TV Shows and other addictive things

#CurrentlyWatching: Emerald City

Kat Impossible44 Comments

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I know, I know, there was something about me not wanting to talk about Emerald City all too soon, but what can I say? I couldn’t hold back any longer, I just love it too much. In case you’ve missed the previous post in this awesomely new feature, you can go check out the the first ever #CurrentlyWatching here. Right now I am just going to jump into the matter at hand!

Emerald City is a new show on NBC, currently in its first season with episodes that last about 40-something minutes. This is a story where The Wizard of Oz meets Game of Thrones. You definitely shouldn’t expect some sort of faithful retelling, because you are sure not going to get it. But go into it with an open mind and I think you’ll find a lot to enjoy about this show. Take a look!

Dorothy Gale, a 20-year old Kansas nurse, wants to build a relationship with her biological mother, who gave her up for adoption. But when she goes to find her, she finds a crime scene and a brewing storm instead. Taking shelter in a police squad car, the twister transports her and a police dog to the Land of Oz where Dorothy promptly runs over the Wicked Witch of the East. Facing a world she doesn’t know, where magic exists but is firmly banned, Dorothy has to find her way home again. All the while she doesn’t know that she is part of a prophecy that will change things in Oz forever.

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You still get Dorothy (let’s not dwell on the fact that there’s no way she’s only 20) the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion (took me a while to figure that last one out), but all of it with a twist! The Wizard is a man of science who has banned magic, but the Witches are still considered most prestigious among the people. It’s a corrupted and more dark version of Oz, one very afraid of what might happen upon the arrival of Dorothy, because there haven’t been any travelers coming this way for a very long time.

I immediately fell in love with the show. The costumes, the make up, the set design – everything! Most of the visuals are gorgeous and it is so much fun to figure out all the similarities and differences to the original story. Not once have I been so invested in anything Oz related (it wasn’t even one of my favourite classic stories before), but there’s such an air of mystery to it now, you simply never know what might happen next. I don’t want to give away any of the twists and turns, because that would take all the fun out of you watching the show, however, there is so much unexpected to explore. I mean, peoples, there is even a transgender storyline! The cast is simply amazing and everyone is fully convincing in their roles. Rather than just focusing on Dorothy alone (although she is being capable and badass AF), you get to see all perspectives, without an overload of information (more the opposite of that). There are so many morally ambiguous characters we don’t know half of the motivation of yet, each week, I am sitting in agony, because I can’t wait for the next episode.

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This is a new part of #CurrentlyWatching that will probably make an appearance in several of the upcoming posts. The thing is, I can’t really commit to a show without people to ship with each other. Interpersonal relationships are my jam and even my dramaturgy teacher had to admit that I was pretty darn good at spying a romantic entanglement from a single scene in a script. So, here I am, needing a place to swoon over all those amazing couples TV offers, starting with Dorothy and Lucas!

Right from the beginning, when Dorothy saves Lucas’ life, you can see sparks flying. The attraction is immediate and palpable TV chemistry at its best. The way they lean into each other or even just the way they look at each other, there was simply no way around me shipping them. But don’t you worry, they are not just perfect boring couple material. Lucas, which is not even his real name (really cute-Dorothy-involving scene how he got that name by the way!), can’t remember a thing about his life before he met Dorothy. The man is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but when scraps of the man he used to be surface, there is clear tension between him an Dorothy. So, there is conflict, but at the same time they don’t tease you forever, but progress quite nicely.

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One of the things I love most about them, is the way they act when there is danger ahead. It’s like they subconsciously move closer to each other, seeking comfort, even when they had known each other for all of five minutes. They hold hands or half-hug each other as if they could protect the other person that way somehow and it just makes my heart do all sorts of happy jumps. Sometimes it’s the little things that are the best!

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Again, this portion of the post will be pretty short. I would not recommend you watch this show if you are uncomfortable with/don’t like one or more of the following things: unfaithful retellings, suicide, amputations, violence in general, recreational drug use, prostitution, …

So, what do you say folks? Are you going to tune in to Emerald City? If so, don’t forget to let me know, either here or on Twitter!

44 thoughts on “#CurrentlyWatching: Emerald City”

  6. Hi Kat.
    I have loved the old 1939 ‘The Wizard of Oz’ movie all my life. I have seen it dozens of times and will never tire of it. You had me all jazzed up to see this re-telling, until you mentioned the triggers. I can do without amputations. Too bad, as I think I would really enjoy this if it were not so violent.
    Happy Reading and Viewing!
    ~Icky. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hey Icky,
      I am pretty sure I have seen the original movie at some point in my life, but the memory is very vague. As I mentioned in the post, I wasn’t too big of an Oz-fan before.
      I am glad the trigger warning worked for you. It’s in episode 4 and I think a one time thing, but I did feel it was necessary to mention. It’s not as graphic as some other scenes, but I know that it’s a sensible topic.

      Like

      Reply

  13. I also enjoyed this show quite a lot. Sooooo sad about this cancellation. I think it really deserved at least one more season to find a larger audience and tell more of the story. 😦

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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