Warning: this article contains spoilers for the plot of Wicked and Wicked: For Good.Jon M. Chu’s blockbuster movie Wicked portrayed the events of the first half of the Broadway musical with great success, leaving audiences excited about the sequel, Wicked: For Good. The movie follows Elphaba, a young woman with green skin who begins her time as a student at Shiz University, making friends along the way. Elphaba’s goal throughout is to meet the Wizard of Oz, but by Wicked‘s ending she has learned that everything is not as it seems, with people she initially misjudged becoming her closest friends and her mentors turning into her enemies.
Because the biggest portion of the movie takes place at Shiz, Wicked does a great job of explaining Elphaba’s experiences as an outsider there before she becomes friends with Glinda and gains feelings for Fiyero. Throughout these scenes, Wicked sets up a love triangle between the three main characters. While the movie ends with Fiyero seemingly having feelings for Glinda, there is one scene in Wicked: Part I that subtly sets up what will happen between Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero in the ending of Wicked: For Good.
Fiyero’s Flower Scene Is The First Confirmation That Elphaba Loves Him
This Moment Is Backed Up By “I’m Not That Girl”
After learning that Doctor Dillamond is no longer allowed to teach at Shiz, Elphaba becomes extremely upset, and even more so when their new teacher shows them a lion cub in a cage. In reaction to the new teacher’s treatment of the animal, Elphaba unintentionally causes the poppies that were around the classroom to float up and release pollen that caused the other students to fall asleep, but her magic spared Fiyero. Together, the two of them escape into the woods with the lion cub, and they have a touching moment that Elphaba ultimately shies away from.
When the pair stop in the woods, Fiyero asks why she did not make him fall asleep, but Elphaba does not give him a straight answer, believing him to be in love with Glinda.
Elphaba’s magic not affecting Fiyero is the first sign that she has feelings for him, as he treats her differently than many other students at Shiz. She realizes that there is more to Fiyero than he likes to pretend, and that they both choose to bury their feelings to make life easier. When the pair stops in the woods, Fiyero asks why she didn’t make him fall asleep, but Elphaba doesn’t give him a straight answer, believing him to be in love with Glinda. Instead, after he walks away, Elphaba sings “I’m Not That Girl”, fully exposing her real feelings.
Elphaba & Fiyero’s Relationship Is An Even Bigger Part Of Wicked 2
Wicked: For Good Complicates The Love Triangle Further
Wicked‘s ending leaves a lot up in the air, with Elphaba on the run from the Wizard and Madame Morrible declaring her the Wicked Witch of the West, but the movie also leaves a lot of questions about the relationships of its main characters unanswered. At the end of Wicked, Fiyero leaves Shiz on horseback, presumably to search for Elphaba after hearing Madame Morrible’s announcement. Though he never explicitly stated his feelings in Wicked, the movie does hint that Fiyero feels the same way for Elphaba as she does for him, despite still being with Glinda.
In the Broadway musical, Act Two delves more fully into the relationship between Elphaba, Fiyero, and Glinda. Thus, Wicked: For Good will likely see Fiyero remain in his relationship with Glinda in the beginning, but when he has the opportunity to aid Elphaba, he will ultimately side with her. A big factor in the second half of the musical is Fiyero’s longing for Elphaba and Glinda’s realization that he loved Elphaba all along. In fact, it is also this realization that brings about Dorothy’s entrance into Oz after a jealous Glinda provides information to Madame Morrible.
Will Wicked 2 Address The Poppy Scene?
Fiyero Himself Has Already Questioned What Happened
While the poppy scene provided the perfect hint about Elphaba’s feelings for Fiyero, there could be even more fallout from the moment in Wicked: For Good. In the woods scene in Wicked, Fiyero himself already questioned why he did not fall asleep like everyone else, but Elphaba cleverly avoided answering his question. The movie makes it clear that each of them continues thinking about the moment they shared long after it happened, so it definitely seems possible that one of them could bring it back up.
During Act Two of the Wicked musical, Elphaba accidentally turns Fiyero into the scarecrow of The Wizard of Oz out of fear that he will be killed by the Wizard’s guards.
What is even more interesting is how Wicked very cleverly wove in the significance of the poppies from the events of The Wizard of Oz. One major scene in the older movie shows Dorothy and her companions falling asleep in a field of poppies. However, the scarecrow does not fall asleep, hinting at the same connection between Elphaba and Fiyero after all that time. While it is impossible to know yet how exactly Wicked: For Good will pay off the poppy scene given its additions to the musical, Wicked has certainly set up a compelling connection between the two characters.
