Part Three - The Conclusion
"That's the OZ I remember. I am so glad to be home." ~ DG
That's it? This is where the journey beyond the yellow brick road ends one big happy family (and a few friends) smiling at the sunrise. For this darker re-imaging of the
Wizard of Oz I expected a more satisfying ending then smiles and sunshine, especially after this final chapter full of action and homage's to the Baum classic.
It started off with DG and company finally reaching Finaqua, and DG skipping a stone shaped as a heart, activating a holographic message from her mother. In which she tells DG to seek out Ahamo for the rest of her journey. Ahamo is her father Toto tells DG, and since abandoning her mother has been hiding in the realm of the Unwanted. But before they even reach the realm, Cain brings up issue with were the loyalties of Toto lie, and in result he travels with them now solely in pooch form.
The realm of the Unwanted brings trouble as the gang is falsely lured by a gypsy who offers up a seeker to reveal where to find Ahamo however she is just after the reward money for turning the foursome in. DG gets kidnapped, and Raw, Glitch, and Cain are taken into custody by Zero and the Longcoats. On their journey back to the castle, the group is stopped in the forest by a broken wagon in the road. We see Cain's son is alive and he rescues Glitch, Raw, and his father in a Robin Hood like display. Since his mother's death it appears he has become a freedom fighter, and is eager to take revenge on Zero, but Cain stops him. Later, after having nightmares of his wife's death, we see Cain get some closure himself, as he puts Zero in the tin suit.
Meanwhile, DG awakens and again finds herself in a mystery location the seeker arrives out of the corner of the room and for defense the first things she grabs is a
broom. The seeker discloses himself to be the real Ahamo DG's father. Not ready to make nice just yet, it takes some convincing on DG's side but then she sees the dolls her and sister made years ago on his desk. Ahamo gives DG a compass of sorts as the token her mother wanted her to have to find the emerald. While DG is trying to figure out how to work the compass, Ahamo goes and gets his balloon ready
wait balloon? Yep, seems DG's Popsicle is the Wizard we are familiar with.
The next scene was my favorite what I was waiting for, the true connection to the
Wizard of OZ. Ahamo and DG enter a secret passage door in the woods, which transports them to the royal Annex. It is here that Ahamo takes DG to the "Grey Gale."
"She was your greatest great grandmother the original slipper. She was the first one to make it through to OZ from the other side. You were named in her honor," he tells DG as she looks up and reads DOROTHY GALE above the door. So DG is the great grandchild of little Dorothy Gale.
DG's mark on her hand opens the door, and she crosses into the black and white depiction of her Kansas farmhouse. She hears a voice say,
"I have been waiting for you." As she turns around we see a young Dorothy (who looks
nothing like Judy Garland) dressed in pigtails, silver slippers and that blue gingham dress. Dorothy hands DG the Emerald which looks like a mini emerald city and then she is gone and DG is back in color in the annex with her father.
Of course this whole time, Azkadellia has been closely following behind DG, and after reducing her father to size - she seizes the emerald from DG. She leaves DG buried alive in a green marble casket in the annex. Lucky for DG, Toto has also been following her and upon sniffing out the clues runs to the woods to gather up Cain, Raw, and Glitch to rescue her.
Once reunited, the foursome head to the castle for a last-ditch effort to try and stop Azkadellia from darkening the O.Z. forever. Before they break in, we witness another familiar scene. Hearing, that Raw is losing his nerve, DG reassures him he is not a coward. She says he taught her to have courage.
"Courage is not about being fearless, but about standing up in spite of your fears," she tells him. Glitch thinks if he had no brain that he would be four times braver. DG declares to Glitch that he is the smartest guy she knows, and without him he would not have unlocked her memories. Cain witnesses the whole display and tells DG he knows what she is doing he had to send guys into battle before, but admits that she is doing a good job. Cain warns DG not to lose her head when battling Azkadellia that if she must save herself first. DG responds to that by telling Cain that family is what really is important (i.e. heart).
Inside the castle, Raw, Glitch, Cain and Toto run off to shut down the power of the sun-seeder, while DG attempts to reclaim her sister back from the old evil witch who has possessed Azkadellia for so many years. DG finds Azkadellia in a green glow on the balcony of the castle. To pull the inner child and real Azkadellia out, DG sings the nursery rhyme about the two princesses and begs Azkadellia to take her hand that she won't let go this time. We see flashes of the old witch, then her in full flying form as Azkadellia grabs hold of her sister's hand and stand next to her in fear. The green light dims and in that moment the witch begins to sink.
"She melted." Yes, DG the old witch melted when the sun-seeder's power was cut. She went quietly, and it just wasn't as thrilling as having water thrown on her and hearing her shriek. Sisters hug, and family and friends are reunited just in time to see the sun shine out on the O.Z. The end.
Short recap on Tin Man versus Wizard of OZ characters:
The Queen = Glinda the Good Witch
Ahamo = The Wizard (Omaha spelled backwards remember that is the fair his balloon was from)
Witch of the Dark = Wicked Witch of West (melting scene and all)
DG (named after her greatest great grandmother) = Dorothy Gale
Glitch (Ambrose) = Scarecrow
Wyatt Cain = Tin Man
Raw = Cowardly Lion
Tutor = Toto
Hank and Em = Aunt Em and Uncle Henry
Resistance Fighters = Munchkins
Longcoats = Winkie soliders
Mo-bats = Flying Monkeys
Quotes:
Cain to Toto: "I'd shoot you in the heart if I thought you had one."
Glitch referring to Toto: "Maybe we could keep him on a short leash."
DG to Ahamo: "Where I come fromfreaks like you have vans."
Cain to son Jeb: "If you don't have a heart, you have nothing."
DG : "Green's not your color."
Azkadellia: "You look good in green green marble."
Azkadellia: "Want to share you shiny new trinket with your big sister?"
DG: "Noooo."
Azkadellia to her mother after revealing she has the emerald: "You don't know how long I have waited to see that look on your face."
I have mixed emotions on this mini-series I liked some parts and disliked others. I was thinking how they would continue it has a series before I saw the ended but now I think I would like to see where the yellow brick road goes from there, but I am not making room on my DVD shelf anytime soon. My somewhere over the rainbow will always be found in the classic MGM picture and the prequel novel and musical-
Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of OZ. What did you think? Were you Ozified by it? I look forward to reading you comments.
Relive the journey in our
Online Video Guide.
