Can Wickedness Be Thrust Upon Us?

Elphaba and Glinda briefly reunite for the first time in Wicked: For Good

At a time when Broadway is struggling to turn a profit on new musicals, Wicked: For Good is breaking box office records. And with good reason. 

At this writing, I’ve seen the movie twice. I think I could watch it 5 more times and still see something new each time. I found it gorgeously crafted, flawlessly performed, and powerfully moving. There were many times when I wanted to burst into applause in the middle of the movie. I thought it was that good. 

It doesn’t hurt that the musical’s message is one I can get behind 100%, and that every scene is exquisitely crafted to bring that message home. The unifying theme is “Goodness happens when we refuse to let wickedness be thrust upon us.” We see that play out in three lives – Elphaba’s, Glinda’s and Fiyero’s – at the same time that we see three others – the Wizard, Nessa, and Boq – lose their better natures to the circumstances that are thrust upon them. We don’t get enough backstory on Madame Morrible to see her in the latter category. For all we can tell, wickedness is something she has willingly embraced in her thirst for power. 

I was surprised to discover that Wicked: For Good is really Glinda’s story. Elphaba remains vitally important and she still grows, but it’s Glinda’s journey that now has us captured. The movie opens with her soaking in the adoration of the masses. She seems as superficial, self-absorbed, and praise-dependent as ever.  But then, we see how she’s being subtly bullied and manipulated. We get a glimpse into her backstory that puts her need to be universally loved into perspective. And we see hints that her friendship with Elphaba has altered her in quiet, but significant ways. Wickedness is being thrust upon Glinda in a manner that seems almost irresistible. All she has to do in order to be celebrated everywhere is wear her practiced smile and keep her mouth shut.  

Adored as long as she does as she's told

In the stage musical, it was the Wizard alone who sang “Wonderful.” In the movie, Glinda is appropriately singing alongside him, bringing home the similarity between both of them in their infatuation with adoration. But that’s right before the turning point, where both are going to experience loss that moves them in opposite directions. The Wizard will do whatever it takes to retain the devotion of the masses. But Glinda has learned to love and she cannot become Elphaba’s enemy. She still doesn’t realize what she’s dealing with and she gets manipulated once again in a way that is devastating. But there comes a moment when she has to decide between continuing to play the popular part that’s making her complicit in her best friend’s destruction, or protecting her friend. That’s the moment, as she sings The Girl in the Bubble, when Glinda realizes she's ready to reject the wickedness that has been spun about her and choose goodness instead. 

Contemplating the cost of her choice

The far-reaching consequences of that choice are also surprising in happy ways. 

I don’t know how to say anything more without giving away too many spoilers. I’m surprised that I haven’t seen pushback on additional messages that hit hard in our political moment. I’d love to hear what you saw, and whether you saw any parallels to our present day. 

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