How I would have addressed The Wizard of Oz questions marks in Wicked: For Good

To start, I have been a fan of Wicked the musical for twenty years, almost my entire life since I saw the show as a child. I saw Wicked: For Good and felt it was a very well done and faithful adaptation of Act 2 of the musical. Most problems people may have with it are what already existed in the original musical.

My unpopular opinion is that I actually don’t believe the storyline of The Wizard of Oz is all that important to the story of Wicked. While the Wicked Witch of the West is the iconic villain of that story, she ultimately doesn’t really have much to do with the plot outside of one section. Therefore focusing too much on the plot of The Wizard of Oz takes away from the actual point of Wicked, which are the themes of goodness/wickedness and the character arcs of our protagonists Elphaba and Glinda.

That being said I know there are a lot fans, new and old, that wanted these plot points to be addressed. So this is what I would have done to address the Wizard of Oz storyline within Wicked: For Good and clean up some plot holes, without having to change or add all that much to the film.

# Small Addition #1

This takes place in the scene where Elphaba goes and visits Glinda in the palace, before the wedding, and before Wonderful.

I would have Elphaba confide in Glinda some of the things she’s been through, including what has just happened between her and Nessarose. The plot point this serves is that Glinda learns that Nessarose’s shoes are enchanted in some way. This will become important later.

(This doesn’t matter, but as a bonus, Elphaba is also expressing her feelings of defeat in her inability to help her sister. So later, when Glinda is heartbroken after the wedding and suggests using Nessarose as a trap to capture Elphaba, it is fuelled even more by this conversation they’ve just had about her).

# Small Addition # 2

This takes place after As Long as You’re Mine, when Elphaba and Fiyero are spending the night together. During this evening together it becomes clear that Elphaba has shared with Fiyero all that she’s been through. This includes again what has happened with Nessarose and Boq.

Now this doesn’t have to be much. We don’t have to actually see or hear Elphaba tell to this Fiyero, but one simple line can imply that he is aware of what’s happened. (This could easily be done when they actually talk about Nessarose in this scene).

Fiyero knowing this information as well becomes important later.

# Small Addition #3

This would take place in the scene where Glinda has just sent Dorothy on the yellow brick road and Elphaba reappears for the catfight.

But first let’s explain what’s happened:

Essentially, the house falling from the sky and killing the Governor was an ordeal in Munchkinland. Glinda, being the public figure she is had to come and address the issue, assuring the munchkins that all would be well. This is where she meets Dorothy who’s from another land and is looking to go back home.

Now Glinda has absolutely no idea how to help this little girl, but she has to do something performative in front of the onlooking munchkins. So she genuinely tries to help by giving Dorothy Nessarose’s shoes knowing that they are magical in some way, but having no idea what they can actually do. Therefore she just says their powers are mysterious and could possibly help her in some way. She then tells her to follow the yellow brick road and go see the Wizard in the Emerald City, deflecting the problem, and keeping the facade that the Wizard is all powerful and can help her. This is just Glinda’s job.

Now just like in the film, we as the audience don’t see any of this happen, and we don’t need to. However, it’s details would be mentioned. In the catfight scene, in her conversation with Elphaba, it can become clear that Glinda was just trying to help the little girl by giving her the magical shoes. And Elphaba of course, just wants the shoes back because it’s the last thing she has left of her sister.

For the Wizard of Oz storyline, it’s just important to address that these characters are aware of the shoes magical properties, because that’s why Dorothy keeps them.

# MAJOR ADDITION

Now I would keep the film more or less all the same up until the ending. This addition takes place where Fiyero as the Scarecrow comes back to Kiamo Ko, helps Elphaba out of the trap door revealing she’s still alive.

Then to satisfy the audience’s questions, I would have Elphaba ask Fiyero what has happened. Then he explains briefly the events of The Wizard of Oz.

Now this could be all done in a brief montage sequence, accompanied by well curated lines from Fiyero explaining what has taken place. The montage would feature shots of the characters like the ones we actually got in the film, while still keeping things ambiguous and having Dorothy’s face unseen etc.

Again this would only be a well orchestrated two or three minutes of the film, but for the purpose of this explanation only, I’m going to go into finer detail as to what has happened.

