can get, anyways) and keeping her engaged in the world, bearing in the mind that in the comics at least, Despair has already died and been replaced with a new incarnation once in the backstory.
- In the comics, Desire raped a sleeping Unity Kincaid who never knew anything was happening until she woke up decades later. In the show, Desire visited and courted Unity in her dreams (albeit still with ulterior motives), and Unity has nothing but positive memories of the event. It's in fact Unity's fond reminiscing of her lover "with the golden eyes" that clues Dream in on what's going on.
Sibling Rivalry: Desire seems to absolutely loathe their brother Dream. It's seen by the others (and Dream himself) as simple pecking and word-sparring, but it's revealed that Desire has carefully-made, century-spanning plans to outright destroy Dream, with no apparent reason beyond their personal dislike on how he poses.
Sexy Cat Person: When Dream confronts them at the end of the first season, they are dressed in a tight bodysuit with a Navel-Deep Neckline, cat ears, and a moving tail — quite fitting for the Anthropomorphic Personification of lust and desire.
Supernatural Gold Eyes: Their golden eyes are one of their defining features. It's when Unity mentions a golden-eyed lover that it's confirmed for Dream that Desire has been meddling in his affairs.
The Unsmile: They almost always have a smug, ear-to-ear grin which never quite meets the eyes.

Despair

Species: Endless

Played by: Donna Preston

One of the Endless and Dream's siblings, she's the personification of despair and hopelessness. The twin of Desire.

Adaptational Attractiveness: She lacks the sharpened teeth and vaguely monstrous appearance of her comics counterpart.
Adaptational Dye-Job: Just like her twin Desire, Despair is blonde in this version, despite being an Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette in the original.
Adaptational Modesty: In the comic, Despair was always naked. Here, she wears a knitted jacket and sweatpants.
Advertised Extra: She only appears for a relatively small window out of the initial eleven episodes.
Despair Event Horizon: She is literally the embodiment and personification of this.
The Eeyore: To no one's surprise, Despair isn't exactly the cheeriest of anthropomorphic personifications. She's gloomy and pessimistic, and generally the one who predicts that things will go wrong.
Self-Harm: As in the comics, she uses a hooked bladed ring to cut into her skin.
You Don't Look Like You: Looks very different from her comic book counterpart. While Despair there was a monstrous, inhumanely pale nude woman, this Despair is an average-looking woman dressed in a knit jacket and pants.

Delirium

Species: Endless

Played by: N/A

A member of the Endless, mentioned in name only during the second to last episode of the first season.

The Ghost: Mentioned only, implied to be closer to Desire and Despair than they are to Death and Dream.

Destiny

Species: Endless

Played by: N/A

A member of the Endless, mentioned in name only.

The Ghost: Mentioned only, implied to be closer to Death and Dream than they are to Desire and Despair.

"The Prodigal"

Species: Endless

Played by: N/A

Another member of the Endless, who abandoned his post and has been missing ever since. Not much is known about him besides the fact that he is male.

The Ghost: For one reason or another, he left his post and hasn't been seen since, though he's frequently mentioned.
Long Bus Trip: In-Universe. The Prodigal "left" some time before the series begins, and none of his siblings know what became of him; when Dream was captured and imprisoned, some residents of the Dreaming left thinking he had done the same thing as his sibling.
No Name Given: His siblings never refer to him by name, though it's more due to his giving up his duties than from any apparent resentment. It is more a case of how, due to him not holding the responsibilities of his former concept, he does not have that title (and thus name) anymore. While fans of the comic can guess he's probably Destruction (who also walked out on his job in the comics), it's not perfectly clear yet.

The Dreaming

Lucienne

Species: Dream

Played by: Vivienne Acheampong

"I never felt abandoned. I knew you would return."

The librarian of Dream's castle who has dutifully remained in the Dreaming for a century, awaiting her master's return.

Adaptation Name Change: Lucien in the comics, Lucienne in the show.
Affectionate Nickname: Mervyn sometimes refers to Lucienne as "Luc".
Ambiguously Human: She has pointed ears and lives an ageless life in the Dreaming (but is not a dream) but as Matthew wasn't always a raven it's not beyond imagining that she was human once, either way her species is unstated.
Gender Flip: She was originally portrayed as a man named Lucien in the comics.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Dream. She's possibly the only reason that the Dreaming is still running, not only after his century-long imprisonment but while he goes off on his tangential quests, to the point where Merv and Matthew almost defer more to her than they do to Dream.
The Lancer: To Dream, at first much to his reluctance (and possible resentment). He petulantly reminds her she is just a librarian, but by the end of the first season he comes to welcome her as his second-in-command and allow her to help him with his duties without complaint.
Magic Librarian: As the librarian of the Dreaming this comes naturally, along with her Ambiguously Human nature.
Number Two: She's Dream's most trusted advisor and took up unofficial mantle of regent of the Dreaming during his time in capitivity.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Dream. They are incredibly close, as close as anyone can be with Dream, not a hint of romance which almost makes it deeper than it might have been otherwise. Dream takes Matthew with him to Hell for no other reason than to have someone to keep Lucienne informed in case he can't come back because he doesn't want her to always wonder what happened to him.
Passive-Aggressive Kombat: She proves to have quite a talent for this after Dream chastises her for trying to go beyond what he sees as her role in the Dreaming. It ends with Dream conceding that he was wrong to be resentful and ungrateful about everything she did for him. As Fiddler's Green later points out, that's the "closest" Dream has ever explicitly apologized to anybody beneath his station.
Pointy Ears: Lucienne has them.
Race Lift: In the comics, Lucien appears as a white man, but here Lucienne is a black woman.
Smart People Wear Glasses: Wears a pair of round spectacles, and is usually the one deferred to for information in the Dreaming by the denizens.
Team Mom: She kind of takes on this role to the people of the Dreaming — even Dream himself sometimes.
Undying Loyalty: She was one of the few who remained in the Dreaming when Dream disappeared, and carried out her duties even as the realm began to decay in his absence.

Matthew the Raven

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matthew_sandman_2022.png

Species: Dream, Human (formerly)

Played by: Patton Oswalt

"Dreams don't fucking die."

A human who has taken the form of a raven following his death, becoming a companion of Dream during his journey to rebuild his realm.

Adaptational Early Appearance: In the comic, Matthew didn't appear until The Doll's House. Here, he's introduced in the third episode, accompanying Dream on his quest and giving an excuse for Dream to speak much of the narration.
Adaptational Backstory Change: Possibly. In the original comic, Matthew used to be Agent Matt Cable from Swamp Thing before his death and reincarnation. No mention is made of that in this show. The circumstances of him becoming Dream's raven are different here, seeing as how it happened without Dream's involvement and Dream initially rejected him because of what had happened to Jessamy.
Animal Companion: Zig-Zagged, as Matthew was originally human and now inhabits the body of a raven. According to many, Dream is always accompanied by a raven in order to keep him grounded.
The Cynic: Believes that Humans Are Bastards, stating that he should know, since he was human once himself.
Deadpan Snarker: He's got a wry and slightly cheeky, but surprisingly gentle, sense of humor.
I Hate Past Me: In Episode 3, he admits he wasn't the best person in his human life.
Motor Mouth: As he's having a bit of an Audience Surrogate in him, Matthew doesn't hesitate in asking the right questions about every crazy thing surrounding him to wherever he accompanies Dream, and when he's specially scared or confused, he runs out of his mouth.
Nice Guy: Despite insisting he wasn't a good person when he was alive, Matthew is one of the kindest, most supportive, most loyal characters in the series.
Only Sane Man: He will occasionally take on this role when others are too proud, too distraught, or too wrapped up in themselves to see sense, Matthew being the one who tries to get them back on track. His success rate is about fifty-fifty.
Passed in Their Sleep: According to him when meeting Dream, Matthew died only a couple of hours beforehand while sleeping, which means he was in the Dreaming when it happened.
Polly Wants a Microphone: He's a talking raven. Of course, he's technically a dream who used to be a human.
Undying Loyalty: He hasn't even known Dream for that long when he insists on staying with him in Hell. This seems to be a raven trait, as both Jessamy and Lucienne also display the same kind of unshakable loyalty to Dream.
Was Once a Man: Matthew used to be a human, and not a good one according to himself, before dying in his sleep, which somehow made him into a dream, taking the form of a talking raven.

The Corinthian

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/corinthian_sandman_2022.png

Species: Nightmare

Played by: Boyd Holbrook

"So just do me a favor: Close your eyes and see yourselves as I do. We are gladiators, conquerors, we are explorers, truth seekers, we are swashbucklers, we are hunters, soldiers of fortune and kings of the night."

One of the residents of the Dreaming, a literal living nightmare with fanged mouths for eyes. The Corinthian left the Dreaming and Dream pursued him into the human world, and in doing so was left vulnerable to be captured by Roderick Burgess.

Adaptational Badass: In the comics that inspired the series the Corinthian didn't put up even half the fight against Dream that he does in the series. In the show version he is able to hold his own against Morpheus to a far greater extent and is far more active and competent in his fight to stay on Earth.
Adaptational Intelligence: The Corinthian in the comics merely embraced his hedonistic evil when Dream was imprisoned, leading to him being easily tracked down and unmade by the end of the second arc. The Corinthian of the show was already out in the waking world when Dream is captured, goes out of his way to ensure Dream stays trapped, proactively works to track down Rose for a way to strike at Morpheus first once he eventually escapes, and in general acts more charismatic and manipulative, and is a lot more prone to Pragmatic Villainy, than his bluntly evil comic counterpart.
Adaptational Nice Guy: Heavily downplayed, considering he is self-interested in both instances and his nicer actions can be chalked up to pragmatism, but this version of the Corinthian does treat Jed relatively well compared to his comic book counterpart, buying him food and snacks he enjoys rather than locking the boy up in the back of the car; and while it's still a facade, in general this version plays up the "affable" part of his Faux Affably Evil a lot more.
Adaptational Sexuality: In the comics, the Corinthian is gay, but in the show, he's bi/pan (per Word of God in both cases). However, in the show he only directly engages with men—although he appears to be somewhat flirtatious with the Good Doctor, it never goes further than a few intense looks and a request to "collect" together that reads almost like a sexual proposition—so there is some room for ambiguity. invoked
Antagonistic Offspring: In a sense, he is this for his creator Dream. His desire for freedom and independence is very similar to a rebellious, petulant teenager.
Appeal to Inherent Nature: The Corinthian tries to rationalize that, being created as a nightmare, terrorizing the humans is what he was meant to do. Dream rebuffs this: nightmares are created to be constructive to humans, to help them face and overcome their fears. The Corinthian, as all nightmares, was made to serve the humans, not to feed on their fear.
Arc Villain: He is the first season's overall Big Bad, with a hand in every major conflict directly or indirectly. He aided Roderick Burgess in keeping Dream imprisoned so he could continue his murderous rampage in the waking world, and later sends John Dee after his ruby to stymie his former master's return to power. The second half of the season centers around his hunt for Rose Walker, whom he intends to convince to unmake the Dreaming itself.
Ascended Extra: In the comic, the Corinthian only had a role in a single story arc, and was easily dealt with by his master once Dream found him. In the series, he actually helps Roderick Burgess keep his master imprisoned to give himself free rein, and later encourages Ethel Cripps and John Dee to try to eliminate Dream using his ruby (even showing up to give John a coat when he escapes from the asylum). He's also directly involved in Rose's story in a way he never was in the comics; originally he was merely an escaped nightmare who happened to be drawn into Rose's proximity due to her being a vortex, but didn't get directly involved in her plotline — here he finds out about her being a vortex early on and actively seeks her out, even deliberately kidnapping Jed, all because he's hoping to use Rose against Dream.
Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Some of his victims are admittedly not good people, although he certainly hadn't killed them because of any sense of morals. He butchers Barnaby and Clarice (the former being an abusive scumbag and the latter being a spineless accomplice who was too scared to help Jed), a serial killer wannabee, and Fun Land (a child serial killer who tried to get Jed all to himself). He also implied that he killed the Boogieman (another serial killer), allowing him to out an imposter at the convention.
Become a Real Boy: When facing Dream, shortly before his demise, he claims all he did was only because he wanted to taste what is like to be human. Dream is not too impressed.
Been There, Shaped History: It's implied he's responsible for the modern increase in serial killing, as others are inspired by the Corinthian's murders.
The Charmer: Most characters who do not know of his true nature tend to be easily swept along by his charms and good looks, such as Carl, Hal, Jed and Philip, and he can usually convince them to do what he wants without having to resort to force.
Cool Car: Drives a vintage convertible Ford Mustang when kidnapping Jed.
Defiant to the End: Even as his careful planning collapses in one foul swoop, the Corinthian refuses to beg or apologize to his creator for all that he did, instead calling him a tyrant and going out with the thought that Rose will undo him the same way in the end.
Devil in Plain Sight: While he is good-looking, that doesn't stop him coming off as immensely creepy whenever he appears, especially with the perpetual dark glasses. It's often bizarre how easy it is for him to charm people in spite of this.
The Dreaded: Played with. Instead of the usual trope, he's held in the highest regard by all the serial killers, which is itself a terrifying thought. Played straight with Gilbert, who abandons all pretense of being able to protect Rose Walker and attempts to go to Morpheus directly to save her.
Dying Curse: He spends his dying breaths telling Dream he wishes he had lived long enough to see the latter die by Rose Walker.
Even Evil Has Standards: As mentioned in Adaptational Nice Guy above. Although he does abduct Jed, he's actually pretty nice to him and protects him from Fun Land.
Evil Mentor: Inadvertently inspired many of the serial killers of the cereal convention and when he discovers this he embraces it and chooses to involve himself with them further to use their shared dream as the basis for the new Dreaming he intends to create with Rose Walker at its center.
Eyeless Face: He doesn't have eyes, but rather a pair of small fanged mouths in place of them.
Eye Remember: He threatens to take Ethel's eyes and see what she did with Dream's artifacts, and later on kills Jed's foster care caseworker and eats her eyes with the mouths in his eyesockets in order to find him.
Eye Scream: His M.O., as in the comics. His calling card among other "collectors" is to remove the eyes of his victims. What they don't know is that he consumes them with his "eye-mouths" and as a result is able to ingest the knowledge and memories of his victims.
Fairytale Motifs: The Corinthian is subtly compared to the Big Bad Wolf character found in stories. Like the wolf in 'Red Riding Hood' he is a man-eating monster that encounters a young girl and her grandmother, much like how he crosses paths with Unity Kincaid and Rose Walker. He listens to a heavy metal song called 'The Big Bad Wolf' when taking Jed to the Cereal Convention to lure Rose. The song contains the line, 'I'm gonna huff and puff and blow your house down', referencing 'The Three Little Pigs', as he plans to use Rose to kill Dream and tear down the Dreaming.
Faux Affably Evil: The Corinthian can be quite pleasant and charming when he wants to, but it's never genuine.
Fighting a Shadow: After Ethel’s amulet disintegrates him he simply reforms in the Dreaming and returns to the Waking World before Dream notices. Dream seems to have killed him off for real, but implies he might recreate him later.
Inhuman Eye Concealers: The Corinthian wears sunglasses to hide the fact that his eye sockets actually house tiny mouths.
Legacy Character: He's mistakenly believed to be one by other killers in-universe, as he has been killing people for 130 years.
Light Is Not Good: He takes the form of a handsome blond-haired man who typically dresses in pale colors, and is a sadistic nightmare (literally).
Manipulative Bastard: To a much greater degree than his comics counterpart, who tended to be a lot more upfront with his true nature and usually got his way through threats, murder, and stealing people's eyes. This Corinthian is almost as likely to charm, manipulate or even seduce people into doing what he wants.
Meaningful Name: When the other collectors ask if his name is a reference to the Pauline letter in The Bible, or to the Roman city of vice, or if he just likes leather, he smiles and says "all of the above."
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: He has three mouths, although each mouth has a normal number of teeth.
Mr. Fanservice: Unlike the original comic, this Corinthian gets as much done through his good looks and charm as he does menace and murder, if not more so. Most characters, of any gender, who interact with him and don't know who he really is try to flirt with him, and some even succeed (only men, which ties into his Ambiguously Gay character from the comics).
The Paragon Always Rebels: Dream considered him one of the finest nightmares he ever created until the Corinthian stopped doing his real duty and started killing for his own pleasure.
Pet the Dog:
- He's doing it for his own ends, but to some level he does seem genuinely fond of the Walker siblings, and does several nice things for Jed that serve no purpose for his grander scheme.
- He lends John Dee his coat to keep warm after his escape from the mental hospital.
Pragmatic Villainy: He clearly enjoys his "work," but demonstrates self restraint in multiple situations where committing a murder would only fall into Stupid Evil.
Psycho Knife Nut: The Corinthian has a pair of knives in what are effectively underarm holsters, and enjoys using them on people.
Red Right Hand: He has tiny teethed mouths for eyes, revealing his supernatural nature, and uses sunglasses all the time to conceal them, unless he wants to scare someone... or feed on eyeballs.
Satanic Archetype: Once the proudest invention of his celestial Creator, he rebelled and began engaging in sin, eventually drawing mortals under his evil thrall and encouraging them to satisfy their worst impulses. His greatest ambition is to usurp his creator, and come dangerously close to it by misleading a Barrier Maiden with Divine Heritage, but his rebellion is ultimately doomed.
Serial Killer: He's considered a celebrity amongst the other serial killers — sorry, "collectors" — in the show's world.
Sinister Shades: Always wears a pair of sunglasses to disguise his mouth-eyes, the one obviously inhuman feature he has.
Southern Gentleman: The soft Kentucky accent certainly gives him this impression, especially when combined with the white suit he wears when meeting Roderick Burgess.
Villains Never Lie: At no point does the Corinthian ever tell a direct untruth. He does, however, leave out a lot of details.
Visionary Villain: If he's sincere about his keynote speech, he believes that serial killing is the ultimate manifestation of The American Dream and wishes that it proliferate further. He intends to create a new Dreaming with Rose at its center based on the dreams of the Cereal Convention.
I don't usually speak in public, but the opportunity to talk to so many people who share the same passion, the same dream, well, it was just too good to pass up. Because you are special people. Very special people. We are the American dreamers driving down the holy road of true knowledge that's paved with blood and gold. And across the length and breadth of this fair country, we are killing people. We don't do it to make a living, we don't do it for revenge. We do not murder for profit. We kill to kill. We are entrepreneurs in an expanding field. But no one sees us except for one weekend a year. Well, I see you. I see you for who you truly are. And I want you to see it, too. So just do me a favor. Close your eyes. And see yourselves as I do. We are gladiators. Conquerors. We are explorers… truth seekers. We are swashbucklers. We are hunters. Soldiers of fortune. And kings of the night.
Xanatos Speed Chess: Plays this expertly against Morpheus, quickly taking advantage of Dream's capture to meticulously detail his century-long confinement, and even baiting Rose just to make Morpheus mortal while in the waking world.

