The following contains spoilers for The Sandman Season 1, now streaming on Netflix.
The Sandman showrunner Allan Heinberg revealed why Dream of the Endless chose to spare John Dee.
In an interview with Tudum, Heinberg discussed how the events leading up to the climactic showdown between Morpheus and John convinced the Lord of the Dreaming to show mercy. Regarding Dream and John's meeting in Episode 5, "24/7," he said, "It had so much power, especially with Dream, who's coming out of hell and had just faced down Lucifer, having to examine what hope is and what hope means for himself [and] to bring it back into the waking world with him." Heinberg additionally praised actor David Thewlis' performance as John and how he expressed his character's misguided compassion for others.
The showrunner further claimed Dream's interactions with Johanna Constantine and Lucifer softened his judgment at the end of his battle with John, which concluded with the Lord of the Dreaming merely returning his nemesis to his prison. "He could crush John Dee in his hand and he chooses not to," Heinberg said. "And I wanted to understand why he doesn't. And I think this version of John Dee sort of answers the question. Dream has compassion because he knows the monster that John's father was."
While John and Dream's final battle was likely the highlight for many of the show's fans, writer and co-executive producer Neil Gaiman previously revealed one of his favorite scenes in Season 1 occurred just before their showdown. Out of all ten episodes, and despite several scenes that made him emotional, Gaiman revealed, the one that stuck with him the most in that episode was when John Dee ignored the chaos around him in favor of going to the kitchen to get himself some ice cream.
Gaiman also explained the planning that went into recreating the iconic diner, going back to the initial illustrations from the comics. The Sandman writer revealed that the diner was based on a famous one from Salt Lake City that closed down decades ago but still has enough of a fanbase to have a website devoted to it. The team based the construction of the diner set on the images from the site, going so far as to copy the typeface and style of the menus.
Though Netflix hasn't announced a renewal for the show, Gaiman stated he planned to adapt the entirety of The Sandman comics for as long as the show retained an audience. The writer claimed this included the comics' spinoffs, such as The Sandman: Overture and The Sandman: The Dream Hunters.
Season 1 of The Sandman is available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.
Source: Tudum