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So, Fiyero was taken into the field, hung up on a pole, and beaten up by the guards. Elphaba casts the spell on him trying to save him. As per No Good Deed, she doesn’t really know what spell she’s trying to cast, and she doesn’t know if the spell has actually worked and if he’s alive or not. Fiyero of course, has been turned into the Scarecrow.

Shortly after, Dorothy passes by and he asks her if she can help him get down off from the pole. After she does she informs him that she’s on her way to the Emerald City. Now Fiyero has only one intention: reunite with Elphaba, who he knows is in Kiamo Ko. He of course though is not going to disclose to anyone in Oz he wants to see the witch.

Now they are just outside Munchkinland which is in the east. Kiamo Ko is in the west, and the Emerald City is right in the middle. Therefore Dorothy is going in that same direction, and Fiyero decides to accompany her just to Emerald City along the way, before he secretly plans to go to Kiamo Ko after.

Fiyero is not actually missing his brain. As in other parts of the musical script, he’s always joking about being ‘thoughtless’ or ‘brainless,’ so when Dorothy asks him what he might possibly want from The Wizard, he just says that. But it’s just him playing along without revealing what he’s actually set out to do.

Things however take a turn when they run into the Tinman. Now because Elphaba shared these details with Fiyero, he recognizes that the Tinman is Boq, but Boq does not recognize Fiyero is the Scarecrow.

Now Boq was originally on his way to the Emerald City as well to go and find Glinda, but then the cyclone and big storm happened and it rusted him still. Dorothy of course helps him, and when she tells him what they’re set off to do, he joins them thinking the Wizard could genuinely give him the heart he’s now missing.

On top of that Boq also expresses his anger over the Wicked Witch for turning into him tin. Dorothy shares that she is a target of the Wicked Witch because she has her sister’s shoes. The two bond over their dislike for the witch, and Fiyero plays along.

This is also Boq learning of Nessarose’s death, recognizing the shoes, but he keeps his past private from Dorothy and the Scarecrow.

Lastly they meet the Cowardly Lion, who Dorothy believes the Wizard could help and give him some courage, and he goes with them. When the Lion reveals that he’s a coward because the Wicked Witch kidnapped him as a cub, Fiyero realizes that he’s the cub that Elphaba and him rescued, but the Lion of course does not recognize Fiyero.

Fiyero’s now in deep with this group and trying to think of what his next move should be.

They then reach the Emerald City. The reason Madame Morrible tells the Wizard that this group of friends is “useful” is because Dorothy is a target of the Wicked Witch due to the shoes, and her entire friend group hates her as well. So The Wizard takes advantage of them and tells them that he’ll give them what they want if they go and kill the witch.

So now the entire group is headed towards Kiamo Ko, and Fiyero comes up with a plan. He knows that in journeying to Elphaba, the group will come across the winged monkeys at some point, and sure enough they do.

Elphaba sends the winged monkeys to capture Dororthy, because she’s pissed, she wants her shoes back and she’s just toying with the Wizard who just sent this girl to kill her.

In the commotion with the winged monkeys, Fiyero successfully gives a letter to Chistery to give to Elphaba. Whether or not Chistery recognizes Fiyero or not, doesn’t really matter as the letter is addressed to Elphaba by name.

(In the original musical it’s a letter. In the film it appears to be an article of clothing, but let’s just assume a note of a sort went along with it)

Chistery delivers the letter to Elphaba. In the letter, Fiyero lets Elphaba know that he is alive. He urges her to fake her death using the trap door, and that after she does, he will come back and retrieve her and they can escape Oz together.

That’s why Elphaba switches up so fast and decides to surrender.

After the melting, the gang goes back to the Emerald City. It is revealed the Wizard is a fraud and he leaves in the hot air balloon. I would say the shoes are actually able to bring Dorothy home. (They were able to make Nessarose fly, so quite possibly they flew Dorothy home once she focused in on their power.) As per Boq and the Lion, their conclusions doesn’t really matter. They probably start life a new in The Emerald City (or lead some lands like they do in the book).

Fiyero of course sneaks off and returns to Kiamo Ko where he reunites with Elphaba. She’s shocked to see him as a Scarecrow and that the plan actually worked.

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Once again, these events could be handled in a two or three minute montage of a sorts tying things together, before ending the film in the exact same way.

This way things are addressed, without having to add to much of the film.

There’s many ways to do this, but that’s part of the fun.