“Wicked: For Good” is now upon us, and the follow-up to last fall’s blockbuster hit is everything a musical fan could ask for in a sequel—though we never exactly asked for a two-part division. Alas, Hollywood had its way and now we have twice the givotry of Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and an ensemble cast worthy of the stage.
The story picks up with the vigilante efforts of Elphaba (Erivo) as a misunderstood—and state-maligned—freedom fighter seeking to expose the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) as a fraud of the highest order. She is widely disbelieved, leading to increasing conflicts with her family, friends, and even within herself as she seeks purpose beyond what seem like pointless attempts to do good.
Notably less garish than “Wicked: Part I,” the sequel deals with various themes of exclusion, romance, courage, and even politics, with musical numbers interspersed, often of a dramatic rather than upbeat bent.
Perhaps most prominent among the ethical themes is that of truth, with Elphaba knowing and seeking to make known the uncomfortable realities of her day. Her best friend G(a)linda (Grande), meanwhile, is reluctantly leaning into her status as the favored figure of her nation, picture-perfect yet knowing that her alliance with the Wizard and his chief witch, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), is built on false premises and multi-layered exploitation.
The Wizard himself makes a second attempt to lure Elphaba into his schemes, singing of his understanding of the world as a concatenation of lies that nevertheless bring comfort. Ultimately, he croons, this cements his status as a “wonderful” wizard who can do no wrong—despite his manifestly evil intentions.
That he is not entirely wrong about humankind and its self-contradictions is no justification for his way of life, which includes seeking the immortality of a kingdom built on the sand of ego and power. In a seemingly unrelated entanglement, Elphaba’s sister Nessa (Marissa Bode) begins to show her own strain of wickedness in her selfish attempts to overcome rejection related to her disability.
Now, if it seems this is all too on the nose in its connections to the real world—Elphaba facing discrimination for the color of her skin and her justice focus, rich White power brokers pulling strings, and the wider undercurrent of social stratification—you are onto something.
The writer of the original “Wicked” novel, a practicing Catholic in Gregory Maguire, intended the story as a commentary on racism and other injustices like government propaganda and authoritarianism. The artist behind the musical adaptation, Stephen Schwartz, has said his music and lyrics came in part from the Jewish people’s experience of antisemitism.
Thus, insofar as the “Wicked” films are timed to coincide with the American rule of a would-be despot, they are quite incisive and even troubling. Most striking is the reversal of reality that results from the moral relativism seen in the narrative: The witch fighting for truth and justice is branded “wicked,” while the widely esteemed—even deified—“good” witch is in fact unscrupulous and (almost) irredeemably vain.
One might have hoped that the various sub-plots of the film, especially those connected to the more familiar story of “The Wizard of Oz,” were handled more evenly in “Wicked: For Good.” The Tin Man, for example, is given a relatively full narrative transition, while the Cowardly Lion is only briefly explained. The transformation of the Scarecrow, who in “Wicked” is the love interest of Elphaba, is similarly glossed over, despite his painfully pregnant crucifixion at the hands of the Wizard’s henchmen. (There is also no explanation why he is thereafter left without a brain in the conventional story.)
Plot holes and pacing aside, perhaps the trade-off of treating otherwise well-known characters as afterthoughts is that we are given a full 137-minute romp focused more squarely on the two main characters and their moral dilemma.
Indeed, the intoxication of false bliss and the temptation to grow weary in well-doing are certainly alive and well today, and I’ll be the very last to complain about a poignant commentary in musical form. Have at it, folks. At the end of the day, “Wicked: For Good” is an all-around winner that hits all the right notes.
Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.
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