‘The Sandman’ Season 2 Draws Mixed Reviews Despite Strong Performances and Visuals

The Sandman is back with its second season on Netflix, and opinions are mixed. The new episodes dropped on July 3, 2025, with more coming later this month. While the fantasy drama continues to impress some viewers with its style and performances, others feel it’s losing steam.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Season 2 sits at a 74% critic score with the same number from audiences. Over on Metacritic, it holds a score of 61 out of 100, which points to generally favorable reviews.

The overall reaction shows that while many still enjoy the world of The Sandman, it’s not hitting the same for everyone this time around.

The show still centers around Dream, also known as Morpheus, played by Tom Sturridge. His performance is one thing almost everyone agrees on. Many say he brings a calm but powerful presence that fits the role perfectly. One review even said, “Sturridge’s performance effortlessly sits in the space between the removed and the immediate.”

The visuals and production continue to impress. The show looks expensive, with beautiful sets, costumes, and effects that really sell the fantasy. There’s a lot of emotion packed into some of the storylines too, and fans of the original comic will likely appreciate how much effort has gone into staying true to the source material.

Still, not everyone is on board with how the story is told. Some viewers think Season 2 is hard to follow, saying it jumps around too much without enough structure. A few comments described it as, “like being trapped in a whirlwind of plot and intrigue, which never materializes into something solid enough to get to grips with.” Others said the pacing feels slow and some parts of the show come off as overly serious or even a bit pretentious.

There’s also a sense that Season 2 isn’t as bold or fresh as the first. One review called it “less narratively ambitious” and another said it felt “like a half-remembered dream.” Despite this, there are still plenty of viewers who find the second season just as “beguiling, bold and brilliant” as the first.

The second season’s opening episodes drag like an inescapable, non-refreshing REM state.

Melanie McFarland

Season 2 of The Sandman isn’t quite as narratively ambitious as the first season, but it boasts great performances, emotional storylines, and epic production values that allow the show to maintain its status as must-watch fantasy television.

Sean Boelman

The Sandman isn’t for everyone. This is hardcore geek material – portentous, pretentious and not big on humour.

Ed Power

Like its predecessor, Season 2 is ponderously paced, full of portentous waffle and mostly takes itself desperately seriously.

Pat Stacey

Like being trapped in a whirlwind of plot and intrigue, which never materialises into something solid enough to get to grips with. Too elusive to be emotive, too fast-paced to be introspective, The Sandman becomes an excessively intricate diorama.

Nick Hilton

Season 2 again tells largely self-contained stories without sound episodic structure, yet it also lacks enough specifics to justify its main character’s fitfully serialized development.

Ben Travers

The Sandman is not short of ideas, but it smothers them all in a fug of pretension, missing every opportunity it creates for itself.

Jack Seale

As for Neil Gaiman, who co-created the show and is heavily involved, it’s unclear whether recent controversies around him have affected how people are reacting to the series. There’s been some discussion online, but it hasn’t clearly changed how critics or fans feel about the show.

The Sandman was always going to be a challenging show to adapt, especially with its dreamlike storytelling and deep mythology. And even though the second season isn’t perfect, there’s still something here for fans of darker, thoughtful fantasy. Whether you think it’s too slow or just right might depend on what kind of dream you’re in the mood for.

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