something iâve been thinking about after seeing wicked: for good is what would have happened after âwonderfulâ if elphaba never found the locked up animals? they made it seem like it was such an easy fix, that elphaba would just be accepted after however many years of being villainized by these people. like, you expect me to believe the wizard would just show up with elphaba and say âoh weâre good now?â and that would be that? no. it would have been played in the wizardâs favor, because thatâs the crux of every decision heâs made.
something different from the musical in the film â at the end of the song, the wizard tells elphaba that with her by his side the people âdonât need an enemyâ referring to the animals. but in act one, he says nothing unites people better than a common enemy. heâs not contradicting himself; there will still be an enemy. itâs still her. thereâs absolutely no way elphabaâs ârehabilitationâ into oz would be played as anything but the wizard âtamingâ her with his âpowerâ. he tells elphaba that if he tells oz the truth that he has no power, they just wonât believe him. and even if they would, he will never do that.
and the addition of glinda in the song just furthers the point that when you stand by the wizard, you really have no voice. everything glinda is in act two is by the wizardâs design. she knows the same things elphaba does, but she doesnât say it because, like the people of oz, she doesnât want to believe it. glinda has no authority, whether she is aware of that or not. she sees this as an easy fix â she marries her love, gets her best friend back; and on paper, yes, this is such a happy ending, but she doesnât realize that she puts elphaba (and fiyero) in a position that limits them. and that doesnât make her evil or vindictive, it just drives home the point that the wizard is a very convincing con artist.
and what will happen when elphaba tries to advocate for something that is against the wizards vision? theyâll try to silence her, say that sheâs still ârecovering from her wicked waysâ or some bullshit. by the wizardâs side, she will never be taken seriously. and the wizard knows that. so yeah, heâll let the monkeys go because itâs a small price to pay for having elphaba, someone with immense power, under his control.
when chistery led elphaba to the secret passage where the animals were locked up, it was because he saw through the wizard. heâs been silenced so he canât warn her verbally, so he does the next best thing. i donât think the monkeys ever really blamed elphaba the way she blamed herself â they just became what she was bound to become if she agreed to be with the wizard. and so, when elphaba freed the locked up animals from their cages, she was also freeing herself. wicked was never going to have a happy ending.
