Wicked: For Good Adds a Surprising Final Twist to the Broadway Musical’s Bittersweet Ending

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At two hours and seventeen minutes long, the second film in Jon M. Chu’s Wicked saga, Wicked: For Good, greatly expands upon the second act of the popular Broadway musical (which originally ran about an hour). While the movie adds two new songs, a memorable wedding, and original flashbacks, its biggest change from the stage version is a surprising twist at the very end.

Although the movie adds new elements, it mostly follows the original story of For Good. The sequel begins right after the first movie’s intermission, several years after Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) went their separate ways following their encounter with the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) in the Emerald City. Elphaba is now labeled the Wicked Witch of the West and is working to reveal the Wizard’s deceit, while Glinda has become Glinda the Good, a popular and influential figurehead supporting his rule.

Despite their public distance, Glinda and Elphaba remain friends privately. This changes when Glinda learns her fiancé, Fiyero, has secretly been in love with Elphaba for years, and Elphaba reciprocates those feelings. After Fiyero runs away with Elphaba, a devastated Glinda asks Madame Morrible to exploit Elphaba’s affection for her sister, Nessarose, to lure her out of hiding. She suggests spreading a false story about Nessarose being in danger. Madame Morrible, however, doesn’t believe Elphaba would fall for a simple rumor. Instead, she uses her magic to create a tornado, which carries Dorothy Gale’s house to Oz and tragically crushes Nessarose.

Okay, so imagine this: the stories of The Wizard of Oz and Wicked are starting to collide, and it’s getting intense. Elphaba, who’s really hurting after a loss, walks right into a trap set by Madame Morrible. She goes to Munchkinland hoping to get her sister’s magical shoes back, but Glinda has already given them to Dorothy to help her on the way to the Emerald City. A fight breaks out between Elphaba and Glinda, and things escalate quickly when the Wizard’s guards try to arrest Elphaba. Luckily, Fiyero arrives just in time to protect her, letting her escape while he gets captured. Knowing Fiyero will likely be tortured, Elphaba tries to cast a spell to protect him from pain, but things go horribly wrong – she accidentally turns him into the Scarecrow we all know from The Wizard of Oz! It’s a heartbreaking twist, and it really connects the two stories in a tragic way.

Returning to the Emerald City, Glinda discovers that Madame Morrible was responsible for Nessa’s death and starts to understand her own part in wrongly blaming her friend and allowing corruption to continue in Oz. She quickly travels to Kiamo Ko, Fiyero’s family castle where Elphaba is hiding, hoping to reach her before an angry crowd arrives. After a heartfelt reunion and goodbye, Elphaba insists Glinda hide while she turns herself in, wanting to protect Glinda from facing consequences. However, Dorothy accidentally throws water on Elphaba, which appears to cause her to vanish. When Glinda comes out of hiding, all that remains of Elphaba are her hat and a green potion that once belonged to Elphaba’s mother.

Driven by her sadness and a strong determination to make a real difference, Glinda goes back to the Emerald City. She shows the Wizard a special potion, revealing he was actually Elphaba’s father, and demands he leave Oz or she’ll reveal his deception. She also has Madame Morrible arrested. Glinda then effectively takes charge of Oz, welcoming back all the animals who had been mistreated and promising to uphold Elphaba’s memory.

Although Glinda believes Elphaba has died, it’s later revealed that she secretly escaped through a hidden trap door, creating the illusion of melting. She waited until it was safe, then reunited with Scarecrow Fiyero, and together they left Oz. The musical concludes with Glinda thinking both of her closest friends are gone, forcing her to acknowledge her role in what happened to them.

In the movie, while Glinda is on the palace balcony – where she keeps the powerful Grimmerie – Elphaba sends a magical signal from outside of Oz. This causes the book’s pages to move, letting Glinda know Elphaba is still alive. Alternatively, this moment could suggest the Grimmerie is reacting to Glinda embracing her power and commitment to goodness, unlocking her ability to use real magic.

Regardless of how it’s done, this change adds an extra layer of sadness to an ending that’s already very moving.

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2025-11-21 17:09