Fiddler's Green

Gilbert / Fiddler's Green

Species: Dream

Played by: Stephen Fry

"Oh, my dear, Fiddler's Green is not a "who," it is a where. I was not a person, I was a place and, after your death, if you stay in the Dreaming, visit me. Walk in my meadows and my green glades. Rest beneath my trees. Farewell, Rose Walker. It was a privilege being human with you."

A friendly, but mysterious boarder who befriends Rose. In reality, he's "Fiddler's Green," a living Arcadia from the Dreaming who took on human shape and went to explore the waking world.

Adaptational Nice Guy: He was already a Nice Guy in the comics, but this version omits the scene where he creeps out Rose by telling her a disturbing older version of "Little Red Riding Hood."
Badass Bookworm: Spends most of his time reading Chesterton in an attic but could still kick your ass.
Become a Real Boy: Downplayed. He wishes to live life as a human, but he had always intended to return to the dreaming one day.
Born in the Wrong Century: He's a Quintessential British Gentleman with a hat and a cane (with a sword in it) who talks like he's from a hundred years in the past.
Captain Oblivious: Since he's a dream of a place that's taken human form, he's a bit clueless about the world, although he does catch on eventually. When he takes the name tag "Dutch Uncle" at the Cereal Convention, he remarks that he's always wanted to be an uncle, apparently unaware that this term isn't usually a compliment.
Cold Ham: Courtesy of actor Stephen Fry, Gilbert is very theatrical, flourishing and even dramatic — but always in that calm, friendly "dash-it-all" Quintessential British Gentleman way.
Colorful Theme Naming: His true identity, Fiddler's Green, is reflected in his dark green coat, hat, and tie.
Cool Old Guy: As Gilbert, he's a friendly and helpful older man with an impressive mustache and a rather badass sword cane (as well as a revolver, according to him). He only abandoned the Dreaming to experience life as a human and genuinely cares for Rose, to the point where he's willing to sacrifice himself to save her.
Double Take: Nods in agreement along with the women-led panel at the "Cereal" convention, but suddenly looks quite perplexed when one of the panelists mentions "brute force."
Fanboy: He tells Rose he spends his days reading G. K. Chesterton, whom he's based his mortal form on.
Genius Loci: Introduced as one of Hal's eccentric tenants, he turns out to actually be Fiddler's Green, a living Arcadia.
God Was My Copilot: Originally appearing to be just another of Rose's unusual neighbors, it's eventually revealed that he's the Fiddler's Green, having left the Dreaming to experience humanity first hand.
Heroic Wannabe: A downplayed version. While he is helpful, his two attempts at a Big Damn Heroes moment don't go according to plan. He first appears to save Rose from some muggers but she proves fully capable of saving herself. Later, he tries to commit a Heroic Sacrifice but is denied by Dream. Despite this, he's still relatively competent and a good friend to Rose.
Heroic Sacrifice: Offers himself up to die in Rose Walker's place, having become very fond of her, but obviously as his death would not solve the crisis of the Dream Vortex Morpheus denies this.
Loved by All: As befitting a dream which Morpheus calls "the heart of the Dreaming." While the only human we see him interact with is Rose, they become quick friends and it's implied that he is friends with the rest of his neighbors as well. It's implied that the Corinthian recognizes him but takes no action to harm Fiddler's Green. Upon his return to the Dreaming, he serves as a confidante for Lucienne, and Morpheus even states: "I cannot find it in my heart to punish you for leaving, Fiddler's Green."
My God, What Have I Done?: He was trying to save Rose Walker when he reported his sighting of the Corinthian to Dream, he was horrified when told that she was a dream-vortex and realized that he just indirectly led to Morpheus killing her to save the Dreaming.
Nice Guy: He is unfailingly polite and helpful toward everyone he meets, and does his best to help out with no expectation of gaining anything in return.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: His persona is very obviously based on G. K. Chesterton, from his name, through his outfit, sword cane and Quintessential British Gentleman attitude.
Oh, Crap!: Gilbert suffers an increasingly alarming version of this trope once he sees what's going on at the convention and realizes the place is full of violent killers, culminating in him recognizing the Corinthian. This comes up again when Lucienne reveals to him that Rose is a Vortex, with him realizing he inadvertently set her up to die by Dream's hands.
Quintessential British Gentleman: Always calm, polite and gentlemanly in a slightly theatrical way, dressed in every old-fashioned clothes with a hat and a cane; he basically comes across as a caricature of an old-school British gentleman from the early 1900s — which kind of just underlines his "otherworldliness" and how even among the weird and eccentric boarders in Hal's house he stands out.
The Reliable One: Both Dream and Lucienne call him this, which is why they are so bemused about the fact that he’s one of the three Major Arcana missing from the Dreaming upon Dream’s return.
Spanner in the Works: He alerts Dream and Lucienne to the Corinthian's whereabouts at the serial killer convention once he realizes what's going on. While something similar occurred in the comics when he told Rose Walker to speak Morpheus's name aloud if she was in danger, here Gilbert goes directly into the Dreaming and reveals himself to try and stop whatever the Corinthian's doing and to make sure Rose is safe.

Gault

Species: Nightmare

Played by: Ann Ogbomo

"Even a nightmare can dream, my lord."

A nightmare who escaped the Dreaming.

Adaptational Heroism: She serves pretty much the same antagonistic role in the series' version of the "Doll's House" storyline as Brute and Glob did in the original comic, but she's given much more sympathetic reasons for her actions, and where they were only using Jed (and others) as tools to their own selfish ends, Gault is genuinely attempting to improve Jed's situation. Because of this, Dream doesn't just punish her like he did with Brute and Glob in the comic book, but ultimately grants Gault her wish of becoming a more positive dream instead of a nightmare.
Canon Foreigner: She's an original character for the series.
Composite Character: She replaces the roles of Brute and Glob, and takes on a few of their aspects. Her design, shapeshifting powers, and the butterfly wings Dream gives her when he makes her into a dream also bring to mind DC superhero and Neil Gaiman character Black Orchid.
Defiant to the End: When faced with being condemned to "The Darkness," Gault shows absolutely no fear or remorse for her actions in trying to help Jed Walker by going against her intended function. She even raises the question of how many of those who returned to the Dreaming did so out of loyalty to Morpheus or fear of what he would do to them if they didn't come back.
Foil: To the Corinthian. They are both nightmares who went rogue during Morpheus' imprisonment and went against their intended purpose. While the Corinthian jumped off the slippery slope and became a Serial Killer in the waking world, Gault went the opposite route and tried playing the part of a benign dream helping a child in a troubled home. Both have latched onto the Walker siblings in order to make their own idea of "the Sandman", but while the Corinthian tries using Rose to usurp Morpheus's authority, Gault's version of "the Sandman" is just a character Jed plays to escape his troubled life, having loosely based him off of her creator. They are both unmade by Morpheus as punishment, but while Morpheus shows mercy on Gault and makes her into a dream, he unmakes the Corinthian altogether with intent on starting over.
Heel–Face Turn: She's a nightmare who no longer wishes to terrorize others and genuinely wants to make Jed Walker's life better. In the finale, after a Hazy-Feel Turn of his own, Dream transforms her into a dream, granting her wish.
Humanity Is Infectious: Meant to be a nightmare and while she's designed to help humanity in a way, she's supposed to do it by scaring/pseudo-torturing them in their dreams, but being out in the world among them, and in particular her unusual friendship with Jed Walker, gave an urgent sense of compassion and a want to protect humanity instead.
Mama Bear: She takes this role for Jed Walker, creating an idyllic dream life for him to escape his abusive home life, as that is the extent of what she can do for him with her powers, and makes it clear she would do more to protect him if she could.
Mythology Gag: Morpheus accuses her of wanting to create her own Dreaming to be lord of, which she denies vehemently. In the comics, this was Brute and Glob's true motive for doing the same thing Gault does for other, more benevolent reasons.
Power Stereotype Flip: Dream claims that being a nightmare with a natural inclination towards shapeshifting makes her predisposed for dishonesty. When we meet her, all she is is genuine and upfront towards Dream and his controlling attitude.
Punch-Clock Villain: She was created to be a nightmare, with the duty of terrorizing dreamers so that they can confront their fears in the waking world. Deconstructed, as being created to be a villain with no villainous motivations of her own made her grow disquieted with her role and led to her trying to be a more benevolent dream. Because she wasn't made for such a role, however, all she did was give Jed an escapist fantasy with no constructive purpose behind it.
Reveling in the New Form: In the finale episode of the first season, Dream brings back Gault and remakes her as a dream complete with a set of butterfly wings, having finally accepted her wish to no longer be a nightmare. She reacts with open joy and uses her new wings to fly off.

Cain and Abel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sanjeev_bhaskar_as_cain_0.jpg

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/asim_chaudhry_as_abel_1.jpg

Species: Dream

Played by: Sanjeev Bhaskar (Cain) and Asim Chaudhry (Abel)

The First Victim and the First Victimizer. Keepers of the Houses of Mysteries and Secrets, and loyal subjects of Morpheus.

Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Abel is far less depressed and bothered by his continuous murders here than he was in the comics, taking it all in stride. There is a hint he has a bit of a Stepford Smiler thing going on, though. In the comics, too, Cain briefly mentions trying to murder Abel less often, but the speech is entirely absent here.
Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the comic, Morpheus consumes the official commissions he gave Cain and Abel as storytellers of the Dreaming instead of Gregory. Needless to say, the brothers take the lack of a scrip of paper somewhat lighter than the loss of a friend, with Abel happily giving up his commission and Cain merely annoyed that Abel gave his up without even making a mystery out of it.
Adaptation Personality Change:
- Abel's iconic stutter has been replaced with a more complex lack of speech fluidity; he'll repeat words, pause between sentences, and sometimes search for words. He's also more upbeat and cheerful despite his constant murders, always looking on the bright side and seeing the good in everyone.
- Cain is a lot less hammy than his comic book counterpart, more tired by the murders he undertakes on a daily basis. Most notably, the first thing Cain does in the show is to offer his own life up to save his pet, making him much more endearing to the audience than the classic horror host.
Added Alliterative Appeal: A Character Tic of Cain's. When angry or frustrated, he'll often let out a string of alliterative insults.
"Blasted, bulbous, bilge-bubbling bollocks!"
Big Brother Bully: It's slightly downplayed compared to the comic, but Cain is still very much this to Abel.
Cain and Abel: They may or may not be the actual, Biblical Cain and Abel; it's kept deliberately vague. What's clear is that they're not native to the Dreaming, as Dream makes it clear he didn't create either of them.
Replacement Goldfish: To make up for taking Gregory from them, Dream gifts them with a baby gargoyle. After some heated debate they name the new addition Goldie.
Resurrective Immortality: Abel is repeatedly murdered by Cain, but always comes back, none the worse for wear.
Stepford Smiler: It's hinted that Abel pretends to be far more okay with his situation than he really is. He does focus on the positive for the most part, but he does get notably wistful when telling Goldie a story of two brothers who were always friends and never hurt each other... then he brushes it off and smiles.
"I don't mind getting murdered, honestly! It, it... if that's what makes Cain happy, then... hey! What are brothers for? Eh? Little brother?"
Truer to the Text: Ignoring their slight Adaptation Personality Change, these versions are far more accurate to the source material than the immortal Death Seeker Cain and Jerkass Casanova Wannabe Abel of Lucifer (2016).

Gregory

Species: Dream

Played by: N/A

A gargoyle who is the companion of Cain and Abel.

