Favorite gelphie moments in Wicked part 1
1. The flashback after No One Mourns the Wicked
It says a lot that when Glinda, our narrator, mind you, is asked whether they were really friends, her brain immediately goes to the Ozdust dance, the hand touch, and the poppy field scene lit like the final five minutes of a period romance.
And the way she looks at Elphaba there? That’s not the face of someone remembering a casual friendship. That’s admiration at the very least, and in my professional opinion, yearning.
The flashback feels less like “we were friends” and more like being trapped inside the mind of someone remembering the love of her life and trying very hard to call it something else.
The way this song is framed, and the lyrics that go with it, make it very clear that whatever they’re feeling here, it’s absolutely not loathing.
I’m sorry, but pulse rushing, head reeling, face flushing, and a strange exhilaration are not symptoms of hatred. Those are the side effects of having a crush.
Which is why the whole song is pretty funny. And pretty gay.
The visuals, the music, the way they seem to forget everyone around them the second they really start dancing together... need I say more?
And then they just… leave together after the dance. To do what, exactly? Go smooch behind the club? Sadly, we’ll never know. What we do know is that they really didn’t seem to care about anyone else in that moment.
4. Popular and scenes around it
There are so many moments in and around Popular that feel like the air is quietly crackling between them. You can see it in the way they look at each other, the little smiles.
And some of the framing is doing a lot of work too. The shot where they’re lying on the bed just looking at each other for a moment is filmed with such deliberate intimacy that it’s hard not to read it as charged.
Or when Glinda takes off Elphie’s glasses and has a full-on “oh no, she’s hot” experience?
Because sure, the official purpose of the scene is “let’s see what can be done about the glasses,” but that’s not what her face is giving at all. Her face is giving sudden attraction followed by immediate internal crisis.
The fact that she even seems to need a moment to literally collect herself after putting the glasses back on is very telling.
And last but not least, the “Why, Miss Elphaba, look at you. You’re beautiful” part.
Which honestly requires very little commentary, because their faces say it all.
5. You could’ve picked me
Yes, this is a deleted scene, but it’s one of my favorite gay moments, so I’m including it anyway. I also do think there’s a very real chance it got cut for being a little too gay.
At first, Glinda seems jealous because Elphaba ran off with her boyfriend. But then the scene takes a sharp turn into “wait, is she actually upset because Elphaba didn’t run off with her?” Which, I’m sorry, says a lot.
Also, as a bonus, we get a little sexy smirk from Elphaba here when she takes off her coat:
Plus a very “need me, want me, love me” deer-eyed look from Glinda:
All in all, this was a super gay moment.
6. Train to the Emerald City
I mean, just look at the heart eyes they’re giving each other here.
And then there’s Glinda’s note: “I hope you’ll get what your heart desires.” Elphaba’s immediate response is to invite Glinda to come with her, which is, of course, extremely subtle and not revealing at all.
The deleted train scenes also have a few touchy-feely moments, which I’m including here because why the hell wouldn’t I.
The way they’re practically glued to each other, you’d assume there was only one bench thingy to sit on.
There’s more than enough space, but these two clearly have no interest in putting any actual distance between themselves for more than a minute. Gay.
Hands touch, eyes meet... repeatedly. For what feels like the entirety of One Short Day and beyond, these two are basically holding hands and looking at each other like this is all going very well for them.
And while the Wizard puts on his Sentimental Man bs and the lights dim low, Glinda scoots closer to Elphaba for reasons only her lesbian ass knows.
8. Together we’re unlimited
There’s just something about the two of them running from guards and fighting them off together that gives me adventure-movie vibes. You know, the kind where the protagonist and the love interest get thrown into danger together and come out of it even more in love than before.
And finally, there’s that brief moment where it genuinely looks like they might leave together, and the lyrics are literally giving us “together we’re unlimited” and “just you and I defying gravity.”
That puts the two of them in this very exclusive little world that feels reserved for them alone. For one moment, the vibe is: I don’t need anyone else as long as I have you.
And that’s incredibly romantic. And very, very gay.
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So those were my favorite gelphie moments from part 1. See you again when I inevitably return to do this all over for part 2.
