#and elphaba understands you need people and perception in order to do that | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

a-couple-of-notes · 8 days ago

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hey sorry i wanna talk some more about no one mourns the wicked.

when glinda's introduced, her first celebratory lines slide into a question:

Isn't it nice to know that good will conquer evil, the truth we all believe'll by and by outlive a lie for you and - [I]?

and in a song full of double meanings, glinda isn't asking that question (only) to the ozians. she's asking it to elphaba, who has always been that other half of "you and i." even though glinda has promised not to reveal the truth, she's still hoping that it will come to light someday for her and elphaba. and it's also a heartbreaking call-forward to defying gravity, because just like that moment where glinda almost gets on the broom, there can't be a "you and i" here--it's cut off by the world they exist in.

#ready for a tag ramble?#it's interesting that by the end of the story glinda and elphaba's values #are the most aligned they've ever been #glinda cares about affecting real change #and elphaba understands you need people and perception in order to do that #by the end the people they've changed into COULD HAVE worked together #i think end-of-story glinda could have gotten on the broom #and i think end-of-story elphaba would have at least reached out for help #but the damage has been done and their personas cemented in the eyes of oz #so that's no longer an option #it's what irks me about fiyero as a love interest #not necessarily as a flaw in the writing but just on a personal level #that i never feel he really understands elphaba's values even as he supports them #and he lacks the same tension between loving his home and being ostracized from it that glinda and elphaba have #(even though he SHOULD have it because he arcs the exact same way as glinda but faster)#(not to mention all the stuff they could have pulled with him being from winkie/the vinkus)#anyway and also i understand that people are coming to this realization genuinely and independently #and that i also had the moment where i saw the double meaning and went OH #but nomtw is not JUST about glinda calling herself wicked #there's also grief #and hope for a better future #and disappointment in the ozians' lack of empathy #and a commentary on how we'd rather label and punish someone wicked #than look at the broader systems that put people into impossible positions #(a commentary that is VERY relevant if the discussion turns solely into #'actually GLINDA was the wicked one and ELPHABA was the good one!')#figured i'd put all this here because i've already ranted like three times #on the villanizing glinda front #so. there it is #wicked

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