25 Most Memorable “The Sandman” Quotes
The Sandman series on Netflix is one of the most groundbreaking series we have seen in a while due to the fact that it was able to give life to a popular comic book storyline that many people grew up reading. But while the series was able to give justice to the storyline and the imagery that you can see in the books, the more memorable parts of the series were the thing that the characters said.
One of the things that people always loved about The Sandman is the philosophical side to a storyline that focuses on a lot of themes like existence, hope, and purpose. In that regard, we are here to give you some of the most memorable quotes that you can hear from The Sandman series on Netflix.
25. “The Dreams and Nightmares no longer seem to recognize their master. I will remind them.” – Dream
The early part of The Sandman allowed us to see Morpheus getting captured by Roderick Burgess. In that regard, he was gone from the Dreaming for over a century as he was able to return to his own domain when it was already in ruins and when most of the Dreams and Nightmares had left it. As such, Dream went on a quest to retrieve his powers so that he would force the Dreams and Nightmares to return to the Dreaming and do their master’s bidding.
24. “The savagery of my capture spoke a word whose dreams in my absence turned darker still. A world which will soon be at war again.” – Dream
As mentioned, Roderick Burgess captured and imprisoned Dream during the beginning of The Sandman, and the problem was that he didn’t know what he brought into the world when he captured the lord of dreams. The world became a darker place due to how dark dreams became when Morpheus was away from the Dreaming. And it brought about an even bigger war between nations.
23. “Human beings cannot be trusted.” – Dream
Due to the experiences he had with Roderick Burgess and Alex Burgess while he was kept imprisoned in the Burgess estate, Dream realized that he no longer had the willingness to trust human beings, who he thought had become too selfish. Nevertheless, as the series went on, Dream eventually learned to trust humans more.
22. “It is as natural to die as it is to be born.” – Death
Death was one of the people that Dream relied on for emotional support due to her happy and cheerful disposition in terms of how she viewed her job. One of the things that Death told Dream in relation to her job was the fact that she viewed it as a natural part of everything in the universe because everyone and everything needed to die at certain points in their lives.
21. “Not a god. More than a god. And are men not governed by their dreams?” – The Corinthian
When Roderick Burgess captured Dream, he didn’t know what he had in his cellar. However, the Corinthian visited the Burgess estate to tell Roderick that what he had captured was a being called Dream, who is part of the Endless. The Corinthian reminded Burgess that Dream was incredibly powerful and had the power to manipulate dreams, which are some of the things that govern the lives of people all over the world.
20. “For some folks, death is release, and for others, death is an abomination, a terrible thing. But in the end, I’m there for all of them.” – Death
As mentioned, Death is fond of her job because she always believed that her role was essential to the function of the universe. She also told Dream that she made it a point to always be with the people who needed her during their deaths, regardless of whether or not they viewed death in a positive light. Whatever the case may be, Death always made sure to be with the people she needed to carry to the afterlife because she knew that they needed her.
19. “The only reason people die is because everyone does it. You all just go along with it. It’s rubbish, death. It’s stupid. I don’t want nothing to do with it.” – Hob Gadling
Hob Gadling was one of the lucky people in the series because there was nothing special about him, but he became the subject of a friendly wager between Dream and Death. Because Hob didn’t believe that death was for him, Death gave him immortality while telling Dream to meet up with him a hundred years later to see whether or not he wanted to die. It turned out that, after several centuries of living and after experiencing almost everything that life had to offer, Hob Gadling still wanted to continue living.
18. “Tonight, we will achieve what no one has even attempted. We will summon and imprison death.” – Roderick Burgess
Roderick Burgess was one of the most ambitious men in the entire series because he had the temerity to try to capture death so that he could bring his son back from the dead. But it turned out that the being that was captured was Dream, who he kept imprisoned in his cellar long after he died as he passed the responsibility to his son, Alex.
17. “What’s the good of a god who governs dreams?” – Roderick Burgess
When the Corinthian visited Roderick Burgess to tell him that what he had in his cellar was not Death but was Dream, the amateur magician wondered whether or not there was a point to having the god of dreams in his cellar. That was when the Corinthian told him about how powerful Dream is because he can basically make dreams a reality.
16. “As powerful as you are here in your realm, Dreams rarely survive in the waking world. Nightmares, on the other hand, seem to thrive there.” – Lucienne
At the very start of the series, Dream wanted to go to the Waking World because he needed to stop the Corinthian, who had escaped from the Dreaming so that he could terrorize the world. However, Lucienne warned her master of the possibilities that can happen when he is outside of his realm. Indeed, Dream found misfortune in the Waking World because he ended up getting captured by Burgess right before he could undo his mistake called the Corinthian.
15. “You mortals go about your work, your loves, your wars, as if your waking lives are all that matter.” – Dream
One of the things that Dream mentioned during his opening monologue at the very beginning of the series was in relation to how meaningless and trivial the things we do in the Waking World are. He was basically saying that we give more importance to what we do when we are awake instead of giving the same kind of importance to what happens to us whenever we are asleep.
14. “If dreams disappear, so will humanity.” – Dream
Dream, during the time when he was trying to retrieve his tools so that he could regain his powers, was seeking the help of a familiar person so that he could find a way to repair the Dreaming. He mentioned how important dreams are to the universe because the Dreaming was just as important to the existence of life itself as the Waking World was.
