After watching Emerald City, I think I may now know a little more about how the original Dorothy felt when she first landed in Oz! Honestly I had no expectations for this show at all, so I didn’t come to it with any pretenses. Having said that, it was not what I expected! Definitely a darker and more intense version of the Wizard of Oz than has ever been done before. First, they have Dorothy being of mysterious origin (there is later foreshadowing that she may be a witch), as she is left as a baby with Auntie Em. They also decided to make her of Hispanic descent, or at least being raised in the Hispanic culture. Twenty years after being left with Auntie Em, her mother returns to Lucas, Kansas and Dorothy has yet to make contact. She is a nurse, and although she wants to see her mother she does not yet think she is good enough. She finally chooses to confront her mother on the night of a severe twister (why, you say? Dramatic effect). What she finds is a small trailer full of storm tracking equipment and a blood trail leading to a dead police officer. She then checks the storm cellar and finds her biological mother lying in a pool of blood dying. Determined to get her help, she heads to find more police, even though her mother warns her to run and that the police are bad.
Outside the storm rages on, and even as she calls to a policeman for help, he turns to shoot her but is swept up in a twister. Dorothy jumps into his car and buckles her seatbelt. She is swept up as well and when the car lands, in lands right on top of a mysterious woman dressed all in red. Cold, hurt, disorientated and filled with feelings of grief over killing this stranger, she leaves the car to head out into the snow and wilderness. She is found by a tribe of children who then take her to a tribe of elders, who are not nearly as nice and cute as the munchkins we are used to!
And from here Dorothy’s journey begins. She is not heralded for killing this evil witch, rather she is tortured because only a witch can kill a witch. She still does not know where she is, and yet she seems to accept this new bizarre world a lot better than I would! Oz is a dark place where there are three witches (not just the two we are used to), as well as native tribes, the powerful Wizard and a yellow road that is not made of Bricks but rather poppy seeds (or opium). The scarecrow is not a brainless idiot, but rather a fierce warrior with amnesia.
The trio of witch sisters all vary greatly in this new tale. One is sadistic and hungry for power and torture—this is the one Dorothy is thought to have killed but who later comes back to torture her and the “scarecrow” she finds. Her curiosity over Dorothy’s gun proves her downfall as she does not know what it is and Dorothy has her turn it on herself and pull the trigger. Another one of the sisters appears to be a Madam of a whore-house and is full of dark and lascivious ways, with a drug problem. And lastly is “Glinda”, who appears to be chaste and clean but with such a menacing demeanor that the viewer realizes she might be the most vile witch of all.
The witches have struck some sort of accord with The Wizard who apparently destroyed “the beast” when it came last time, but now there are signs of “the beast” returning again.
All in all, when I finished the season premiere I was left with many more questions than answers, and I wasn’t sure what I had just watched?? So many differing aspects pulled from a variety of genres in this show. I am not sure how it will hold up or unfold over time. It could be genius, or it could end up a hot mess. Truly it will depend on the story-telling and the acting. It did feel a little choppy to me, and as if they tried to cram too many new elements into on episode, but premieres of new shows are always tricky this way. They need to get the audience excited, but not overwhelmed. I hope that it will start to flow a little better in future episodes.
Questions the viewer was left with; Is Dorothy a witch or the Beast? Who is the young boy whom she rescues? He seems to hold a vital secret. What does Lucas’ (the scarecrow) past hold? And what is this sinister and dark world that we have stumbled upon? The backdrop can best be described as “Willow” meets “Star Wars” in terms of the kind of place Oz is shown to be. Different creatures, tribes, magic, monsters, and much more I am sure remains to be seen in this new world.
I am not sure I enjoyed the season premiere, but it definitely intrigued me and I am curious to see where this series goes.
