“Wicked: For Good,” the long-awaited, epic conclusion to the film adaptations of Stephen Schwartz’ beloved musical, was met with poor reviews from several major critics. But for me, a devoted fan of the musical for the past decade, I thought the sequel not only hit the mark but surpassed it with flying pink and green colors.
Where the first film ends at the story’s climax, the second film plays the difficult yet vital role of moving through the resolution. While “Wicked” lulls us into a false sense of safety of a sweet enemies-to-best-friends story with the backdrop of the colorful, magical land of Oz, at the end of the first act, we realize not all is as it seems.
The wizard isn’t truly all-powerful, and the line between good and wicked isn’t quite as explicit as we might have thought.
In “Wicked: For Good,” we’re left to unpack all of this, and we must eventually reach a come-down. The second half lacks the explosive ensemble numbers and joyous songs, because the atmosphere of the movie is inherently darker.
We’re separately tracking Elphaba on the run, Glinda holding down the fort and Fiyero caught in the middle. The days of their youth are long gone, and the ballads in “Wicked: For Good” show this.
“Wicked: For Good” had its share of standout performances across the board. Cynthia Erivo’s “No Good Deed” was explosive, weaving together both her undeniable vocal skill with her expressive acting.
We feel everything she’s feeling right along with her: the fear, the heartbreak, the desperation. It’s especially abrasive after the tenderness of “As Long As You’re Mine,” the standout duet between Fiyero and Elphaba, where we can feel not only their connection, but the deafening consequences they know are tracing their every movement, every touch.
And although “No Place Like Home” paled in comparison with the stage musical’s original score, her emotional performance gave it purpose. She moved the story forward, offering a new side to Elphaba that we’d never seen before. Not only does she stay in Oz because she feels compelled to save it, but she still considers it her home.
It’s a powerful callback to the original source material, emphatically brought to life by Erivo’s glowing vocals and longing undertones.
While we’ve always known Ariana Grande could sing even long before we met her interpretation of Glinda “Wicked: For Good” showed us just how widely her skill set truly expands.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Grande act, and we’ve been most conditioned to watch her play overly expressive roles for younger audiences. But as Galinda becomes Glinda and childhood whimsy grows into adult grief, it becomes clearer than ever that there’s no one else who might have played Glinda so perfectly.
Her attention to detail, the way she looks at Elphaba in comparison to the way she looks at others and the small ways she flits between naivety and understanding make it abundantly explicit that Glinda is no side character.
Glinda and Elphaba are equals, two sides of the same coin, each striving for goodness while not quite knowing what it is.
There was a lingering question as to whether the film would follow the musical’s plotline or change the ending, but its decision of the former made the journey all the more meaningful and the ending all the more bittersweet.
Grande’s and Erivo’s rendition of “For Good” will go down as one of the most beautifully adapted performances in movie-musical history.
Through the films, we’ve seen more depth to musical theatre’s most famous female friendship than we’d ever been able to before, and the added “I love you’s” just after “For Good” feel earned, necessary and beautifully tragic.
To end a film franchise that had been first announced over a decade ago, the perfect shot was needed, and it was delivered. With a final callback to the Broadway playbill, we’re vividly catapulted back into remembering not only who Glinda and Elphaba were before tragedy wedged itself in between them, but into remembering who we were too.
“Wicked: For Good” had big silver slippers to fill, and though it took a long yellow brick road to get us to the conclusion, there’s no denying that anyone who watches it will be changed for the better.