The Sandman has many foes: Lucifer, the ruler of Hell. His brother Desire. The rogue nightmare, the Corinthian. But none is more dangerous than a dream vortex. Read on to find out what the phenomenon is, and why Morpheus finds it terrifying.
Warning, major spoilers from The Sandman ahead.
A dream vortex, or simply a vortex, is the single greatest threat to the Dreaming, the realm that Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) rules.
Rumors of its return alarm the residents of the Dreaming, including Abel and Merv Pumpkinhead. The dream folk ask Lucienne, Morpheus’ advisor, to bring the dream vortex to his attention. But he is already aware of the vortex's existence and the danger it represents.
The dream vortex travels through people’s dreams and breaks down the walls between them as it grows in power. These breakdowns manifest as increasingly violent earthquakes in the Dreaming and threaten to destroy it. And with the Dreaming destroyed, people will have nowhere to go when asleep, which will in turn destroy the waking world.
Lucienne begs Morpheus to hunt down and destroy the vortex. But the laws of the realm prevent Morpheus from acting until the vortex becomes an active threat.
Also aware of the vortex is Desire, who sees it as a tool for their brother Morpheus’ undoing.
“There is a dream vortex, the first in a long time and it is a woman,” Desire tells their twin sister Despair. “The girl has no idea what she is but she is already doing what vortexes do, bringing in everything and everyone to her, including Morpheus.”
Another person with a vested interest is the Corinthian. If the Vortex destroys Morpheus and the Dreaming, the escaped nightmare can live freely in the waking world.
As Desire mentions, the latest dream vortex has manifested as a woman (played by Vanesu Samunyai). She is Rose Walker, a young woman who is initially unaware of her great powers. But Rose’s sole goal is reuniting with her long-lost brother Jed, who is in foster care.
While asleep, Rose can travel through others’ dreams. As the vortex, she also can become the focal point of several peoples’ dreams. When she draws them in, she weakens the walls between them, causing earthquakes in the Dreaming.
So strong is her inner power that she is able to enter Morpheus’ throne room and directly address the Lord of Dreams. Morpheus tries to befriend Rose, telling him he will help her find Jed despite knowing he will have to destroy her.
While Rose Walker appears human, viewers learn she is a child of the Endless, the godlike family Dream and Desire belong to. It turns out that Desire impregnated her great-grandmother, Unity Kincaid, while she was unconscious with the “sleepy sickness.”
Desire created the dream vortex to destroy Morpheus and the Dreaming, because they feel Morpheus is “smug and self-important” and “behaves as if his realm is superior to ours.”
As Rose’s powers get out of control, the Dreaming begins to collapse. Morpheus is prepared to take her life but Unity and Lucienne interrupt him.
Unity reveals that she was supposed to be the dream vortex had she not fallen ill with the “sleepy sickness.” Her power had been passed down through the generations to her great-granddaughter Rose. Unity reclaims the vortex power from Rose, which manifests as a crystal heart, and sacrifices herself. Unity dies in her sleep, and the Dreaming and waking worlds are saved.
