Emerald City: Season 1 Review:

‘Emerald City’ is a 2017 series by Director Tarsem Singh and brings a new take on the Land of Oz. This show combines the awesome visual storytelling that Singh is known for and uses the characters we all know from the books and movies to the small screen once again. It is a fresh new take and while many characters such as the cowardly lion are not seen, there are similarities in many of the main characters that the story revolves around. What we are given is a more mature spin on the classic story and it is refreshing. The world we are shown is memorable all while being true to feeling lived and full of interesting people and locations.

EMERALD CITY — “The Beast Forever” Episode 101– Pictured: (l-r) Adria Arjona as Dorothy, Olafur Darri Olafsson as Ojo — (Photo by: David Lukacs/NBC)

3.5 ⭐⭐⭐/5

If you are a fan of Singh from his previous work on films like ‘The Fall’, ‘Immortals’  and many others there is a lot to be delighted with the 10 episodes. While we don’t get anything close to as cool as the final fight from Immortals the essence of his visual eye can be seen in the scenes and cities, towns and locations visited in the show. There is a tendency to have all the characters highlighted by specific colors that match their character and it adds to the understanding of the character. The hybridity of things like the yellow brick road and everything else that we know is color coded from the original is so vibrant and truly highlights their importance in the show. We get nods to important aspects of the original while introducing new concepts and features to the world that truly enhance the 40 minutes you spend in it, episode by episode.

The acting in the show is enjoyable but as with most projects by Singh, subtlety is where it shines. Vincent D’Onofrio as the Wizard of Oz is honestly one the best parts of the show for his portrayal. Not only is there a grandiose nature to his performance but as they curtains are pulled back on his history so does the layers of his performance become obvious. Another solid part of the cast is Ana Ularu as the Witch of the West. She is the conduit for which we get to learn about the larger world of magic that is a part of this world. She shows it off with power and emotion but we also get to see the human side of her character as not only is her focus on magic but also connecting with her sister witches. She is humanized through her interactions and we see that she only wants what is best for the world around her and for her that is through magic. Everyone is seemingly acting for their own interests or what is best for their group or faction and it creates this overall struggle between all the groups. Whether it is the witches and wizard, the different cities or even individuals, the show is wrought with challenge and that is how most of the plot progresses.

This show probably would be a really good binge because you can truly fall into this world. While there wasn’t really too much of cliffhangers with the episodes, the slow burn pulled you in. The show’s deliberate pacing brought tension to all of the events and allowed you to follow the characters throughout the events of the show. While a lot happens during the first season one of my issues that the main plot thread of the arrival of ‘The Beast Forever’ is confusing. It may be a threat that arrives by air, water or fire and it is kept hidden for most of the show. It is ok that is kept vague but when they do it pay it off in the finale it falls short. With such a stylized and different show it is clear they were trying to save some story for the second season but it seems to hurt the ending of this season as viewers are not given an ending or any conclusion to some of the major plot threads of the story. I actually think that it might be opening more threads to be continued in the second season but at this time nothing has been announced and based on ratings it is unclear whether it will come back.

Check it out and if you enjoy it as I did, talk about it online so we can get the much needed second season to continue down the yellow brick world into this awesome world.