Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for the Netflix's The Sandman.
The second half of Netflix’s The Sandman adapts The Doll's House, the second volume of the comic book epic written by Neil Gaiman. In this story, Dream of the Endless (Tom Sturridge) must track down escaped Nightmares and Dreams while dealing with Rose Walker (Vanesu Samunyai), a dream vortex who threatens to wipe out the waking world.
But what exactly is a dream vortex? And why did Rose become such a powerful creature? Now that the first season of the series is available on Netflix, let’s discuss why a dream vortex is so dangerous both for the Dreaming and the waking world.
What Is a Dream Vortex?
When we close our eyes to sleep, we visit the Dreaming, the kingdom Morpheus controls. However, we do not wander through the whole realm; instead, we only have access to an individual and fragmented version of the Dreaming. If the barriers between dreams are broken, all the sleepers find themselves in the same place. Unable to comprehend the entire collective unconscious all at once, their minds risk breaking down. Furthermore, the process of joining dreams also destroys the Dreaming itself, as its many inhabitants and locations fall over each other, becoming ruins. So, eliminating the barrier between dreams has a destructive effect both in the Dreaming and the waking world, and if enough walls fall down simultaneously, all life on the planet can be destroyed in a blink.
A dream vortex is a living creature that develops a special connection with the Dreaming, and who’s capable of navigating through other people’s dreams. What makes the dream vortex so dangerous is that this creature can also shatter the barriers between dimensions. To make matters worse, the dream vortex cannot control its own powers and will eventually destroy the world even if they do not mean to. That’s why Morpheus is tasked with destroying any dream vortex, the only occasion where the King of Dreams has the right to kill a mortal.
No one knows why dream vortexes shows up and where they come from. Fortunately, they are extremely rare, only showing up once every age. Morpheus already failed his duty and didn’t eliminate a dream vortex quickly enough, which caused the destruction of a whole universe. So now Dream of the Endless is willing to do whatever it takes to kill dream vortexes, even when they are lovely people like Rose. But why did Rose become a dream vortex? Well, as it turns out, these powers are hereditary.
Rose Walker’s Family History
Rose was not supposed to become the dream vortex of this age; that role belonged to Unity Kincaid (Sandra James-Young), her great-grandmother. However, once Dream got captured by Roderick Burgess (Charles Dance), Unity fell into a deep sleep. Unity slept until Dream escaped his prison, losing her entire life in the process. The powers of the dream vortex also passed down until they reached Rose, more than a century later.
The Sandman also reveals that Unity had a child while still in a coma. While Unity is asleep, she meets a handsome man with golden eyes in her dreams. The man is actually Desire, Dream’s sibling, who had a child with Unity, knowing that the woman’s descendants would become a dream vortex sooner or later. And all that was part of a long game to take Dream out of the picture.
While the Endless are almost all-powerful, they cannot harm humans who are not threats to their kingdoms. The Endless are also forbidden from spilling their family’s blood. If they break these rules, they risk their own destruction. So, by impregnating Unity, Desire made sure that the following dream vortex to appear would have Endless blood. So, when Dream would slay the dream vortex, he would be spilling family blood and condemning himself.
During Season 1’s finale, Unity sacrifices her own life to save Rose, taking the place of her great-granddaughter as the dream vortex. The side effect of this selfless action was that Desire’s plan failed, and Dream didn’t kill anyone from his own family. As for Rose, she lost all powers related to the dream vortex and can now lead a regular life with her brother Jed (Eddie Karanja).
That doesn’t mean this is the last we’ve seen from Rose. She is also part of other comic book storylines, so if Netflix wants to keep adapting Gaiman’s work, they’ll have to bring Rose back sometime. And since Rose is the descendent of Desire, a possible Season 2 should use the character to explore the conflicts between the Endless family members.