Wicked: For Good

Elphaba snatches Dorothy as her first act as the Wicked Witch, desperate to reclaim a piece of her sister Nessa's lost life. Since Dorothy arrived in Oz through the same cyclone that killed Nessa, Elphaba sees the child as a final connection to her sister.

Nessa's death by cyclone earlier in the film directly connects to Dorothy's arrival in Oz.

Elphaba's fate is deliberately ambiguous. She vanishes in a cloud of smoke after staging her own disappearance, but the ending suggests she may have simply retreated into legend as the Wicked Witch. A final flashback shows her and Fiyero together under the iconic sky, implying they got their quiet life together, but it's kept secret.

Elphaba uses the same trap-door trick the Wizard performed, suggesting she learned survival from him.

Glinda takes the throne after realizing she has been complicit in the Wizard's atrocities. Confronted by Madame Morrible and the truth about the Wizard's regime, she sends the Wizard into exile and captures Morrible. Her rule is shaped by grief and the desire to make amends for her past complicity.

Glinda's gradual realization of her complicity throughout the film builds to this decision.

The bottle was a keepsake from Elphaba's mother that she gave to Glinda. Later, this bottle forces the Wizard to recognize that Elphaba was his own daughter, revealing her true heritage and explaining why she possessed magical abilities.

Elphaba's mysterious magical powers hinted at unusual parentage throughout the story.

After taking refuge in Fiyero's ruined castle, exhausted from endless opposition, Elphaba accepts the label of 'wicked' as protection. In a twisted logic, she decides to give Oz the villain it seems to need, using the title as armor rather than fighting against a false reputation.

Ozian propaganda throughout the film painted Elphaba as a threat, creating the very monster it claimed to fight.

Fiyero survives and ends up with Elphaba in secret. He bursts into the final confrontation, forces the palace guards to stand down, and helps Elphaba escape on flying monkeys. The ending implies they live quietly together, though their survival is hidden from Oz.

Fiyero's transformation from aristocrat to rebel supporter foreshadows his allegiance.

Elphaba stages her own disappearance using the same trap-door trick the Wizard once performed. This allows her to escape the political spotlight and live freely with Fiyero while letting Glinda take power and restore Oz. It's both a practical escape and a symbolic rejection of the roles Oz forced upon them.

The Wizard's trap-door trick earlier demonstrated how to vanish from public view.

Their bond endures despite permanent separation. In the final flashback, Glinda whispers to Elphaba under the iconic poster-style sky, showing their connection remains strong even as their paths diverge forever. Glinda rules with wisdom born from grief, while Elphaba becomes a hidden protector or legend.

The entire film builds their complex friendship, making the bittersweet separation the emotional core.

With the Wizard exiled and Morrible captured, Glinda takes power and restores Oz. The talking animals return, the refugees find safety, and the kingdom is unified under Glinda's tempered, wise rule. Elphaba's sacrifice and the defeat of the tyrannical regime allow Oz to return to a more peaceful state.

The restoration mirrors the film's themes of breaking oppressive systems.

The Grimmerie is a book of ancient spells that Elphaba never expected Glinda to read. By giving it to Glinda, Elphaba entrusts her with magical knowledge and power, effectively passing the wand (symbolically) to Glinda so she can wield magic for good in the new Oz.

Glinda's magical abilities were always present but less developed than Elphaba's.