Can we agree that the treatment of Wanda in the TV adaptation of The Sandman was not only disappointing or underwhelming, but actively transphobic?
It is widely understood that while Wanda's story in the original comics was revolutionary for its time, it was also deeply flawed and contained plenty of choices that would be unacceptable now. Any attempt to adapt Wanda and A Game Of You would require serious rewriting. The showrunners chose not to adapt A Game Of You, probably due to time constraints, but kept Wanda's character, probably because of how iconic and beloved she is.
This version of Wanda, however, contains almost every element of her story that people identified as transphobic and insensitive, while removing the parts that made her a sympathetic and beloved character. She no longer has a chance to show herself as a selfless, kind, and lovably quirky character – instead, she's the driver. Her relationships towards others, and especially with her friend Barbie, were the heart of her charm. Without them, where is her personality?
The time they could have dedicated to displaying some of those traits in her instead went to a stilted dialogue between her, Dream, and Delirium in which they attempt to justify why her presence makes sense in this storyline as opposed to A Game Of You. Unfortunately, what this dialogue accomplishes is to set her up as trans with no other character traits, and to assert that of course she would be overjoyed to reconnect with her family – the one she ran away from because of their transphobia – were they to reach out. That unconditional love for the family message is not only insensitive to the lived experiences of many trans people, but also acts directly against the story and characterization of Wanda in the comics.
Then, of course, they kill her immediately. The fridging/kill your gays aspect of Wanda's story is one of the most widely critiqued elements, and Gaiman was advised against doing it even before he published the comic. Embarrassing to keep it in, especially now that Wanda has received no characterization or redeeming elements; the emotional impact of her death is not there, nor is the selfless motivation she had in the comics. It's pointless.
Finally, not only is the resoundingly criticized deadnaming scene after Wanda's death kept in, but it is extended significantly in Dream's conversation with her aunt. Because Barbie and Wanda have no connection in this universe, Dream fixes her headstone instead – removing the truly impactful elements of that scene, which were the friendship and womanly solidarity between her and Barbie. Instead, it becomes about Dream and his own guilt.
This is a truly ridiculous level of irresponsibility, and I have to wonder, based on this track record, whether they would've kept the wombyn bullshit in too had they decided to adapt A Game Of You. Wanda's story was precarious when it was first published – it is downright unacceptable now. This should be called like it is: irresponsible transphobia and transmisogyny through a careless and harmful adaptation.