All Animals Are Dogs: Looks like a dragon but acts like a golden retriever.
Death by Adaptation: In the comics Dream absorbs letters he had given the brothers, not Gregory. The gargoyle goes on to continue to be a reoccuring character unharmed.
Face Death with Dignity: Gregory is clearly afraid to die, but he nevertheless willingly surrenders his essence to Dream. It's implied that the nobility with which Gregory conducted himself inspired Dream to preserve a portion of his essence to create a baby gargoyle as a replacement pet for Cain and Abel.
Heel–Face Turn: Implied by Dream stating that he started out as a nightmare, which makes his mentality that all dreams and nightmares must be fixed in their roles later with Gault a bit baffling.

Jessamy

Species: Dream

Played by: N/A

Dream's former raven, preceding Matthew.

Adaptation Expansion: We actually see her for a decent time in the show, unlike in the comic, and she makes a valiant attempt to rescue Dream.
Animal Companion: To Dream, she was very devoted to him and he in turn showed an affection and reverence for her that was notable for a character who is usually The Stoic.
Ascended Extra: In the comics a previous raven named Jessamy is mentioned (and briefly appears in a story set during the early days of the Roman Empire) but we never learn much about her and she's long gone by the time the story actually starts.
Undying Loyalty: To Dream. She stays by his side for ten years during his imprisonment, trying to find a way to release him and dies in her final attempt to do so.
The Voiceless: Unlike Matthew, she is never heard speaking.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Her rescue attempt makes it seem like she will be Dream's Loyal Animal Companion, but she's tragically and suddenly killed in the process.

Merv Pumpkinhead

Mervyn Pumpkinhead

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fbp4etiwaaifxon_7.png

Species: Dream

Played by: Mark Hamill

The object-headed custodian of Dream's palace.

Celebrity Paradox: Jed is a fan of DC Comics and is even at one point seen watching a show from the DC Animated Universe. Mark Hamill is the most well-regarded voice actor for The Joker in said fictional universe.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's gruff and sarcastic, and not always the nicest person, but he does mean well.
Pumpkin Person: He's an animated scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head.
Servile Snarker: He has the lowest-rung job on Dream's staff, but that doesn't stop him from snarking back at everyone else and telling Matthew how things should be run.

Martin Tenbones

Species: Dream

Played by: Lenny Henry

"Our journey has indeed been long, Miss Barbara, and many's the worthy companion we have found and lost along the way."

A strange animal companion of Barbie in her dream world.

Big Friendly Dog: Is at least dog-like and is Barbie's loyal companion.
Canis Major: About the size of a small car.
Loyal Animal Companion: Every time one of Barbie's dreams is shown on screen he is there: helping her and following right by her side. From what he describes they've been through quite a lot together.

Hell

Lucifer Morningstar

Species: Angel

Played by: Gwendoline Christie

"What power have dreams in Hell?"

The ruler of Hell, the first of the fallen angels, and the Devil themself.

Above the Gods: The Endless are already this trope and Dream specifically says Lucifer is above even him.
Adaptational Wimp: As a result of Adaptation Deviation, Lucifer is the one who plays the Oldest Game against Dream and loses (albeit almost winning), whereas in the original comic, Lucifer was just a spectator. And the show's version of the Oldest Game has the players take damage from what their opponent is changing themselves into, so we see Dream inflict arrow wounds and talon slashes on the Morningstar, when in the comic, Dream couldn't hurt Lucifer by virtue of being weaker than he was.
Ambiguous Gender Identity: Lucifer is a traditionally male character played here by a female actress and referred to by other characters with gender-neutral terms. Lucifer also has a very androgynous hair and wardrobe. When Neil Gaiman was asked about Lucifer's pronouns, he said "usually I, but we when being formal."invoked
Dark Is Evil: When Choronzon selects Lucifer as his champion in his contest against Dream, Lucifer's white robe transforms into a black leather getup.
Deadpan Snarker: They have some moments of this, such as when Dream cannot name the demon who has his helm, so they summon all the demons in Hell.
Lucifer: There now, Dream, you may inquire. Which demon has your helmet? Shall we interview them one at a time, or...
Fallen Angel: They once were the most beloved and revered of Heaven's angels before falling and becoming the ruler of Hell and the demons and damned souls that reside there.
Good Wings, Evil Wings: Lucifer has black leathery wings like a bat.
Graceful Loser: Zigzagged. Despite Dream's apprehension, Lucifer takes Dream's success in their Shapeshifter Showdown in stride, and demands Choronzon return the helm. However, afterwards they try to avenge their wounded pride by preventing Morpheus from leaving Hell. It's only when he threatens to take away their dreams of Heaven that they relent, allowing him to leave with only a promise to destroy him one day.
Hell-Bent for Leather: Their initial outfit of an angelic white robe gets swapped for black leather when they prepare to challenge Dream.
Large and in Charge: They are played by a 6'3" actress, and not only rule Hell itself, they are stated by Dream to perhaps be second to only God in power.
Light Is Not Good: Lucifer, ruler of Hell and the Devil themself, is introduced wearing a white gown and with blonde hair. There's also their name, which means "Light Bringer".
The Man Behind the Monsters: As in the comics — it's purely a matter of appearances, but Lucifer plays this trope to the full. While most of the demons of Hell are hideous and monstrous, Lucifer appears human and androgynously beautiful. But all of those demons are rightly respectful or just plain scared of Lucifer (as for that matter is Morpheus).
Mythology Gag: Like Gabriel in the 2005 Hellblazer movie adaptation, they're a traditionally male (former) archangel played by a female actress and given an Ambiguous Gender Identity.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: Lucifer never raises their voice and speaks in a gentle way that belies their ruthless nature as the Devil.
Statuesque Stunner: They sport Gwendoline Christie's fearsome 6'3" height and tower over Dream. They're also Hell-Bent for Leather during their contest and Dream describes them as the most beautiful of all angels.
Truer to the Text: Ambiguous Gender Identity aside, this version of Lucifer is more comics-accurate than the version previously seen in Lucifer (2016). Unlike the brown-haired and essentially heroic Lovable Sex Maniac of that show, The Sandman's Lucifer is subtly menacing and sadistic towards others just like the comic book version.

Mazikeen of the Lilim

Species: Demon

Played by: Cassie Clare

A demon and daughter of Lilith seen in Lucifer's presence and whom Dream is acquainted with, in attendance with her master when the Lord of Dreams appears in Hell.

Adaptational Attractiveness: Mazikeen still has a partly deformed face, but it's not nearly as bad as her comic counterpart, as an entire half of Mazikeen's face there looked like a rotting corpse. This also means that she's capable of perfectly understandable speech thanks to having a fully working mouth, as opposed to the Intelligible Unintelligible speech from the comics.
Adaptational Early Appearance: Mazikeen didn't appear in the comics version of "A Hope in Hell", not showing up until the Season of Mists arc. On a related note, in the show Dream already knows who she is, whereas in the comic Lucifer introduces her to him when she first appears.
The Dragon: To Lucifer. The Morningstar's most loyal demon, she immediately acts upon their desire as she does when accosting Choronzon the minute he weakly protests against Lucifer's orders and seemingly the only demon allowed to live in the palace of Hell with Lucifer, as she is there when the Devil awakes.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Unlike other demons shown in the series (see Azazel) who only care about Lucifer as a figurehead it's made clear that she has true affection for them, in particular her looks of pained concern during Lucifer's bout with Morpheus. It's unclear if their comic counterparts' romantic relationship remains intact however.
Race Lift: Following in the footsteps of Lucifer (2016), this version of Mazikeen is a Black woman.
Truer to the Text: As with her boss she's much closer to her comic's counterpart than the version in Lucifer (2016), keeping her half scarred face full time, not speaking much and generally being The Stoic compared to the earlier show's rather emotive and chatty character.
Two-Faced: Part of her face is scarred and deformed, but it's downplayed compared to the comics, where she had the appearance of a rotted corpse, and her speech was barely intelligible at best (Gaiman wrote it by transcribing the sounds he made when trying to speak with only half his mouth) due to having only half a working mouth.
Undying Loyalty: To Lucifer- made clear in the scene with Azazel that her allegiance is to Lucifer, not her fellow demons.

Choronzon

Species: Demon

Played by: Munya Chawawa

A Duke of Hell who acquired Dream's helm for himself while the Dream Lord was in captivity, and isn't keen on returning it to his rightful owner.

Adaptational Attractiveness: While still demonic-looking, the TV version of Choronzon is taller and more muscular than his comic version, who bore more resemblance to a deranged imp than the show's version.
Adaptational Wimp: In the comics, Choronzon dueled Dream personally, but in the show he nominates Lucifer as his champion in the contest, only watching from the sidelines.
Sore Loser: Refuses to give up Dream's helm when Dream is victorious against Lucifer.

Squatterbloat

Species: Demon

Played by: Martyn Ford

A Demon who acts as the gatekeeper to Hell.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the comics, Squatterbloat is depicted as a short, stooped creature with a battle-axe in place of his left hand and no discernible bottom jaw. Here he's depicted as tall and muscular with a complete human head.
Composite Character: In addition to being an adaptation of his own character from the comics, Squatterbloat also takes on Etrigan's role by acting as Dream's guide through Hell.
Rhymes on a Dime: Tends to speak in rhyme even when conversing.

Azazel

Species: Demon

Played by: Roger Allam

One of the Lords of Hell under the dominion of Lucifer.

Adaptational Wimp: In the comics, Azazel is one of the Triumvirate of Hell, holding equal authority with Lucifer and Beelzebub (though Lucifer is unquestionably the most powerful). Here he is just one of many demons in Hell's hierarchy, albeit a high-ranking one. Justified, as the Triumvirate of Hell only existed in the comics for DC continuity reasons, and without those restrictions the Triumvirate is no longer required to exist.
Demoted to Extra: In the comics was an equal ruler of Hell alongside Lucifer, here they are a subordinate albeit one very high on the pecking order.
Dragon with an Agenda: His dialogue with Lucifer implies that he wants Hell for himself. Considering he's a demon, that's not surprising.
The Starscream: Downplayed, but when he informs Lucifer that the armies of Hell are waiting to invade the Dreaming on their command, it's less of a dutiful soldier waiting for an order and more a threat that not giving that order would be dangerous for Lucifer.

Other Supernatural Entities

The Three-in-One

Species: God

Played by: Dinita Gohil (as the Maiden), Nina Wadia (as the Mother), Souad Faress (as the Crone)

A triple goddess-like entity who serves as both Fates and Furies, among other trios.

Adaptational Attractiveness: While the Maiden was still attractive in the books, all three are portrayed without the comics' cartoonish exaggerated body types and in particular the Mother and the Crone benefit from this treatment; the Mother having been cartoonishly overweight and the Crone being portrayed as a Wicked Witch with a gnarled, almost horrifying appearance.
Adaptational Jerkass: The Crone was the most helpful of the Three in the comic, offering the most detailed answer including unbidden advice, but in the series she offers the vaguest of the three answers and is the most openly hostile.
Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Every time they give advice, they offer up Exact Words and frustration that the subject didn't ask the right questions. This extends to unsolicited advice, such as when they meet Rose Walker. Despite supposedly being there to warn her, they don't tell her the rules, and only mention they could have helped with Jed, Dream and the Corintian after Rose asks her questions.
Composite Character: As in the comics they comprise several goddess trinities: the Fates, the Furies and Hecate are called out by name. As revealed in the bonus episode "Calliope", the Three also communally take the place of the titan-goddess Mnemosyne as the joint mother of Calliope and the other muses.
Could Say It, But...: In contrast to the obtuse answers they give Dream, when they appear to Rose, they deliver a fair bit of information by telling her what they can't tell her because she didn't ask. Rose is too confused to get the hint.
The Dreaded: Due to also embodying the Furies, there is a terrible danger to summoning them, and Lucienne begs Dream to choose another way to seek information.
Exact Words: They not only give answers in this trope but are bound by this in the questions they are asked: even when they actively want to give people information (as in the case of Rose Walker) the person must ask the right questions or else they can't help.
The Hecate Sisters: As with the comics, they collectively appear as a trio of women: a young Maiden, a mature Mother, and an old Crone. When called by John Dee in "24/7", they seemingly possess the lesbian Judy to act as the Maiden; single mother Bette as the Mother; and the older CEO Kate as the wise Crone.
I Have Many Names: The Fates, the Furies, the Hecate, the Kindly Ones, the Three Who Are One, the One Who is Three...
Loophole Abuse: They can't free Calliope because she is lawfully bound, but they can give her hints about who is capable of freeing her (Morpheus) and when she'll be able to reach him (when the sleeping sickness ends, which means that he's escaped). And she saw the news of it, she did implore him, and he heard and freed her.
Mathematician's Answer: The kinds of answers they give since they only answer the exact question that was asked no matter what you actually wanted to know.
Pet the Dog:
- They appear to Rose Walker and offer her advice free of charge... a pity she didn't ask the right questions.
- They offer their sympathies to their daughter Calliope for her imprisonment. While they appear pretty cold and even a little mocking as they do so, they do offer hints on where to go for help and when would be the right time to ask: letting her know about the sleeping sickness so she'd know when Dream would be free.
Possessing a Dead Body: In "24/7", they speak to John Dee through the corpses of his three female victims - Judy, Bette, and Kate - all three of whom are still visibly sporting the wounds that killed them.
Race Lift: Insofar as supernatural beings can have races — their comic counterpart/s appeared as three white, blonde women; here they appear as three dark-haired women played by SWANA actresses^note.
The Weird Sisters: They embody this trope, speaking in riddles to Morpheus in a scene very reminiscent of the Weird Sisters appearing to Macbeth.

Calliope

Species: God

Played by: Melissanthi Mahut

"I am a goddess. A daughter of Zeus. I am not a possession to be kept, used, or traded."

The muse of epic poetry and ex-wife of Dream.

