Part two of the highly-anticipated Wicked movie hit theaters on Nov. 21, and many fans have been amazed by the film’s storyline, songs, and the Easter eggs that carried over from the original Broadway musical. If you’re not familiar with the story of Wicked, allow me to fill you in: It takes place in the Land of Oz, where witches Elphaba and Glinda form a profound friendship while attending Shiz University. Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, is misunderstood and has always felt like an outcast due to her green skin, which she was born with. So, what caused Elphaba’s skin to turn green? Elphaba’s green vial may have something to do with it. Spoiler Warning: Spoilers for Wicked and Wicked: For Good follow.
In both the Broadway show and the movie, it’s revealed during “No One Mourns The Wicked” that before Elphaba was born, her mother, Melena Thropp, had an affair with a mystery man while her father was out of town. While the affair was happening, Melena drank some green elixir from a vial, which caused Elphaba’s skin to turn green in utero.
But that’s not the only time the green elixir appears in the story. In the first Wicked movie, when Elphaba and Glinda (formerly known as Galinda) return to their room at Shiz University following the party at Ozdust Ballroom, Glinda asks Elphaba about the green vial she keeps under her pillow. At first, Elphaba didn’t want to share. But Elphaba decides to open up (they just became friends, after all!) and tells Glinda that the vial belonged to her mother.
Elphaba reveals that her father, Governor Thropp, forced his mother to eat milk flowers while she was pregnant with Elphaba’s younger sister, Nessarose, to ensure she was born with normal-colored skin. But the milk flowers did more harm than good, as they caused Melena to go into early labor before Nessa’s legs were fully developed. Sadly, Melena died in childbirth, and Elphaba keeps the vial as a reminder of her.
Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Wicked: For Good follow. Then, in Wicked: For Good, the vial comes up again. In Emerald City, the Wizard is seen taking swigs of a drink from a green vial, eerily similar to the one Elphaba holds onto. And at the end of the movie, after Elphaba “melts,” Glinda finds her hat and starts crying. Behind her, Chistery (the flying monkey), finally uses his voice to say, “Miss… Miss Glinda,” and hands her the vial. Having seen the Wizard drink from the vial during her time in Emerald City, she puts the two pieces of the puzzle together to reveal that the Wizard is Elphaba’s father.
Back in Emerald City, Glinda confronts the Wizard about the green vial and where she found it, and the Wizard immediately realizes he always had a family — Elphaba, who he cast out of his own city. It’s part of the driving force from Glinda to coerce the Wizard to leave Emerald City, and Oz altogether.
This storyline was just one of many at the end of Wicked: For Good that added to the absolute masterpiece that it was. But will the Wizard ever return to Oz? I’m hoping for a Wicked 3 to continue this story.
This story was originally published on Nov. 22, 2024.