Toto is a fierce police dog.
None of the witches are good or wicked, and all are slaves to a perverse, patriarchal society.
The Wizard is a misogynistic man-child who has conquered Oz and imprinted his retrograde worldview on a once-magical land.
Rico Torres/NBC
Cant wait to sign up, can you?
Like SyfysThe Magiciansor HBOsWestworld,Emerald Cityis a fantasy that explicitly or implicitly interrogates the values of todays fantasy.
Its interesting to pick apart; its not much fun to watch.
Rico Torres/NBC
It wasThe Silence of the Lambsby way ofInception, or for deep-cut geeks,Dreamscape.
Emerald Cityis, in essence, the same story with the same goals, and perhaps knowingly so.
Singhs Oz isnt a Technicolor dreamscape and myth-factory for heroic development.
Its a dystopia of medieval villages, steampunk city-states, and desolate, junky landscapes.
His origin story, marked by resentments and a yearning for significance, unfolds over time.
Hes an explorer-conquistador by way of Hercules vs.
The only roles that remain for the women of Oz express Franks view of women.
A certain portion of the audience is likely to see Frank as a Trump-like figure.
If that reading annoys you, well, get used to it.
He was also the grand master of male anti-heroes.
And, of course, Unicron fromThe Transformersmovie, a planet that devours other planets.
The Wizard, then, is the worlds worst Welles fan.
But you wonder if maybe the show is casting shade on that practice, too.
Take back your playgrounds, kids!
Take them all back!
We meet her properly as an adult, still living with her guardians.
Shes a mystery to herself, struggling with abandonment and attachment issues.
Singh plays to this.
Upon the witchs death, Dorothy acquires her power and briefly tries to front as her successor.
All of this is depicted as a kind of illicit cultural appropriation.
Decode that, America!
They become more human, not less, and hopefully, we, the reader/audience, do, too.
Intrinsic to the formula, though, is the return home.
The lands of make-believe are places to visit, not linger, let alone conquer.
Emerald Citys symbols and scenarios flick at the appeal of fantasy.
Im guilty of using and abusing pop culture as much as anyone.
I think about it all the time, so maybe Im just projecting my own preoccupations ontoEmerald City.
The shows yellow brick road dopey fools gold is a symbol that speaks to me, challenges me.
My hits of Heros Journey story should be empowering escapes, not deadening ones.
Remember the lesson ofThe Wizard of Oz: Theres no place like home.
And home needs us, now, more than ever.
Have I madeEmerald Cityinteresting to you?
If so, heres your twist ending: Im not sure how much youll be entertained by it.
As far as thrilling reinventions ofThe Wizard of Ozgo, its noWickedorThe Wiz.
There are many subplots and tangents, and not all of them are interesting.
They contribute to a feeling of a season that doesnt need to be 10 episodes long.
