Glinda’s magic powers, or lack thereof, are a major point in her story, and Wicked hid an important detail about the nature of them in the opening scene that directly connects to her future. Although the Broadway musical movie adaptation puts Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) in the lead role, Glinda (Ariana Grande) gets a great deal of focus too. Their complex relationship is at the heart of Wicked, as their similarities and differences are exemplified throughout the narrative. This includes a continued focus on the fact that Glinda can’t do magic for the majority of Wicked.

Glinda wants nothing more than to learn magic from Madame Morrible and is even willing to befriend Elphaba to help accomplish this goal. While Glinda doesn’t have any magic powers in the movie’s main narrative, viewers and Ozians are led to believe otherwise in the opening scene. As Glinda descends upon Munchkinland following the Wicked Witch of the West’s defeat, her floating platform encased in a bubble and the magic wand in hand suggests Glinda can do magic. However, Wicked subtly hid a crucial detail regarding Glinda’s magic powers in this scene.

Wicked’s Opening Scene Teases That Glinda’s Magic Comes From Technology

Glinda Doesn’t Have Any Real Magic Powers It Appears

The movie’s opening scene, which accompanies “No One Mourns The Wicked” on Wicked‘s soundtrack, is a very layered sequence for Glinda. Not only do the song’s lyrics mean something entirely different from her perspective, but the true nature of her magic powers are hidden. There is a visual and audible hint that Glinda does not have magic powers at all. Her believed abilities instead seemingly stem from technology.

When Glinda prepares to leave Munchkinland, a bubble forms around her and the platform before she pops it to talk to the Munchkins once more. Viewers watching and listening closely will notice that the bubble doesn’t appear due to magic. It only appears after Glinda pushes a ʙuттon with her foot. You can even hear the click of the ʙuттon right before the bubble forms. It would be easy to ᴀssume that Glinda the Good uses real magic to form this bubble and float around on her platform. But, the click indicates this is all just technology used for trickery.

The Rest Of Wicked Reinforces Glinda’s Lack Of Magic Powers & Potential

Wicked Suggests Glinda Doesn’t Have The Ability To Do Magic

The technological aspect to Glinda’s “magic” lines up with how the movie portrays her magical potential. Although she is eager to learn magic and train under Madame Morrible, the Shiz University teacher does not believe she has any chance to master the mystic arts. It’s worth noting that Morrible learned how to do magic after years of training, so Glinda could do the same in theory. The movie makes it clear that Glinda does not possess the necessary skills to do magic, at least not right now, as she repeatedly fails to cast spells during “Popular.”

Although Glinda the Good is a real witch in The Wizard of Oz, Wicked takes her abilities in a different direction. She’s stripped of her magical powers in the Broadway musical, even though the Wicked book does have Glinda use real magic. There is even a Wicked deleted scene explaining why Glinda can’t do magic. The deleted scene, Glinda’s magical inabilities throughout the film, and the ʙuттon detail in the opening scene make it clear that the filmmakers decided to have technology be the explanation for her powers.

How Wicked’s Secret Tease Of Glinda’s Magic Sets Up Wicked 2

Glinda’s Technological Advancements Are The Result Of Her New Allegiance

Wicked connecting Glinda’s “magic” to technology is an early example of how the film sets up her story in Wicked 2. Since the “No One Mourns The Wicked” sequence takes place after Wicked 2‘s story ends, it includes many pieces of foreshadowing. The technological component of Glinda’s powers is one such example. This is meant to signal to viewers that she will be aligned with The Wizard in the second part of the story. This happens as Madame Morrible and The Wizard take her under their wing following Elphaba’s disappearance after being declared a wicked witch.

Glinda essentially accepts the position that Elphaba was meant to have alongside The Wizard. He and Morrible brand her as Glinda the Good so that she is a popular figure working for them and against Elphaba. Glinda is given the technological advancements necessary to trick people into thinking she can do magic in the same way that The Wizard convinced all of Oz that he was the chosen one and could read the Grimmerie.

There is a chance that Wicked 2 could twist the Broadway musical a bit and incorporate the book element that Glinda can do some magic, though. She still might not be nearly as powerful as Elphaba and needs to rely on technology for some tricks, but having her know how to do some magic could connect to her arc and show some growth. Even in this case, the technological hidden detail in Wicked‘s opening scene confirms she won’t be completely free of relying on The Wizard’s tech by the end.