Why Netflix's 'The Sandman' Failed. [29:11-34:11]

I could understand why they'd do it. But do they? Why have they completely inverted Dream's core character trait if they're still using him to make the same point? It's a change to die. Is this a conventional TV show with a reimagined Dream who can drive a more traditional narrative? Or is this supposed to be a perfect retelling that staunchly faithful to the original? It's not that the show is afraid to deviate from the source material. We already know they made cuts. And obviously they had to decouple it from the broader DC universe. There are some modernisations, some new ideas, and some different takes on old characters. I personally quite enjoy Loki and Puck as a couple of gay dads. For the most part though, it uses the comic as a guide. What it doesn't cut, it adapts fairly closely. Most scenes are lifted directly with dialogue repeated verbatim and panels meticulously recreated. The show's reverence for the original is self-evident. And fans will come for me over this. But loyalty to the source material is not always a good thing. Adaptation can be like building a house of cards. The moment you change part of it, even if it's a small part, the whole thing might come crashing down. But since different mediums speak in different languages, sometimes changes necessary because some things are lost in translation. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let it come crashing down and then rebuild it to get close to what it was. So paradoxically, trying to faithfully preserve the original can actually make it less faithful. Just because the words are the same doesn't mean they haven't changed. Of all the stories the adaptation cuts, easily the most controversial is the loss of an entire book. Book 5, a game of view, is already the most controversial of all Sandman stories, though for different reasons depending on who you ask. It mixes fairy tale fantasy with harsh realism, not a tone everyone jives with, but let's be honest. The main reason it's controversial is because of Wanda. Wanda is a supporting character, best friend and neighbor of protagonist Barbie. She's also a trans woman, on hormones but afraid of surgery. She's kind of both a stereotype and fairly authentic, and she's portrayed sympathetically. But spoilers, she dies at the end, in a way which feels kind of needless. However, her death leads to the poignant funeral scene, in which Wanda's unaccepting family bury her without recognizing her identity, calling her death an act of judgement by God. According to Gaiman, many people who had written to complain about Wanda in the first chapter later wrote about being heartbroken by her family's callousness, and the final image of Barbie writing Wanda's true name in lipstick on her gravestone is a powerful one. On the other hand, there's the earlier scene where Wanda is forbidden from entering the dream world because the moon goddess does not consider her a real woman, which could be read as the comic supporting gender essentialism, though there is something empowering in Wanda telling the gods where they can stuff it. And crucially, Wanda's gender is ultimately affirmed in Barbie's dream of her being taken by death, wherein Wanda appears as a, quote unquote, perfect woman. It's somewhat left to interpretation, but to me, this proves Wanda's true self was always female. This story was polarizing in many different ways, but whatever you think of it, featuring a prominent trans character was a radical thing to do back in 93, although it's still a radical thing to do now. Surprisingly, there was a lot of intrigue as to how the Netflix version would approach this story. Would they modernize it? Would they sand down its harsher edges? Would they remain faithful to the challenging aspects of this story? So when it was announced that a game of you would be cut, the fandom was pretty underwhelmed. However, this cut came with a caveat. I said, I'm happy to skip a game of you, as long as Wanda comes with us. Wanda survives the cut. She replaces minor character Ruby, serving as Dream and Delirium's driver. And that's fine, it's a different take on the character, but India more plays it well. They justify her presence by drawing parallels between Wanda and destruction, both of whom went no contact with their families. This is also fine. And I genuinely love the conversation they have about the marvellous land of ours. It feels very true to the character, despite being completely original to the show.