Who are the Endless? A quick refresher before The Sandman season 2 returns

If you forgot who the Endless in The Sandman are, don’t worry—so did Dream, emotionally. As Season 2 looms on Netflix’s horizon, it’s the perfect time for a sharp, pop-culture-savvy refresher on the most dysfunctional, cosmic family ever to haunt your streaming queue.

The Sandman has never been about just one character. Yes, Dream may wear the crown (and the attitude), but his siblings—the Endless—are the forces that give this world its depth, weight, and soul.

The Endless are not gods, not demons, but something older and stranger: the anthropomorphic personifications of the universe’s most fundamental forces, each with a domain, a vibe, and enough emotional baggage to fill the Dreaming’s deepest vaults.

They’re the backbone of the series, and if you’re going to follow Morpheus (aka Dream) through his next round of immortal drama, you’ll want to know your Destiny from your Despair and your Delirium from your Death.

So, who are they really? Let’s reintroduce you.

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Who are the Endless? The Sandman’s family explained

The Endless are the seven immortal siblings at the heart of The Sandman: Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium. First introduced by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman comic series (published by DC's Vertigo imprint beginning in 1989), they’re the children of Night and Time—primordial entities that make gods look like toddlers in cosmic diapers.

Each Endless rules a realm and represents a core truth of existence. But unlike Greek gods or comic-book deities, the Endless don’t just rule their domains—they are them.

They’re not omnipotent. They’re not always right. But they are always real. And in The Sandman, they’re more than myth—they’re deeply human archetypes with flaws, vendettas, and the kind of emotional tension that makes Thanksgiving awkward even in the Dreaming.

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Meet the Endless: The Sandman’s dysfunctional pantheon

Destiny

The oldest and most unreadable, Destiny is bound to the Book of Destiny—a tome that contains everything that has ever happened and ever will. He doesn’t walk; he drifts, robed and hooded, through his garden of tangled paths. Destiny doesn’t meddle—he doesn’t need to. The first Endless in the cosmic order, but the last one you'll meet. He already knows how every story ends. (But he’s not telling.)

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Death

The second oldest and arguably the most adored. Death in The Sandman is no skeletal cliché. She’s a goth girl with an ankh, a warm smile, and a heart of steel. She’s the one who greets you at the end, and you’re actually glad to see her. Played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste in the Netflix adaptation, she’s the grounding force of the story and the only sibling who can make Dream look small in the best way possible.

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Dream (Morpheus)

Ah, the brooding protagonist of the series. Morpheus is the lord of dreams, the weaver of stories, the artist of nightmares. He’s majestic, meticulous, and emotionally repressed. His arc is the soul of The Sandman, shaped by regret, duty, and the impossible struggle between change and control.

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Destruction (The Prodigal)

Destruction bailed, quite literally. He abandoned his realm and responsibilities, walking away from being the personification of destruction when he realized the damage humanity could do on its own. His absence is deeply felt in the show, especially by Dream, who sees it as a failure of duty. But Destruction may be the only one wise enough to realize that not everything eternal needs to be followed forever.

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Desire

Desire is a walking paradox—neither male nor female, appearing as whatever you most long for. Desire is sly, selfish, and seductive, living in a fortress shaped like their own body. In the series, Desire is the schemer, the puppet-master, always at odds with Dream, not just for power but for attention. Their games are cruel, but their motivations? Always personal.

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Despair

Desire’s twin and polar opposite. Despair rules over moments of hopelessness and quiet agony. Her realm is filled with mirrors—because Despair is always self-reflective. In the series, she’s not malicious. She’s inevitable. And she’s terrifying in her calm acceptance of suffering.

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Delirium (formerly Delight)

The youngest, and possibly the most heartbreaking. Delirium was once Delight, but something fractured her (even she doesn't fully understand what). Now she’s a whirlwind of chaotic color and deep, unspoken pain. She speaks nonsense that makes sudden sense, lives by no logic, and yet, in the show, she often sees truths the others can’t.

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Why do the Endless matter in The Sandman?

Without the Endless, The Sandman would still be clever fantasy, but not legendary. These characters aren’t just magical figures; they embody the fundamental aspects of existence. Every conflict in The Sandman, from the theft of Dream’s tools to the reshaping of Hell, is really about balance, emotion, and the endless tug-of-war between duty and desire.

Their dynamics also reveal Dream’s biggest flaws. His need for order, his fear of change, his inability to connect—these are things only his family can truly challenge. That’s why Season 2 is such a big deal: Destiny, Delirium, and Destruction are expected to finally show up in full force, which means more chaos, more drama, more truth.

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Pop culture power: why the Endless are timeless

In a world crowded with gods, witches, and multiverse variants, The Sandman stands out because the Endless feel intimate. Death isn’t just a concept—she’s a friend. Desire isn’t just temptation, it’s your reflection. Dream isn’t just the protagonist—he’s every artist who ever ruined themselves trying to make something perfect.

The Endless are archetypes with emotional depth, which is why The Sandman remains deeply relatable despite its cosmic scale. They’re the best kind of fantasy: metaphor made flesh.

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Before The Sandman Season 2: know the family, feel the story

If you’re only here for vibes and aesthetics, The Sandman delivers—goth fashion, surreal landscapes, and Tom Sturridge’s cheekbones. But if you want to feel the story? Know the Endless. Their histories, tensions, and emotional scars are the real foundation of what’s coming next. Season 2 will push Dream into new territory, but it’s his family—broken, beautiful, and dangerous—that will make or break him.

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Don’t sleep on Sandman’s siblings

So, if you’ve been sleeping on who the Endless are, wake up. Season 2 is about to go deeper into its mythology, and these seven siblings are the heart of that storm. Before the dreaming begins again, remember: knowing the Endless isn’t just helpful, it’s essential, because in The Sandman, stories don’t just happen. They’re shaped by the ones who live forever.