New season a brilliant mélange of engrossing plot, stunning visuals and superb acting

A brilliant medley of spellbinding plot, dazzling visuals and pitch-perfect acting, the first season of Netflix’s “The Sandman” was sheer delight — and is among the peak of graphic novel adaptations. The second season, the first volume of which begins streaming July 3, rises higher still, touching the heavens above with its darkly mesmerizing reminder that the only constant in life is change itself.

When “The Sandman” last left off, Dream (Tom Sturridge) was rebuilding his realm, The Dreaming, after being captured for a century by humans, escaping his glass prison, reclaiming his stolen objects of power, dueling in Hell, interrupting a serial killer convention and saving the world from a once-in-an-age threat. It was a busy stretch of time for the immortal personification of dreams and nightmares, one that saw Dream — also known as Morpheus, Oneiros, Lord Shaper and the Sandman, among other names — slowly evolve from a reticent, imperial lord into someone a little more forgiving, a little more understanding (though still quick to dole out punishment if you cross him). 

The main thread through the first volume of Season 2 is the continuation of Dream’s slow but steady change, even against the headwinds of fate and duty, family and responsibility. (Vol. 1 is six episodes long; the second volume, dropping July 24, has five episodes, with a bonus episode also dropping that day.) It’s a fascinating transformation, one made all the more captivating by Sturridge’s once-again fantastic performance. Those sharp gazes, just-there smirks and deadpan delivery lift every scene he’s in — which is saying something, because some truly colorful characters show up in Season 2.

Read the full review at The Seattle Times.

Four nightmare familes out of five, and a critic’s pick.