WARNING: SPOILERS For The Sandman Season 2
The Sandmanfinally brought one of the comics' most beloved and important characters to screen, yet her on-screen adaptation fails to do the character justice and leaves a lot to be desired. The Netflix series is an adaptation of the celebrated fantasy comic book saga.The Sandmanfocuses on Dream of the Endless (Tom Sturridge), the personification and master of dreams.
InThe Sandmanseason 2episode “Brief Lives,” Dream is convinced by his younger sibling, Delirium (Esme Creed-Miles), to help her in her quest to find their missing brother. Destruction (Barry Sloane). The Endless siblings decide to find known friends of Destruction, in hopes they can lead them to him. As such,Dream and Delirium enlist the aid of a mortal named Wanda (Indya Moore).
The Sandman Makes Some Changes To Wanda’s Story From The Comics
Wanda’s Role Is Amalgamated With Another Character
InThe Sandmanseason 2, Wanda acts as the concierge for Dream and Delirium on their journey, driving them to several of Destruction’s former acquaintances. As they travel,Wanda opens up about her difficulties coming out as transgenderto her family.
As Wanda reveals her experiences being trans, she answers the Endless’s questions about how they should approach their absent brother. However, when they meet Destruction’s ex-lover, Ishtar (Amber Rose Revah), who is now an exotic dancer, her club is engulfed by a gas explosion,killing its patrons and Wanda.
In the aftermath of Wanda’s death, Dream watches and mourns at her funeral, bringing him into contact with her Aunt Dora. However, Dream is horrified to learn that Wanda’s Conservative family not only arranged to be buried resembling a man, butdeadnamed her on her headstone, alongside an inscription of a Bible passage.
Dream ensures that Wanda is remembered as who she truly was.
As Dream and Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) stand beside her grave, Dream ensures that Wanda is remembered as who she truly was. Using his powers, the master of dreams changes the inscription to Wanda’s chosen, true name, while also altering the passage into a much more loving quote. While he couldn’t erase his part in her death,Dream ensured she was remembered properly.
Rather than appearing in the “Brief Lives” arc, Wanda was a key player inThe Sandmancomics' “A Game of You” story, which followedThe Sandmanseason 1’s Barbie (Lily Travers), as nightmares plague the residents of her apartment block. In the comic,Wanda was Barbie’s best friend, and she is killed in a stormwhile watching over Barbie’s physical body while she is in the Dreaming.
Wanda is buried under her deadname by her conservative family. However, as Barbie leaves a cherished object on the grave, she crosses out the deadname, writing Wanda’s true name in her favorite lipstick color. In Barbie’s dreams, Wanda says farewell as her true self, as Death guides her into the sunless lands.
Wanda Is Barely In The Sandman TV Show Before Her Problematic Death & Funeral
Wanda’s Role Is Reduced To Simply Supporting Dream’s Story
There are several issues with howThe Sandmanhandles Wanda’s story, as the character was placed into a role in a story that didn’t originally feature her. In “Brief Lives”, Wanda retains most of her backstory, but isgiven the career of Ruby DeLonge. Like Wanda, Dream’s original driver inThe Sandmancomics also had a short life and a tragic end.
The Sandmanswitching Wanda for Rubyplaced Wanda into someone else’s role entirely.As such, very little of Wanda’s original characterization made it to screens. WithThe Sandmanseason 1 having established Barbie already, not adapting “A Game of You” feels like a missed opportunity.
Wanda is reduced to just being a part of Dream’s story, as opposed to her own character.
Wanda’s original death inThe Sandmancomics happened as she was protecting her friend. Netflix’s adaptation saw herdie as part of the collateral damage in the Endless' family drama. As such, Wanda is reduced to just beinga part of Dream’s story, as opposed to her own character.
While Wanda’s funeral retains some of the overall story beats of its comic counterpart,having Dream fix her gravestone is a weaker decision.While Dream recognized and valued Wanda, he admits part of his reasoning for attending was initially guilt. This decision unfortunately reinforces how her death served his story more.
The SandmanSeason 2, Volume 2, premieres July 24 on Netflix.
In comparison, Barbie changing Wanda’s headstone to reflect her true self is more effective. Barbie stood up for the best friend she cherished in a way that acknowledged everything that Wanda loved. The scene is free of supernatural intervention, but is still powerful byshowing human decency persisting over bigotry,as Barbie ensures that Wanda is remembered.
Indya Moore Still Steals The Show As Wanda With Her Time On Screen
Certain Choices Make Her Character More Authentic
While Wanda’s narrative was poorly handled byThe Sandmanseason 2, her appearance isn’t void of things to celebrate.Indya Moore’s performance still steals the showwith each moment she appears on the screen. Wanda’s interactions with Dream and Delirium are pivotal in helping them understand their their own quest to find Destruction at a deeper level.
Certain changes to Wanda do feel worthy inThe Sandman. Establishing Wanda’s love forThe Marvelous Land of Ozand exploring its connection to queer culture, specifically how many members of the Trans community have read its deeper meaning, is a choice thatmakes her portrayal feel more authentic.
In the originalThe Sandmancomic, Barbie leaves a beloved comic book on Wanda’s grave.
However,The Sandmanseason 2’soverall handling of Wanda’s arc leaves more to be desired. Wanda stands out as unapologetically trans and was one of the first mainstream transgender characters. With a character whose representation matters so much to many, she deserved a faithful telling of her story where she played a key role.
Wanda, and the community she represents, deserve better.
The Sandmanseason 2 was produced and released at a time when the trans community is being unjustly persecuted. In times of such distress, having a transgender character given a prominent role is not only recognition, but also defying rising bigotry. Wanda, and the community she represents, deserve better than seeing her reduced to serve Dream’s story.