Adaptational Badass:
- In the comics, she is only described as crying when Madoc rapes her, but in the show, he's shown with a scratch on his face, showing that this version of the character fought back against him.
- In the comics it is unclear how Morpheus becomes aware of Calliope's captivity. Here she deduces Morpheus' freedom and tricks Madoc into summoning him.
Adaptational Dye-Job: She was blonde in the comics but has dark brown hair in the series.
Adaptational Modesty: In comics she is kept mostly nude by her captors, but thankfully here she is dressed in a slip.
Age Lift: In the myths she is the first of the muses, here (and in the comics) she is stated to be the youngest.
Amicable Exes: Eventually becomes this with Dream. It's clear they had a messy breakup and there was a lot of regrettable things said on both sides, but by the time they meet again in the modern day they are mostly past this; grateful to see each other and share concern and empathy over their individual traumas.
Damsel out of Distress: Due to the laws binding her to her human masters, there's only so much Calliope can do to help herself, but she does try. She first prays to the Fates for help, then later sneaks out of her room when Madoc leaves it unlocked to call upon Morpheus to rescue her. It's also implied she fought back when Madoc first raped her.
Earthy Barefoot Character: A pretty to-the-point depiction of a muse. Whether she's a Barefoot Captive in a more modern dress, or properly robed in her himation, the one constant are her always bare feet.
Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Her attitude towards Richard Madoc after she's freed is a variation on this. When Morpheus asks how she could forgive him after what he has done to her, Calliope states she won't forgive what he did but she will forgive the man himself, for her own sake if nothing else.
I Just Want to Be Free: No matter how long she's captured or what her captors offer her, she never wavers from her simple request to just be let go.
Misery Poker: Defied; when Morpheus says his own suffering while imprisoned by humans pales in comparison to what she has endured, Calliope merely tells him that "comparing [their] suffering only compounds it" and that she's sorry about what happened to him.
The Muse: Said to be the youngest of the nine and the one who inspired Homer.
Nice Girl: She shows sympathy for Richard's plight and implies she will give him the inspiration he needs if he frees her. Richard doesn't take the hint and restarts the cycle of abuse. Even after everything he's done to her, Calliope still asks Dream to show Richard mercy, stating that his suffering will not undo anything that happened and she simply wants to move on. Even in the midst of her captivity, she expresses sorrow over Morpheus' imprisonment and tells him not to dismiss his own suffering compared to hers.
Outliving One's Offspring: It's mentioned that she and Morpheus had a son, Orpheus, who was killed long ago. Talking about him still pains her and it's one of the main reasons her marriage to Morpheus fell apart, with Calliope stating she blamed him for Orpheus' death (though she later states she no longer feels that way).
Physical God: One of the Nine Muses, Greek Goddesses of Inspiration and the Arts.
Race Lift: In the comics, Calliope was depicted with pale skin and golden hair. Here, she is portrayed by a dark-haired actor of Greek descent, fitting for a character adapted from Greek mythology.
Rape as Drama: Poor Calliope has suffered this for six decades (although it's mostly implied rather than shown outright). After being captured by Erasmus Fry, he regularly forced himself on her to exploit her power to inspire writers. Richard Madoc initially tries to win her over with gifts and the promise of freeing her, but eventually rapes her as well out of frustration. After this incident, Calliope begs the Fates to intervene but they state only Morpheus can free her and he's currently imprisoned too. Once he’s freed, though...
Significant Wardrobe Shift: For much of "Calliope" she wears a thin white nightdress. After she's freed from captivity, she switches to a more modest and elaborate Ancient Greek-style dress, looking every inch the Greek goddess she is.
What Measure Is a Non-Human?: How both her captors justify her imprisonment and abuse, claiming that because she is not human, they have no need to treat her like she has any rights.
Write What You Know:invoked A particularly dark example. Here Comes a Candle, the novel she inspired Erasmus Frye to write, features the blurb "She was his muse...and the slave of his lust!", an apt description of her captivity at Frye's hands.

Humans

Burgess Family and Associates

Sir Roderick Burgess

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/charles_dance_as_roderick_burgess.jpg

Species: Human

Played by: Charles Dance

The man responsible for Dream's imprisonment for over a hundred years after accidentally summoning him instead of his sister Death.

Abusive Parents: He's shown physically abusing his remaining son and gives him no affection; his only reaction when his son shoots Jessamy the raven is to get angry that the shot could have shattered the cage Dream is in. Not without reason, Alex hits back at him by saying even the son he originally wanted Back from the Dead will loathe the man he's become.
Adaptational Attractiveness: In the comics, he was a very Obviously Evil older man with a gaunt, sunken face, no hair, and a prominent nose; as the decades passed, he became even more decrepit, to the point of looking alarmingly like Emperor Palpatine towards the end of his life. Here, he's played by Charles Dance who is still handsome and dignified for his age.
Adaptational Dumbass: In the comics, he can tell at first glance that they had summoned and trapped Dream instead of Death. In the series, he seems uncertain just what or who they summoned, and the Corinthian steps in to educate him.
Adaptational Jerkass: While both the comic and show versions don’t give a damn about Alex, the comics version never went beyond verbal and neglectful abuse. The show version is not only both of those things but it’s heavily implied he’s not above hitting his son.
Adaptational Nice Guy: In the comics, he gladly exploited Dr. Hathaway's grief in order to pillage his museum for valuable occult artefacts, and wasn't above using magic to murder rivals, including his treacherous second-in-command Mr Sykes. In the show, he merely keeps the stolen grimoire, and upon discovering Ethel has stolen his occult paraphernalia, he resorts to encouraging Dream to chase after her instead of resorting to magical murder - though he dies before he has a chance to try.
Adaptational Sympathy: In the series, Roderick has a Canon Foreigner son who died in World War I, much like how Dr. John Hathaway lost his son Edmund, which gives him an additional motive for wanting to summon and imprison Death. Then subverted as he continually abuses his other son Alex (for not being Randall), demands his lover Ethel abort their baby, and he continues to keep Dream imprisoned and shifts his ambitions to be for wealth and immortality, seeming to forget his son altogether.
Adaptational Wimp: In the comics, he's a powerful enough sorcerer to blow up a rogue underling from across the Atlantic. In the series, the only real magic he's shown to use is the Summoning Ritual from Dr. Hathaway's grimoire, and he uses Dream's artifacts offscreen for relatively mundane wealth and good fortune.
Asshole Victim: He's an abusive father and all around jerkass whose employees immediately begin deferring to his son, who has just (accidentally) killed him, upon his death.
Casting Gag: Charles Dance once again portrays a straight-forward, cold-hearted and manipulative aristocrat who lusts for power and mistreats his son.
The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: Roderick originally wanted to resurrect his son and sought to reason with Dream to get something out of him. However, with the intransigence of the Endless and Roderick realizing that the Dream Lord's tools are granting him power and influence beyond his imaginations, he seems to willingly throw it all away.
Dead Star Walking: As the major instigator of the plot and being played by easily the biggest name in the first episode, a viewer unfamiliar with the source material may be surprised to learn he is not the Big Bad when he is killed partway through the first episode.
Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: He and his cult managed to trap one of the Endless, Dream, but they were after Death in the hopes of bringing their loved ones back from the dead. Part of the reason Roderick, and later his son, keeps him locked up is out of fear of what the Dream Lord will do to them if he ever gets out.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the comics, he dies of a heart attack while extremely elderly and infirm, while here he is still pretty active and dies of a head wound while struggling with his son Alex.
Dying Curse: He uses his last words to taunt Dream that he will never escape imprisonment.
Historical Downgrade: According to the present day Johanna Constantine, most occultists think of Roderick as a charlatan, with urban legend claiming that he kept the devil in his basement. This couldn't be more wrong, since Roderick successfully summoned and imprisoned Dream of the Endless (albeit unintentionally).
Laser-Guided Karma: He dies trying once more to abuse his son, when Alex pushes him back against the cage he's build for Dream.
Immortality Seeker: Roderick attempted to summon and trap Death in the hopes of resurrecting his eldest son Randall, only to summon Dream instead. Soon his motives decay and shift to wealth, power, and immortality in exchange for the Endless' freedom after realizing that that raising the dead isn't in the Dream Lord's power.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: As in the comics, Burgess is heavily inspired by Aleister Crowley.
Parental Favoritism: He only ever speaks fondly of his dead son Randall while dismissing Alex to his face. Alex spitefully declares that if Randall were still alive, he'd most likely hate Roderick for what a bastard he is regardless if he was Roderick's favorite.
Starter Villain: The first antagonist of the series, introduced before John Dee.

Alex Burgess

Species: Human

Played by: Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (as a child), Laurie Kynaston (as a young adult), Benedick Blythe (as an old man)

The younger son of Roderick Burgess.

Adaptational Nice Guy: In the comic book, Alex was only moderately more sympathetic than his father, ultimately descending into corruption as he grew older - to the point that he was ultimately willing to demand the same boons that Roderick wanted in exchange for Dream's freedom. Plus, he and Paul went on to remodel the cult into a cynical venture designed to bilk the gullible out of their money. Here, he is portrayed much more sympathetically, and is willing to let Dream free if Dream would just promise not to hurt him or Paul.
Age Lift: In the comics, he is much older when he falls in love with Paul who is much younger than him. In the series, they are portrayed as being roughly the same age.
All for Nothing: When his father beats him over the belief Alex was going to free Dream, Roderick demands that he shoot Jessamy to prove his loyalty. Even when Alex succeeds, his father simply berates him for almost breaking Dream's prison and goes straight back to abusing him like before. All Alex achieved was angering Dream beyond forgiveness and guaranteeing punishment later in his life.
Anti-Villain: His only real villainous act was to kill Jessamy, and even that was under extreme pressure from his father. After his father's death, he's perfectly willing to release Dream, so long as he swears not to hurt him or Paul. However, Dream won't forgive his killing of Jessamy, or his failure to free him earlier, and just glares silently at him. Consequently, Alex decides to keep Dream imprisoned for his and Paul's safety.
Calling the Old Man Out: His last words to his father just before Roderick dies are that his brother Randall would hate Roderick just as much as Alex does if he were still alive.
Decoy Protagonist: The first episode mostly follows his POV, and he is shown to have a sympathetic side and desire to help Dream. He ultimately fails to act on this desire, instead becoming yet another captor, and ends the episode aged and eventually punished by being trapped in eternal sleep.
Fate Worse than Death: Dream "gifts" Alex "eternal sleep", leading him to never being able to wake up, no matter how hard Paul and the nurse trying to wake him.
Hazy-Feel Turn: He starts out as sympathetic to Dream (arguably he remains so to some extent) and talks about wishing to release him, but upon killing Jessamy for his father's approval (and still not getting it) he realizes he's burned his bridges with Dream, and fears releasing him even when his father is no longer an obstacle. Thus, he fails to become a Redeeming Replacement, and instead is just a Tragic Villain.
Hoist by His Own Petard: He refuses to release Dream out of fear of what the Endless might do in retribution. This only serves to make Dream angrier once freed, who decides to visit on him a suitably karmic punishment for his continued imprisonment.
Mind Prison: This is his punishment for keeping Dream imprisoned after his father dies, and for killing his raven Jessamy.
Once Done, Never Forgotten: His decision to not let Dream out when he had the chance, and in particular his choice to kill Jessamy to win his father's approval, means that no matter how sympathetic he acts to Dream afterwards, Dream doesn't give an inch and treats him with as much ire as he had for his father (if not more).
Patricide: He accidentally kills his father while struggling with him.
"Shaggy Dog" Story: At first it appears he's being set up to rebel against his father and set Dream free, and when he instead kills Jessamy to get his father's approval, it seems he will embrace being his heir and try to get power from Morpheus. In the end neither happens and he keeps Dream captive for no other reason than he's afraid of what the Endless will do when he's released.
Straight Gay: He doesn't enact any stereotypes about gay men.
The Unfavorite: Compared to his Canon Foreigner brother Randall, his father treats him with open disgust and resentment.
Villainy-Free Villain: He continues Dream's imprisonment, not out of any malice or greed but because he is genuinely afraid of what Dream would do if he were released. He routinely begs Dream to just give him an assurance of his and his lover Paul's safety as his only condition of release, but Dream is long since past negotiation by this point.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Everything he does is in service of his father, who could not care less about him, and constantly abuses and neglects Alex to his dying day.

Ethel Cripps

Species: Human

Played by: Joely Richardson, Niamh Walsh (Young)

"The ruby... As you know, it does have the power to make dreams come true. But it also makes nightmares come true. My son, John, took the ruby from me and then the ruby took John."

The mother of John Dee.

Absurdly Youthful Mother: Ethel in the modern day is played by Joely Richardson, who is two years younger than David Thewlis, who plays her son. Justified since her aging has been slowed by magic.
Adaptational Attractiveness:
- Though she was an attractive women in her younger days, Ethel's comic book incarnation was in her nineties by her final appearance and looked the part; in the show, the amulet of protection also halts the aging process, so Ethel appears to be a classy, well-preserved woman in her sixties.
- Also, her amulet. In the books, it was organic enough to look almost identical to an eyeball, complete with a set of horribly wrinkled eyelids; in the show, through it retains the eye motif, the amulet actually looks like a piece of jewelry.
Adaptational Badass: In the comics, she was a Dark Mistress to Ruthven Sykes who merely stole the occult paraphernalia that Ruthven Sykes had already stolen from Roderick Burgess or bought from Hell, before apparently going on to live a relatively normal life with her son. In the show, she is directly responsible for stealing Roderick's occult treasures and selling Dream's helm to Choronzon in exchange for the amulet; furthermore, she's parlayed her skills and treasures into a career as a successful thief.
Adaptation Expansion: In the comic book, she is a very minor character who only features a few scattered appearances and only a few lines of dialogue. Here, her character is much more fleshed out.
Age Lift: Sort of. In the comic she was 90 in the "modern day" and looked every decade of it, here she is actually older, being 116, but looks no older than 60, until she gives John the amulet that was extending her life.
Classy Cat-Burglar: How she's made her fortune, trading in black market ancient artifacts and supernatural trinkets.
Composite Character: In the comics it is Mr. Sykes, Burgess' second in command, who trades away Dream's mask for the amulet of protection after he and Ethel run away together. Here Ethel runs away by herself and she was the one who made the deal.
Disc-One Final Boss: She's introduced as a major player and given a huge hype up over the course of the first 4 episodes, but she ultimately knows that they shouldn't mess anymore with Dream now that he is out. When her son absolutely refuses to hand back the Ruby, she simply gives him her amulet and peacefully passes away, leaving him as the primary antagonist of the first arc of the series
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: She instantly liquefies the Corinthian with her amulet when he tries to attack her, being the only person (other than Dream himself) to best him in the season.
Died in Your Arms Tonight: After relinquishing the amulet to John, Ethel rapidly ages and is held by her son until her last breath.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the comics, she dies of natural causes off-panel following her final visit to John, leaving him her amulet. In the show, where her lifespan has been unnaturally extended far beyond its natural span, she hands the amulet over during said final visit, where she promptly dies without its protection.
Good Stepmother: Well, she's Roderick's mistress, not his wife, but she and Alex notably have a way warmer relationship to each other than either of them has to Roderick.
Karma Houdini: She led a life of crime, theft and scams, trading and scamming extensively with historical artifacts as the supernatural. Her aging was magically slowed down. In the end, she grew nervous when the threat of Dream's return loomed by, but she passed away peacefully in her own rights at the ripe old age of 116.
Mama Bear: Her own admittance of being a "shit mum" aside, Ethel's actions are clearly done through the desire to protect her son. Running away from Roderick when he tried to force her to abort her son, to giving up the amulet of protection which has kept her alive for John. All so her son would no longer need the ruby.
No Immortal Inertia: As her life has been magically extended to 116 years, when she passes her protective amulet to her son, she reverts to her true age and dies within seconds.
Parents as People: She truly loves her son, but due to her criminal career and her need to stay ahead of Roderick Burgess's men, was unable to give him a stable home life, frequently lying to him for his own protection; worse still, she irresponsibly allowed him to use Dream's ruby as a toy, which probably predisposed him to be vulnerable to its worse effects. When she goes to visit him in the hospital, she apologizes for being "such a shit mum".
Pet the Dog: She charmed her way into the Burgess household by being the one person who treated Alex kindly but once she was in the Magus' good graces she continued to be nice to him regardless, proving it was genuine. When she tells Alex that she is pregnant, he reacts with delight and congratulates her.
Precision F-Strike: When John brings up Ethel's past and how she stole from Roderick, she venomously spits that Roderick was a "cunt" who wanted her to abort John.

John Dee

John Dee/Burgess

Species: Human

Played by: David Thewlis

"Unfortunately, good people seldom survive in this world."

The youngest son of Roderick Burgess. He was born to Roderick's mistress Ethel Cripps, despite Roderick's insistence he be aborted.

