 -- 3-Disc Boxed Set -- Welcome to Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald State Correctional Facility: Level Four or OZ. As run by McManus and uverseen by Warden Leo Glynn, Em City is about prisoner rehabilitation over public retribution. No matter how hardened a criminal of killer, whether you're in for a few of in for life, you have a role to play. Once inside, choose your friends carefully. Every group-Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans-stick close to mutual friends and terrorize enemies. Don't smile. Get yourself a weapon. Stay on everybody's good side...if you can find one. Season 5 41. Visitation - Written by: Tom Fontana - Directed by: Alex Zakrzewski 42. Laws of Gravity - Written by: Tom Fontana and Sean Whitesell - Directed by: Rob Morrow 43. Dream A Little Dream - Written by: Tom Fontana and Sean Whitesell - Directed by: Adam Bernstein 44. Next Stop, Valhalla - Written by: Tom Fontana and Sunil Nayar - Directed by: J. Miller Tobin 45. Wheel of Fortune - Written by: Tom Fontana and Sunil Nayar - Directed by: Terry Kinney 46. Variety - Written by: Tom Fontana and Brad Winters - Directed by: Roger Rees 47. Good Intentions - Written by: Tom Fontana and Brad Winters - Directed by: Adam Bernstein 48. Impotence - Written by: Tom Fontana - Directed by: Alex Zakrzewski 41. Visitation -- A ribbon cutting ceremony, complete with the Governor doing the honors, signals the opening of a newly constructed Oz. Warden Glynn doesn't resign but he's more battle weary. White, Alvarez and other inmates in solitary are temporarily transferred to Em City while repairs are being made. As Schillinger and Robson recover from their wounds, they begin planning revenge on the Muslims. Conversely, Said plans to plead guilty for the attempted murder of Robson & Schillinger. The fate of Rev. Cloutier is revealed and inmates expecting visits from family members get shocking news. 42. Laws of Gravity -- Alvarez and Guerra come up with a new way to settle their beef -- Guerra will stab Alvarez in the shoulder without killing him. Morales questions Guerra's decision to do this while he attempts to grieve for his sister. Rebadow gets more bad news about his grandson which prompts him to search for alternatives. Montgomery asks for more hush money from Ryan so Ryan devises a plan to have Montgomery eliminated. Officer Brass returns to Oz to get facts on who attacked him. Ellie O'Connor arrives as the Governor's liaison to Oz only past memories of her failed marriage to McManus return. Schibetta returns and Schillinger shanks Pancamo after learning that he had Hank killed. McManus makes an offer to Said and White to hopefully curb White's erratic and sometimes bizarre behavior. Ryan's mom, Suzanne Fitzgerald comes to Oz to instruct inmates in performance arts. 43. Dream A Little Dream -- After recovering from his shank wound, Alvarez gains a follower. Busmalis starts a letter writing campaign to get "Miss Sally's Schoolhouse" back on the air. Rebadow finds a way to raise the money for his grandson's treatment. Jia Kenmin returns to Oz after recovering from the coma induced by a blow from Cyril. After Schillinger's released, Redding and Morales form a pact to eliminate the Italians from the drug trade. Schibetta makes a move on the Aryans only it backfires with terrifying results. Kirk continues planning ways to kill Cloutier. After carrying out messages he "received" from Cloutier, Hoyt confesses to all his past murders. Cloutier makes a move that mystifies everyone. 44. Next Stop, Valhalla -- After Guerra kills his follower, Alvarez makes a confession to Mukada. Alvarez, Hill and Penders sign up for a seeing-eye dog-training program. Dr. Nathan attacks a patient while having a flashback of her rape. Cyril shanks Lee Cheung, which gets him, sent to solitary and Ryan sent to the cage. During an interaction session Beecher attacks Schillinger after Schillinger denies ever raping him. Redding asks Glynn for control of the kitchen. Hill's grief over his dead mother and divorce from his wife forces him back to drugs. Beecher's new podmate is the son of a prominent family Beecher knew well. Because of that, Beecher decides to protect him from the Aryans at all costs. 