After nine episodes of witches training for war, of a wizard lying to his people, and of Dorothy searching for a way home, everything comes to a head in “Emerald City.” As Ozma takes back her kingdom, the Wizard tries to go to war, but Dorothy stands in the middle, and The Beast Forever finally makes its appearance.
Ozma confronts the Lion
When Ozma and the witches reach Oz, West is all about killing anyone in their way, but Ozma (because we can’t call this person Tip now, can we?) doesn’t want to kill someone simply because they were following orders.
Instead, Ozma metes out her own brand of justice, taking the idea of an eye for an eye to heart. Her pivotal moment comes when faced with the Cowardly Lion.
While West thinks Ozma should kill the man who murdered her parents, Ozma takes the idea of taking his family away from him a little more literally. She removes the memories from his wife and children that have anything to do with him, leaving him with no one who cares for him. He admits that he’s been a coward who saved his own skin, but Ozma doesn’t listen to his pleas, casting him out of Emerald City and dooming him to be the “beast” he’s been, cementing the Cowardly Lion’s place in Oz.
There’s a mother of a twist
As it turns out, Dorothy’s mother isn’t who the audience was led to believe she is.
She’s actually Jane, the scientist in Oz who has been living and helping the City of Ev. What’s not clear is why Karen Chapman didn’t just tell anyone that she wasn’t Dorothy’s mother or what happened to Karen’s baby since she was pregnant when the group of scientists arrived in Oz. Jane, wanting to protect Dorothy from, well, seemingly everything, kills the Wizard and sends Dorothy back to Kansas, but she stays in Oz herself.
Dorothy’s time in Kansas seemingly gives us a few more things to ponder. Her Aunt Em has fingers that are stained black, just like West and her girls who enjoy their poppy tea. Em dismisses it as her not wearing gloves while cracking walnuts, but could it be more than that? Lucas is also sent by Jane (supposedly) to bring Dorothy back to Oz to stop the dreaded Beast Forever in the final moments of the episode, so it seems like it’s not over just yet.
The Beast Forever flies in
From the Prison Abject comes the Beast Forever. A skinned man, he re-attaches it himself before sprouting wings and flying across the skies of Oz, being spotted by the Tin Man (Jack, hacked apart by the Wizard’s soldiers), the Lion (who is walking the yellow brick road out of Emerald City), the Scarecrow (strung up where Dorothy left him before he reappears in the teaser), and Ozma with Glinda and West looking out from Emerald City.
The Beast Forever being an unknown character is a little bit of a letdown after all the buildup throughout the ten episodes. And then to not even see the Beast Forever in action? Dorothy being the Beast Forever, as seemed to be hinted at constantly throughout the season, would have been more interesting.
Or, at the very least, confirmation as to whether or not Dorothy was a witch or just capable of wielding a witch’s powers.
Lingering questions
Who is Mother South? We never find out, though more witches are still being born.
Will Ozma have to give up Tip forever? She seems to say goodbye while looking at her reflection in the crown, but how heartbreaking for Tip to live his life out as someone he never wanted to be.
Is Dorothy a witch? Is Em? That's still unclear by the end of the season.
The verdict and what’s next
A fascinating episode, but nowhere near a conclusion for the series, “There’s No Place Like Home,” only serves to provide more teases for an unfinished story.
4 out of 5 stars
The open ending leaves it unclear if there will be a season two from NBC. “Emerald City” was originally billed as an event series, implying there would only be a single season for it, but that may not be the case now.
