Content Warning/Editor’s Note: This review will feature spoilers for “Wicked: For Good.”
On November 21, the second part of “Wicked,” “Wicked: For Good,” was released in theaters, and it was more interesting than I expected. The musical fantasy, set one year after “Wicked,” follows Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo). This movie first interested me by getting into the hierarchy of Oz.
After learning that the Wizard of Oz is not who he says he is, Elphaba tries to spread the truth. But going against strong public figures is more difficult than she would hope, and Elphaba is demonized as the “Wicked Witch of the West,” who is dangerous and untrustworthy.
On the opposite side of things, Glinda has chosen to stay in Oz as “Glinda the Good.” She fakes having powers so she looks strong and capable of being a symbol of hope. She is even given a fake bubble, which she gets excited about because she thinks it makes her look powerful and a strong symbol for the people of Oz. At first, I thought that this made her comparable to the Wizard, but after more thought, I realized that she doesn’t fake power for control; she does it because she wants to be good. This feeds into the political theme of the film. A good leader is not one who takes a powerful role to have control, but one who takes a powerful role to help the people they are leading.
The film explores the evil that disguises itself as good in Oz, showing how the truth isn’t revealed because people don’t want to believe it. I thought this was very interesting because it is true in today’s political world as well. In fact, there was an ongoing theme in the movie that felt political to me. When animals began to leave Oz because their freedom of speech was taken and those who spoke out were put into cages, it was a metaphor for the Underground Railroad. When Nessarose put a travel ban on Munchkins, it reminded me of the beginning stages of the Holocaust. From the beginning of this story, the mistreatment Elphaba faced because of her green skin was overt racism, and she was only accepted when she was considered valuable. As soon as she fought against higher powers to try to make a positive change, she was made into a villain. Glinda was made into a hero, not because she was doing heroic things, but because she followed the rules set by the Wizard.
The movie did a good job of not getting sidetracked into other characters’ stories; it stuck with Elphaba and Glinda the whole way through. There were a few things that I found unnecessary, like the love triangle between Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero and the ending plot twist where the Wizard is revealed as Elphaba’s father. I felt that these were added in to attract a larger audience because it’s likely that people wouldn’t enjoy the movie as much if it were purely focused on the political aspects of the story. Adding messy drama that’s practically gossip was inevitable, but I think that Wicked should be a story about Elphaba and Glinda’s love for each other, despite their differences.
Overall, I really enjoyed both movies. They both sent a strong message about American politics, creating a perfect balance of political media and an interesting story. This reminded me of the book “Animal Farm” by George Orwell and its significance in Russian politics. I would recommend this movie to anyone interested in stories that use political allegories.
