‘Emerald City’ Season 1 Episode 6 Recap: Beautiful Wickedness

Emerald City Episode 6
Adria Arjona and Oliver Jackson-Cohen in ‘Emerald City’ (Photo by David Lukacs/NBC)

NBC’s Emerald City season one episode five threw in a major twist at the very end, with the Wizard (Vincent D’Onofrio) welcoming Dorothy (Adria Arjona) back to Oz where she belongs. Episode six titled ‘Beautiful Wickedness’ begins by taking a leap back in time to Kansas prior to the Wizard traveling to Oz.

Showing up for work at the Vortex Research Laboratory, Frank grabs his tape recorder (the one now with him in Oz) and checks on the silos and his co-workers from a control room. Dorothy’s mother, Dr. Karen Chapman (Gina Bellman), is one of his co-workers and it’s obvious he has feelings for her that don’t appear to be reciprocated. Jane Andrews (Gina McKee), the doctor who made Jack into the Tin Man, also works at the Vortex Research Lab. They fire up a tube, generating a twister; they’re creating energy out of thin air. Unfortunately, it’s too much energy and their experiment is out of control. The power tornado reaches into the sky and as the temperature climbs, one of their co-workers is seriously injured. They all race to help him as the glass containing the tornado cracks.

Flash-forward to Emerald City where Dorothy questions the Wizard, asking how he knows her. The Wizard reveals he’s known her since she was born in Oz. He didn’t realize she was the stranger visiting this land or he wouldn’t have been trying to have her killed. The Wizard confesses he loved her mother and she wouldn’t approve of Dorothy trying to take him back to Kansas. This shocks Dorothy, and the Wizard adds that Dorothy’s mom loved him.

Eamonn (Mido Hamada) questions Lucas/Roan (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) about his traitorous actions which Lucas still can’t remember. Lucas, who’s now chained up and in a cell, believes only torture will bring back his memories. Anna (Isabel Lucas) places a machine over Lucas’ head which looks like an ophthalmic testing device. She looks into it after Lucas winces in pain.

The Wizard tries to make a deal with Dorothy, promising to answer all of her questions if she turns over her gun. She won’t let go of it but agrees to give him one bullet. Eamonn appears, sword drawn, but the Wizard declares Dorothy is his guest and his friend. Eamonn lowers his weapon and after he mentions Lucas’ name, Dorothy turns her gun on him. She demands to know where Lucas is and Eamonn reveals Lucas’ memories are intact but protected by magic. She asks the Wizard for permission to see Lucas and he grants it.

Dorothy runs into Lucas’ cell, bends down in front of his kneeling body, and kisses him. She strokes his naked chest as if to confirm he’s alive, confessing she thought she’d never see him again. She wants him to lie and say he remembers something, but Lucas refuses. He wants the true answers and is willing to allow them to break the magic to get into his brain. Just then West (Ana Ularu) arrives in the cell, summoned to release Lucas’ memories.

Elsewhere in the castle, Elizabeth (Roxy Sternberg) and Anna want to “read” Dorothy but the Wizard refuses to allow it. He believes Lucas’ locked memories and the King of Ev’s refusal to build weapons are bigger threats to Emerald City. Elizabeth leaves and the Wizard tells Anna he wants her to become the new Head of the High Council in place of Elizabeth.

Eamonn reports Lucas’ memories are still locked up and Dorothy’s visit did nothing to free them.

West threatens Dorothy but now she can’t hurt her because she’s protected by the Wizard. Unfortunately, Lucas isn’t so West can do whatever she needs to to break the magic surrounding his memories. West tells Lucas the process won’t be pleasant, but he doesn’t want Dorothy to ask the Wizard to stop it. He insists he needs the answers, no matter the pain. Dorothy doesn’t want to watch him suffer but she stays anyway as West begins the process. West seems to be sucking some power out of Lucas but breaking the spell doesn’t work. The spell was cast by Glinda and West demands to know what secrets her sister has hidden inside Lucas.

Lady Ev (Stefanie Martini) and Jack (Gerran Howell) walk through the palace, and he runs into Tip. She can’t believe he’s alive, but Jack stops her from touching him. He’s angry she left him to die and as he begins to walk away, Tip says she loves him. She pleads with him not to go, but Jack doesn’t want her around. Lady Ev asks how she knows Jack and Tip says they grew up as best friends. Lady Ev makes Jack show Tip what she did to him, and he opens his shirt to reveal his mechanical heart.

West can’t open Glinda’s spell but she can work around it. She needs Dorothy to slip past his defenses, using a backdoor into his mind via his heart. If it doesn’t work, they’ll both lose their minds. Lucas doesn’t want her to risk it, but Dorothy very firmly tells West to do it.

Emerald City Episode 6
Stefanie Martini as Lady Ev and Vincent D’Onofrio as the Wizard in ‘Emerald City’ (Photo by David Lukacs/NBC)

The Wizard shows Lady Ev the bullet and explains what it’s made of and what it can do. He wants her to make thousands of bullets and guns, and he’ll take half and she can keep the rest to protect everyone from the Beast Forever. A bullet couldn’t have taken down the last Beast but can kill the upcoming Beast because it’s made of flesh and blood. King Ev interrupts looking for his dead dog. Before Lady Ev and Jack leave the room, she tells the Wizard that if he brings her the gun, they will talk about a deal.

West pours a potion over Lucas and Dorothy’s heads while chanting. The liquid drips off them into a bowl where it bubbles and then clears to show Lucas’ memories. They see Lucas’ wagon being stopped by the Wizard’s guards. Inside the wagon, young girls (including Sylvie) with black eyes vibrate and hum. Lucas won’t reveal the contents of the wagon and it’s actually the children who take down some of the guards, using just their minds. Lucas fights the rest and is stabbed. One of the guards says they should string him up instead of just killing him, and Lucas tells the girls to run which they do. He pops open a ring and swallows what’s inside. West yells, “No, it can’t be!” as the vision ends.

