Wicked: For Good Ending Explained
Audiences are off to see not the Wizard, but Elphaba and Glinda once again as Wicked: For Good flies into theaters now. The highly anticipated sequel to 2024’s Wicked sees the two former friends dealing with the fallout of Elphaba’s actions against the Wizard. While Glinda is lifted higher as Oz’s spokesperson, Elphaba can’t escape society’s attacks against her. However, when the peculiar Dorothy is thrust into Oz, Elphaba and Glinda’s lives become changed forever.
For those familiar with the Broadway musical, Wicked: For Good covers the entirety of the second act, with some additional original material from director Jon M. Chu. Though most of this material is included to characterize Elphaba and Glinda’s characters further more, the film’s ending somewhat diverts from the musical’s conclusion. In fact, it sets up a sequel that might be more inspired by the original book series the musical and Wicked: For Good are based on.
The ending of Wicked: For Good plays out similarly to how the musical ends: Elphaba and Fiyero, now the Scarecrow, leave Kiamo Ko to live out their lives away from Oz. As for Glinda, she takes leadership of Emerald City, Grimmerie in hand, as she goes back to the tower where Elphaba stood up to the Wizard.
However, while Glinda’s magical status after the ending is kept ambiguous in the musical, Wicked: For Good suggests that Glinda might indeed have the power to read the Grimmerie. As the reprise of the film’s finale plays out, the Grimmerie opens up for Glinda, ethereal lights and all, as Oz’s new leader takes a curious peek at it.
With this ending, not only does it allow Glinda to gain the magic that she wanted since she was young, but it also teases how a third sequel may use, and even realize, the narrative from author Gregory Maguire’s next books.
Particularly, in Maguire’s follow-up, Son of a Witch, after Glinda became temporary ruler of Oz, she tried to revert the twisted rules that were put in place to some success. Despite creating some new laws and systems that tried to give the people of Oz a new start, Glinda’s rule was not as great as it could have been, leading her to give the reigns to the Scarecrow later on.
Due to this, later in Out of Oz, Glinda retires off to one of her estates, with the grandchild of Elphaba keeping her company. Although, at this point in Maguire’s original story, Glinda did not get her hands on the Grimmerie until the company of the Clock of the Time Dragon, a travelling show tied to prophecies, gives it to her.
Given how Wicked: For Good ends with Glinda getting the Grimmerie earlier on, it’s possible that a third film could address how Glinda’s changes are not as sustainable as she thought it could be. If this happens, it could easily tie to the Ozian civil war that happens later on in Maguire’s story. However, this also relies on the film incorporating two characters connected to Elphaba’s past: Liir and Rain.
For those unfamiliar, these two characters are a part of Elphaba and Nessarose’s family line. Further down the family tree, Liir is the son of Elphaba and Fiyero who was mostly despised by his mother while under her care during Wicked. Rain is Liir’s daughter who later tried to fight back against Elphaba’s younger brother who took over Oz, Shell Thropp.
While these characters don’t appear in the musical or in the film adaptation, there is a way that the third film could introduce Elphaba’s relatives. It could be done so by setting the story several years following the events of Wicked: For Good, where Glinda might have been overthrown. This could also introduce Cherrystone, one of the Wizard’s old commanders who was involved during the events of the first two films.
At this point in the story, the film would have to see Emerald City return to a dictatorial state, heavily guarded by Cherrystone’s dragons, who were under the control of Shell in the original books. As such, a darker, more bleaker tone similarly to Wicked: For Good would have to be applied to account for how bleak Oz’s situation gets.
Furthermore, if this third film sees Cherrystone taking the reins to return Oz to how it was before Glinda took over, it could easily introduce Liir. He might be motivated to return to Oz on behalf of his mother and father’s word. Doing such can also tie back to the initial chapters of Son of a Witch, where Liir was heavily injured and taken under the care of Glinda’s followers.
Such progression can later incorporate the return of Glinda, who also returns in Out of Oz to stop the militant forces of Emerald City with the Grimmerie. The third film might have to see Glinda and Liir fail to stop Cherrystone at first in order for a potential fourth film to integrate Rain into the overall story.
All of this would heavily rely on Glinda finally learning the necessary magic and spells from the Grimmerie following Wicked: For Good. One of the spells that Glinda learns from the book, “To Call Winter Upon Water”, happens to be a key turning point in the conflict between Elphaba’s family line and the post-Glinda Ozian empire.
Given how both the Wicked musical and films only explore Maguire’s first book, the narrative potential for a third film can expand out in many ways. Though the films certainly feel like a closed story, Jon M. Chu’s tease about exploring different ideas for Wicked 3 does keep the doors to Oz open.
Wicked: For Good is now playing in theaters.
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Christopher Gallardo is a freelance entertainment writer and critic. While not running The Reel Roller, Chris can be found writing reviews and breakdowns on all things films and TV. Outside of entertainment writing, he’s currently taking classes for a Bachelor’s of Science with a minor in Digital Media & Journalism. Plus, he loves Percy Jackson, animated films and shows, and Fallout! Follow Christopher on Instagram & X.