Adaptational Attractiveness: This version of John Dee is far more pleasant to look at than the walking nightmare corpse of the comics. Given that this iteration doesn't have the problem of not being able to sleep — because the Justice League aren't around to leave him stuck with this problem — he hasn't wasted away from an endless state of exhaustion.
Adaptational Backstory Change: Because the rest of the DC universe hasn’t been adapted alongside the story (likely due to the difficulty inherent in obtaining the rights), John Dee isn’t the supervillain Doctor Destiny, and wasn’t imprisoned in Arkham Asylum by the Justice League.
Adaptational Modesty: In the comic, he's naked until Rosemary gives him a jacket, and for the rest of the storyline he only wore that jacket with nothing underneath. In this version, he wears a modest set of blue striped pajamas, and the Corinthian gives him a coat as well.
Adaptational Mundanity: Downplayed; he was never a supervillain, lacks his comic counterpart's chronic inability to dream, and looks relatively normal in contrast to the demented, skeletal ruin he became in Arkham Asylum. However, his fascination with the Ruby and the power it offers remains consistent, and it's indicated that he has enough occult knowledge to alter the Ruby.
Adaptational Nice Guy:
- In the comics, John was a sadistic psychopath who killed and took the people in the diner hostage mainly For the Evulz and for no reason other than because he could. In the show, he is a lot more sympathetic, and at least has a greater motive of wanting to change the world with Dream's ruby and free people from living a life of lies, even if his methods result in a lot of violence and bloodshed. Dream here even recognizes that the circumstances of his life were not his fault.
- He also murders Rosemary in cold blood in the comic, while here he spares her life, even gifting her with his mother's Amulet of Protection.
Adaptation Personality Change: Lacking the supervillain backstory of the comic, this version of John isn't a megalomaniacal sadistic psychopath out for his own amusement and self-deification, but rather an affable-but-twisted individual obsessed with honesty to the point of madness.
Affably Evil: John is a very polite and mild-mannered individual, but horrible and violent events tend to follow in his wake — a lot of which he enables and claims is in the spirit of setting people free and living life without having to lie.
Apologetic Attacker: After arming himself with the Amulet of Protection, John politely apologizes to a guard standing between him and the exit, before deliberately provoking the guard into opening fire so that the amulet will kill him.
Arc Villain: His rampage is the central focus for "Imperfect Hosts" through "24/7" (episodes 2-5 of the first season), serving as the most powerful and malevolent Unwitting Pawn in the Corinthian's plans to defeat his master.
Berserk Button: He hates lying of any kind, no matter how small. A large part of this stems from his mother being a professional thief and refusing to tell the truth for most of his life.
Black-and-White Insanity: Most of his madness stems from the belief that lying is inherently evil, no matter how small or whatever the reason.
Brutal Honesty: Because of his hatred of lying, John doesn't have much of a filter on what he says, and so he's quite open in acknowledging that he's a murderer freshly escaped from confinement.
Casting Gag: This isn't the first time that David Thewlis has played a DC Villain who thought humans were inherently flawed and needed to be "influenced" into doing what they wanted.
Celebrity Paradox: Jed is a fan of DC Comics. David Thewlis played Ares in Wonder Woman (2017).
Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: He's never refered to as "Doctor Destiny" here, due to not being a supervillain, since the superhero elements from the original were cut in order to tighten the plot structure (and probably because the rights to the original Justice League villain would have been too difficult to obtain).
The Cynic: He states to Rosemary his belief that good people cannot survive for long in the world and when Dream confronts him for the carnage he inflicted at the diner, he argues that people are naturally violent and self-destructive and he simply took away the inhibiting lies.
Disc-One Final Boss: He's the final obstacle in Dream's quest to regain his lost treasures, and his defeat marks the midway point of the season.
Dissonant Serenity: Responds to violence with mild bemusement at best and utter apathy at the worst, to the point that Bette finally realizes that John is to blame for the carnage at the diner when she notices that he's the only one who isn't on their feet and panicking over the recent murder; indeed, he's disinterestedly watching the news and eating ice-cream.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Despite acknowledging Ethel was a bad person, John does love his mother, and mourns her as she dies in his arms.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When his victims at the diner realize he's behind their recent actions and chew him out for it, he's genuinely shocked that they would reject their dishonest nature and refuse to give in to what they wanted. Even if it causes a lot of violence, he'd rather have a world with no lies at all—not realizing that some lies are necessary to ensure society doesn't collapse with people giving in to their darkest impulses (like chopping off their own fingers).
Forced Sleep: After being defeated by Dream, he's spared a violent death on the grounds that he was corrupted by the power of Dream's Ruby from a very early age. Instead, John is returned to the hospital and lulled into a permanent sleep.
Freudian Excuse: During his childhood, his mother was a con artist always on the move who repeatedly had her and John adopt new identities. This clearly did not make for a stable and healthy environment for a child to grow up in, and explains a lot about why John so utterly despises deception. Not to mention, she also let him play with Dream's ruby, which is too powerful for mortals to interact with safely.
Godhood Seeker: When confronting Dream in his realm, he claims the Dreaming as his birthright and that he should be the new King of Dreams in the process of attacking the current one.
Hoist by His Own Petard: He tries to kill Dream with his own ruby and destroys it in the process. Unfortunately for John, that just ends up releasing that power back to Dream and restores him to full strength.
Lean and Mean: He's very tall and thin and a ruthless villain.
Mood-Swinger: Downplayed, as his eerily calm demeanour never changes, but the overall impression he gives off can flip from "doddering old man" to "batshit crazy maniac" in an instant.
Older Than They Look: He was born in 1926, and thanks to the Ruby's influence he and his mother have lived for almost a century; John himself looks only half that age, though Ethel is better preserved thanks to her Amulet of Protection.
Pass the Popcorn: His response to the ruby making everyone in the diner give in to their worst impulses, causing chaos? Eat a tub of ice cream he got from the kitchen.
Pet the Dog: He gives his amulet of protection to Rosemary, the woman he hitchhiked with, since he believes she's a genuinely good person and understands that she only lied to him because she felt afraid.
Pragmatic Adaptation: Since getting the rights to a Justice League supervillain would be too difficult to get legally and wouldn't work well in this adaptation, John is not Doctor Destiny like in the comics.
Psychopathic Manchild: His disrupted upbringing appears to have left him with a mild case of arrested development; his relationship with his mother seems more akin to that of a bitter teenager, he has no filter when it comes to topics of conversation, he's childishly eager to trust Rosemary, doesn't appear to understand why she would be nervous about being alone in a car with a self-confessed murderer, and becomes extremely petulant when his plans go sour. Plus, while the diner patrons abandon their "lies" and start having sex, John helps himself to a massive tub of ice cream, and can be seen eating it even as things get violent.
Politically Correct Villain: Despite having been born in the 1920s and having spent the last thirty years locked up, he's quite open-minded; in "24/7," he assures Judy that nobody in the diner is judging her for being a lesbian, and even subtly plays matchmaker between her and Bette... all while mind-raping the two of them into being more honest.
Sinister Sweet Tooth: In the diner, once the ruby's horrifying effects fully take hold, John walks into the kitchen where Marsh and Garry are having sex and takes out a huge tub of ice cream that he eats. Needless to say, this just reinforces John's Psychopathic Manchild tendencies.
Straw Nihilist: John believes in creating a world devoid of all deception, both the lies we tell each other and the lies we tell ourselves. If doing so ends with humans killing each other, then so be it.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: John hardly looks the part of an honesty-obsessed killer, what with his slightly befuddled appearance and the fact that he's still wearing his pajamas under his coat.
Unwitting Pawn: He is but one of many humans who gets used by the Corinthian to try to dethrone Dream.
Villain Has a Point: He believes people should just be honest about their intentions, no matter how uncomfortable that might be, and his manipulations of the people in the diner does get them to reveal some buried truths about themselves.
Villains Never Lie: Because of his hatred of lying, John is honest to a fault, even spilling details that might hinder his plans during casual conversation.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: His actions are as horrific and cruel as ever, but this incarnation of him is motivated by a desire to rid the world of dishonesty.

Acquaintances of Dream

Johanna Constantine II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/constantine_sandman_2022.png

Species: Human

Played by: Jenna Coleman

A modern day Occult Detective living in London, who comes to encounter the Lord of Dreams during an investigation into strange happenings.

Adaptational Attractiveness: While John Constantine isn't supposed to be ugly, Johanna seems far more groomed and professionally put-together than the Blue-Collar Warlock of the comics.
Adaptational Jerkass: At least as regards her part in this story. In the comics John Constantine's ex Rachel left him without warning and stole the Dream Sand, leaving him broadly blameless for what then happened to her. Johanna Constantine was the one who left Rachel and carelessly forgot to take the Sand with her, making the results at least partially her fault.
Anti-Hero: As expected from an adaptation of John Constantine. She's snarky, selfish, has commitment issues, and isn't exactly the nicest person but she's not heartless and does do the right things in the end.
Arbitrary Skepticism: She doesn't believe in the existence of Dream, despite being involved in the occult. Justified, as Dream's been in captivity since before her great-grandparents would've been born, so before meeting him she had little reason to believe that Dream would be around in the present day.
But Not Too Bi: Averted. She's openly bi like her Spear Counterpart. Her ex Rachel is shown in full and she alludes to previous girlfriends and boyfriends.
Canon Foreigner: A semi-example. Lady Johanna Constantine in the comics is the ancestor of John Constantine; however due to the rights for the character being dedicated to a different show in development, he's been Adapted Out along with the various other DC superheroes who made an appearance. The modern-day Johanna Constantine is an Identical Descendant that fills his role in the show, which was a choice made to avoid new viewer confusion about her and her identical ancestor.
Dark and Troubled Past: She wouldn't be a Constantine if she didn't have a heaping helping of this. Like in most adaptations of the character, during her "Mucous Membrane" days members of her punk-rock band fiddled and toyed with the Dark Arts, culminating in the summoning of a powerful demon, whom would eventually claim the soul of the young Astra Logue. Constantine's failure in saving her drives her every action, and haunts her every dream.
Deadpan Snarker: As is standard for any incarnation of Constantine.
Gender Flip: Since the original Johanna is retained in the show as an acquaintance of Dream's from the 18th century, her modern descendant is essentially just a female version of John Constantine, gaining his role in the original comic and most of his relevant backstory.
Hero of Another Story: An experienced exorcist who has had numerous clashes with demons and adventures unrelated to Dream, and if her life is anything like that of John Constantine in Hellblazer she may have been the one to kill the Family Man.
Identical Grandson: She shares the name and appearance of her ancestor from the 18th century Lady Johanna Constantine.
Insufferable Genius: As an occult detective she’s extremely effective and she knows it, unfortunately her inflated ego and snarky attitude tends to rub certain people the wrong way.
My Greatest Failure: As in the comics, Astra Logue being Dragged Off to Hell at Newcastle, an incident which continues to haunt her nightmares.
Noodle Incident: Judging from her conversation with Ric the Vic, she's had a few jobs involving the British Royal Family and they apparently went pretty poorly.
Truer to the Text: In the case of pronunciation of the surname. Unlike the previous live-action iterations of the character, the show uses the comics-accurate pronunciation of "Constantine". ^noteWith the "tine" pronounced like "nine" rather than the more common "teen" (like "tangerine") used in most adaptations.
- Overall, Johanna is a really accurate adaptation of Hellblazer!John himself, even if they have their differences. Just like any other Constantine, she's an almost-cynical dark arts smart-mouth with a penchant of poking beings more powerful than she is. Unlike Keanu Reeves!John or Matt Ryan!John and animated adaptations, however, Johanna possesess Hellblazer!John's own flaws, being selfish, escaping from relationships without a trace, sleeping on her couch, and overall living with a depressive loner attitude. She is also shown to have been a punk fan when she was younger, going to a bar that it's implied she frequented with Astra's dad and her other friends. Also, a quick line makes it known to us that she also dated her universe's Kit Ryan (even earlier than Hellblazer's John!). No sign yet if she's an alcoholic and chain smoker too, but so far she's been shown to be a very accurate comics!Constantine.

Lady Johanna Constantine I

Species: Human

Played by: Jenna Coleman

"I'm Lady Johanna Constantine. You will both follow me, sirs. My coach is without. I can see there is so much you can tell me. So much I can learn."

An 18th century occultist who first encounters Dream in one of his meetings with Gadling.

Bullying a Dragon: Is under the impression that a pair of knife-wielding mooks and a haughty attitude will be enough to intimidate who she thinks are the Devil and an immortal. She's very quickly proven wrong.
Didn't Think This Through: Her entire plan to coerce what she knows are a pair of immortals is to threaten to stab them. Putting everything else aside such as what other powers they might have, or combat experience, threatening immortals with death seems rather futile.
Enemy Mine: After unsuccessfully threatening Dream into giving her immortality he later mentions she went on to work for him, complimenting her on her proficiency.
Hero of Another Story: We only see her once attempting to strongarm Dream into giving her immortality in the same way as Hob but Dream's further comments say she went on to do various jobs for him and had similar adventures to her comic counterpart.
Immortality Seeker: Her motivation for attempting to kidnap Dream and Hob is to get them to share the secrets of immortality with her.
Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Dream refuses to cooperate with Johanna Constantine on their first meeting, but she apparently did a task for him since then that changed his attitude towards her. Unfortunately, we may have to wait until season 3 for the adaptation of Thermidor.
Pride Before a Fall: She is a formidable, resourceful and determined woman. Unfortunately she’s also arrogant enough to believe that wealth and status puts you on equal footing with an immortal super-being. Morpheus quickly disabuses her of that notion.
The Proud Elite: Although she’s introduced as a haughty aristocrat Morpheus later reveals that she acquitted herself admirably in a task he set for her, earning his respect.
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections! / Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: She seems to believe that, as person of significant means and standing, she can circumvent not only human laws (by kidnapping two people), but also laws of nature (by becoming immortal).
Truer to the Text: Unlike the previous live-action iterations of the character, the show uses the correct pronunciation of "Constantine".

Nada

Played by: Deborah Oyelade

Species: Human

"I will not give up hope... I will never give up hope!"

A former leader of a tribe called the "First People" thousands of years ago and an ex-lover of Dream's.

Broken Bird: Averted. One would expect her to be this after ten millennia in Hell but her refusal to let go of her hope that she will be freed has kept her sane.
The Determinator: States she will never give up hope that Dream will release her from Hell, even after being there for ten thousand years.
Divine Date: Is a human who was once romantically involved with Dream, thousands of years later he still professes to love her.
The High Queen: The sole monarch of an ancient tribe known as the First People and even after centuries in Hell she retains her dignity and grace.

Hob Gadling

Robert "Hob" Gadling

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sandman_hob.png

Species: Human

Played by: Ferdinand Kingsley

"The only reason people die is because everyone does it."

A man who is the subject of a bet between Dream and Death leading to his immortality.

