That Jaw-Dropping ‘Wicked’ Change Just Answered Our Biggest Question About Elphaba and Glinda

Warning: This article contains MAJOR spoilers for Wicked: For Good.

Wicked: For Good may not have succeeded at satisfying critics nearly as much as its predecessor, but it did sneak a jaw-dropping bombshell into its final moments that effectively solves the musical’s greatest mystery. For over 22 years, ever since Wicked first flew onto Broadway, fans have left the show with a number of questions: What happens to Boq? Who wrote the words ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD on Dr. Dillamond’s chalkboard? What happens to the Wizard after he leaves Oz, and do we really care?

The 2025 sequel, Wicked: For Good, begs similar questions: How long can a twister-conjuring sorceress like Madame Morrible possibly stay imprisoned? Do Dorothy’s Elphaba-enchanted shoes get her back to Kansas? Most of all, viewers want to know the same thing Broadway audiences do: does Glinda ever learn the truth about Elphaba and Fiyero? At the end of the musical, she believes that both of her friends are dead as the final chords of “No One Mourns the Wicked” bring the show to a close. It’s a heartbreaking finale, and likely something fans of the musical weren’t looking forward to after experiencing the palpable chemistry between co-leads Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in 2024’s Wicked: Part One.

And yet, like a comet pulled from orbit, For Good’s creative team went ahead and made the most explosive movie musical decision in recent memory. (Okay, the decision to cast Grande and Erivo in the roles of Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, may take top billing, closely followed by Chu as director.) This deviation from the source material not only answered one of Broadway’s most burning questions, but also added a jolt of electricity to Wicked fans’ expectations, creating a finale moment that is nothing short of gravity defied.

What Happens at the End of ‘Wicked: For Good?’

Universal Pictures

When Glinda realizes that the witch-hunting Ozians are prepared to find Elphaba and kill her, she flees on horseback to Kiamo Ko Castle, where Elphaba is hiding. It’s there that Elphaba delivers the news: they have “seen Fiyero’s face for the last time.” Glinda takes this to mean that Fiyero is dead, and her emotions only deepen when she realizes that she has to say goodbye to her best friend, too. Elphaba gives Glinda the Grimmerie, which Glinda reminds her she can’t read, but Elphaba insists, saying, “You have to learn, because now it’s up to you…for both of us.” They then sing “For Good,” a heartfelt acknowledgment of their mutual love for each other as well as an emotional goodbye.

As the Ozians arrive at Kiamo Ko, Elphaba instructs Glinda to get inside a closet for safety. Through a crack in the door, Glinda watches as the silhouette of that faceless pest, Dorothy, tosses a bucket of water on Elphaba, causing her to melt. Heartbroken, Glinda returns to Emerald City, where she has Madame Morrible arrested and informs the Wizard that he is to leave Oz immediately. As the end of Wicked: For Good circles back to the beginning of Part One, Glinda faces the Ozian people and publicly embraces her new role as Oz’s leader. She welcomes the formerly ostracized animals back into society and invites everyone to live in harmony as she works to “try to be Glinda the Good.”

Back at Kiamo Ko, a Scarecrow enters the room where Elphaba’s melting occurred and opens a trapdoor, revealing that Elphaba is alive. Elphaba then realizes who the Scarecrow is: Fiyero, having been successfully transformed via the spell she cast during “No Good Deed.” As they flee Oz together, Glinda ascends to the top of an Emerald City tower holding the Grimmerie. As she looks out into the distance and thinks about her friend, the magical book opens for her. Elphaba, smiling, then heads into the unknown with Fiyero.

What That Game-Changing Moment Means for Elphaba and Glinda

Ariana Grande as Galinda "Glinda" Upland and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp in Wicked — Ariana Grande as Galinda “Glinda” Upland and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp in Wicked

At first, it appears as though Glinda has opened the Grimmerie herself, having acquired the necessary wisdom, maturity, and goodness to do so. This is certainly a valid interpretation, as numerous aspects of Elphaba and Glinda’s journeys across the Wicked films parallel each other. A glimpse of Elphaba’s childhood, for example, is shown in Part One, while Glinda’s is showcased in For Good. Elphaba steps into her power and defies gravity at the end of the first film; Glinda steps into her own as Oz’s new leader at the end of the second.

During the flashback to Glinda’s childhood, viewers see that her desire to be a sorceress began when she was a young girl. Unfortunately for her, she never comes to possess magic, a reality that she’s constantly reminded of due to Elphaba’s clear power and Madame Morrible’s lack of belief in her. Even the flying bubble Glinda is given in For Good is machine-operated and meant to trick Ozians into believing she’s powered. Glinda thus comes to accept that she is not extraordinary; she’s just the girl in the bubble, and finally embraces her shortcomings when she admits to Elphaba that she can’t read the Grimmerie.

Glinda knows that Elphaba is still alive, a realization that gives both women the sense of closure the Broadway musical did not.

One can’t help but notice that only after Glinda learns what it means to be truly good, via Elphaba’s friendship and example, does the Grimmerie open for her–– in the very same spot where Elphaba defied gravity at the end of Part One. Elphaba, meanwhile, turns back and looks at Oz from the Impassable Desert, as if sensing that the book has opened. As the pages flutter and Glinda looks on in amazement, two golden hands appear in the Grimmerie alongside various symbols and glyphs– a callback to “For Good,” wherein Elphaba sings the words, “You’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart.” Remember the tear-jerking Ozdust Ballroom dance that Elphaba taught Glinda? Two sets of hands came together there, too. Glinda’s utter shock at the Grimmerie’s message and Elphaba’s subsequent smile combine to reveal an astonishing truth: Glinda knows that Elphaba is still alive, a realization that gives both women the sense of closure the Broadway musical did not.

The filmmakers’ inclusion of this moment is as unexpected as it is extraordinary. Wicked: For Good could have ended exactly the way the musical does: with a devastated Glinda mourning the loss of her friend, unable to ever know that Elphaba and Fiyero are actually alive. Instead, screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox chose to honor the powerful friendship at the heart of the story and give Glinda the happy ending she deserves. Sure, Elphaba and Glinda may never be able to see each other again–– something they came to terms with in “For Good”–– but the knowledge that Elphaba is alive will help Glinda move forward as she works to rebuild Oz into the kind of inclusive society Elphaba always dreamed of.

The gift of the Grimmerie opening for Glinda is blissfully twofold: not only does she know that Elphaba is alive, but the audience knows she knows, which saves them from years of anguish pondering Wicked’s biggest question. After spending nearly five hours with these characters, this is the ultimate fan service, as viewers can rest assured knowing that Glinda and Elphaba could theoretically reunite one day (perhaps in a future film?). The Wicked saga thus becomes a story not just about friendship, but of hope. It’s a choice that, given the state of the world today, doubles as the best possible ending and the most generous gift Holzman, Fox, and Chu could have given their loyal fans. While the stage show ends tragically, the sequel reminds viewers that everyone deserves a chance to fly, even a woman who was formerly selfish, cruel, and perhaps even a bit wicked. And if the Grimmerie only opens for those who will use its spells for good, then for Glinda the Good Witch, the sky is now the limit.