The story of Oz’s witches is finally on the big screen, and the first chapter, Wicked: For Good, is an emotional rollercoaster. It’s a tale that masterfully blends triumphant hope with an undercurrent of deep, inevitable tragedy. Here’s why.
A Friendship Forged in Difference
At its core,
Wicked is about the unlikely, transformative friendship between two young women who couldn’t be more different. There’s Glinda (Ariana Grande), the bubbly, popular, and privileged blonde, and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the fiercely intelligent, passionate, and misunderstood girl born with emerald-green skin. Their journey from rivals to roommates to the closest of friends is the story’s hopeful anchor. We watch them challenge each other, change each other, and ultimately form a bond that redefines them both 'for good.' This central relationship is the source of the story’s greatest warmth and joy. It’s a powerful narrative about looking past surfaces and prejudices to find a profound connection. The hope in Wicked stems from the belief that this kind of friendship can change the world.
The Soaring Hope of Defying Gravity
Much of the story’s optimism comes from Elphaba’s arc. She is an outcast who refuses to be silenced. When she discovers that the wonderful Wizard of Oz is a corrupt fraud, using propaganda to oppress the talking Animals, she makes a choice. Instead of staying quiet to remain accepted, she embraces her power and fights back. This culminates in the show-stopping anthem 'Defying Gravity,' a moment of pure, exhilarating empowerment. It’s the ultimate declaration of self-acceptance and a refusal to bow to injustice. For anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, Elphaba’s decision to fly solo, guided by her own moral compass, is a deeply hopeful and inspiring moment. It’s the story’s promise that one person, armed with conviction, can stand up to a corrupt system.
An Undercurrent of Inevitable Sadness
But for all its soaring hope, a deep sadness permeates Wicked. The story is, after all, a tragedy. We know where this is heading: Elphaba will become known to the world as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda will be Glinda the Good. Their friendship is doomed by politics, propaganda, and public perception. The same act of defiance that feels so hopeful—'Defying Gravity'—is also the moment that seals Elphaba’s fate as a public enemy. The sadness comes from watching a smear campaign, led by Madame Morrible and the Wizard, successfully twist her righteous crusade into something monstrous in the eyes of Oz’s citizens. We see her good intentions lead to tragic outcomes, and we watch as two people who love each other are forced onto opposite sides of history.
A Tale Told in Two Parts
The decision to split the film adaptation into two parts amplifies this bittersweet feeling. The first film reportedly ends just after 'Defying Gravity,' the musical's powerful Act I finale. This was a deliberate choice by the filmmakers, who felt that any scene immediately following that moment would feel anticlimactic without a break. For the audience, this creates a unique emotional state. We leave the theater on the high of Elphaba’s empowerment, filled with hope for her mission. But we are also left in a state of suspense, acutely aware of the tragic second act to come. We are hopeful for Elphaba but sad for the coming fallout: her estrangement from Glinda, the loss of her love Fiyero, and her eventual public 'melting.' The film’s structure forces us to live in that moment of peak hope while knowing the sorrow that awaits, making the experience both exhilarating and heartbreaking.
