Good vs. wicked: Taking a closer look at the infamous “Wicked”

What does wicked truly mean? Many will say they know but lately, I have been tossing up the question myself since the film “Wicked” was released this past November.

In the year 2003, “Wicked” the Musical famously took over Broadway stages and, more recently, movie theatres. On the day the movie was released, I immediately ran to the nearest theatre in Lafayette, praying that tickets were not sold out yet. To my luck, I had the luxury of absorbing every ounce of the movie that night.

However, one showing was not enough.

Since then, I have seen the movie twice, listened to the soundtrack at least 50 times and programmed all my social media feeds with any edits, interviews and behind-the-scenes videos. It is no secret to say that my life has been completely and satisfyingly engulfed in this movie.

Unfortunately, though, there are many normal people in this world who have not yet formed crazy psychological attachments to “Wicked” like I, therefore it seems that the responsibility to inform my fellow peers of this masterpiece falls to someone like me.

For those who know little of the musical itself, “Wicked” tells the untold story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch–the characters taken from The Wizard of Oz.

This tale between the two unveils such a complex yet beautiful relationship that challenges one to question my very first thought: what does wicked mean? This query begins immediately when you dive into the first song, “No One Mourns the Wicked.” However, we will dwell on this later.

It is important to note that originally, Glinda and Elphaba had a great strain in their relationship; they essentially loathed each other, which is registered in the song “What Is This Feeling?” Eventually, though, their loathing for one another turned into love allowing them to become best friends.

After their friendship had been initiated, Glinda’s first action was to make Elphaba acceptable to the world–popular, in other words. All of her life, Glinda strived to find validation in others and found success in status, so it is only reasonable that she interacted with Elphaba this way. This was the only way she knew how to show her love.

On the other hand, Elphaba seems to be the complete opposite. Due to her green skin and inherent powers, she is considered an outsider to the world. When others first meet her, she is faced with the tension of rejection, which, with the help of Glinda, later turns into acceptance. However, she is okay with Glinda’s attempts at a makeover because she respects the way she was raised and is grateful to experience her love.

So, though the two are very different and butt heads at first, their dynamic flourishes into a beautiful friendship; one that continues to prosper I might add.

Well, at least that is what we would have thought prior to listening to “No One Mourns the Wicked” in the introduction.

As previously mentioned, at the very beginning of the movie, this song is sung specifically by the Munchkins in Munchkinland and Glinda. It deliberately puts Glinda in the role of singing about Elphaba’s death as the Munchkins and the rest of Oz rejoice and celebrate.

Here we would originally assume that Glinda is good and the witch is wicked. Seems pretty simple, right? However, as an audience member, once discovering their friendship, it is hard to imagine Glinda taking on such a drastic turn in their relationship, considering that they were best friends.

This is where it gets complicated.

One may argue that Glinda is the wicked one for treating her friend in the way that she did in this song, which I would agree with to some extent, just not completely. Glinda sings about how the wicked are essentially left alone and unmissed, but what is different about her lyrics compared to the Munchkins is that she is claiming this title for herself.

When singing, all of Oz seems to enjoy the demise of the witch. You can hear it in their voices, they are excited and constantly smiling, whereas Glinda’s persona seems to differ. She is upset in the song, but is trying to place a facade in front of Munchkinland in order to keep herself protected in her status and reputation. In her perspective, she is the one in the wrong, she is the one left alone and she is the wicked that no one mourns.

When Glinda sings, one can tell that there is no enjoyment or positive emotion in her voice. She says the same lyrics but there is no passion, no sign of celebration. She just heard the news about her best friend’s death and is forced to pretend to be delighted. Glinda knows that Elphaba is truly the good one while she, Glinda, was the wrong one, the enemy to those in Oz. Never intentionally but consequently.

Without watching “Wicked”, whether it was the Broadway play or movie, it is inferred that the Wicked Witch of the West is indeed, well, wicked. Yet “Wicked” allows for us, the audience, to dive deeper into this theory of what being wicked really entails. So now I must ask you again, would you say you know what wicked truly means?