Backstory, reveals, and betrayals (Oh, my!) dominate the hour as Oz sets itself up for war amongst itself and with the Beast Forever.

Spoilers for coming for you and your little dog too!

 

Frank from Topeka

Throughout the hour, we were treated to the tale of how Frank (and subsequently Dorothy) came to Oz. In 1996, the man who would be The Wizard was just an ordinary technician at Vortex Research Laboratory in Topeka, Kansas with Dr. Karen Chapman, Dr. Jane Andrews, and another doctor named Roberto. Frank is a pretty smart guy, but the others had advanced PhD’s. One gets the feeling Jane (and maybe Roberto) didn’t let him forget that. Karen seemed to be the only one who treated Frank like an equal of the group.

The Laboratory was working on generating clean wind energy when something went very wrong. Roberto attempted to shut the machine down manually, but was killed by debris. Karen and Jane rushed to help Roberto and Frank followed, but for a different reason. A tornado bursts through and the surviving trio ended up in Oz where they were found by the Munja’kins. Jane declares herself the leader of their group and they set up camp in the village.

Several months later, Frank and Karen are putting baby Dorothy down to bed when Jane informs them she has spoken to East who has agreed to transport them to Kansas in a tornado. Their arrival created a rift which could spell danger for Oz and East is anxious to send them back. But Frank doesn’t want to leave. He purposefully caused the disaster which sent them to Oz in the first place. Karen is understandably furious. His actions resulted in the death of Roberto, Dorothy’s father.

Sometime later, Frank flaunts the wonders of science to the Munja’kins. Several of them were impressed, until Ojo’s wife, Nahara, created a stone figure from rocks by singing to them.

Hidden Memories

As Dorothy is getting some truths about her parents from the Wizard, Lucas is in the dungeons below with Eamonn. Anna uses a gadget on Lucas to pull the lost memories forward, but it fails. The memories are not gone, just protected by magic. Eamonn goes to the Wizard with an update and finds Dorothy. The head guard goes for his sword, but the Wizard calls Dorothy his guest and orders she not be harmed. Upon hearing of Lucas’ capture, Dorothy demands to see her friend. Since Dorothy gave the Wizard a bullet as a sign of trust, he allows her access to Lucas.

Dorothy begs Lucas to lie and save his own life, but he is willing to risk his life for answers. “Nobody told me it would be a threesome,” West smirks as she enters the dungeon. The witch is tasked with breaking the memory barrier, but her first attempt fails. The block was placed by Glinda and West can’t break another Cardinal Witch’s magic. To work around the block West uses the connection Lucas has forged with Dorothy.

West works her spell and the three of them see the hidden memory. Lucas was transporting a group of young witches, including Sylvie, to Glinda. When the guards pulled them over, the girls became scared and started to turn several of the guards to stone. Lucas ordered the girls to run as he attacked the rest of the guards. Wounded in the fight, Lucas took a pill and the memory ends.

Who is Loyal to Who?

West realizes Mother South is still alive and is working with Glinda to replenishing their ranks to take back Emerald City from the Wizard. The sting of betrayal drives West to side with the Wizard and warns him. The Wizard realizes his council are spies.

Elizabeth frees Lucas and secures him safe passage North, but Lucas refuses to leave without Dorothy or Sylvie. Dorothy sets out to find Sylvie and gets help from an unlikely source. Eamonn found the little girl and Toto. He hands them over to Dorothy, but the gates of the city are blocked by guards. Dorothy has Sylvie hold tight with Toto outside the palace while she acquires permission to leave from the Wizard.

The Wizard knows exactly why she came to him and takes Dorothy to a chamber, much like the one at Vortex Labs. He tells her he can send her home if she kills Glinda. Dorothy doesn’t want to assassinate a person to get home, but changes her mind when it is discovered King August was turned to stone by a frightened Sylvie.

Dorothy, Toto, and Sylvie meet Lucas and Elizabeth on the borders of Emerald City. As they leave, the Wizard and Eamonn watch on and the Wizard reveals Dorothy gave him her gun. She is going to use Sylvie to kill Glinda.

The Wizard takes the gun to Lady Ev along with an offer of half the weapons produced can be used by the City of Ev to protect itself. The Princess is enraged at the death of her father and threatens war on Emerald City. The Wizard explains it was Glinda who killed her father and guns can kill witches. He demonstrates its power by shooting Anna dead in front of everyone.

Thoughts and Questions

Why did Eamonn save Sylvie? Is he also working for Glinda, or did he not feel comfortable killing a child? Is Dorothy actually helping the Wizard, or just telling him what he needs to hear to keep Lucas safe?

Did Frank know the tornado was going to Oz? Why did only Karen and baby Dorothy make it back to Kansas? What happened to Jane?

I think it was Nahara who really created the stone giants and which is why she is locked away in the Prison Abject.

On a side note, Tip continues to annoy me when she discovers Jack is still alive. Lady Ev put her in her place in a very satisfying way.

Till next week!

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About the author: The Nerdling has an unhealthy obsession with books, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Star Wars. She finds hockey to be the best sport in the world (Go Dallas Stars!) and is working on her first novel, but mostly glowers at a blank screen. You can find her on Twitter @nerdlingstale