Why does Corinthian take eyes in The Sandman?

The Corinthian is a dangerous nightmare created by Dream that escapes from The Dreaming realm in the first season of The Sandman. The season begins with Dream trying to hunt down the Corinthian, who is played by Boyd Holbrook, but before he can dispatch him, Dream is captured by Roderick Burgess.

As such, the Corinthian preys on the waking world and gets into all sorts of mischief. He is a serial killer who enjoys killing people and cutting out their eyes, later consuming them. The nightmare is one of the primary antagonists in the show’s first season.

But what exactly does he do with his victim’s eyes? Why does he take them? And does he survive the season?

Does the Corinthian die in The Sandman?

Dreams and nightmares cannot really die, but the Corinthian does, more or less, die in the show’s first season. Toward the end, Dream destroys him and he shrinks down into a tiny skull with matching empty sockets lined with two opposing rows of teeth. Dream gives the skull to Lucienne to put into safekeeping, which implies that it is possible for him to return someday.

Why does the Corinthian take the eyes of his victims in The Sandman?

Although we only see it happen once (sort of, it’s off-screen mostly), the Corinthinian is known for taking his victim’s eyes and then eating them, often through the creepy eye-teeth he has. But why does he do it?

In the show, he tells Dream he does it because it gives him a “taste” of what it’s like to be human. We don’t get an exact meaning regarding that explanation, but in the comics, Corinthian allows him to see a human’s past life, their memories, and that sort of thing. Sometimes he can even use their eyes to see the future.

The Sandman is now streaming on Netflix.