On Sandman fanfiction, Hob Gadling, "Dreamling", and the ending of the comics

Art by Hanna Loony

After I finished The Sandman season 1 last year, and got a bit obsessed, I followed my usual pattern of reading the source material next, and then moved on to fanfiction. Usually I switch to fanfiction because I'm out of canon material, which was also the case here, but another big reason was that I was so incredibly bummed out by the canon ending. More on that later. 

I think this might be the first time that I've joined a fandom on day one, almost. The comics have been around for a long time of course, but I mean the fandom that the TV show got started. I've usually discovered stuff years later (Doctor Who, Superman), so it was a lot of fun to be a part of a new, active fandom, and see the number of fan works grow. When I first started looking for fics in early august 2022, I think there were 80 or so fics under the Sandman tag on AO3. Right now, at the time of writing, there are over 6000. And what inspired most of those was that second half of "The sound of her wings" with Dream and Hob Gadling, the immortal guy. 

Hob Gadling

He was in half an episode! But the fandom loved his chemistry with Dream, decided that these two are meant to be together, and nicknamed their relationship "Dreamling". 

I'm not usually a big "shipper". I'm more like, "I just love this one character so much, never mind everyone else". This one character is usually the lead, and the guy with all the powers. So, Dream, obviously. If the focus shifts away from my favourite I'm likely to lose interest until they're back on again. If I like a pairing, it'll most often be a canon established one.

So I'm kind of fascinated by my fascination with Hob and the crazy extended backstory and life that he got outside of canon. I've read so many fanfics and versions of him and Dream interacting and getting together since august last year, that canon almost doesn't feel real anymore. It's nuts how half an episode (!) grabbed the fandom so firmly by the collar, and spawned this insane amount of content. I have read fanfic for years, but I've never been such a huge fan of a non-canon couple like this before. 

The reason why I think Hob is so interesting, and feel so natural as a "love interest", even though he isn't in canon, is that he's usually written with a whole, developed, charming, interesting life on his own, separate from the times he meets Dream over the centuries. He's met people, loved people, experienced things. You cannot say that for a lot of the love interests for my other favourite characters. 

I'm also a huge sucker for The Identity Reveal aspect of a story, and there are not a lot of supporting characters that can have a Reveal almost as satisfying as the main character's. The fanfics that I have come across where Hob has to explain to his friends how old he is and how that came to be are some of my favourites. I also love the fics that portray him as just a tiny bit "unhinged". I feel like you kinda have to be, to want to continue living forever, and not get depressed or turn into a villain in the process. 

Love interests (a slight digression)

I think one reason people tend to 'ship' two characters, often men, who are just friends in canon, is because their personalities and backstories are much more developed. A love interest is often written purely as that—a love interest—rather than as a fully developed, interesting person in their own right.

I've seen so many 'falling in love' scenarios in TV or movies where we're told the characters like each other, but we don't actually experience any chemistry, flirting, or mutual interest. This often leads to awkward moments, like Ginny feeding Harry a mince pie in Half-Blood Prince—"Open up, you... Don't you trust me?"—or the classic trope of tripping and falling into each other's arms.

This kind of thing often happens with love interests who are 'meant to be, but not yet.' Take Lois and Clark, for example. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman handled it well, but Smallville? They were cute together, sure, but by season 8 it felt like the writers suddenly remembered, 'Oh right, they're supposed to be together now,' and then—presto—they're awkwardly tripping over each other. Why does the beginning of a romantic interest always have to be portrayed with awkwardness? It seems like the go-to way of signalling to the audience that 'these characters like each other now,' and it's so lame.

Dream's ending in the comics

Neil Gaiman apparently described the premise of Sandman as: "The Lord of Dreams discovers that he must change or die, and makes his choice." 

And that choice is basically that he can't change enough, and he ends his life.

I'm probably missing the point completely, but Dream killing himself is such a heartbreaking ending that it felt super unsatisfactory. I get that not all stories have happy endings, and there's probably some literary storytelling device or technique at work here that I'm not understanding, but I still can't help feeling completely cheated. Everyone keeps telling Dream that he's changed, and he obviously has, he just refuses to work with that. Or to accept or admit it. At least how I read it. He's set up as this arrogant, lordly, proud, kind of mean character, but then he spends 75 years in captivity (over a hundred in the TV version), and starts to change a bit for the better. Then, after being treated to that character growth, in a character that I really really loved, after seeing those interactions with Hob in particular, how he finally learns to apologise... He kills himself? It's just not right, in my head. To go from the beginning, to see him change, and then decide that it's not enough? 

Again, I'm sure I'm missing the point, and I can always write a follow-up to this, if I feel like I get a better grasp of it later. My point though, is that Dream and Hob's relationship is the greatest fix-it by fandom I have ever seen. The jumping off-point from canon is so natural that I'd swear it was intentional if I didn't know it wasn't. My brain just goes, "Yes, this is right. This is the way the story is supposed to go." Especially after reading more and more great versions of how it could have gone. There are so many fanfics that take that same storyline, and just slots in Hob like the most natural missing puzzle piece ever created. Dream gets a "grounding force" and some peace, and Hob gets a constant in his life.

Some final thoughts

I have no need for Dream and Hob to get together in TV canon. I mean, it would be lovely if they do! But I know how canon and adaptions work. I'm prepared for Hob to have a cameo or two, and for the show to end in the same heartbreaking way as the comic. However! I'm very happy that there are now also an incredible amount of versions of this story where Dream gets a happy ending.

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Last edited: September 13, 2024