The Sandman: A guide to every member of The Endless

With The Sandman arriving on Netflix tomorrow, August 5, 2022, fans are about to be introduced the dark, immersive and fascinating world of Neil Gaiman’s comic book series. But there are a lot of characters to keep tabs on in the show, some of which are known as a group of siblings referred to as The Endless.

Morpheus, or Dream as he’s often referred to, is the primary Endless we follow in the show as he’s the titular “Sandman.” But Dream has many siblings, including Despair, Desire, Death and others. Several are introduced to the show in season 1, but there are several others we don’t meet in the initial 10 episodes.

The Sandman: A guide to The Endless

The following guide will outline the various members of The Endless, including those shown on-screen in The Sandman and the ones only featured in the comics.

What are The Endless?

The concept of The Endless is a challenging one to explain, but they are essentially the anthropomorphic embodiments of certain forces in the natural universe, things like Death and Desire are real things mortals feel and they embody those ideas.

There are seven siblings and they all start with the letter ‘d.’ They are Dream, Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium. The Endless are the children of cosmic entities Night and Time.

The Endless: Dream

Dream, also known as the Sandman and Morpheus, and many other names, is the personification of dreams and stories. He controls the realm known as The Dreaming and is the main character in The Sandman. Tom Sturridge plays the character in the Netflix series.

Sturridge is a Tony Award-nominated actor who has also starred in productions like Effie Gray and the movie Velvet Buzzsaw.

The Endless: Desire

Mason Alexander Park brings Desire to life in The Sandman. Desire is the twin of Despair, both siblings are younger than Dream. In the comics, Desire is cruel and has a tense relationship with Dream. Desire often tries to interfere in Dream’s affairs.

While chatting with Den of Geek, Alexander revealed what makes Desire tick and their status as something of an antagonistic presence in the series. Desire is a very complex being and that is evidenced in the characters unkind nature.

You might recognize Park from their role in Netflix’s short-lived series Cowboy Bebop. They also played the lead role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in the first national tour of the Broadway show.

The Endless: Despair

Actress Donna Preston plays Desire’s twin, Despair. Despair’s role in the show is relatively minor, at least in the first season. But she and Desire are shown to be very close and often work together on their schemes against Dream and their other siblings. As the name suggests, Despair embodies despair and spends time marveling at humans in despair from her realm.

The Endless: Death

British actress Kirby Howell-Baptiste portrays Dream’s older sister, Death, in the show. She is a very kind being who slowly eases souls into her realm. She often helps Dream understand mortals when he feels perplexed.

Humans might fear Death, but she is actually nice and does her best to ease their dying journey. Howell-Baptiste is a notable actress known for her work in shows like Killing Eve and The Good Place. She also lends her voice to the Netflix series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous.

The Endless: Destruction

Destruction is a unique part of The Endless as he is the only sibling to actually abandon his realm, therefore he does not have a sigil. He is sometimes referred to as “The Prodigal.” So far, Destruction is not part of the Netflix series. Destruction appears as a tall, beefy man with red hair.

The Endless: Destiny

The first and eldest of all The Endless, Destiny controls a realm known as “The Garden” which features a tremendous hedge maze. He appears as a blind man in a hooded cloak and is billions of years old.

The Endless: Delirium

Delirium is the youngest sibling of The Endless and was previously known as Delight, as the embodiment of pleasure and joy. Later she changed to Delirium for reasons unknown. In the comics, Destruction lends her his talking dog Barnabas. Delirium’s appearance changes often given her fluctuating mood but she is generally a small, thin girl with multicolored hair and eccentric outfits.