13. “I thought about giving up. But I have a job to do, and I do it.” – Lucienne
Lucienne was one of the few people in the Dreaming that remained in the realm during Dream’s absence. A lot of different Dreams and Nightmares had left their posts in the Dreaming, but Lucienne never did so because she knew that she had a job that she needed to do. And thankfully, it was Lucienne’s loyalty that allowed the Dreaming to stay intact during Dream’s absence.
12. “I could do without dreams for a while. Haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in ages.” – Johanna Constantine
Johanna Constantine is the gender-bended version of John Constantine (due to licensing issues) in The Sandman. Those who understand Constantine’s story would know that the character has been through some of the worst things a human being could ever go through. As such, in The Sandman, Constantine said that she wanted to take a break from dreams because her nightmares often kept her from getting a good night’s sleep. And that was the reason why she wasn’t too willing to help Dream get his tools back.
11. “You’re lying. You don’t have to lie. In fact, you don’t have to say a word. Your eyes will tell me everything, every thought, every feeling.” – The Corinthian
The Corinthian visited Ethel Cripps right after Morpheus escaped from his prison because he wanted to get the tools that Ethel stole from Roderick decades ago. That was when Ethel told a lie regarding Dream’s ruby, as the Corinthian was getting ready to kill her so that he could take her eyes and use them to know where the ruby was.
10. “You don’t listen, do you? Attractive men seldom do. I supposed they don’t have to.” – Ethel Cripps
Ethel Cripps, in her conversation with the Corinthian, went full flirtatious mode when she was telling him what she did with Dream’s tools after stealing them from Roderick Burgess decades ago. That was when she told the Corinthian that he often had to go through life without ever listening to other people because of the fact that he could often get away with his good looks.
9. “Tools are the subtlest of traps. We become reliant upon them. And in their absence, we are vulnerable, weak, defenseless.” – Lucifer Morningstar
After Dream retrieved his sand with the help of Johanna Constantine, he and Matthew took a trip to Hell so that they could visit Lucifer and find a way to retrieve his helmet. When he told Lucifer his purpose for visiting Hell, that was when the ruler of Hell told him that it was a mistake for him to rely too much on the tools that he created because, at that very moment, Dream had become a shell of his former self and was not as strong as he was before.
8. “The secret to having compassion for people is knowing they are fundamentally selfish.” – John Dee
John Dee, the son of Roderick Burgess and Ethel Cripps, had a different way of viewing mankind as he always believed that people should be able to say and do whatever they wanted to say and do. He wanted a more honest world, and that’s what he wanted to do with Dream’s ruby. In that regard, he believed that the only way to be compassionate to other people was to understand that they are, at their very core, selfish beings.
7. “It’s good to touch the earth with your bare feet. It’s grounding.” – Death
During the time when Dream and Death shared a moment when Morpheus was in the middle of what seemed to be a rough patch in his life, Death had her usual enthusiastic approach to her job. She removed her shoes and walked around the city on her bare feet as she was telling Dream to do the same because it felt grounding. In a way, Death was metaphorically telling her brother to keep himself grounded so that he could understand humanity more.
6. “Good people seldom survive in this world.” – John Dee
John Dee wasn’t entirely a bad man but was the product of a bad life and the corruption of Dream’s ruby, which took over his mind because humans weren’t meant to be able to handle such power. As such, John Dee was still capable of seeing the good in people, and that was what happened when a nice lady was willing enough to give him a ride to his destination, where he kept the ruby hidden.
5. “You know what you can survive the anti-life? You! Dreams don’t fucking die!” – Matthew
One of the best moments of the first half of The Sandman was the duel between Dream and Lucifer. The Morningstar had already gotten the best of Dream in their duel of transformation as Lucifer transformed into the anti-life to counter Dream’s transformation into a universe. That was when Matthew the Raven reminded Dream that dreams are capable of surviving something as powerful as the anti-life.
4. “A king may not enter another monarch’s realm uninvited.” – Dream
As powerful as Dream was, he still needed to respect some of the boundaries between the different lords of the different realms throughout the universe. That was why he needed to respect Lucifer’s rule in Hell when he visited so that he could retrieve his helmet. Instead of barging into the Devil’s realm, he needed to make sure that he was invited into Hell out of respect for the monarch that ruled over it.
3. “To face your fears and fantasies in Dreams and Nightmares that I create and which I must control, lest they consume and destroy you.” – Dream
Dream explained his role as an Endless when he said that he created Dreams and Nightmares in the Dreaming. He said that he needed to control these entities because they could easily consume anyone who visits the Dreaming when they are asleep. That is why Dream is an essential part of the universe, as he is the one who keeps the Dreams and Nightmares in check.
2. “Tell Us What Powers Have Dreams In Hell?” – Lucifer Morningstar
When Lucifer Morningstar lost their duel to Dream in Hell, they told him that the different demons in the realm could just easily prevent the King of Dreams from leaving it. They told him that whatever power that Dream had in Hell was useless because dreams don’t have powers there. But that was when Dream told Lucifer the most memorable quote in the entire series.
1. “What power would Hell have if those imprisoned there would not be able to dream of heaven?” – Dream
This was Dream’s reply to Lucifer, who told him that he had no power in Hell. Dream told the Devil that even the people trapped in Hell were hopeful enough that they could one day escape it and get to Heaven. As such, he believed that dreams were still powerful in such a place called Hell because they held onto the hope that they could find a way to escape their imprisonment there. And as Dream displayed in his duel with Lucifer, there is nothing that can defeat hope.