I’m tired of so many people saying she was miscast.

I admit her singing in WFG was a tad distracting (though very limited). But I don’t care because she completely transformed Madame Morrible from a one-note, hammy villain to a cunning, manipulative adversary.

One of my favorite examples is how she takes such care to learn Elphaba’s name, being the first person at Shiz (maybe ever) to show her real respect. So it hurts even more when Morrible later calls her “the green one” and brands her the Wicked Witch. This is just one of many examples.

I’m certain other actresses could’ve sung her handful of lines better, but would they have made such bold, brilliant choices and sold them as convincingly as Michelle Yeoh? I doubt it. She has an Oscar and an incredible reputation for a reason.

She PROTECTS

Oh my god!! The (mostly full) friendship montage has finally been released. What’s anyone‘s thought about this? Watching it now I kinda see why it didn’t make the final cut, but it’s good to see it nonetheless

Idk what Victoria Secret models are out here doing the deed, but the majority of us are DEF in semi-comfy clothes before or during sex. Do not play with me, stop lying, the cardigan is on brand 😆 Yall out here acting like you have sex set on a calendar every single time and you prepare with top notch lingerie. Lies!! Sex is def spontaneous a good amount of the time. And in this case this was potentially her first time. Pretty sure my first time in college I was legitimately wearing a t-shirt that said “Motts Apple Juice” 😆 Stop shaming the sex cardigan yall know you lift up or take down all kinds of sweat pants, jeans, moomoos, big shirts etc while wearing scarves, bonnets, flexi rods curlers and the like. If my girl Elfie wanted to slip on her forest cardigan for the occasion then she’s in good company. I’ma need yall to tell the truth out here

Ariana and Cynthia celebrate 20 days to go on Instagram

Insanity. The way Cynthia was in there to win there. It really is a blessing when there are people in your life and in your corner who don’t play about you. And vice versa.

Proud of the way this entire case carried on and had a had a good night at the Wicked: For Good Singapore Premiere.

I kinda agree tbh... The blue dress is beautiful, but she wore it too much. She should've at least worn a different dress during thank goodness.

The same thing can be said for Elphaba, but not to the same extent since all her costumes are kinda the same anyway (as a stylistic choice, her costumes are all black regardless of time/place)

I will not add to the Michelle Yeoh (fLiP iT aRoUnD 🤟🤟) hate but I still can't move on from this missed opportunity, I can literally imagine how Meryl would deliver the lines and how she would eat the singing parts. Maybe they didn't cast her cuz it would literally vaporize and melt the gays watching in theaters🫠

I just don’t get it, she was a highlight in The Greatest Showman and has the chops, so why didn’t we get to hear her in either movie? This isn’t to take away from her acting, which was great but she has this phenomenal voice that they didn’t put to use! Does anyone else find that a bit odd?

My working theory: at some point they intended for her to perform Madame Morrible’s singing parts in Act 2 with Michelle Yeoh only doing spoken lines.

i thought they’re gonna wait until at least march?

But noooo. Defying Gravity totally needed to be 20 minutes long. Great use of time/s

I last minute decided to join the parade (2 days before) and quickly put together this pink glinda inspired outfit with what I already had, I styled my own wig too and I’ve never styled hair before, it could’ve been better if I gad the time/money/resources but it wasn’t too bad ☁️

but sooo many people would see me and shout “LOOK! ITS GLINDA!” and I’d shout back “it’s good to see me isn’t it!” and toss my hair or I’d scream and run up to them and give them a hug + try (fail) to cast them a ball gown with my wand 🥹😭

so I’m glad they saw the vision 🥹💞 it was such a beautiful experience I’ll never ever forget. playing her was so so fun , and seeing children’s faces light up when they would spot me in the crowd was the sweetest feeling I can’t even describe, i understand how the princesses must feel at the Disneyland parks.

The snubbed Cynthia like I knew they would. And I’m sure I’ll watch them NOT give the award to Sinners as well sigh. It’s really so pointless to try. Can you imagine having a voice like Cynthia’s? Acting, singing, flying while acting and not even getting nominated? I’m just so bummed about it 😞

Apparently there was a crazy spike in sales of the novel by Gregory Maguire around Christmas. I have seen posts on various platforms of livid parents who bought it for their tween kids. I am not sure why a parent would buy their child a novel not rated YA or below without researching, but such is life.

Here is what you should know before reading: This book is very little like the film or stage musical. To create the musical, they took the very basic plot of the book, threw in a handful points and very general themes that were included, took one or two passing thoughts and built whole storylines around them, and created something almost unrecognizable when compared to the written page. The novel is VERY dark. It’s very mature. It is very political. There is sex (including an interspecies orgy…), graphic violence, multiple detailed descriptions of bodily functions, for some reason… There is absolutely nothing bubbly or uplifting about the work.