A God I Am Not: During their meet-up in the 18th century, Lady Constantine barges in under the belief that Hob is The Wandering Jew and Dream is Satan.
Dream: "I am no devil."
Hob: "And I'm not Jewish."
Bait-and-Switch: During his 1689 meeting, he goes on a spiel about how everything in his life went to shit and how much he hated the previous 80 years. When Dream asks if he still wants to live, Hob whimpers out "Are you crazy?" with an expression of despair before saying "Death is a mug's game. I've got so much to live for."
Be Careful What You Wish For: He loudly proclaims that unlike everyone else, he wasn't going to die, not knowing that Death and Dream overhear the conversation, with Death granting his wish in amusement. This is all averted when nearly six centuries later, Hob still doesn't regret his immortality and assures Dream he still "has so much to live for".
Been There, Shaped History: Very downplayed. Hob has been around several notable historical events; he fought in multiple wars in the Late Middle Ages, he was one of the earliest people working in printing, became a knight and landowner of significant enough standing during the Elizabethan era that the Queen stayed at his estate for a night, took part in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, etc. However this was mostly him being caught up in events and movements much larger than himself and not of his making, with him generally being more or less a cog in the machine.
Burn the Witch!: After the death of his wife and son, a grieving Hob shut himself away from the world in his estate and stopped taking precautions that would prevent people from noticing that he doesn't age and is immortal. Sure enough, staying in one place for too long resulted in people accusing him of being a witch and (unsuccessfully) attempting to drown him.
Complete Immortality: He is un-aging and cannot be killed by any known means. It is, however, implied that he could die if he wanted to, something he has said will never happen^{From the comics...}.
Death Seeker: Averted. The bet begins because Dream predicts he WILL be this trope, but at every opportunity, despite some truly horrific lows brought on by his endless life, he reaffirms just how much he wants to live.
Deliberate Values Dissonance: He worked in shipping during the slave trade. He's not sadistic about it, but he does treat it as "just the way things are". Dream counsels him to rethink this mindset.
"There's a new system where they take English cotton goods to Africa, get a cargo of negroes, pack 'em in like sardines. Same ship takes them across the Atlantic, then comes back here with raw cotton, tobacco, and sugar."
Heterosexual Life-Partners: Played with (as Dream really can't be literally described as either heterosexual or a man), but this is the kind of friendship he and Dream form: bonding over centuries, when they fight it is played almost like a break-up, and during the meeting Dream missed, Hob describes himself as having been "stood up".
Immortality Hurts: His one complaint about immortality is that he can still feel pain, at one point talking about how painful it is to survive starving to death.
Living Forever Is Awesome: Even at his very lowest, having lost his family and fortune, he still believes he has everything to live for.
"Are you kidding me? Death is a mug's game, I've got so much to live for!"
My Grandson, Myself: Has pretended to be his own son multiple times in order to explain away his agelessness.
Odd Friendship: With Dream — despite Dream's initial horror at the notion that he could be friends with a mortal,^*For certain values of the word he does come to admit that they are.
Only Known by Their Nickname: When Dream first meets Hob, his friends refer to him by his nickname, whereas Dream refers to him as Robert. But as years go on, Dream starts to call him Hob as well.
Outliving One's Offspring: While it comes with his immortal life span, when Hobs meets Dream again after becoming a beggar he tearfully recounts how his wife died in childbirth with their unborn child, and his twenty year old son had died in a bar fight.
Pals with Jesus: He considers Morpheus a friend, a sentiment the Endless eventually returns.
Politically Incorrect Hero: Hob’s a Nice Guy, but gets involved in the Atlantic slave trade and casually talks to Dream about shipping slaves. He’s not viciously racist, but sees nothing wrong with it until Dream points out how he’s depriving people of their freedom to choose for themselves.
The Pollyanna: Even after losing his family and wealth and becoming a beggar, he still feels like he has so much to live for.
Really Gets Around: Likely played for laughs. In the 1500s, after showing a portrait of his wife and child to Dream, he jokes that it's likely the only child he's aware of siring.
Riches to Rags: At the 1589 meeting, Hob is a wealthy knight with a family and estate who once hosted Queen Elizabeth herself. By the 1689 meeting, a series of unfortunate events and getting too cocky with his immortality have cost him everything and reduced him to a starving beggar. He takes it in stride and is back on his feet by 1789.
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: After 400 years of acquaintance, it is the news that Hob has gotten into the transatlantic slavery business that prompts Dream to give him advice on what he should do with his life, as he finds it particularly distasteful. Hob can choose what to do with his own immortal life, whereas slavery involves depriving people of choice. The fact it's the first time Dream has done so since they first met clearly gives Hob pause.
You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: The few times Dream refers to him as "Robert Gadling", is when he's being very serious about the advice he's giving his companion. Such as him persuading Hob to find a new occupation that doesn't deal in slave trade.

Walker Family and Associates

Unity Kincaid

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sandman_unity.png

Species: Human

Played by: Sandra James Young

"You're dreaming, darling. Anything is possible."

A woman who has recently awoken from a coma-like sleep.

Adaptation Name Change: A minor version, but in the comics Unity's last name is Kinkaid, while here it's spelled Kincaid.
Adventures in Comaland: While suffering from the sleeping sickness she had a very vivid dream life, including a golden-eyed lover with whom she had a child. The child turns out to have been real, and quietly put up for adoption by her family immediately after delivery.
Composite Character: In her introductory scene, she is shown reading Through the Looking Glass before succumbing to sleeping sickness, just like Ellie Marsten in the comic.
Divine Date: Desire seduced and impregnated her in her dreams.
Heroic Sacrifice: Upon learning both Rose's identity as the "Dream Vortex" and what Morpheus must do to save the Dreaming, Unity immediately and without hesitation volunteers to take Rose's place.
Hijacked Destiny: Unity was meant to be the once-in-a-generation vortex, but when Dream is captured by Burgess, she is plunged into a coma-like sleep for a century. Desire manipulates her into giving birth to a baby who then goes on to give birth to Miranda Walker, who gives birth to Rose Walker, who ends up being a vortex. It's not until Unity reads the book on what her life should have been that she realizes the truth about her destiny.
Older Than They Look: She's over 100 years old, but looks to be in her 60s at the outside. Justified Trope because she's been asleep nearly her entire life, and so hasn't developed the wrinkles that one with a lifetime of experiences would.
Outliving One's Offspring: Unity has outlived both her daughter and granddaughter by the time she meets her great-grand-daughter Rose.
Related Differently in the Adaptation: Due to Dream's imprisonment lasting thirty years longer than in the comic there's an additional generation between her and Rose and Jed, making her their great-grandmother rather than just grandmother.
Sole Survivor: Unity happens to be the very last person living (as of the time of the storyline) who endured the "sleeping sickness pandemic", and she only awoke the year/moment Dream was released from his prison.

Rose Walker

Species: Human

Played by: Kyo Ra

"Maybe that's what life is. Just a series of interruptions."

A young woman searching for her brother, she also happens to be a "dream vortex", a being who can cause great harm to the Dreaming and the foundations of the universe itself.

Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Rose is far more upbeat and positive here than she was in the comics, despite arguably having an even worse deal with the early loss of her mother.
Adaptational Badass: In the original comics, she has to be rescued from muggers by Gilbert; in the show, she manages to fend off one of them while Gilbert wards off the other. She's also a lot more aware of what's going on in this version; she knows about being a vortex and plays a more active role in her own story than in the comics, where she could slide into Pinball Protagonist.
Adaptational Friendship: In the comics, Rose didn't meet Lyta Hall until well after the events of The Doll's House, and even then she was merely her babysitter. Here, she and Lyta are friends from the start, and at the end of the first season she and Jed have taken on a Found Family vibe with Lyta and her newborn son.
Adaptational Nice Guy: In the comics, Rose was a bit of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold; an overall decent and moral person, but often sour-faced, extremely judgmental, and with a tendency towards getting so wrapped up in herself she ignored other people's problems. Here, she's overall more open and accepting, and her main motivation is to protect her loved ones.
Barrier Maiden: As a dream vortex, she is this for the Dreaming itself. She's able to create dream worlds, but she may however accidentally destroy them, and the Dreaming itself, without knowing it.
Big Sister Instinct: Spends the whole first season desperately searching for her little brother after he fell into the foster care system due to her late father's custodial kidnapping.
Divine Parentage: Desire is her great-grandparent.
Dream Walker: Due to being a dream vortex she can enter other people's dreams, and break down the barriers between them. This also makes her name a Stealth Pun.
Nice Girl: Unlike the the comics she's a much nicer, happier person, gets along well with everyone and is quick to make friends at the boarding house.
Older Than They Look: She is 21 years old, but due to her youthful appearance, many people assume that she is a minor, to the point of mentioning that they always ask for her ID when she wants to enter a bar.
Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Her actress' natural British accent can be heard slipping through on a few occasions.
Obliviously Superpowered: Has no idea that she's actually a dream vortex, even though her powers are already active by her first proper appearance in the series. Given that being a vortex only makes her a Dream Walker (at first), she naturally chalks up her experiences to jetlag-induced dreams. After Rose accidentally transports herself into Dream's throne room, Morpheus explains the situation to her, but it's not until she meets Matthew the Raven in the waking world - where he's just as capable of speech as he was in her dreams - that she's finally able to confirm that everything she's discovered in her dreams, including her power, was real.
Race Lift: Caucasian in the comics, African-American in the show.
Related Differently in the Adaptation: Due to the Adaptational Timespan Change, she is Unity Kincaid's great-granddaughter rather than her granddaughter.

Jed Walker

Species: Human

Played by: Eddie Karanja

Rose's younger brother who fell into the foster care system after their parents divorced.

Adaptational Badass: Much like his sister, Jed's a lot more active and involved in his own story than the Broken Bird Jed of the comic — he's quite the Determinator, never giving up hope no matter how bad his situation gets. It might have something to do with how his dreamworld is very different — in the comic, Jed was the Tagalong Kid to a friendly but not altogether sane superhero in a surreal, colorful but vaguely nightmarish Crapsaccharine World, and it was all set up by Brute and Glob, who clearly didn't care about him at all and just used him as a convenient host for their dreams. Here, Jed's dreamworld is a much more positive Heroic Fantasy where he is the superhero who always saves the day, and it's handled by Gault, who actually cares for him and wants him to be happy. Perhaps not so odd that he's more of a go-getter in this version.
Big Eater: When he's allowed to eat what he likes, he can eat a lot. He apparently quickly scarfed down an ice cream cone, with the Corinthian laughing and asking if Jed wants another one. At the hotel, he orders a plate covered in chicken fingers.
Cheerful Child: Though he's capable of angst and terror, Jed is surprisingly cheery and optimistic even after everything he's had to go though.
Composite Character: He takes on elements of the Hector Hall version of Sandman, costume and everything. Hector does appear in the show, but he never takes on the mantle of the Sandman.
Divine Parentage: Desire is his great-grandparent.
Morality Pet:
- He serves as such for Gault, who wanted to become a dream to keep him safe, instead of just a nightmare that could do nothing but hurt or frighten people.
- Subverted for the Corinthian, who, though being superficially kind to him, is only interested in using him as a tool to manipulate Rose, who is the one he's really after.
Race Lift: Like Rose, he's Caucasian in the comics and African-American in the show.
Trademark Favorite Food: Chicken fingers. According to Rose, when he was younger that was all he ever wanted to eat, and even now they seem to be his go-to food whenever he has a choice.
Trauma Conga Line: Victim of custodial interference by his father for no other reason than to spite his mother for leaving, must watch as his sister and mother leave him behind, that same father dies and because of his interference he is sent to foster care rather than with his loving mother, his foster father abuses and tortures him while his foster mother is too afraid to interfere, his mother dies without him ever being able to see her again and finally he is "rescued" from all this by a rogue nightmare who takes him to a convention of serial killers, one of which tries to make him their next victim.

Lyta Hall

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sandman_lyta.png

Species: Human

Played by: Razane Jammal

"When you lose your parents, you suddenly realize it wasn't gravity keeping you on the ground all this time. It was knowing you were someone's daughter, or sister...or wife in my case."

Rose's neighbor and friend who began taking care of her unofficially when her mother died.

Adaptational Dye-Job: Blonde in the comics, brunette here.
Adaptational Friendship: The comic Lyta and Rose were not nearly as close — Rose did appear as the babysitter of Lyta's son, but not much came of that connection. Here, they are portrayed as True Companions who have become like family after the deaths of her husband and Rose's mother.
Adaptational Mundanity: In the comics, she was descended from the Amazons (even being the daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor in one version) and a member of superteam Infinity, Inc. under the codename Fury before the events of The Sandman. Because other DC elements haven't been incorporated into the show, this version of Lyta was just a normal widow before her association with Rose led to the supernatural shenanigans she winds up in.^note
Adaptational Species Change: Depending on Lyta Hall's origin in the comics, she should either be part Amazon or descended from the Greek Furies. In the series, she is to all appearances a completely mundane human being.
Adaptational Wimp: Lacks the Super-Strength, Super-Speed and Nigh-Invulnerability of her comic book equivalent.
Dead Person Conversation: Has many of these with her late husband Hector.
Erotic Dream: Her dreams with Hector increasingly turn in this direction, resulting in the Mystical Pregnancy mentioned below.
The Lost Lenore: Her husband Hector. She still grieves for him and fantasizes about them being together.
Mystical Pregnancy: After having sex with her husband in their shared dream, Lyta finds herself visibly pregnant despite not being so the day before. Rose, Lucienne, and Matthew quickly conclude it's because of Rose being the vortex, and it's the first indication that the walls between the waking world and the Dreaming are breaking down.

Hector Hall

Species: Human

Played by: Lloyd Everitt

"You should be out living your actual life. Not having ghost-sex with your dead husband."

Lyta's deceased husband.

Adaptational Mundanity: In the comics, he was the son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and a superhero known as the Silver Scarab, the Sandman, and Doctor Fate. Because other DC elements haven't been incorporated into the show, this version of Hector was just a normal person.
Adaptation Personality Change: A bit of Adaptational Intelligence and Adaptational Nice Guy. In the comics, he is the one cosplaying as the superheroic "Sandman" who protects Jed Walker's dreams, instead of Jed being the Sandman himself, and is depicted as a Leeroy Jenkins and The Ditz. In the show, he is Lyta's caring, sensitive husband.
Dead Person Conversation: Has many of these with Lyta after his death.
Our Ghosts Are Different: The Hector that appears to Lyta in the Dreaming is more than just a dream or a memory, Dream directly refers to him as a ghost avoiding his afterlife by sneaking into the Dreaming, meaning this is the actual soul of the real Hector Hall, not just an illusion.
Race Lift: Portrayed in the comics as a blond Caucasian but portrayed in the series as a mixed race black man with dark curly hair.

Barnaby and Clarice

Species: Human

Played by: Sam Hazeldine (Barnaby) and Lisa O'Hare (Clarice)

Clarice: If you don't want him here, we can give him back.
Barnaby: I'm not giving back $800 a month.

Jed's foster parents.

Abusive Parents: Barnaby is abusive both verbally and physically, while Clarice is abusive by inaction and enabling Barnaby's behaviour despite showing some sympathy to Jed.
Adaptational Nice Guy: Clarice, a little bit. While she does nothing to help Jed when she could she does seem to be bothered by her husband abusing him and is threatened by him herself, neither of which were true in the comics version.
Adaptational Jerkass: Barnaby. He's every bit the same abusive monster to Jed in the comics but there it is implied he is only keeping Jed around due to Brute and Glob influencing his mind and he otherwise would have given him up. Here he's keeping him for the money and there is no evidence of any supernatural influence on him. He is also abusive to his wife here while the comics Barnaby was not.
Asshole Victim: They're both murdered by the Corinthian, and neither the narrative or the other characters dwell on it much, being entirely focused upon the potential danger Jed is in. Barnaby definitely had it coming for his abuse of Jed. Clarice gets treated with a little more sympathy though not much; although she was a nicer person than her husband she was complicit in the abuse because she never tried to intervene, even when she had an opportunity to escape with Jed.
Fostering for Profit: Barnaby primarily took Jed in for the monthly payments of $800 and can't be bothered to care for him otherwise.
Hate Sink: Barnaby is an abusive, greedy bastard who only houses Jed for the $800 a month and often beats the boy and locks him in the cellar whenever Jed tries to do something. Clarice doesn't quite count, as even though she's complicit in the abuse, she clearly does feel sympathy for Jed but is too scared to do anything.
Unrelated in the Adaptation: Clarice was the cousin of Rose and Jed's father in the comics.
Useless Bystander Parent: Barnaby is physically abusive to their foster son Jed. His wife Clarice is clearly bothered by it but can't muster up the courage to help Jed out.

