Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for The Sandman season 1.The Major Arcana of the Dreaming in Netflix's The Sandman are dreams and nightmares of great importance, but that description does little to explain them. There is much about the magical realm called The Dreaming that defies explanation and quantification. The same boundlessness applies equally well to the denizens of the Dreaming, particularly the varied body known as the Major Arcana.
Dream of the Endless created a number of unusual creatures to populate the Dreaming, including Lucienne the Librarian and the maintenence man Mervyn Pumpkinhead. Precisely why he should do so is unclear, given Dream possesses a number of powers and is virtually omnipotent within his own realm. It has been suggested that Dream creates new life within the Dreaming in order to feel less lonely, though the dour Dream Lord would surely take offense at that idea.
Whatever the reason, Dream created thousands of beings to populate his realm, including the Major Arcana. The second half of The Sandman season 1 is centered upon the search for three members of the Major Arcana who went missing during the time Dream of the Endless was imprisoned in the Waking World. Here is a rundown of the missing Major Arcana, their roles in the Dreaming and their powers.
Gault The Shapeshifter
Gault is an original character, created for Netflix's adaptation of The Sandman, who was not in the original comics. She replaces the nightmares Brute and Glob, who were responsible for bringing Lyta Hall and her ghostly husband, Hector, into a miniature dreaming they had created inside the mind of a boy named Jed Walker. Gault attempts the same feat, but has drastically different motivations and does not involve Lyta or Hector Hall in her schemes.
Like all nightmares, Gault is tasked with aiding mortals to confront their fears through their dreams, presumably using her powers to take the form of whatever her assigned targets fear most. Gault grows tired of inspiring fear, however, and takes advantage of her creator's absence to try and inspire hope in a boy named Jed Walker, who suffered such horrific abuse in the Waking World that Gault could not see fit to make the boy's dreams unpleasant. Despite her rebellion, Dream sees fit to grant Gault's wish and remakes her into a hopeful dream in The Sandman's season 1 ending.
The Corinthian
The Corinthian enjoys an expanded role in Netflix's The Sandman adaptation compared to the original comics. While the Corinthian has always been one of The Sandman's most interesting and horrifying antagonists, he was not originally introduced until the second major story arc, "The Doll's House." By contrast, the Corinthian of the Netflix series is an active presence from the beginning, using his knowledge and powers to aid those mortals who seek to bind or battle Dream of the Endless throughout The Sandman season 1.
Dream of Endless considered the Corinthian to be a masterpiece and the greatest nightmare he had ever created. He described the Corinthian as "a dark mirror made to reflect everything humanity will not confront." This made it all the more ironic that the Corinthian, who had teeth for eyes, used reflective dark glasses to hide his inhumanity when he began preying upon mortals in the Waking World. He did this even before Morpheus' imprisonment, apparently inspiring a number of infamous serial killers in the process.
As a nightmare, the Corinthian is virtually invincible in the Waking World, being faster, stronger and more durable than the average mortal. He can enter and exit the Dreaming at will and reemerge virtually anywhere within the Waking World, as shown by the ease with which he traveled the globe in The Sandman season 1. He also possesses superhuman tracking abilities, presumably in keeping with his role as the deadly pursuer a dreamer cannot get away from. Despite this, the Corinthian is not invulnerable and the protective spell guarding Ethel Cripps proved strong enough to destroy his physical form for a time. Only the will of his creator, Dream of the Endless, can permanently destroy him, however, and even strong magic cannot prevent the Corinthian from reforming his body within the Dreaming if it is destroyed.
Fiddler's Green
The absence of Fiddler's Green is the only one of the Major Arcana disappearances in Netflix's The Sandman which seems to surprise Dream of the Endless. He describes the mysterious dream as one of his most loyal and reliable vassals, who runs their own dominion within the Dreaming. This makes it all the more surprising to the duty-minded Dream that Fiddler's Green would seemingly abandon their post.
Fiddler's Green, it is eventually revealed, is a place rather than a person. Fiddler's Green is a verdant paradise, the perfect land dreamed of by many a sailor lost at sea. In this it might be considered the Heaven countering the hellish realm called Davy Jones' Locker.
While traveling in the Waking World, Fiddler's Green uses the alias Gilbert, and takes on the appearance of a portly middle-aged man with a British accent. They carry themselves as an old-fashioned gentleman, favoring Edwardian suits (in green, of course) and carrying a sword cane with themselves at all times. Fiddler's Green is also a great fan of the author G.K. Chesterton, whose appearance they emulate, presumably as an intentional homage. (It should be noted the resemblance is an intentional homage on the part of The Sandman author Neil Gaiman, who cited Chesterton as one of his favorite writers.)
Unlike the Corinthian and Gault, who had seemingly sinsister motivations for abandoning the Dreaming, Fiddler's Green merely became bored and sought to see what life as a human would be like in the wake of the disappearance of the many named and titled Dream of the Endless. It makes an odd sense that a place, even a pleasant one like Fiddler's Green, might feel homebound and develop a desire to see beyond their own borders, hitting the road and heading out in search of adventure. Fiddler's Green also stands unique as the only one of the missing Major Arcana in The Sandman who returned to the Dreaming of their own free will.
The Sandman season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.