The Wizard tells Eamonn he needs Dorothy’s gun, but he personally can’t make an enemy out of Dorothy. West interrupts their talk to declare, “The mother witch lives and is bringing witches for Glinda!” The Wizard says Mother South is dead but West explains about the young witches and how Glinda cast the spell to conceal them. The Wizard wonders what good new witches would be, and West says they’re not to fight the Beast Forever; Glinda will use the witches against the Wizard and his men. The witches will take Emerald City from him and the Wizard now realizes there are spies in his kingdom. The High Council, Anna, Elizabeth…they have all betrayed him. West wants to rip them all to pieces and the Wizard tells Eamonn to find the young girl who was with Lucas when they captured him.

Lucas can’t believe Dorothy doesn’t think he’s a monster after finding out he’s killed people. Dorothy says he was just protecting those girls, and Elizabeth enters Lucas’ cell to free him. She confirms he also works for Glinda and now he should flee back to Glinda’s palace. Lucas doesn’t want to leave until they find Sylvie, and Dorothy volunteers to track her down. Elizabeth tells Dorothy she’s going to have to choose which side to take. War is coming to Oz!

Eamonn meets Dorothy at the base of the stairs outside the castle and tells her to follow him to retrieve Sylvie.

In a flashback, we see Frank, Jane, and Karen making their way through snowy woods. They encounter the villagers Dorothy encountered years later, and Jane introduces herself as their leader.

Eamonn takes Dorothy to his house and fetches Sylvie and Toto. The young girl is sound asleep and Dorothy asks why he’s helping her. He says he’s not helping “her,” and she promises to get Sylvie safely to Glinda’s. Once outside, Dorothy realizes there are too many guards so she tells Toto to keep Sylvie safe while she gets help.

Jack can’t find King Ev anywhere and Lady Ev is worried.

Dorothy asks the Wizard for help and asks if he’s her father. In another flashback we see Karen and Frank comforting baby Dorothy. Jane returns from a visit with the Wicked Witch of the East where she’s found out by visiting this world, they’ve brought something evil to it and they have to leave in order to stop it. Jane smiles and says East will send them home by summoning a tornado. Karen’s ecstatic but Frank says he’s not leaving. Jane tells him they all have to leave – that’s the deal. Frank admits he locked them out of Jane’s computer and he’s responsible for their stay in Oz. He wanted to destroy Jane’s machine because she treats him like he’s stupid.

The Wizard tells Dorothy her father’s name was Roberto and he was killed in the accident that brought them to Oz. He apologizes and lies that he tried to save Roberto, and Dorothy admits she doesn’t trust him because he lies to everyone. He replies, “We do what we need to survive.” He wants to know where Sylvie is, and Dorothy says if he lets Sylvie go back to the North he’ll be safe. The Wizard has a proposition for her.

King Ev continues looking around the palace for his long-dead dog. He hears Toto but Toto doesn’t recognize him and keeps barking.

The Wizard explains all the power in Emerald City comes from under the city. The vortex chamber they’re standing in front of can send Dorothy home right now, and Frank wants to know if she’s thought about why, after being born in Oz and then leaving, she’s been brought back to Oz. He believes it’s her destiny to save everyone. She says she’s not a savior and he asks if that means she’s just a girl from Kansas who misses her mother. Or, is she more than just the things she’s lost? He wants her to stay in Emerald City and stop Glinda from starting a war that will kill thousands of people and tear this world apart. He can’t use his giants because their power is locked away. She needs to kill Glinda using her gun and then she’ll be able to go home. Their talk of going home is interrupted by screams outside the palace.

Lady Ev’s father has been turned to stone. Lady Ev stares at her dad, now a statue, and looks shaken.

Dorothy and Lucas reunite and join Sylvie and Toto in the wagon. Elizabeth stops them from leaving, telling Dorothy she can’t go with them. Lucas refuses to go without her so Elizabeth gives in but warns Glinda won’t be pleased. She describes their path to Glinda’s palace and Lucas thanks her and they head out.

Anna asks Elizabeth if Dorothy was the witch, and Elizabeth warns her the less she knows the better. Elizabeth says Glinda chose to fight back and Anna was only there to learn the Wizard’s secrets, not help him. After they learn his secrets, they won’t need the Wizard any more.

The Wizard and Eamonn watch this all go down, and Eamonn assures him the guards won’t stop the wagon. Plus, he can guarantee the wagon won’t be followed. The Wizard is counting on Dorothy to stop the war before it starts by killing Glinda. Eamonn’s not sure the Wizard should trust Dorothy but the Wizard shows Eamonn that Dorothy trusts him enough to give up her gun. Instead, she’ll use Sylvie to turn Glinda to stone.

The Wizard, Eamonn, and his men stride purposefully through the castle.

In a flashback, Frank has the villagers captivated using modern-day items to create a light. He makes a battery, telling them it will change their lives. They think it’s magic but he proudly proclaims it’s science. One of the villagers begins singing and Frank’s science project magically moves around. He’s not pleased when she creates a small creature out of rocks and says, “Magic.”

The Wizard and his men arrive just as Lady Ev and Jack are loading their carriage. She tells him they’ll return with her soldiers and wipe out his city, but he blames her father’s death on Glinda. He offers her Dorothy’s gun, telling her it’s strong enough to kill a witch or the Beast Forever. He demonstrates by shooting Anna. Lady Ev and the crowd are shocked as Anna falls to the ground, dead. The Wizard says, “Make these guns! We take them to war – a war on magic for the very soul of Oz!”