45. Wheel of Fortune -- Said and Arif go to Warden Glynn about Lalar's murder. Angry and full of rage, Said then confronts White about passing drugs. Unsatisfied with White's response, Said beats White severely, which gets Said thrown in the hole. Chucky Pancamo's condition worsens. On orders from Schillinger, Winthrop gets into a fight with Guenzel. Schillinger goes to Beecher to win favor only he intends to have Beecher turn Guenzel over to him to be his "slave". Keller discovers the feds have compelling evidence linking him to one of the past murders. Meanwhile, Howell makes her move on Keller, Rebadow's ship comes in...for someone else and Hill becomes gravely ill. 46. Variety -- Said returns from the hole ready to apologize to White. The inmate variety show takes shape with Busmalis as MC and White the featured performer. Robson's painful teeth force him to the dentist, something he secretly fears. The dentist recommends gum replacement surgery. Alvarez wants to give his dog to Rivera ' the Oz guard he blinded. Cyril's trial looms and Ryan's worried. Redding continues to search for culprit that gave Hill the drugs. Poet, in an attempt to hide the truth from Redding convinces Busmalis to tell Redding that one of the Italians did the deed. This results in Redding having DeSantos poisoned. Chucky's condition worsens and out of fear, he summons Sister Peter for spiritual help. Meanwhile, Sister Pete starts looking for Schibetta's attackers only the 3 who know (Said, Beecher, Schillinger) refuse to divulge. 47. Good Intentions -- Redding discovers that Busmalis lied about DeSantos. Furious, he confronts Morales and the confrontation gets the two of them thrown in the hole. Cyril gets convicted of the murder and Ryan tells the attorney not to appeal. Meanwhile Sister Pete, Father Meehan and Suzanne Fitzgerald meet to devise another plan in Cyril's defense. Rebadow fumes over not getting the lottery money. Mc Manus' offer to search Oz's databases reveals an inmate with the same blood history as Rebadow's grandson. Rebadow meets the man only to be rejected by him. The rumor of Robson's replacement gums coming from a black patient prompts Schillinger to consult with Aryan Nation leader. The result? Robson gets banned from the Aryans. 48. Impotence -- Robson returns from solitary to discover he's been kicked out of the "Brotherhood" and moved to another cell. McManus tells Glynn he'll write a letter supporting Alvarez's bid for parole. Problem is, Alvarez attacks one of the parole board members and gets thrown back into solitary. Dr. Nathan's guilt worsens as Chucky slips into a coma from the septic infection. Schillinger tells new inmate Cutler he has to kill a black inmate to join the "Brotherhood" and Cutler selects Said as his victim. White's gets this information and goes to protect Said only they get into a tussle and Cutler almost dies. Rebadow gets to go see his dying grandson only to have to return later for the boy's funeral. Busmalis gets a letter from Norma who wants to visit. She does and brings surprising news. Beecher moves to make a confession during the interaction session. The result? Schillinger gets convicted of rape and is transferred to solitary indefinitely. Father Meehan touches a nerve with Ryan and forces him to acknowledge a childhood incident that scarred Ryan for life. A stabbing intended for Redding, claims an innocent inmate instead. Cast Notes: See Oz: Episode List for full cast information and much more. User Comment: N. Durham "Big Evil" (Reading, PA), May 3, 2005 • What is it that makes HBO's ultra volitale men in prison drama Oz such compulsively addictive viewing? Perhaps it's the layers of storylines being told over one another, perhaps it's the fact that this is one of the finest ensemble casts ever assembled, or, possibly, because one is so shocked at what is seen on screen that they anxiously, or dreadfully, await to see just who gets shanked next or what else develops. Whatever the case, Oz remains one of the best shows to ever grace HBO, and one of the most underrated. The fifth season of Oz begins with the aftermath of the kitchen fire, followed by the power control triangle between Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen), white supremiscist leader Vern Schillinger (J.K. Simmons), and Kareem Said (Eamon Walker). In the meantime, the mother of Ryan and Cyril O'Reilly (Dean and Scott William Winters) comes to the prison to teach the prisoners of performance arts, while a few inmates train some dogs to be guides for the blind. Of course not all of this ends well at all, but what else would you expect while taking a trip down this blood soaked yellow brick road? Standout performances from Tergesen, Simmons, Walker, the Winters brothers, Kirk Acevedo, B.D. Wong, Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, and the rest of the usual suspects are highlights here, but it's Law & Order: SVU's Christopher Meloni who steals the show as Beecher's psychotic lover Keller, who has coming agendas of his own. By the time season five comes to a close, it is apparent that the end is soon near, and by the time it reaches it's climax, you'll be begging to see how it all comes to an end. Summary: Another trip down the blood soaked yellow brick road. IMDb Rating (08/20/06): 9.3/10 from 729 users
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