Revenge and payment are the order of the day in “The Villain That’s Become” as everyone seeks to pay off debts or get vengeance. The Wizard seeks out his guns in the Kingdom of Ev, though Lady Ev isn’t too keen on sharing with him. Dorothy has to defend herself against the last person she thought would hurt her - Lucas. West and Tip try to figure out just how they can use East’s magic.

The old Trojan horse gag

The Wizard and Lady Ev aren’t exactly on good terms. She wants him and all of Emerald City to suffer for hanging her kingdom out to dry the last time the Beast Forever came around.

The Wizard wants the guns she was supposed to have made. When he pays a visit offering up gold for guns, she takes the gold and keeps the guns. But wait, there’s more!

As it turns out, not all of those chests of gold are full of actual gold. There are a few soldiers inside them as well, who emerge from the chests to take out Lady Ev’s guards so the Wizard can infiltrate the castle. His negotiation tactics, which involve yelling at her about her negotiation technique, and then slapping her, leave much to be desired. He’s desperate, and it shows.

Interestingly, as Lady Ev encourages her guards to stand her ground at the expense of her own life, the audience believes her dead, only for her to discovered as a robot later in the episode.

Who saw that coming? Probably no one.

Tip digs deep for magic

After saving West from herself, Tip reveals that he doesn’t feel magical. Despite coming back from the dead last week, he isn’t sure there’s any magic within him. As West instructs him to dig to find his feelings, and then deeper still, Tip changes right before the audience’s eyes to the Tip he’s always felt like inside instead of the Tip that is Princess Ozma.

As West points out, though, Tip being Tip presents a problem if they want to get revenge against the Wizard and gain the throne.

After all, the people know that Ozma was born a girl. Tip has always believed himself to be a boy. The conflict there - be yourself and never see justice done or change who you are to gain the trust of a kingdom - is one of the most heartbreaking of the show.

West thinks Tip is being petty, wanting to remain a boy, but Tip sees becoming Ozma as relinquishing his freedom.

In the end, West agrees to try things with Tip remaining as the boy he believes himself to be. That doesn’t work out very well for the duo as the witches they save from the Prison Abject don’t believe that Tip is Ozma. It takes Tip tapping into some strong magic and revealing his memory of his parents’ death, as well as transforming into Ozma, to make them see. It’s a shame that Tip is probably never going to get the freedom he’s wanted.

Lucas confronts Dorothy

Tip’s isn’t the only heartbreaking story in “The Villain That’s Become.” Emerald City is apparently full of heartbreak in the run to the finale.

As Lucas tracks Dorothy to the safe house, she just wants to get some rest, but he attacks. Dorothy isn’t willing to fight him, but Lucas begs her to stop him as he tries to kill her. He doesn’t have a choice, and it’s heart-wrenching to watch her finally stab him in the same place where she patched him up in the first episode, then string him back up like a scarecrow, telling him he’s finally got his wish: it’s like he never met her. This can’t be the end of them, though, right? Dorothy and Lucas are the love story of the show, despite his attachment to Glinda. There’s got to be something more coming.

The verdict and what’s next

Now that the war is inevitable, the pacing of “Emerald City” is at full speed, and it’s great.

How will the show tie everything up in just one more episode? I can’t wait to find out.

4 out of 5 stars

In the finale “There’s No Place Like Home,” the threat of the Beast Forever still looms over Oz, but Dorothy prepares to face off against the Wizard while Tip and West head to Emerald City to get revenge.