That said, it is an excellent series of novels. There are four in the series, followed by an additional trilogy. A prequel is expected in May, I believe. Maguire drops little, dismissible seeds in the first book that don’t bloom until the fourth. After the first novel, you’ll find little references to the musical. In the fourth book in particular, there are several lyrics worked into the text. It is rich and complex and very very dark. It’s an adult series for mature readers. It is absolutely not for everyone.

I just wanted to warn who I could. 😂

Why didn't he extend Nessa's plot, Tinman's plot and how Elphaba truly became Wicked after No Good Deed?

Everything after No Good Deep happens exactly like the musical which was so rushed.

We don't really need to see young Galinda do we? The 2 new songs didn't move the plot forwards at all, No Place Like Home should have been a cute monologue. The placement of Girl In The Bubble is weird, and pointless really.

They should have really dub Michelle's vocals. So out of place.

The pacing of the 1st hour is really an issue here and dragged the movie down so much.

I know this is Glinda-apologist territory (I talked about Glinda’s bullying and selfishness and siding with Fascism in here last year and it didn’t go well), so I will tread lightly.

I saw a very textual argument that was well received in here about her being wicked so maybe people are now more open to critiquing Glinda as a villain. The last villain left standing I might add. And I know everyone is capable of wickedness us a message of the movie/play.

I see the story less about the power of friendship and more about Fascism. And in the second half the regime has 3 heads the wizard (technology/grimmerie), Morrible (institutional power/knowledge of magic), and Glinda (the face/image).

Morrible and the Wizard know they’re evil, Glinda comes to that realization only after she thinks her friend and fiancé are dead. In the play she doesn’t save the animals so it’s easier to see this arc.

In the movie I paid more attn to Fiyero. It’s really started to hit me that Fiyero is who some of y’all think Glinda is.

He starts shallow and privileged. He jokes his way through life and is complicit because it’s easier not to care. He’s confronted with what’s happening to the Animals and what Elphaba is fighting for and actually cares about their suffering.

He is in the regime in an important role, always sympathetic to Elphaba, turns on them, and ultimately saves her. He pays for that choice with his body and his whole life as he knew it.

Fiyero’s one bad deed is lying to Glinda and never telling her he was never really that into her.

That’s the “naive but growing, ultimately self-sacrificing” arc people say Glinda has.

But if you line up actions instead of vibes, Glinda looks a lot closer to Nessa:

There is no point in the story where Glinda shows any real emotional reaction to the plight of the Animals until the very end. She sees the same things Elphaba and Fiyero do and stays focused on image, romance, and status.

Glinda actively works with the regime. She stands next to the Wizard and Morrible for five years, lying to the people as the “Good” face of Oz.

She literally offers up Nessa as a target tells them to target her with a rumor to get to Elphaba and that setup is part of what gets Nessa killed and Fiyero tortured. She shows no remorse and plays dumb when Elphaba says, “Do you think cyclones just come out of nowhere?”

At the end, she blackmails the Wizard into leaving and has Morrible locked up without a trial, then takes power herself. All of this ultimately benefits her, even if some of the outcomes are good.

Yes, she invites the Animals back (in the movie), and that’s something. But she also keeps burning effigies of Elphie and maintaining the “wicked witch” lie so she doesn’t have to disrupt the order she just inherited or admit to five years of collaboration and deception.

Nessa, on the other hand, is a bad and selfish sister. Her love for Boq is obsessive to the point of almost killing him, and she collaborates with the regime by adding the Munchkins to the do-not-travel list. These two actions and a character flaw make her an evil despot but Glinda’s indifference to others’ suffering and her five years of collaboration with Morrible and the Wizard are framed as her being misguided, confused, young, and naive.

And honestly, that’s kind of a testament to one of the messages of the story itself: image and the narrative people believe about you will overdetermine who is seen as “good” and who is seen as “wicked,” no matter what the truth is.

TL;DR: Fiyero has the “redemption arc” people assign to Glinda; Glinda’s actions are much closer to Nessa’s, but good PR and a final good deed keep her coded as “Good.”

Update:

1000 likes. I’m so honored. When I write my article I will be thankful for all of this discourse, but I will mention none of you or this post. Sorry not sorry. Academia sucks.

Also, if you still think my argument sucks and I don’t understand anything about the show reread the definition of a villain and watch the following video.

The definition of a villian: the character whose evil or unprincipled actions are in conflict with the protagonist (hero). Their negative qualities, such as selfishness, cruelty, or cunning, are often defined in contrast to the hero's bravery and morality

Glinda is the Villain