Emerald City Review: They Came First (Season 1 Episode 7)
The witch hunt begins on Emerald City Season 1 Episode 7, “They Came First.”
The hunt itself is deeply disturbing and it makes for interesting and exciting television — which is something this show sorely needed, given the slow pace it has had thus far.
The show is stronger when the larger plotline does not revolve around Dorothy and her need to get home again.
It’s difficult to watch the Wizard’s fear drive him to commit horrible crimes against mere children, and it rings true to the state of our own world, wherein ignorant people fear that which they do not understand.
Beyond this twisted and ongoing war against magic, this episode was largely about relationships and betrayals.
Tip and West’s relationship seems to be strengthening. They have bonded over everything that they have been through together, and this witch hunt it the final stitch that binds them together.
Tip has come to genuinely respect and care for West, and West seems to, at the very least, respect her charge in return — although there is very little doubt that she does care for her, too, as West seems to care deeply for all the women put in her care.
Dorothy and Lucas’ relationship is a tricky one, because she fell in love with a man who did not remember who he was before her. Once he does remember, he remembers that he loves another, and foils her plan to kill Glinda.
There is a chance that Glinda put a spell on Lucas to make him believe he loves her so that he will help her, but that would be the far less interesting route to take.
Let’s stick with this and shake things up a bit with these two, because they need a new conflict to bring them to everyone else’s level of complexity.
Langwidere and Jack’s relationship continues to be confusing, intriguing, and just this side of twisted. There is a hint of Stockholm Syndrome to this pairing, which makes them endlessly fascinating to watch. There is no doubt that Langwidere is a deeply disturbed young woman, and not without reason to be, and she is obviously in a position of power over Jack that she continually abuses.
That being said, I believe her feelings for him are genuine and she is simply confused as to how to respond to them, and it seems as though Jack reciprocates these feelings in some regard.
At the very least, he is intrigued by her, and it makes for this weird push and pull relationship.
The fact that she was hurt and left him, but then returned to find him later, shows that what she feels is real, even if she expresses it entirely wrong 90% of the time.
They continue to be my favorite part of the series, and it will be really cool to watch them possibly rule together.
What did you think of this episode of Emerald City? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating:
User Rating:
Emerald City airs Fridays at 9/8c on NBC.
Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Becky Peters
Becky is a television, literature, and pop culture enthusiast who spends more of her time exploring fictional worlds than she does living in the real one. Post-apocalyptic and dystopian settings are her kryptonite, and she has a strange soft spot for anything that involves the walking dead (the creatures themselves, not the show -- but the show is good, too). You can usually find her engrossed in shows like Preacher, The Walking Dead, Sense8, or any one of the many other series that tickle her fancy. Follow Becky on Twitter: @epic_bcky
One thought on “Emerald City Review: They Came First (Season 1 Episode 7)”
“It’s difficult to watch the Wizard’s fear drive him to commit horrible crimes against mere children, and it rings true to the state of our own world, wherein ignorant people fear that which they do not understand.”
Gee, let me guess to whom you may be referring?
Comments are closed.