This May Not Be Popular, But... 'Wicked: For Good' Leaves Me Feeling Less Than Oz-struck

July 2008 - Seeing "Wicked" on Broadway with my sister

I have been a fan of the musical, "Wicked," for over a decade. I had seen the show touring when it came to Gammage in Arizona. I jammed out to the music. I wrote an article on the now-defunct Helium platform with my review. It was the first show I saw on Broadway in New York. It was also the second show I saw on Broadway. I read the book the musical was based on. I've watched documentaries about the story and the making of the musical. 

What appealed to me so much about the musical itself was mostly the soundtrack. Each song stands on its own, and has a deep, meaningful application to life. "Dancing Through Life" is about not taking yourself too seriously. "Not That Girl" could be applied to any woman seeing her crush with another. "For Good" resonates hard with people who come into our lives and don't stay, but we cherish the memories and how we grew from those times. As I listened to the soundtrack on repeat, my favorite song and least favorite song would shift from one to another. I started out hating "Popular" for its shallowness, but grew to love it for the comedy and the fact that even though it is shallow, it's also true in a way. And I still maintain that "Loathing" is one of the musical's greatest satirical achievements, functioning as an anti-love song that hilarious subverts the expectation of a sweeping, dramatic duet.

Jan 2010 - Seeing Wicked" Broadway again

The storyline is amazing, of course. Taking the all-bad villain(s) of the well-known Wizard of Oz story and showing how they were just complex, well-meaning but misunderstood people who wanted to do good, flips the whole narrative on its head. The heroic Wizard is actually just a callow, misleading showman? And Glinda was a sell out? Amazing! And the world we see in the Wizard of Oz with the multi-colored horses isn't as amazing when you realize Oz used to be a world in which animals could talk and weren't just relegated into service for transportation and the like. 

21 Nov 2025 - Seeing "Wicked: For Good"

All this to say, when the first movie came out, I was nervous it would do it wrong, but was thrilled that it really did a good job of adapting to the movie format and fully utilized the power of amazing movie sets. So I had no doubt that part two would be nothing less than "wonderful." I donned my Wicked shirt, put in contacts so I could watch the 3D version with the glasses comfortably, and put a Wicked bow in my hair. I was set for two hours of amazement. Honestly, this isn't it. I've divided my review into two sections, what I liked - "For Good", and what I didn't like, "Feels Wicked." It may be apparent from the lengths of those two sections what my overall sentiment was.

*SPOILER ALERT* DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED

 

For Good

In the wedding scene, the harp was amazing - I want one for my home - and the cello player was on point with his hair! The butterflies on the floor disguised as flower petals but come alive as she walks - splendiferous! 

I loved Glinda's apartment in Emerald City - it was retro in all the right ways and the perfect amount of pink! I'd love a Wicked-Barbie crossover movie. And that pink train?!? Yes, please! Then the Wizard is playing with his little toy train and now I can't stop thinking I want one. 

The cinematography of the sharp angles in so many of the scenes was amazing - looking straight up or looking straight down. And even more spectacularicious in 3D! 

I like the addition of Madame Morrible controlling the weather and deciding to create a cyclone. It didn't quite make sense why the tornado reached all the way to Kansas to drop a house in Oz, but it was an interesting twist (pun intended). Banning her at the end by quoting her rebuke in the first movie was a pretty epic reclaiming of Glinda's power. 

I loved the "sword fight" between Glinda and Elphaba with their wand and broom, respectively. I wanted more, maybe a nod to the Princess Bride's epic sword fights. 

The window pane shattering as a hint that Elphaba arrived at Glinda's apartment was a nice touch. A way of saying, "I'm here, are we okay?" that shows the deep, unspoken understanding in their relationship. 

The yellow brick road becoming another veiled evil, being constructed through forced labor of the newly relegated animals, and then the connection to the animals going down into a tunnel like an Underground Railroad was a great way of expanding the oppression of the animals and liken it to real-world oppression and discrimination. 

Fiyero wore a green costume, and that's a nice tie to the scarecrow having a green shirt in the Wizard of Oz. Maybe a happy coincidence given the prominence of green in the Emerald City, but I like it. 

One surprising detail that added a layer of meta-textual delight was the plentiful inclusion of Australian fauna in the land of Oz, a clever, subtle nod to the country's common nickname, Oz. The koala specifically got a lot of the lime emerald light. 

A few small details in the Wizard's lair added to the general plot twist of Wicked. The yellow bricks he had in there were soft, but we didn't see that until after he hit himself and did a convincing job acting hurt before demonstrating their squishiness. The fact that he has these lying around implies he has all sorts of devices to deceive. And I love a good pun, and when one of the mechanical eyeballs was acting up, he said it was his worst pupil. 

I really like the meta theme of "For Good" being not just the title song but also going along with the rise of Glinda the Good and her intention to do better at being good. It also has a nice juxtaposition with Elphaba swearing off good deeds because she's not effective. 

Feels Wicked

The "now just wait a clock tick," phrase was way overused. It is cute, to be sure, but felt like it came up way too much in this movie and while it was in the first movie, it wasn't as prominent to my memory, which seems like a strange evolution. 

