@MellieMD wrote:
I think the Oz nods were more to make an allusion to Oz throughout the episode. The whole thing was Regina trying to get back the thing she loves, making her a stand-in Dorothy. And she goes along with the ‘scarecrow’ (The man who lost his mind: Jefferson), the ‘cowardly lion’ (The man who lacked courage: Rumpel) and the ‘tinman’ (The man in search of a heart, Victor) but there was no wizard to be found, as much as she willed it, and instead the events released the evil that she “had inside her all along”. So it was a misdirect, it was a possible foreshadowing for future uses of Oz, but it was also an episode-sized allusion to a favourite classic.
That’s a really good observation. 😉
Personally, I think all the nods to Oz are simply foreshadowing. Last season, there were numerous nods to Oz that were connected to an array of different characters. August with his green phone and “Kansas” license plate, the flying monkeys in Henry’s book, ect. And this season, we have Regina saying “I don’t care if it turns my skin green” and Jefferson repeatedly saying “we’re off to see the wizard.” None of these nods mean that one of these characters is connected to Oz, it simply means that he’s on his way.
Or in a much larger context, it could mean that Oz has some sort of omniscient presence in all the characters’ lives. Maybe all the references are clues that indicate Oz is much bigger than we think. Maybe he’s the Rumpelstiltskin of Oz? You know, connected to everyone but no one knows it yet? ❓