Wicked: For Good

In the final act the story collapses the personal feud between Elphaba and Glinda into a single, desperate night. After Nessa’s tragic death, the two women meet in a hollow moment of reckless play that quickly turns violent when the palace guards intervene. Elphaba, convinced that Glinda has set her up, lashes out; Glinda, horrified, can only protest that the cyclone that killed Nessa was not any of their doing.

Fiyero bursts onto the scene, forcing the soldiers to stand down and allowing Elphaba to flee on a flock of flying monkeys. She takes refuge in the ruins of Fiyero’s family castle, where, exhausted by endless opposition, she finally embraces the role Oz has forced upon her. Accepting the label of “wicked” becomes a way to protect herself—and, in a twisted logic, to give the land a villain it seems to need. Her first act as the true Wicked Witch is to snatch the innocent child from Kansas, Dorothy, a desperate attempt to reclaim a piece of her sister Nessa’s lost life.

Meanwhile, Glinda’s façade of “the good” crumbles. Confronted by Madame Morrible and the Wizard’s own atrocities, she realizes she has been complicit in the very cruelty she pretended to oppose. Determined to make amends, she slips away in disguise, follows Elphaba, and begs for a chance to right the wrongs that began with Nessa’s death.

The climax hinges on a magical sleight‑of‑hand. Elphaba stages her own disappearance, using the same trap‑door trick the Wizard once performed. She hides Glinda in a wardrobe, hands her the Grimmerie—a book of ancient spells she never expected Glinda to read—and gives her a keepsake from her mother, a bottle that later forces the Wizard to recognize that Elphaba was his own daughter. With the Wizard momentarily stunned, Glinda seizes the moment, sends him into exile, and captures Morrible, effectively taking the throne of Oz.

The film leaves Elphaba’s fate deliberately ambiguous. She vanishes in a cloud of smoke, leaving the audience to wonder whether she truly perished or simply retreated into legend as the Wicked Witch of the West. The final flashback—Glinda whispering to Elphaba under the iconic poster‑style sky—suggests that their bond endures, even if their paths diverge forever.

In the closing scenes Oz is restored: the talking animals return, the refugees find safety, and Glinda, now the ruler, vows to keep the kingdom united and truly good. Whether Elphaba lives on as a myth or a hidden protector, her sacrifice reshapes the world, turning a story of outsiders into a bittersweet promise of redemption.

Last Updated: November 24, 2025 at 06:30