The Sandman Season 2 revealed why Dream sent Nada to hell, and it is for a heartbreaking reason. Based on Neil Gaiman's comic series of the same name, the sophomore run of Netflix's fantasy drama series under the DC banner follows the story of Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), aka Dream of the Endless, and his quest to correct his past mistakes, one of which involves his former lover, Nada (Umulisa Gahiga). While Dream had many romantic relationships in the past, Nada stood out the most, but their forbidden love was doomed from the start.
The Sandman introduced Nada as the mortal queen of an ancient African city known as the "First City." After she unexpectedly entered the Dreaming (Morpheus' realm), Dream became drawn to Nada's beauty, prowess, and courage, leading to a forbidden romance between the pair because an Endless and a mortal's love affair could cause cosmic imbalance. It wasn't long before Endless and Nada's romance led to a devastating blow for her people because a meteor managed to hit her city.
Driven by guilt due to the death of her people, Nada ended up killing herself, but Dream decided to follow her in the afterlife. Dream's persistence toward Nada ends in vain because she rejects his proposal to rule the Dreaming with him (she did reject him several times). As a result, Dream banished Nada to Hell for 10,000 years.
Dream's harsh consequence for Nada's rejection is a sign that he only thinks about himself and not what she had gone through after losing the city and her people. However, Nada believed that she was rejecting him for her own good because she knew that being with him could cause more trouble and conflict in the future (as evidenced by the meteor that killed her people).
What's Next for Dream and Nada in The Sandman Season 2?
Dream had a lot of thoughts to ponder at the end of Season 1, and his conversation with the other Endless (aka his siblings) made him realize that what he did to Nada was a mistake.
The Sandman showrunner Allan Heinberg spoke with TV Line to explain why Dream had to do the banishment to Nada, explaining that much of the character's reaction in Season 1 was due to his "captivity and his rage" while revealing that Dream believed that "he's a victim" in the grand scheme of things:
TV Line: "This is quite a reckoning for Morpheus this season, right? He is grappling with stuff that I feel like he didn’t think all that much about in the first season."
Allan Heinberg: "Absolutely. So much of the first season was about his reaction to his captivity and his rage. He was so righteous in [the idea of] he’s a victim. He was going to fix things, even with the Corinthian. It wasn’t an inward journey. It was very much a 'I’ve been away and I’m going to put my house in order' journey, and I think he came out of it with an increased appreciation for Lucienne’s contribution. And I think Death offered him some perspective. Season 1 humanized him to the degree that his journey toward empathy was just sort of starting…"
Heinberg also shared that it actually "never occurred to [Dream] that he's the villain" in Nada's story before referencing a key part of their journey in Season 2 when Dream rescued her from Hell:
"It had never occurred to him that he’s the villain in the Nada story, that he acted dishonorably. And it’s his pride and his ego that dictates the trip back to Hell, more than anything else. Even when he says to Nada, 'Now I rescued you from Hell, will you marry me?,' he’s still not getting it.[Laughs] He’s still not thinking about things from her point of view…"
After a pep talk with his sister, Death (who called him out for his cruelty against Nada), The Sandman Season 2, Episode 3 revealed that Dream tried to rescue Nada from the depths of Hell, but she rejected him again (for the nth time) while also ensuring to let her know what she felt for leaving her to suffer for thousands of years. The final blow is Nada's revelation that she doesn't love Dream anymore (which is quite understandable because of everything she has been through).
Thankfully, a more mature Dream understood Nada's honest outburst against him, and he allowed her to become human again and return to Earth. While Dream tried to find her again in the mortal realm, he wasn't able to cross paths with her, which cemented the idea that the pair were not meant to be.
The final season of The Sandman on Netflix continues Morpheus' journey as he tries to rectify his past mistakes, including his decision to banish Nada to Hell for eternity. Joining Tom Sturridge and Umulisa Gahiga is an all-star cast led by Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Boyd Holdbrook, Razane Jammal, and Donna Preston.
