**This article contains spoilers for Wicked: For Good**
Wicked was a tribute to Gelphie fans everywhere, and Wicked: For Good isn’t any different. “Gelphie” is the ship name for Glinda and Elphaba, the stars of the Wicked franchise. The producers of Wicked: For Good amped up the romance in the newest installment, putting the sapphics on the big screen.
One thing is for sure: John M. Chu, the director of Wicked: For Good, loves the Gelphie fans.
Playbill’s Article
On Nov. 21, Playbill published an article called “Wicked: For Good Is For the Gelphie Shippers,” written by Margaret Hall. In the article, Hall talked about shipping culture in the Wicked fandom, mentioning all the ships that’ve emerged from the musical’s debut. Hall talks about Glinda x Fiyero, Fiyero x Elphaba, and the ship that’s the focus of the article, Glinda x Elphaba.
Hall says that “the Wicked films have reinforced one of the most ardent sapphic ships in fan-fiction history,” calling the Wicked films one of the greatest gifts given to Gelphie shippers over the years.
Hall also talks about the differences between Wicked: For Good and its musical counterpart, and, notably, mentions an interview with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the London premiere of Wicked: For Good.
In the interview, Grande told the camera, “Oz has always been a queer place, a safe place for queer people for every different colour of the rainbow, for everybody.”
I couldn’t agree more — film and other queer media have always provided spaces for LGBTQ+ people to find refuge in, but in Wicked: For Good, Gelphie shippers have the limelight.
Throughout the entirety of Wicked: For Good, and even in Wicked, we see the sapphic subtlety (and more overt romantic undertones) between Elphaba and Glinda.
“Wonderful”
One of the moments that we see Gelphie really shine is during the song “Wonderful.” In the original stage version of the movie, Glinda isn’t included in “Wonderful;” the song originally only features The Wizard and Elphaba.
While including Glinda meant Elphaba’s lines were cut short during the song, it was still an amazing decision by the producers of Wicked: For Good. In this song, the Wizard is trying to manipulate Elphaba into joining his cause, and the two strike a deal at the end (which doesn’t last long).
I think this decision was really impactful because Glinda is one of the most important people in Elphaba’s life. Elphaba and Glinda are truly happy to dance and sing together again, and the two share special moments during this sequence in the movie.
One of these is the swing scene shown in the trailer of Wicked: For Good, and the other is a callback to the Ozdust Ballroom scene in Wicked, when Glinda and Elphaba do their iconic dance from the first film.
This song highlights the special relationship between the duo, putting Gelphie’s relationship into the spotlight. Even if this moment alone doesn’t sell Gelphie to the audience, the movie is full of these small, special moments between Glinda and Elphaba, culminating in the romantic relationship between the two.
“For Good”
The last 20-30 minutes of Wicked: For Good is a Gelphie shipper’s dream. It starts with Glinda rushing to Elphaba’s side to warn her about Dorothy and the witch hunt, and culminates in the emotional peak of the song, “For Good.”
This song had me, and a large majority of the audience in my theatre, bawling. This song shows the deep, complex love between the pair during their bittersweet parting. This song is Elphaba and Glinda realizing how their lives have been irreversibly intertwined, with them both acknowledging how the other has changed them, for good.
This song is the ultimate expression of love between Elphaba and Glinda, and it’s a nod to their friendship and the tragedy of their love.
The emotional impact of this song is heightened by the scene at the end of the sequence, when Elphaba hides Glinda in the closet. According to Erivo, this scene was entirely unscripted — The Gelphie shippers have been fed well by the sequel. After the ending of “For Good,” Erivo and Grande decided to keep the scene going, resulting in this addition to the movie.
When Glinda leads Elphaba to the closet, what happens next is a metaphorical punch to the audience’s faces: before Elphaba closes the door, the two share an emotional, “I love you.”
Erivo and Grande are basically the CEOs of the Gelphie fandom. This was the perfect goodbye for the duo, breaking the hearts of Gelphie fans everywhere. There’s truly no better goodbye for Glinda and Elphaba; only when they part ways, when they know they’ll never see each other again, do they work up the nerve to say “I love you.”
The Grimmerie
Another powerful Gelphie moment in the film is near the end, after Glinda and Elphaba part ways. Glinda walks up the balcony with the Grimmerie, ending up where she and Elphaba parted ways at the end of “Defying Gravity” in the first film.
When Glinda sets the Grimmerie down, she looks over to the Western sky, and a rainbow appears over the horizon. The Grimmerie then opens for her, opening to a page in the Grimmerie that features a spell with an illustration of two handprints.
One user on X tried to decode this spell, and it looks like the book opens up to a healing spell for Glinda.
The Grimmerie opening is Elphaba’s last message to Glinda, whether it be Elphaba opening the book or that Glinda finally gained the magical abilities she’s always wished for. Glinda doesn’t ever get magical powers in the original Wicked musical, but the ending of the movie leaves this up to interpretation.
Nevertheless, this final parting between Glinda and Elphaba is another emotional moment for Gelphie fans: it’s truly the pair’s last goodbye, each parting their separate ways for the rest of their lives.
The Ending Shot in Wicked: For Good
The movie’s ending shot is a direct nod to the musical’s logo, which features Glinda, shadowed in white, leaning over to whisper to Elphaba, who’s dressed in her signature black. The movie leaves us on a shot of Glinda and Elphaba, ending the film with a signature image of Gelphie.
The entire movie culminates in this final shot of Gelphie, ending on the build-up of their relationship throughout Wicked and Wicked: For Good.
The Wicked films have provided a space for queer fans, especially the Gelphie fans, to see themselves represented in such a popular piece of media. Hall describing Gelphie as one of the most “ardent sapphic ships” in fandom history isn’t an exaggeration — Gelphie has made a huge impact online, and it’s refreshing to see a sapphic couple highlighted in such an amazing film.
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