Hal

Hal Carter

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sandman_hal.png

Species: Human

Played by: John Cameron Mitchell

"But if Broadway called tomorrow, I would sell this fսcking house. And I would never think about any of these people ever again."

A washed-up actor who now runs a bed and breakfast in Florida.

All Gays Love Theater: He's openly gay and aspired to be a Broadway star.
Casting Gag: Hiring John Cameron Mitchell, the creator of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, to play Hal, an aspiring Broadway actor and drag queen.
Drag Queen: He sings and does drag at a local bar.
Large Ham: He's pretty theatrical as one would expect given who plays him.
Pair the Spares: In the finale he's revealed to have started a relationship with Rose's friend Carl. Both he and Carl had encountered, and been sexually/romantically interested in, the Corinthian.
Waiting for a Break: He had to put his Broadway aspirations on hold and now runs a bed and breakfast in his grandmother's old house. He's friendly, but bluntly tells Rose he'd leave it all behind if he could go back to New York. As of the finale, he's giving it another shot.

Chantal and Zelda

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sandman_candz.png

Species: Human

Played by: Cara Horgan (Chantal) and Daisy Badger (Zelda)

"Nobody understands but Chantal. Chantal comes along, shows me she's my soul sister. Me and her are gothic heroines, secret brides to the faceless slaves of the nameless night of the castle of dread desire."

— Zelda

Two of Hal's tenants, an eccentric pair of women.

Ambiguously Gay: They live together with no boyfriends or husbands in sight. The idea is entertained that they might be lovers but nothing is ever confirmed.
Ambiguously Related: They're always seen together; nobody knows if or how they're related.
Rose: Are they...
Hal: Sisters? Mother, daughter? Lovers? Nobody knows. But I feel knowing would somehow ruin it.
Consistent Clothing Style: They wear matching black gown, veil, and taxidermied spider ensembles in every occasion. Lampshaded when Rose worries that she's underdressed for an event and Chantal cheerfully tells her "No, we always look this way!"
Cute Mute: Zelda is an Elective Mute who communicates exclusively through Chantal via whispering in her ear; the only point in which she's heard to speak out loud is in her dreams.
Kitsch Collection: They're an eccentric pair of goths who, appropriately, "possess the largest collection of stuffed spiders in private hands on the Eastern Seaboard".
Perky Goth: Chantal more than Zelda; neither is really the morose stereotype, but Chantal especially is quite outgoing, upbeat and friendly.
Those Two Guys: Never seen apart except for in their dreams, where it's shown why they work so well as a duo. Chantal does all the talking for Zelda and in turn Zelda gives Chantal the confidence she had lacked previously.

Ken

Species: Human

Played by: Richard Fleeshman

A handsome man in a relationship with a woman named Barbie, both of whom are Hal's tenants.

Adaptational Nice Guy: Possibly. In the show we see him flirt with other women and dream about cheating on Barbie but it's not clear if he's actually cheating on her. In the comic he certainly was. Additionally comic Ken, after waking up from the Vortex experience, said terrible things to Barbie (as opposed to show Ken, who seems apologetic despite it being a dream) and his sexual dreams in the comic were rather more violent and disturbing.
Mistaken for Cheating: Played With. When Rose inadvertently drags all of her housemates into a Shared Dream, Barbie ends up witnessing Ken's dreams of cheating on her with another woman; the first cracks in their relationship.
Mr. Fanservice: Ken, who's very physically fit, gets an extended scene where he dreams of Barbie locking him out of their car while he's completely naked, implied to be because of infidelity on his part.
Stepford Smiler: He and Barbie act like a perfect couple but from their dreams it's clear that there's trouble in paradise. Towards the end of the series this starts to bleed over into their waking life as well.
Theme Naming: They're named Ken and Barbie, and immediately comment that they've heard all the jokes.

Barbie

Species: Human

Played by: Lily Travers

"So many lives lost, Martin Tenbones. And because of what? A confection of spun silver and rose quartz."

A statuesque woman in a relationship with a man named Ken, both tenants of Hal's. She dreams often of adventures in a distant, fantastical land...

Expy: Her entire dream is a spoof of High Fantasy works such as The Wizard of Oz and Narnia, with her as the "Dorothy".
Hero of Another Story: In the few glimpses we see of Barbie's dream adventures with Martin Tenbones we learn of several enemies she's vanquished, quests she's undertaken and hints of several other supporting characters who have both entered and exited her story in a dramatic fashion.
Hidden Depths: Despite her aggressively normal borderline-Stepford Wife behaviour, Barbie has a surprisingly imaginative dreamlife in which she and a strange creature known as Martin Tenbones adventure through a fantasy kingdom; by contrast, Ken's dreams are centred almost entirely around sex.
Theme Naming: They're named Barbie and Ken, and immediately comment that they've heard all the jokes.

The Cereal Convention

In General

An annual convention for serial killers to meet and trade tips/tricks.

Adapted Out: Several of the more colorfully-named ones from the comics, perhaps most notably the questionably-named Dog Soup.
Criminal Convention: The unsubtly-named "Cereal Convention."
Death by Adaptation: None of them were explicitly shown to die in the comic, but here a couple of them most definitely do, such as Nimrod (who is Driven to Suicide) and Fun Land (who is killed by the Corinthian for going after Jed).
Dies Differently in Adaptation: The Boogieman who Philip Sitz tried to impersonate was originally killed by Swamp-Thing, but with the hero seemingly absent in this universe it's instead implied that the Corinthian murdered him.
Faux Affably Evil: Most of them are capable of displaying some level of friendliness and manners, even if it is only on a superficial level.
For the Evulz: Played with. Corinthian describes that they do not kill for money or revenge, but simply because they love to kill, yet some members are shown to use excuses such as religion.
The Ghost: The oft-mentioned "Family Man", intended to be the convention's guest of honor, is unable to attend the convention for unknown reasons. In the original comic this was because John Constantine killed him (in the pages of Hellblazer), but whether that holds true for Johanna here is ambiguous.
Go Mad from the Revelation: After Dream destroys the Corinthian he gives them all a "The Reason You Suck" Speech and makes them realize what monsters they truly are.
Heel Realization: Dream forces this on them by taking away their ability to fantasize that their actions have any justification or greater meaning.
Insistent Terminology: They are "collectors," not serial killers. This distinction is not one of personal preference, but rather one for the sake of allowing them to talk about their "business" in plain sight.
Jack the Ripoff: The con organizers have the idea of attracting the Corinthian's attention by copying his style (something Nimrod finds to be appalling plagiarism).
Lack of Empathy: Something that is robbed from them by Dream, who forces them to confront what they've done on a mystical level.
Loony Fan: They're all big fans of the Corinthian, with Gilbert referring to them as a "cult." They have their own Loony Fan in the form of Philip Sitz.
My God, What Have I Done?: Dream forces this trope upon them by taking away the comforting daydreams they use to justify their actions.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Enforced by the convention rules, no real names in case law enforcement gets a guest list.
Pragmatic Villainy: Zig-zagged: the convention rules include a ban on "collecting" until the attendees are a good distance away from the con, showing that the convention organizers have pragmatic restraints on their murderous urges; but the killers themselves explicitly state that they don't kill for practical reasons like money, but for the thrill of it, and Fun Land in particular impulsively decides to attack Jed Walker.
Serial Killer: They euphemistically call themselves "Collectors," presumably from their habits of taking "souvenirs" from their victims.
- The Corinthian prefers to kill young gay males, often seducing them first, and once they're dead removes and eats their eyeballs.
- The Good Doctor kills people by removing their organs.
- Fun Land "hunts" prepubescent children at amusement parks.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Many of the Collectors look quite bland and everyday - even the few who've dressed up for the convention; Nimrod in particular looks like an aging accountant and is almost never seen without his clipboard (in which he hides a knife). It's for this reason that Gilbert and Rose don't suspect anything of the Cereal Convention until the former gets close enough to hear what's actually being discussed...
Uncertain Doom: Nimrod is shown killing himself and the Good Doctor turns herself in but the fates of the rest of them after Dream opens their minds to their evil nature are not revealed.
Would Hurt a Child: Besides the presence of Fun Land, there's a killer attending the con with the name tag "Hello Little Girl", and Rose also swipes the name tag of a killer whose moniker is "The Babysitter", both of which imply this trope.

Nimrod

Species: Human

Played by: Kerry Shale

A older Serial Killer who skins his victims and sews their skin into garments.

Composite Character: In the comic, using his victim’s skin for leather was the Doctor’s MO.
Driven to Suicide: Shoots himself after Dream takes away their fantasy.
Even Evil Has Standards: He hates the idea of copying another "collector," finding it tantamount to plagiarism.
Evil Old Folks: He's an elderly man that hunts down his targets and ends up making leather with their skins.
Faux Affably Evil: Polite, soft-spoken and legitimately seems insulted at the notion of "plagiarizing" the work of other Serial Killers. He's also a brutal murderer who hunts down his victims and makes leather of thier skins and takes pride in considering himself something of a legendary hunter. The best example of his Faux Affably Evil character is when he addresses the convention and explains the rules, namely don't "collect" anyone until the convention is over and one of the attendees loudly and jokingly says "Aww!" to the assembly's amusement. For a moment, Nimrod gives a chilling Death Glare at the interruption before hitching a polite smile onto his face. A horrifying reminder that this old man can and has killed people for much milder transgressions.
Insistent Terminology: Is the most adamant about not being referred to as "serial killers" but instead as "Collectors".
Meaningful Name: Named after the biblical hunter who was an "affront to God".
Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is never revealed.
Pragmatic Villainy: As he points outs: "We don't shit where we eat", so he makes it clear to the attendees of the "Cereal Convention" that they are not allowed to do any 'collecting' until the convention is over and they're at least 200 miles away. In a darker take, his teamwork killing of Philip Sitz alongside The Corinthian and The Good Doctor also counts as an example of this despite the fact that the glee he feels in doing the act is all about him having the chance to share a murder with the legendary serial killer: letting Philip go free, especially now that he knows about the "Cereal Convention", in order to track him down later would be a rather stupid move on his part, so killing him in the hotel is the most pragmatic thing for him to do so.
Squee: Already flush with excitement over being able to attract the Corinthian as the guest of honour, Nimrod and the Good Doctor practically giggle with joy at the prospect of sharing a murder with the legendary serial killer.

The Good Doctor

Species: Human

Played by: Jill Winternitz

A medically skilled Serial Killer who dissects her victims alive.

Deadly Doctor: It's uncertain if she's really a licensed medical doctor, but she uses medical equipment in her killings and is known as the "good doctor".
Gender Flip: The Good Doctor was an old man in the comics, here she's a woman.
Heel Realization: As with all the other serial killers at the convention, she has this after Dream forces her to realize the impact of what she's done. She's last seen calling 911 to confess to her crimes.
Meaningful Name: Uses medical techniques and equipment in her kills.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Her real name is never revealed.
Ship Tease: Shares some flirty exchanges with the Corinthian.
Squee: Already flush with excitement over being able to attract the Corinthian as the guest of honour, Nimrod and the Good Doctor practically giggle with joy at the prospect of sharing a murder with the legendary serial killer.

Fun Land

Species: Human

Played by: Danny Kirrane

A Serial Killer who specifically targets minors, escpecially young boys.

Adaptational Villainy: Downplayed. Both versions of Fun Land are horrible child murderers, and his comic incarnation is a pedophile to boot, but in having him killed by the Corinthian rather than forcibly put to sleep by Dream, the series removes the humanizing effects of his dream of playing happily in Arcadia with the children he has murdered, expressing remorse for his horrible crimes and trying to apologize to them.
Adaptational Wimp: While he's still a threatening child murderer, he's less scary-looking than he was in the comic and dies here, instead of just being put into a trance.
Animal Motifs: Wolves. He sports a black cap with pointy wolf ears, scruffy beard, and t-shirt with a picture of a cartoon wolf on it, and brags about meeting the actor who voiced "the Big Bad Wolf." It's downplayed compared to the comics, though.
Berserk Button: Shortening Fun Land's moniker to "Fun."
Death by Adaptation: In the original comic, Morpheus simply incapacitates him by making him dream. Here, the Corinthian kills him.
Fat Bastard: Is an overweight child killer.
Hate Sink: A child murderer who lurks at theme parks and gets close to hurting Jed. It's honestly a relief when he's killed by the Corinthian before Jed and Rose can be harmed.
Laughing Mad: Unleashes a psychotic giggle as he chases after the Walker siblings.
Meaningful Name: Targets children and in particular implies he does most of his "work" at amusement parks.
Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is never revealed.
Psychopathic Manchild: Fun Land has traces of this, with accent on the "psychopathic" part. He's got a distinctly childish attitude and will get violent if you cross him.
Would Hurt a Child: Fun Land only targets children.

Philip Sitz

Species: Human

Played by: Lewis Reeves

A serial killer fanboy who infiltrates the cereal convention.

Asshole Victim: He learned about a mass-gathering of serial killers and instead of notifying law enforcement, chose to sneak in because he's a big fan and hopes to become a serial killer himself one day. It's hard to feel bad when this bites him in the ass.
Big Bad Wannabe: Philip claims this as his motivation for impersonating the Boogieman and sneaking into the Cereal Convention, he wants to learn to be a killer.
Gone Horribly Right: His plan to meet serial killers doesn't go quite as he'd had in mind.
Jack the Ripoff: He is impersonating a deceased serial killer known as "The Boogieman".
Kiss of Death: Thinks he's about to hook up with his hero the Corinthian...they get as far as a heated kiss when the other shoe drops.
Laser-Guided Karma: Philip is a serial killer fanboy who snuck into a convention full of serial killers... and got killed.
Loony Fan: Philip is obsessed with serial killers and running a blog called "the Chaste" about them, and then sneaks into the convention to learn about them... and gets a first-hand lesson as to why this is a very stupid idea.
Too Dumb to Live: Beyond the fact that he sneaked into an serial killer's convention under a false identity, there is also the fact that he self-promoted himself with the Corinthian using a blog with his real name on it.

Other Humans

Ric the Vic

Ericka / Ric the Vic

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rickthevicfilm.png

Species: Human

Played by: Meera Syal

A Vicar and an old associate of Johanna Constantine, often employing her for her "services" as an exorcist.

Gender Flip: Ric was a mustachioed man in the Hellblazer comics, while here she's a woman.
Race Lift: While Ric was white in the comics, here she's played by a woman of Indian Punjabi descent.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: Ric believes the princess is possessed by a demon, judging by her wild behaviour and desperation to get married, plus the smell of sulphur. In fact, she's behaving like this due to her infatuation with Kevin, who's the one who's actually possessed.

