Wickedonly covers the first half of the beloved Broadway production, and the film drops several hints about things that are going to happen in the second part. TheWizard of Ozprequel has been one of 2024’s most culturally significant films, with plenty of people rushing to the cinema for the first time in a while to see John M. Chu’s cinematic vision of this musical classic. The story centers around Elphaba and Glinda, two witches who meet at Shiz University and, bythe end ofWicked, ultimately become the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch fromThe Wizard of Oz.
There are several ways thatWickedconnects toTheWizard of Oz, but the most obvious is through Elphaba’s transformation from a young, ambitious witch to the dangerous villain that everybody fears. The story does a great job of explaining how this character came to reach this point, and there are plenty of twists in the second half that completely reframe the original story in fun and exciting ways.The green bottle of elixir plays a huge rolein this reframing of events, proving that not everything is as it seems.
Elphaba’s Green Elixir Bottle Is One Of The Only Things She Has From Her Mother
It’s A Symbol Of Her Love For Her Late Mother
The surface-level reason that Elphaba’s green elixir is so important to her narrative is that it’s the only thing she has that once belonged to her mother. The bottle is a constant reminder of the maternal figure that she’s never had, asher mother died when giving birth to Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose. This causes plenty of conflict between the two sisters, with deep-rooted blame and resentment growing between them over their absent mother.
Who Exactly is the Wicked Witch of the East in Wicked & Wizard of Oz?
The Wicked Witch of the East is an important character in the Wicked films, even if you don’t quite know who she is yet.
The dynamic between Elphaba and Nessarose later becomes a crucial plot threat inWicked’s second part, with Nessarose blindly accepting her sister’s crimes because of the subconscious resentment she’s always held for her. This sends her down a powerless spiral that leads toNessarose becoming known as the Wicked Witch of the East.The bottle of green elixir serves to ground Elphaba in her past, reminding her of her similarities to her mother and absolving her of the guilt she feels about her death.
Why Elphaba Keeps The Green Elixir Under Her Pillow
The Elixir Reminds Elphaba Where She Came From
ThroughoutWicked, it’s shown that Elphaba keeps her mother’s green elixir under her pillow when sharing a room with Glinda. The object is shown multiple times, hinting towards its increased importance in the second part, but the actual nature of the elixir is kept somewhat secret. The only time it’s really mentioned explicitly is whenGlinda asks Elphaba about the object, to which she replies that it belonged to her mother and nothing more. This proves that Elphaba is fairly sensitive about the elixir, as it’s her last remaining connection to her mother.
The trinket exists to prove that Elphaba’s mother has left a sizable absence in her life, which she’s trying to replace by keeping it around.
The dynamic between Elphaba and her mother isn’t explored in too much detail inWicked(the film mainly focuses on Elphaba’s father), but her keeping the elixir seems to suggest that their short-lived relationship was a happy and healthy one. The trinket exists to prove that Elphaba’s mother has left a sizable absence in her life, which she’s trying to replace by keeping it around. On a more narrative-driven level, the elixir will later become important in understanding the truth behind Elphaba’s parentage and her social status.
The Green Elixir Bottle Is Still Key To Elphaba’s Future After Wicked
The Item Plays A Huge Role In Wicked: For Good
InWicked: For Good, the second half of the story, it will be revealed thatElphaba’s real father is actually the Wizard of Oz, who seduced her mother (potentially against her will) using the magical elixir. The elixir plays a crucial role in this information coming to light, as it’s the only thing left at the scene of Elphaba’s “death”,allowing Glinda to procure it for herself and follow up on its origins. This leads her directly back to the Wizard, where she’s forced to reckon with his true personality and the complicity that she’s displayed in his awful regime.
The plot twist about Elphaba’s real father is much more than a cheap trick: the information completely reframes both Elphaba and Glinda’s characters, giving their actions throughout the story much more weight. By rejecting the Wizard’s proposal at the end ofWicked, Elphaba is shedding her generational shame and breaking free of the constraints (and family) that have been placed upon her. Meanwhile, the revelation at the end of part two forces Glinda to confess that she’s been working for a monster in order to boost her own social status.
Wicked
Cast
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