Flashing back to a memory that didn't happen in the first movie (the main characters in a field having a picnic) felt forced, all in the name of creating that moment at the end to mimic the Broadway show poster which wasn't necessary and didn't add to the story. Ok, I stand corrected slightly, there was a very momentary flashback to it in the opening scene when Glinda was giving the news to Munchkinland, but that scene doesn't develop in the first movie. Also the scene was wildly inaccurate based on what we know about the characters - Fiyero was there, and Glinda would have been attached to him, not clinging onto Elphie. 

Fiyero chose to go with Elphie but didn't say if it was because he was doing the right thing or because he loved her, so it felt strange for Elphaba to assume he'd want to kiss her when she started into the song. I mean, yes, they had that touching moment in the mirror, but it escalated quickly. We never saw a passionate love scene between he and Glinda, and they were on the verge of getting married. Seems a little presumptuous for Elphaba to assume she's getting laid tonight just because Fiyero didn't shoot her. 

The rainbow reference in Galinda's childhood set up something really cool, but then went stale. It could have held more meaning when it was called back at the end, like maybe it was a result of her banishing Madame Morrible, showing Glinda's power isn't magic, it's influence. As it was, I am "over" it, and not in the good way. 

The Wizard being Elphie's biological father opens up unnecessary plot holes. It radically rewrites Melena's backstory and the Wizard's initial arrival in Oz, diminishing his original characterization as a simple, opportunistic showman who stumbled into power. And, do we even really believe that? I went back to watch the original, and I swear the guy looks like he could be a person of color! (I realize the actor is not black, but they altered his look significantly). That is not the younger version of Jeff Goldblum.  It could have been cool to make it more meaningful to the Wizard when he has the realization that she was his progeny, but the disconnects are too glaring for me. 

WHY WEREN'T THE SLIPPERS RED?!? This is just a blatant rejection of the most-watched movie of all time (Wizard of Oz) for no reason - it doesn't add anything, it doesn't create a new symbol or storyline. The shoes turning red in the scene where Elphaba levitated Nessa was so close, but didn't seal the deal. That could have turned her shoes red permanently and tied up the disconnect nicely. Just, WHY? I am unreasonably angry about this. Ok, yes, the original book had them silver, not red, but we all know the movie far more than the book, so…. 

Actually, that whole scene was dreadful. Nessa's giddiness - you know, when Nessa, well, *rose* - was bizarre and felt like a poorly executed Willy Wonka reference. The ordeal that led to Elphaba casting the spell on Boq was cleaner in the musical - Elphaba would do anything for her sister and her sister was losing Boq. It was another example of Elphaba trying to do a good deed with disastrous results - tin man has no heart and mechanically goes through the motions to appease Nessa. Instead, this scene was awkwardly victimizing of Nessa who wasn't a victim before. Putting Munchkins in the same category as the animals to keep Boq near seems like a step too far, even for a desperate scorned lover. And the storyline that Elphaba didn't come to their father's funeral was unhelpful and pointless. 

I get why the added scenes were there to add depth to the complex relationships and struggle between doing the right thing and being perceived as doing good, but they also felt forced. And the Broadway soundtrack is strong because each song stands on it's own. The added songs were garbage - it felt like the horrible soundtrack for Moana 2 written without the great Lin Manuel. They just didn't work. 

Fiyero becoming a scarecrow somehow made less sense even though the movie elaborated on it. I think we needed more foreshadowing and more nods to him being brainless. The simplicity of the musical's moment—Fiyero simply disappearing into the field to escape the soldiers—carried more emotional weight than the literal, over-explained conversion we got here. Same with the cowardly lion, the movie spelled it out more and yet it fell short of making sense. 

It was odd that the wedding proceeded without the Wizard, and obviously there was unfinished business before Glinda galavanted off to get ready for her wedding which isn't out of character but given the elaborations of her relationship with Elphaba, it seemed too tidy and convenient for her to decide at that point to exit the conversation. 

Dorothy holding up the broomstick after throwing water on Elphaba was in poor taste to me, and where were get travel companions? Weren't they supposed to be there with her, trying to save her, when that happens? 

Glinda not being in on the water melting ruse felt lacking too - the idea that she could believe it because there was no other explanation implies a shallowness that is a bit dim even for our girl. 

Going through the whole "she's dead" scene from the start of the first movie all over again felt way too long and repetitive - especially since most people watching it will have just refreshed their memory of the first one. A more prominent announcement to bring the animals back felt needed, and it left the motion feeling a little flat. 

Conclusion

The lack of big dance numbers made this film a bit lackluster compared to the previous; the only dance number I can think of was almost identical to the original, so added no new fun choreography for us dancers to aspire to learn. The scenery, costumes, cinematography were so great, just as in the first film. But all in all, it fell short of the amazingness I expected from part one, and most of the elaborations on the musical detracted, not added, for me. The director and creators should have considered Jeff Goldblum's famous line in Jurassic Park: it seems they were so "preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."