Emerald City Episode 1 REVIEW: “The Beast Forever” – Gorgeous But Not Quite Great

Emerald City
Image Source: The Atlantic

Emerald City is a great idea, in theory. Take The Wizard of Oz, defined in the American consciousness by the 1939 Judy Garland classic, and reinvent it as a raw fantasy drama full of intrigue and backstabbing. Oz has been reinvented before of course. Wicked, The Wiz and countless others have practically made a national pastime for the United States.

As a Brit I can hardly pass judgement. We’ve reinvented Sherlock Holmes and King Arthur so many times both have now been dragged into modern day settings. Not coincidentally, that’s also what we’re getting in Emerald City, which begins airing in the UK four ridiculous weeks after its US premier.

Our new Dorothy (Adria Arjona) is a doctor in the small town of Lucas, Kansas. She’s adopted, having been abandoned on the doorstep of a farmhouse as a baby. There’s a mysterious birthmark on her hand which might as well have the words “this will be important later on” written next to it on her wrist. Dorothy’s introduction isn’t given much time beyond this, unfortunately. And really this becomes the episode’s biggest flaw. Because after a few minutes of vague characterisation, Dorothy is caught in a storm and zapped off to Oz.

Vincent D'Onofrio in Emerald City
Image Source:
Dailymotion

Oz, as it’s imagined here, is the show’s unique selling point and the writers know it. After taking refuge in a police car Dorothy is sucked into Oz, crash-lands and quickly crashes into the Witch of the East. Without knowing it, she’s making waves over in Emerald City already. It’s in these scenes the show shines. Hints at a war some time in the past, and something evil called the Beast Forever. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wizard of Oz is in charge, and has forced the Witch of the West and the Witch of the North to abandon magic. It’s not quite Game of Thrones, but it’s a set up rife for political intrigue and power grabs.

The Witch of the West (or simply West as she’s introduced to us) is here reimagined as the madam of a brothel. It’s a reinvention that appears to work, largely thanks to a charming performance from Ana Ularu, and in spite of its bare faced attempt at cheap titillation. Her interactions with D’Onofrio’s Wizard are particularly tantalizing, with hints towards a messy past and a war which destroyed many cities. There exchange was the opening episode’s best scene.

As for Glinda the Good Witch? Her trappings in this version of Oz are designed to make her the opposite of her fellow witch. Where West is the overly sexualised id, Glenda (Joely Richardson) has made herself a symbol of virtue. She’s the super ego, though we hear about this more than we see it in the premiere. It’s a dichotomy which could lead to some interesting conflict in future episodes. As was hinted though, Glenda might not be as squeaky clean as we think.

Emerald City
Image Source:
NBC

The biggest problem with Emerald City, though, is how much time we’re forced to spend with Dorothy. In The Wizard of Oz this shouldn’t ever be a hindrance, but Dorothy is given so little characterisation it becomes hard to invest in her story at all. She wanders through gorgeous locales which are both harsh and hauntingly beautiful, but her reactions come off as hollow. For as much time as Dorothy is given, she’s never allowed space for her reactions to her new world to come across as anything more than mundane. It’s almost like the writers were so keen to show us their cool new Oz they forgot to put in an interesting protagonist.

In a story like this, reacting to fantastical new world is always a hurdle which must be jumped. But even as a character is staring gobsmacked at magical wonders and strange rituals, there’s still room for characterisation. Carefully choosing how a protagonist reacts to something can tell us just as much about them as a scene where they bare their problems to another. It’s a tool Emerald City largely neglects in its first episode as it tries to show us as much of its dark, untamed version of Oz it can.

Emerald City
Image Source:
TV Guide

Part of the problem is that, until the last act of the episode, Dorothy lacks that foil to accentuate her personality. A character who she could interact with, so as to define her properly for the audience. The addition of Emerald City’s version of Scarecrow (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) does something, at least, to remedy this. That he looks like a brooding, sad eyed male model probably won’t hurt the show’s viewing figures either.

If Emerald City can move quickly to better define Dorothy as a character it has a chance. Its twist on The Wizard of Oz looks gorgeous and intriguing in equal measure. It’s wild, savage world outside the sanctuary of Emerald City, and the lurking threat of something evil on the horizon will be enough for some viewers to keep watching. It’s still a show with mountains of potential, but with a little restraint its opening episode could have hit a homerun. As it stands, it is simply a solid start.

Emerald City airs Wednesdays on 5Star.

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.