Who Is Kai’ckul in The Sandman? Meet Ernest Kingsley Junior’s Character
While Netflix’s The Sandman was a spectacular adaptation of the Neil Gaiman comic book storyline, we confess that some scenes may be confusing for those who have never read the comic books or watched the series without any knowledge of The Sandman whatsoever. One such scene that was confusing was when Dream was in Hell and a woman named Nada called him Kai’ckul. That’s because Dream appeared to be an entirely different person to her. So, who is Kai’ckul in The Sandman?
Kai’ckul is just one of the names and identities that Dream goes by because, as an Endless, he is an entity that has no specific form or appearance. That is why Nada sees him as an entirely different person in her perspective, as Dream’s appearance can adjust depending on the person’s perspective.
The reason why this scene with Nada in Hell was quite confusing is that the backstory involving her and Dream was never really fleshed out in the series. Of course, there is a good reason why the showrunners preferred to keep the backstory somewhat left untouched, as this is an essential part of the second season. With that said, let’s get to know more about Kai’ckul in The Sandman.
Who Is Kai’ckul In The Sandman?
The release of The Sandman on Netflix has introduced a lot of different characters that were crucial to the overall development of the main character named Dream, who is also called Morpheus and is the King of Dreams. Basically, Dream is part of the Endless, which is a family of ancient immortal entities that have been in existence for billions of years because of how important they are to the overall existence of the universe itself. In Dream’s case, he is the one overlooking the Dreaming, which is where people go whenever they are asleep and dreaming.
Of course, the early part of The Sandman involved a Dream that seemed quite useless because he was trapped and imprisoned by an amateur magician out of sheer luck. After spending more than a hundred years as a prisoner, Dream ended up losing a good chunk of his powers because he lost his tools, which held portions of his power. As such, after he escaped his prison, Dream spent a good time trying to recover his tools so that he could regain his powers and repair the Dreaming, which was damaged while he was trapped for over a century.
Dream’s quest took him to Hell because the one who stole his helmet traded it with a demon. Of course, Dream had no powers in Hell because the realm belonged to Lucifer Morningstar, who is the ruler of Hell and is said to be second only to the Creator God in terms of his powers. As such, Dream was basically not in the position to demand anything when he went to Hell to recover his helmet.
As he and Matthew the Raven were traveling to Lucifer’s palace in Hell, the demon accompanying them took them to a route where they were able to encounter plenty of people who were imprisoned and Hell and were left to spend eternity there. One such person was a girl named Nada, who called out to Dream and called him the Dream Lord.
Nada seemed quite familiar with Dream because she recognized him while she was in her cell. But the most surprising part was that Dream appeared to be a different person to Nada, who called him using the name “Kai’ckul.” From Tom Sturridge, the actor playing Dream suddenly transitioned to a different one from Nada’s perspective. So, who is Kai’ckul in The Sandman?
Kai’ckul is simply just Dream, as this person is not a different entity compared to the entity called the King of Dreams. This name is simply one of the few names and identities that Dream has been carrying throughout his existence, just as Morpheus and the Sandman are one of the names that people call him.
As a member of the Endless, Morpheus never had an exact form or appearance because the Endless are formless entities that exist in realms beyond our imagination. However, they are merely given anthropomorphic forms so that it will be easier to comprehend who and what they are. In that sense, the Tom Sturridge appearance is how Dream is often perceived, but he can also appear to be different people and creatures to others.
In one example, in the comic books, a cat viewed Dream as a cat as well because that is how the cat perceived Dream’s existence. Basically, it depends on the person perceiving Dream, as Nada saw him from her own perspective. That’s why she saw him as a person with a different appearance and even called him Kai’ckul.
The Kai’ckul name is one of the identities that Dream carried throughout his existence, as Nada called him this name when she was looking for the dream lord thousands of years ago when she was still alive. But the Kai’ckul name, although different, still refers to one and the same entity, which is Dream.
This is basically a similar situation in relation to how we view gods from different religions. We may call them different names and have different ways of perceiving what they could possibly appear. But, at the end of the day, the gods are all just one single entity that simply has a lot of different forms, appearances, and interpretations that all depend on the people that perceive this entity.
In the same way, Dream appears to be a different person to other people and may even be called by different names. But they all refer to one single entity that exists beyond time, space, and imagination.
Who Is Nada In The Sandman?
Of course, another confusing part of the story was the fact that Nada, a woman imprisoned in Hell, was quite familiar with Dream. She even asked whether or not he still loved her, to which Morpheus replied that he still loved her after 10,000 years. Nada even pleaded with him to release her from Hell, as it was clear that they knew each other well. So, who is Nada in The Sandman?
Nada used to be the queen of a tribe of people that lived 10,000 years before the events of The Sandman. Her tribe was called the First People, as she met Dream when she was overlooking her tower during her rule as their queen. She fell in love with Dream, who she called the dream lord named Kai’ckul. Dream also fell in love with her in his own realm.
However, when Nada found out that Dream was an Endless, she rejected his love because she feared that they would never be together due to his status as an immortal being. But when Dream went to the waking world to be with her, Nada rejected him again because their relationship led to the extinction of her people. Nada took her own life but was offered queenship over the Dreaming by Dream, who went to the realm of Death to see her.
Nada, however, refused Dream’s offer once more. That was when Dream condemned her to spend eternity in Hell, as it was clear that he was a scorned lover that was hurt when Nada refused his offers.
This love story was revealed quite early in the comics but is yet to be shown in the live-action series because the showrunners believe that it would be best to save it for the second season. A good part of season 2 will explore the continued love story between Dream and Nada, and that’s why the story of what happened between them 10,000 years ago was reserved for the second season.
Who Plays Kai’ckul In The Sandman?
As mentioned, Dream switches from Tom Sturridge to a different actor in the eyes of Nada, who calls him Kai’ckul. That’s because that’s how she perceives the dream lord in her eyes. So, who plays Kai’ckul in The Sandman?
The actor playing Kai’ckul in The Sandman is Ernest Kingsley Junior. While the actor may be different, Kingsley Junior’s character in the series is still the same character that Sturridge plays. It is merely a different version of Dream in the eyes of Nada, who has a different way of perceiving the character, and that’s why Dream appears to her in the form of Ernest Kingsley Junior’s appearance.
