Wicked‘s Glinda (Ariana Grande-Butera) has aspirations of becoming a great sorceress from the time she arrives at Shiz University, but it would seem that her dreams might not come true in quite the way she imagined. Wicked is, of course, primarily the story of the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), the two young women who will become Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West. The initial animosity between them is partially due to drastically different personalities, but also Glinda’s jealousy of Elphaba’s natural magical talent.
In Wicked‘s ending, Elphaba denounces the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and goes on the run to actively oppose his regime, leaving Glinda as Madame Morrible’s (Michelle Yeoh) sole sorcery student. Morrible, notably, only accepted Glinda into her seminar at Elphaba’s insistence. Like many Wizard of Oz characters who appear in Wicked, there is some amount of magical mystery surrounding Glinda rather than her character adhering to the rules of a hard magic system, meaning how her power may evolve in Wicked: For Good is open to interpretation.
Does Glinda Learn Magic In The Wicked Book?
Glinda Is A Powerful Sorcery Student In Maguire’s Novel
Wicked bears many changes from the original novel, тιтled Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, written by Gregory Maguire. Among them is the fact that Elphaba never studies magic while at Shiz. Glinda still comes to the school determined to become a sorceress and majors in sorcery, while Elphaba dives into life sciences, the subject taught by Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage in the movie), rather than history as he does in the musical and movie. After Elphaba and Glinda’s much less glamorous trip to the Emerald City, Elphaba still flees while Glinda returns to finish her education.
Elphaba learns sorcery on her own later on, after she has taken refuge at Kiamo Ko and acquired the Grimmerie. Meanwhile, there are some conclusive events throughout the book that prove Glinda’s magical ability, which seems more likely to be acquired by anyone in the book’s setting. Glinda practices levitation in one scene and enchants Nessarose’s jeweled shoes to give her more mobility (Nessa is born without arms rather than being paraplegic in the book). By all accounts, Glinda seems to truly become the witch that she is advertised as in The Wizard of Oz, according to this first iteration.
Does Glinda Learn Magic In The Wicked Musical?
Glinda Is (Maybe) Never Seen Performing Magic In The Stage Musical
However, the Broadway musical then made substantial changes to Wicked‘s story, and the movies are an adaptation of this production rather than the book. To streamline the subplot of Elphaba’s power, she is magically gifted from the beginning and becomes Madame Morrible’s student right away. Glinda still wants to be a sorceress but is never seen performing magic onstage as definitively as Elphaba and Morrible do. Whether magic can be learned by anyone in this universe or whether there are only a select few who have the innate ability isn’t clear.
Elphaba also hands off the Grimmerie to Glinda at the end of the show, insisting that Glinda will have to learn how to read it — but she may not ever be able to create magic with this information.
Despite not necessarily liking Glinda and not believing she “has what it takes,” Morrible still agrees to teach her as though it is a real possibility that Glinda might eventually pull off a spell. Meanwhile, Nessa (movie – Marissa Bode) seems to have some powers, as she accidentally curses and almost kills Boq (Ethan Slater). It’s altogether somewhat random, but the most memorable acts of magic decidedly do not come from Glinda. Namely, the plot point of the famous jewel slippers being enchanted in some way is accomplished by Elphaba.
On stage, Glinda does appear floating in her bubble, which she theoretically could have enchanted herself. However, a comment from Elphaba suggests that maybe it was something Glinda, the Wizard, and Morrible worked on together, while the movie implies that it is some combination of magic and machinery that Glinda can activate without having to perform a spell herself. Elphaba also hands off the Grimmerie to Glinda at the end of the show, insisting that Glinda will have to learn how to read it — but she may not ever be able to create magic with this information.
What The Wizard Of Oz Shows About Glinda’s Magical Powers
1939’s Wizard Of Oz Decides That Glinda Can Weild Magic
Glinda, as the Good Witch of the South in the original novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is a powerhouse. She displays a range of typical magical mastery including spells, animation, and elemental control, and is essentially immortal through her own magic. The version of Glinda who came to life in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is much vaguer in terms of ability. Her bubble is less mechanical than it is in the Wicked movie, she seems to magically transfer the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ witch’s shoes to Dorothy’s feet, and summons a snowfall to save Dorothy from the field of poppies.
She also seems to be knowledgeable about magic in general, advising Dorothy to hold on to the shoes and eventually revealing to her how to use them to get home. Ultimately, old-school Hollywood’s Glinda the Good Witch is probably truly magically powerful in some way. The Wicked novel then maintains this as it shows The Wizard of Oz from another perspective. However, the musical and now the movie decrease Glinda’s power for the sake of the strange balance between her and Elphaba, wherein Glinda’s ability to save Oz comes more from sociability and just being who she is.
What Else Happens To Glinda In Wicked 2?
Glinda Never Masters Magic But Becomes The Leader Oz Needs
There is a time jump when the Wicked musical picks up in the second act, and the version seen on stage glosses over the nature of the rest of Glinda’s magical education. However, the movie has time to explore this if it wishes, with one short conversation between Glinda and Morrible that may reveal Glinda never got past small spells, and relies more on showmanship to be the Good Witch of Oz, serving as a figurehead more than anything. While Elphaba is on the run, Glinda tries to temper the situation by reᴀssuring the Ozian public that there is no danger.
Glinda never measures up to Elphaba in some ways, but it is ultimately her popularity that is her real power.
However, eventually, her cooperation with this corrupt government catches up to her. Glinda’s decision to go along with the propaganda against Elphaba is probably an attempt to maintain her own power for the good of both of them in the end. Glinda never measures up to Elphaba in some ways, but it is ultimately her popularity that is her real power because she is the only one who can stand up to the Wizard and not lose because everyone in the country loves her. Wicked 2 will show Glinda coming to terms with her mistakes and her abilities, to do what is right in the end.
