Hey there and welcome back. Today, we’re diving broom first into one of my favorite musicals: Wicked! It just dropped on HBO Max. So if you haven’t seen it, pause this video, go watch it and then come back. Ready? Okay. Let's get into it!
It opens on Glinda, with sparkles, poise, and a whole lot of denial as she tries not to cry in front of an entire town but the guilt is seeping though. Her best friend is gone, and no amount of pretending can cover up that fact that she knows she played a part in it. Cue flashback! And surprise surprise, Elphaba wasn’t born mean, she was just born green. Thanks to her mom drinking some mysterious neon Mountain Dew while pregnant. That was not a prenatal vitamin!
Poor girl, from birth, Elphaba is treated like a glitch in the system. Her mom’s fault, her dad's fault, society’s fault. Everyone's passing the blame like she's a hot potato, and no one’s actually listening to her. Especially not her dad, who couldn’t take her side if it came with GPS directions. It’s wild to me how easily people can accept the idea that someone must be dangerous if they are different. In my opinion everyone, no matter their skin color, beliefs, sexual orientation or whatever should be treated with kindness. No one deserves to be treated poorly for things outside of their control.
Then there’s Galinda, Miss shiny and perfect, who immediately insults Elphaba’s skin tone in front of the entire school. Nothing says “I’m secretly awful” like being casually racist during orientation but sure tell me how you think she's a great character.
And then let’s talk about her sister Nessarose, she just wanted to go to school, have a life, maybe flirt a little, normal stuff and Elphaba, apparently being the only one with empathy, tries to protect her. Even though, let’s be real, Madame Morrible straight up claims Elphaba’s magic as her own but uses it to let Elphaba into the school. So ya win some, you lose some.
Oh and Glinda throwing a tantrum because, for once in her perfectly privileged life, she didn’t get what she wanted? 10/10. Would watch again.
Madame Morrible gives Elphaba a very cryptic warning saying “you’re gonna do great things if you stay useful”, and Elphaba takes that as a genuine compliment. Sweetie, no. That’s corporate speak for “we’re gonna exploit you.”
Then cut to their dorm room, where Galinda pulls a full on Regina George, she demands most of the room and wants Elphaba to put in a good word for her with Madame Morrible, and begs for the secret to her powers like it’s some kind of skincare routine.
Then we see their first real fight and the differences between them become as clear as Crystal Pepsi. Elphaba is an authentic, intelligent, principled queen while Galinda, well, she's a living, breathing Instagram filter with the emotional depth of a puddle. Sorry for all the puddles out there!
They show up to class and Dr. Dillamond enters. He accidently mispronounces Galinda’s name, and Elphaba stands up for him. Galinda’s comeback? Name calling. I would've thrown her out the stained glass window, who's with me?
Dr. Dillamond explains how animal professors are being erased from history because people needed a scapegoat. Hmm that sounds familiar, and he drops the best line in the whole show:
“We cannot escape the past. We ignore it at our own peril.”
Say it louder for the people sitting in the back! Then, boom, graffiti. “Animals should be seen and not heard.” I saw red. That chalkboard might as well have been a billboard for bigotry but while the others laughed or looked away, Elphaba stayed to help him and gained her first true friend. And honestly? I cried.
Later, she’s in magic class and she struggles until her need for justice kicks in and boom! Coin levitates her power is rooted in passion and I love to see it.
Then she follows Dr. Dillamond and overhears a conspiracy plot, and gets a vision of him in a cage. This is quickly turning into an Ozspiracy.
And of course, while walking back, some himbo on a horse crashes into her. Meet Prince Fiyero. He immediately flirts and Elphaba tells him to “get fluffed.” Honestly? Iconic.
Naturally, Galinda sees this Prince and goes full pick me mode. Her flirting is so cringey it caused secondhand embarrassment in three time zones. But in the library, Fiyero sees Elphaba and she’s the only one not instantly swooning.
So Fiyero sings about how school is dumb and useless and everyone claps except Elphaba. This is basically when politicians cut school funding and their base cheers. Education matters and Elphaba knows.
Later Galinda plays the ultimate mean girl and rejects Boq and sets him up with Nessarose like she’s gifting a pity date. Then sings a duet with Fiyero about how perfect they are. I admit I gagged, a little in my mouth.
Then Galinda gives Elphaba a gift of a supposedly hideous hat, claiming it’s out of kindness. Spoiler, it's not. Elphaba wears it anyway and gets mocked at the dance by everyone and no one stands up for her. Not Galinda, not even her own sister Nessarose. This girl can't catch a break! But, character development alert, Galinda, after some time passes finally joins her. One small dance step from Galinda, one giant leap for empathy. Finally!
Galinda shares a secret with Elphaba and demands a secret in return because even friendship is transactional with her and Elphaba confesses that the only keepsake she has from her mom is the green bottle. Galinda, not getting the vibe, immediately turns pouty because her secret was about a boy. Priorities, huh?
Then we hit the Popular montage where Galinda gives Elphaba a makeover with zero qualifications and a wand she got from vibes alone.
Cut to Dr. Dillamond being escorted out of the classroom by Oz’s very own version of ICE agents. Elphaba tries to stop them and gets told to sit down. She sits for about approximately 5 seconds.
But then comes the lion cub scene, truly heartbreaking. The new professor hits it with a stick to prove cages are good for it. Elphaba’s like, “If it’s so good, why’s it trembling?” She uses magic to knock everyone out and helps Fiyero rescue the cub.
Madame Morrible sees the naptime aftermath and, noticing she still has her supply of sleepytime tea, immediately tattles to the Wizard. Meanwhile, Elphaba tells Fiyero she wishes she could be shallow like him, but she actually cares. Ugh, I love her.
Then fast forward to Elphaba getting summoned to the Emerald City but Galinda makes the whole event about herself and her “rebranding” from Galinda to Glinda. No, just no. But Elphaba being the kind person she is knowing Glinda would love to go to meet the Wizard takes her with her.
But when the Wizard shows up and calls Glinda “Belinda.” I wheezed. Then he shows off a creepy doll he had made of Elphaba and gives her the Grimmerie. She reads it, no problem and accidentally gives a bunch of monkeys wings. Whoops, but it was all a trap. The Wizard wanted her to build a spy army. He’s a fraud. He can't even read the book. And worst of all? Glinda takes his side because of course she does.
Elphaba says no to their offers to help them, grabs the Grimmerie, and flees. She and Glinda argue. Glinda tries to get her to come back and talk it out, Elphaba says she won’t compromise her values for a seat at the table.
Then Madame Morrible spins a whole “she’s evil” narrative over the intercom and calls her a wicked witch because questioning corruption is apparently evil now.
Elphaba, not scared, just angry, invites Glinda to flee with her. Glinda, having seen everything Elphaba saw, chose to pander to the Wizard instead. Ew.
The guards attack, the flying monkeys attack but Elphaba, she escapes. And honestly? I’m cheering. I can’t wait for part two but unless Glinda has a serious redemption arc, I’m keeping her in the “nope” category. I love this story because it reflects something I believe deeply, kindness matters, even more in a system that’s built to overlook and punish it. But whether you’re a green girl, a glitch in the code, or just someone trying to stay kind in a corrupt world know that, that's magic and well what do you think? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
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