Rosemary

Species: Human

Played by: Sarah Niles

A kindly woman who gives John Dee a lift, only to discover that he's anything but the harmless weirdo she thought he was.

Nice Girl: Rosemary is a kind and supporting person, even when she's scared out of her wits. Even John is impressed by her uncanny ability to see the good in people.
No Full Name Given: We never learn her last name.
Race Lift: White in the comic, black in the series.
Spared by the Adaptation: Her arc is inverted compared to the comic, where she starts out terrified of John but begins to have sympathy for him during their drive, ending up thinking of him as a harmless weirdo — only for him to kill her when they reach their destination. Here, she starts out sympathetic to John but slowly realizes how dangerous he is — but instead of killing her, he recognizes her as a good person and lets her go, even giving her his protective amulet.
What Happened to the Mouse?: She drives off at the end of "A Hope in Hell" and is not seen again, with no further exploration of what she does with an amulet that protects her from all harm. This is probably because her comic counterpart didn't make it out of the story alive.

24-Hour Diner

The staff and patrons of the 24-Hour Diner

Species: Human

Played by: Emma Duncan (Bette), Steven Brand (Marsh), Lourdes Faberes (Kate), James Udom (Garry), Laurie Davidson (Mark), Daisy Head (Judy)

Six people who are unfortunate enough to be in the same diner as John Dee when he starts his experiments with Dream's ruby.

Absurdly Youthful Mother: Bette does not look old enough to have a 21 year old son, though of course we don't really get any details of her situation.
Adaptational Attractiveness: Bette, Garry and Marsh are notably more attractive here than they were in the comic. Especially notable with Garry who was almost a Kingpin-like caricature in the comic but in the show is toned and athletic to the point where he's hinted to be a "trophy husband" for Kate.
Adaptational Nice Guy:
- Bette. While she was never anything less than pleasant and helpful in the comic, and certainly never wished harm on anyone, it did seem to be somewhat of a front to get people to open up to her so she could secretly write their stories down and one day have them published. She was also revealed to be somewhat small-minded and a low-key homophobe who silently disapproved of Judy and Donna's relationship because it was "a sin against God and unnatural." In the show, neither of those things are true; Bette is open about being an aspiring writer, and her goal is more about "creating something that matters to people" rather than the fame and fortune she dreamt about in the comic... and while she still disapproves of Judy and Donna's relationship it's more because she doesn't think they're good for each other (and, as it turns out, because she herself has a big repressed crush on Judy). As a result, Bette comes across as more genuinely sweet.
- Kate and Garry's marriage is more openly troubled, with their problems closer to the surface, but their secret dreams are a lot less sadistic and malicious in the series. In the series, Garry's secret dream was a full-on misogynistic dream about abusing and beating up prostitutes while Kate fantasized about killing Garry to stop him from cheating on her (and because she was a necrophiliac). Here, Garry just wants to prove himself in the eyes of his father, and though John claims that Kate wants to kill Garry, according to Dream her real wish is to just run away and start over in a place where nobody knows who she is.
- In many ways, all of them are presented more sympathetically than they were in the comic, probably because we get into their heads more and see more of their true feelings, hopes and dreams. What becomes clear is that all of them are genuinely trying to be kind and considerate, to watch their words and behavior so as to not hurt anyone's feelings. John "stripping away their lies" does reveal a lot of resentment and anger beneath the facade, but also a remarkable amount of empathy and even love for others.
Adaptational Sexuality: In the comic, Bette and Garry were pretty explicitly straight. Here, Garry is mentioned to do anything that moves and Bette is pining for both Marsh and Judy, even though she seems to be in denial about her feelings for Judy at first. During the "orgy" scene, Bette hooks up with Judy and Garry with Marsh.
Adaptational Angst Downgrade: With both Marsh and Bette's backstories. There's no mention of Marsh's wife Marsha who in the comic drank herself to death because she discovered Marsh was having an affair with Bette, and while Bette's son Bernard is mentioned, unlike in the comics he never vanished and certainly never became a male prostitute who went to prison for knifing his pimp.
Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Bette and Marsh were casual lovers in the comic, but in the series this doesn't seem to be the case; she still carries a torch for him, but he doesn't return the feelings. Also Marsh's relationship with her son Bernard is much more healthy than comics Bernard prostituting himself to Marsh in prison.
Age Lift: Marsh and Bette both seem younger here than they did in the comic.
All Love Is Unrequited: Bette has a big thing for Marsh, but he's not interested in her because he's already having sex with her son. She's also pretty obviously pining for Judy, who is already in a relationship with Donna.
Brutal Honesty: What all six of them are forced to adopt as a way for John Dee to "rid the world of lies." As Dream points out late in the episode, the thing about Brutal Honesty is that it doesn't actually reveal the entire truth and there is a lot more to these people than just the base desires John is forcing to the forefront.
Butch Lesbian: Judy has this aesthetic, wearing jeans and plaid shirts. It's kind of a downgrade from the comic, where she wore a studded leather jacket.
Composite Character: Kind of. Kate turns out to be the CEO of the company Mark has a job interview for, leading to them having a "job interview" right there in the diner. In the comic, she wasn't tied to that company at all.
Dies Differently in Adaptation: A minor case, since all of them die in roughly the same circumstances, though the details are notably different.
Extreme Omnisexual: Garry, according to Kate, will "fuck anything except me".
Generic Guy: Mark is a rare example of this trope for this series; he gets the least focus of the six and doesn't really seem to have much to him that makes him stand out.
Henpecked Husband: Hinted at with Garry, who certainly feels that Kate is being overly controlling of him.
Hidden Depths: Part of the point of the episode featuring them is revealing the layers to their personalities.
Mind Rape: They're all the victims of this, courtesy of John Dee. Unlike in the comic, where he was just idly toying with them for his own amusement (even returning their sanity for a moment so they would know what he'd done to them), in the series they have their "lies" and their dreams gradually removed from them until they have no filter and nothing that stops them from acting on their base desires. It doesn't reach outright Mind Control levels until the very end, when a frustrated John Dee takes total control of them and makes them kill themselves.
Race Lift: Kate and Garry were both white in the comic. In the series, Kate is Asian and Garry is black.

Richard Madoc

Richard "Ric" Madoc

Species: Human

Played by: Arthur Darvill

"I do tend to regard myself as a feminist writer."

A one-hit-wonder writer who holds the Greek Muse Calliope captive for inspiration.

Acquired Situational Narcissism: The success that he gets from Calliope's inspiration causes him to go from sympathetic and reluctant to keep her enslaved to an arrogant ass desperate to keep her under his control.
Adaptational Nice Guy: Subverted. He is initially presented as more affable than his comic counterpart, who raped Calliope almost immediately; this version of Ric is visibly reluctant to take Fry's advice to abuse Calliope for inspiration, and tries to "woo" her first. However, Calliope also points out how his niceness is entirely disingenuous—even though he's bribing her with gifts, he's still holding her captive. She even tells him "Ask me [for inspiration] again when I am free", suggesting that she might actually be willing to grant him that should he ask sincerely, but he forgoes this in favour of assaulting her like his comic counterpart did.
Be Careful What You Wish For: He wanted ideas, so Dream gives him an endless, unrelenting torrent of ideas. Once Calliope asks him to release Madoc from this torment, he does so... and removes all of Madoc's ideas.
Blatant Lies: Following his second success, most of what Madoc says in public is bullshit designed to make himself look progressive and laudable. And after hearing that Erasmus Fry killed himself, he can't bring himself to be even vaguely honest about their relationship, merely claiming that he loved the old author's work when he was young and that he spoke very kindly of Madoc's own writing - when in reality, his connection to Fry was purely mercenary, while Fry himself regarded Madoc with barely restrained annoyance.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Madoc starts styling his hair slicked back once he forcefully steals inspiration from Calliope, to demonstrate his descent into villainy and the arrogance from the fame his new books bring him.
Faux Affably Evil: Madoc has a fairly friendly, likable public persona and presents himself as a progressive author. In truth, he's a selfish bastard. He also tries to frame him and Calliope as some sort of creative partnership even though she has no say in the matter whatsoever.
Hypocrite:
- While leading a lecture, he says that you cannot force a character to do anything. He forces Calliope to give him inspiration for his books.
- During the same lecture when he is asked by a student when the hatred for one's own work will go away, he says it never gets easier (to not hate their own work) but to keep hope and not be discouraged by difficulty or rejection. He is so afraid of further rejection and disappointment in his own work he has resorted to furthering the holding of Calliope captive and raping her.
- Mere moments after the lecture (in which he just talked about his own circumstances of being rejected for his writings and encouraged the students in the class not to give up on their own dreams as writers) he strikes down the writing dreams of the medical student helping him, not even bothering to look at her work, as if she has no chance of ever becoming a writer.
- At the release party for his latest novel, Richard hits on a woman by saying he regards himself as "a feminist writer". When asked for his literary influences, he names all female authors. When casting for a movie, he insists that 50% of the crew be female or people of color. This is all while knowing his success is due to imprisoning and raping a goddess.
Meaningful Rename: Rebrands himself as "Ric Madoc" following his second book. Critics at his party speculate as to whether this is to reflect the themes of change in his fiction, or just because he's pretentious.
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: He initially tries to woo Calliope to give him ideas, all the while blatantly ignoring her pleas for release... and eventually resorts to forcing her. In the comics he explicitly rapes her, though it's more implicit here in the show; Madoc only has his shirt unbuttoned, with a fresh wound on his face after "forcing" Calliope.
Take That!: He's a very unflattering take on male artists who love to brag about being progressive and feminists and even sincerely think of themselves as such while treating the actual women in their life terribly.
Writer's Block: Richard Madoc has written a book that was well received but is struggling with his sophomore effort. He's particularly stressed because he has already accepted and spent the book advance money, obligating him to provide a book or be sued by his publishers.

Erasmus Fry

Species: Human

Played by: Derek Jacobi

"An old writer with no one to talk to grows fond of the sound of his own voice."

A novelist who captured the Greek Muse Calliope for inspiration.

At Least I Admit It: Has shades of this in his clear contempt for Richard; the two are basically as bad as each other but Erasmus makes no attempt to pretend to morality.
Card-Carrying Villain: Freely admits that he is a liar and says Calliope was foolish to trust him when he claimed he'd free her after his career was finished.
The Corrupter: Gives Calliope to Richard and encourages him to take what he needs by force, even hinting exactly what that entails.
Death by Irony: Erasmus Fry collected bezoars which are said to have healing properties and in particular are supposed to help those who have been poisoned...he later killed himself via poisoning.
Did You Actually Believe...?: Erasmus Fry mocks Calliope as naive when she reminds him that he promised to free her once his career was over.
Driven to Suicide: Kills himself with poison after futily begging his publishers to bring one of of his work back into print.
Evil Old Folks: He's well into his eighties and absolutely loathsome.
Greater-Scope Villain: Of Calliope. He only appears for one scene but it was his initial enslavement of her and then selling her off to Madoc that makes the rest of the episode possible.
Jerkass: His interaction with Madoc is dripping with contempt and he shows no regret (in fact, quite the opposite) for keeping Calliope imprisoned.
Might Makes Right: Fry's rationale for forcing Calliope to serve him. He did the research which let him locate and bind her, so rightfully, she and her gifts belong to him.
Protective Charm: Erasmus Fry collects bezoars which are believed to have mystic, protective power. Probably for the best since he has imprisoned and sexually assaulted a goddess for over several decades.
Pyrrhic Victory: Despite all the wealth and fame it brought him, his imprisonment of Calliope didn't have any meaningful long-term gains. By the time we meet him, he's living a miserable life as a shut-in, forgotten by the public, and with all his work out of print.
What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Eramus Fry tries to use this is a justification for his horrific treatment of Calliope. It just makes him even more loathsome and unsympathetic, in that he don't even recognize Calliope as a person.

Other

"The Prophet"

"The Prophet" of the Cats

Species: Cat

Played by: Sandra Oh

"While we lived with humanity, we could not call ourselves free."

A former house cat who, driven by a personal tragedy, sets out on a journey that leads her to the Dreaming.

Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Her central message, seeking to convince the cats of the waking world to once again dream of a world wherein they reign supreme and cats roam the planet as the dominant species (the Shorthair expresses doubt that anyone could get a thousand cats to do something at the same time).
Cassandra Truth: After telling her story, the majority of cats lose interest and scatter.
Cats Are Mean: Yeah, she has a tragic reason for it, but this doesn't change the fact that she seeks to recreate the world where cats treated humans as slaves and prey.
Crusading Widow: The loss of her kittens drives her into her quest for meaning and answers, which leads her to the Dreaming and face-to-face with Dream of the Endless.
Determinator: Makes the long and arduous journey through the Dreaming to seek out Dream. And as a Prophet, she vows to spread her message to every cat until finally enough dream of a world where they're back on top.
Fantastic Racism: She clearly sees the drowning of her kittens as a hate crime—particularly as the only reason her owners did it was because as mongrels, they do not meet the arbitrary value the cat market has imposed on them.
Love at First Sight: She clearly fell hard for the male cat who impregnated her, even if he eventually disappeared (like most stray cats do). However, it also sowed the seeds of tragedy for their litter of kittens.
Mama Bear: Like any animal who cares for its young. Tragically, however, she was unable to keep her "mongrel" kittens from being thrown away by her owners.

Characters / The Sandman (2022)

Edit Locked

This page contains unmarked spoilers. You Have Been Warned!

The Endless

Dream / Morpheus

Species: Endless

Played by: Tom Sturridge, Ernest Kingsley Jr. (as Kai'ckul in "A Hope in Hell")

Death

Species: Endless

Played by: Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Desire

Species: Endless

Played by: Mason Alexander Park

Despair

Species: Endless

Played by: Donna Preston

Delirium

Species: Endless

Played by: N/A

Destiny

Species: Endless

Played by: N/A

"The Prodigal"

Species: Endless

Played by: N/A

The Dreaming

Lucienne

Species: Dream

Played by: Vivienne Acheampong

Matthew the Raven

Species: Dream, Human (formerly)

Played by: Patton Oswalt

The Corinthian

Species: Nightmare

Played by: Boyd Holbrook

Gilbert / Fiddler's Green

Species: Dream

Played by: Stephen Fry

Gault

Species: Nightmare

Played by: Ann Ogbomo

Cain and Abel

Species: Dream

Played by: Sanjeev Bhaskar (Cain) and Asim Chaudhry (Abel)

Gregory

Species: Dream

Played by: N/A

Jessamy

Species: Dream

Played by: N/A

Mervyn Pumpkinhead

Species: Dream

Played by: Mark Hamill

Martin Tenbones

Species: Dream

Played by: Lenny Henry

Hell

Lucifer Morningstar

Species: Angel

Played by: Gwendoline Christie

Mazikeen of the Lilim

Species: Demon

Played by: Cassie Clare

Choronzon

Species: Demon

Played by: Munya Chawawa

Squatterbloat

Species: Demon

Played by: Martyn Ford

Azazel

Species: Demon

Played by: Roger Allam

Other Supernatural Entities

The Three-in-One

Species: God

Played by: Dinita Gohil (as the Maiden), Nina Wadia (as the Mother), Souad Faress (as the Crone)

Calliope

Species: God

Played by: Melissanthi Mahut

Humans