Battle lines are drawn as several forces aim their weaponry right at the Wizard of Oz in this penultimate episode.

 

Spoilers for you and your little dog too

 

As You Were

After her lover and surrogate child picked Glinda over her, Dorothy and Toto ride to the last place she was happy. The cabin they all stayed the night in before arriving on Glinda’s door step. Dorothy’s time to sulk doesn’t last long as Roan ambushes her. Toto comes to her rescue, but Roan quickly recovers for another assault. He pleads with Dorothy to either kill him or die (not entirely sure which and I don’t think he knows either) as he has his hands wrapped around her neck. Dorothy grabs his dagger and stabs him in the side, making Roan release her. Her parting gift to him is to string him up like a scarecrow once again. “You got your wish. I never happened to you.”

Traveling on, the girl from Kansas arrives at the Munja’kin village to ask Ojo to take her back to the Prison Abject. Dorothy knows Ojo’s wife, Nahara, is really the person who controls the Stone Giants. When the two arrive at the muddy prison, they find it empty of everyone, but the sick and dying (more on that later). Nahara is one of those left behind. Dorothy convinces Nahara use the last of her energy to raise the Stone Giants and give Dorothy the power to control them so she can stop the Wizard and Glinda from slaughtering thousands in their war.

Holding on to a Grudge is Dangerous

 

Needing the guns Langwidere is keeping from him to take on Glinda, the Wizard offers more gold to get the Queen to back down. Langwidere decides to keep the weapons so Emerald City is left defenseless and take the gold so there will be no money for rebuilding. She should have had her guards inspect the chests containing the gold a little closer as the Wizard hid operatives inside them. The operatives take the Queen hostage and let the Wizard inside the palace.

Jack runs to Jane for help in rescuing his love. Shocked Frank is in Ev, Jane goes to talk with her former subordinate to beg for Langwidere’s life. Frank, sorry, the Wizard is still a little bitter over having to work for a woman and threatens to murder Jane if she calls him by his given name ever again.

Jane mounts a gun to Jack’s hand and in the chaos of the Wizard’s attempts to make the Queen surrender to him, Jack accidentally shoots Langwidere in the head. The Wizard is taken captive by Ev’s guards. Jack brings Langwidere to Jane in hopes the scientist can fix her. Jane confesses the Lady Ev had long been dead. She was killed as a child in the aftermath of the Beast Forever’s last attack. King August commissioned Jane build him an automaton of his daughter and create several masks to hide that she never aged. Jane peals back Langwidere’s face to prove her story to Jack and assures him she can fix the Queen. Jack freaks out and vows revenge on the Wizard.

The One and True Queen of Oz

Tip convinces West to not die with a message from East to “get up off [her] sorry ass and help [Tip].” West wants to challenge the Wizard (and maybe Glinda), but she needs Tip to be on board with her plan first. This is proving difficult now Tip has found the power to become the boy he always known himself to be. West’s plan won’t work with Tip in that form because no one is going to believe he is Princess Ozma. Eventually the witch gives in and vows to find a way to make it work without Tip being a girl.

They liberate the incarcerated, healthy witches from the Prison Abject to act as their army against the Wizard. But the newly freed witches are not looking to team up with a boy who claims to be Ozma and the Cardinal Witch who turned her back on all of them in favor of the Wizard. They ambush West and look to punish her for her crimes against them. Tip steps in turns himself back into a woman and gives the mob of witches his final memory of the dead King and Queen. The group releases West and pledge themselves in service of Ozma.

Thoughts and Questions

Did I miss something? How did Dorothy know Nahara could control the giants? I don’t remember the Wizard or anyone else telling her about that.

I kind of hope that last encounter between Roan and Dorothy is the end of that romance. It wasn’t interesting and I like this new and more powerful Dorothy more. Yes, she wants control of the Giants so she can get home, but she is also the only person fighting to save the lives of those who would be killed in a war between Glinda and the Wizard.

Tip has been a character which has annoyed me the most over the course of the series, but he has also been the one I have the most sympathy for and have been actively rooting to be the one who comes out on top in the end. I give a lot of credit to Jordan Loughran who has portrayed Tip with so much depth. His sacrifice to give up the thing he most wanted to become what he is not was a beautifully earned and heart breaking moment.

Next week sees the Wizard verses Glinda, Dorothy, Jack, West, Ozma, and a bunch a pissed off witches in one hell of a battle royale as this series come to a close.

Till Then!

---

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