We're watching Season 2 of The Sandman on Netflix, based on the 75-issue Neil Gaiman comic book series featuring the Dream of the Endless negotiating crises with humans, various magical beings, and his siblings, whose names all begin with D (Death, Destruction, Desire) and end with "of the Endless."
1. In Season 1, the Sandman is an otherworldly creature, dark and mysterious, who rarely intrudes upon the human realm. He spends 50 years naked in a bottle, staring at the humans as if they are a bizarre alien species. In Season 2, he is a jaded aristocrat who hangs out in the human realm all the time, taking cabs and paying for things.
Or look at Lucifer: in Season 1, a seductive, dangerous being with motives and desires that are impossible for humans to comprehend. In Season 2, an elderly British aristocrat who wants to sit on the beach with a cup of tea.
2. In Season 1, the Endless are responsible for the working of the human realm. When Dream is captured, the world falls into chaos: millions of people fall asleep and can't wake up, and others can't fall asleep at all. In Season 2, the Endless mostly engage in partying and pranks. The only one we see doing any actual work is Death, who escorts people to the afterlife.
3. Season 1 has high stakes. A nightmare is running rampant in the human realm, plus an unstable guy has acquired Dream's ruby of infinite power, and changes the world, with disastrous results. In Season 2, there's some rumbling about a prophecy, but mostly it's episodic stories, like deciding who to give the keys to Hell to after Lucifer retires, or trying to track down Dream's ex-girlfriend from 10,000 years ago (who is not interested in getting back together).
4. In Season 1, there are many gay characters. A gay couple in the first episode. A lesbian couple in the second. In Episode 6, two same-sex couples emerge among the six people stuck in a diner, when they are forced to tell the truth of their situation. Plus a heterosexual liason involving job applicant Mark (Laurie Brewer, left) and the lady in charge of the company.
More after the break. Caution: Explicit