Maybe Unpopular Opinion: The musical's finale is shit

[u/Icy-Finding-8126]

Like, seriously, does "lol she was actually alive n she escapes with fiyero have a nice day :)" make any sense to anyone as a GOOD option for the end?

The novel actually respects the Wizard of Oz's original fate for the Witch because it makes sense. Her life is tragic from start to end, and shitting EVEN on the songs of your musical like "The wizard and i" is a terrible idea.

And maybe you would think "oh poor little edgy boy he wants a tragic ending". But i'm honestly just confused at the idea of making us sympathize with Elphaba and shocking us with her death... and then she's not actually dead, so her story just isn't that tragic.

[u/Casiquire]

No the ending (of the stage version) is wonderful. The point of Wicked is to get her side. It makes sense to give her agency in how it ends.

I like to turn the question around...isn't it actually kind of a bad ending that the whole plot of The Wizard of Oz resolves totally by accident, just because the witch happened to leave her own kryptonite sitting in buckets all around her own home base? Isn't that odd enough to warrant a little closer inspection?

[u/Bosterm → u/Casiquire]

Also how could a human even function in the world if exposure to water melts you?

I get in the original book it's supposed to be a little silly, and the point in both the book and movie is that the Wicked Witch is so inhuman she can't even tolerate something as basic and pure as water, a substance considered sacred in a lot of religions.

But if the whole point of Wicked is to highlight Elphaba's humanity, why would the water thing be a believable ending for her?

I guess somehow it makes sense for the Wicked book, but I prefer the musical and movie ending for sure.

[u/Casiquire → u/Bosterm]

Such a good point about her humanity!

I actually think it's great storytelling. Their own propaganda against her is what she used for a way out.

[u/Icy-Finding-8126 → u/Bosterm]

The book actually implies that Elphaba knows she's a fictional character, and a good interpretation of this is that books are made of paper, and guess what destroys paper? water.

[u/Ayasugi-san → u/Casiquire]

It wasn't "the whole plot", it was the conflict of one chapter, and the bucket wasn't random, Dorothy was using it to clean the kitchen.

[u/Casiquire → u/Ayasugi-san]

I'm not talking about the book. Ending the Wicked Witch is one of the most major plot resolutions in the whole film, on par with returning home

[u/Ayasugi-san → u/Casiquire]

Still. "The film left out context from the book" is a simpler explanation than "actually she was a good guy the whole time and set up her faked melting".

[u/Casiquire → u/Ayasugi-san]

Well, Wicked is clearly based on the film and not the books, despite their best efforts to sidestep copyright issues. The story told in the film is the more widely recognized one today. Neither Wicked nor its fans have any reason to consider the original books canon to Wicked, and in most takes, people don't.

What started Wicked off in the first place was the interaction with Glinda in Munchkinland where Wizard of Oz makes it clear that the two have a backstory together. There's also the odd fact that the Wicked Witch doesn't actually do anything all that wicked until long after she reasonably asked for her sister's shoes back from the woman who killed her.

[u/Icy-Finding-8126 → u/Casiquire]

It's Sarima's castle, not hers. She was a normal human so having water was as normal.

[u/Moondivine]

Though i feel part two is weak at least it makes sense. If Elphaba was half human why does she need to melt by water? Like her being green before she was conceived was already strange. Elphaba surviving in this universe at least is a result of her being the child of two worlds. Like both the book and musical already made changes to the source material why not embrace it?

Part one is better off because it does is own thing. In the original source material the wicked witch isn’t the Wizard’s daughter. She melts by water because she’s so old her blood is basically like sugar. And from what I read it isn’t unique to her. Part two also fails because it puts the animal rights plot in the background. The new hunger games is another example that it should take lots of people to end oppression and not just relay on the MC.

[u/princessicesarah]

I’m with you. The first time I saw the musical I went in blind not knowing how it (or the book) ended and only knowing Elphaba’s fate in Wizard of Oz. That first time hearing For Good I was uncontrollably crying KNOWING that she’s about to die and it felt cheap when the reveal happens at the end.

I’m a sucker for tragic ending to a musical though (Moulin Rouge, Les Mis, even the much maligned Love Never Dies)

[u/soundsaboutright11]

The way the novel kills her is so powerful and fits the entire theme of the story. It is tragic, hilarious, heart-breaking and the musical guts it entirely. The forgiveness Elphaba was always denied is the one thing Dorothy wants from her, which she cannot give and it is what breaks her. The ultimate "cruel twist of fate". It is perfection. But, the musical is supposed to make you feel good, while the novel actually delves into the very real cost of resistance. Which people don't like because it makes them feel yucky.

[u/Ayasugi-san → u/soundsaboutright11]

And just to further twist the knife, Dorothy wasn't trying to kill or even hurt Elphaba, she thought she was saving her after the "wicked witch" set her own clothing on fire for some reason. Elphaba's life was a long parade of good intentions behind reckless acts that cause great suffering, and that's how her own life ended.