#and most of them are about Glinda

[glindafication]

I have been having a lot of thoughts about Glinda's costuming (specifically in the movie) and I NEED to talk about it right now so here goes. (This is specifically about the clothes Glinda wears at Shiz)

So I have seen quite a few people pointing out how Glinda doesn't follow the Shiz uniform (where all the other characters are in white/blue/orange besides her and Elphaba and kind of Fiyero) and I have a lot of mixed opinions on this.

First off I think it makes perfect sense for Elphaba because in the movie we are told that she wasn't originally going to study at Shiz and also we do see her wearing some of the uniform pieces (for example she wears the same blue fabric wrap thingy as the other students in the sports scene while Glinda doesn't), so it makes sense that she wouldn't have the time and/or money to buy the proper uniform pieces. But for Glinda, I am kind of conflicted. On the one hand, she is very used to getting her way and very focused on her looks, so it could be argued that it is in character for her to flagrantly ignore the uniform policy for the sake of her aesthetic. On the other hand, I feel like it is a bit of a missed opportunity to establish the more conformist aspect of Glinda's character. Showing that Glinda is unwilling to break the rules is important because it makes her choice to join the Wizard and Morrible despite not wanting to make more sense. This also feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to better establish Fiyero's character as they could have had Glinda follow the uniform while Fiyero doesn't. This would have further established that Fiyero is more willing to actively break the rules than Glinda, which could help to explain why Elphaba trusts him. This is still established through dancing through life and with the Ozdust ballroom being stated to be illegal in the movie, but I feel this could've been another good opportunity.

There is of course the out of universe reason for this which is that it helps to Glinda to visually stand out. This is extremely common where uniforms are used as costumes as having everyone wear the same/similar things while the main characters wear something different is a very easy way to tell the audience who to focus on. However this is done differently in the musical, where the main Shiz uniform is a mixture of navy and white while Elphaba wears exclusively navy and Glinda wears exclusively white. (With small amounts of blue/navy in her shirt). This still visually distinguishes our main characters from the ensemble (and from each other with the use of contrast) without having it feel like they're just choosing to ignore the uniform. It is conscievably possible that the Shiz uniform allows students to pick from a selection of white and navy options and Glinda simply chose all of the white ones while Elphaba chose all of the navy ones.

I am also mildly frustrated with the decision to relegate movie Glinda to a tiny sliver of the colour wheel in general, as I have said before. She only wears pink once in the muscial so having her in almost exclusively pink in the movie despite her having more costumes is a bit annoying. Especially since I have the sneaking suspicion that part of the reason they did this was because building a strong association between Glinda and the colour pink would allow them to make Glinda themed merch by simply making something pink instead of making something with a more meaningful link to her character.

I will say that I am not trying to hate on Glinda's movie costumes by any means. A lot of them are very technically impressive and visually gorgeous (her Ozdust dress is absolutely stunning and I want one). I have no doubt that a lot of time, effort and thought went into these costumes. These are just my personal thoughts as a huge fan of the musical and of the costumes used in it

(Some pictures to explain what I am referring to, top two are musical costumes, bottom two are movie costumes)

[glindafication]

I have seen a number of posts/fanfics that present the dynamic between Glinda and Morrible/the Wizard as very explicitly threatening and even downright abusive and I feel like that does kind of link to this.

I definitely understand where that vibe comes from and they are both certainly very manipulative characters, and there is also the fact that many of these works are not intended to strictly follow the canon anyway, but I do have some thoughts.

Firstly, I feel like Glinda is somewhat naive still in act 2. When she says things like 'I can't leave when people are looking to me to raise their spirits' (slightly paraphrased) it's clear that on some level she does believe what she's saying. She knows the system isn't perfect but she isn't completely disillusioned with it in the way that Elphaba and Fiyero are, at least at that point in the story. I also think it genuinely doesn't occur to her that Morrible caused the tornado that killed Nessa until Elphaba points it out.

Based on that, I think it's much more likely that Morrible and the Wizard are convincing her that what she's doing is good, rather than forcing her to stay through threat of violence or something similar. Some lines especially like the one I mentioned earlier or 'I am a public figure now, people expect me to be encouraging' sound to me like her repeating what they've said to her, rather than her own thoughts. The way some Glindas deliver this line sounds like she's trying to convince herself more-so than anybody else.

It's also worth noting that Glinda seems genuinely shocked when Morrible tells her to 'just smile and wave and shut up' in their conversation during march of the witch hunters, which would suggest that this is the first time Morrible has been this direct with Glinda and hasn't tried to conceal her bad intentions in any way. And Glinda is quick to use her power against Morrible and the Wizard very shortly after this.

Of course, there are a lot of factors influencing her decision to do this, but I think if the Wizard and Morrible had been explicitly threatening or outright harming her up to this point then her behaviour here wouldn't really make sense. She would've turned against them much sooner, or would've been too afraid to turn against them still.

The Wizard and Morrible also don't really feel like the sort of villains to explicitly threaten Glinda, at least not in their musical iterations. The threat is definitely there, with Glinda literally witnessing them turn the whole country against Elphaba, but I don't think they ever directly said to her 'you have to do what we say or we will do x.' They are both much more underhanded and also I think not saying that is arguably more effective since it leaves it up to Glinda's imagination.

Glinda clearly understands that she needs to stay in their good graces for the sake of her own reputation and safety. Basically all of thank goodness shows this, with her shushing Fiyero, covering for him when he leaves and adding 'and fiance' when the crowd are listing who they consider 'good'. Glinda is going out of her way to ensure both she and Fiyero are perceived as 'good' and aligned with the Wizard in the public eye. But I don't think she does this because they will directly hurt her if she doesn't. It's more that she is very aware of how influential they are over public opinion and how important public opinion is in Oz (see all of popular).

Basically, I don't think Glinda likes or trusts the Wizard or Morrible, but she does believe that her role as 'Glinda the Good' does accomplish some good for the people and I don't believe she is under any direct threat.

i have to say that it's been very interesting and endearing seeing this new wave of gelphie/glinda fans that have come up from the movie. tho i'm not sure i necessarily agree with this new popular take i've seen going around that glinda is basically the wizard's prisoner after defying gravity. like i love glinda, but she's very morally gray in the musical (maybe in the book too, but it's been a while since i've read it). i'm curious what you're thoughts are on this interpretation.

Oh, it's clear I'm on the outskirts bc i don't remember seeing this take. :')

Regardless, if it's like an idea people like to explore in their fics or art or even just in their mind, that's totally valid. I'm not going to police people's takes they like to explore (and neither should anyone else tbh). That's what fandom is all about, after all!

If it's used to explain canon, then I honestly need more information than your distilled ask tbh? Like, in a very literal sense, Glinda is not the Wizard's prisoner. She could leave if she wants to, making her not a prisoner.

But that doesn't mean Glinda isn't very much trapped and stuck in this idea of being "Glinda the Good". In that sense she is - metaphorically speaking - very much a prisoner in her own prison, which happens to be located in the Wizard's prison.

From the musical's Thank Goodness we know that "all her dreams came true". She's popular, she has her fiancee. She fully believes in this Societal Ideal™ that has been projected onto people, and pursuits it without question.

until she finally gets it and slowly realizes... she's fucking miserable. Of course she is! It's Glinda's tragic flaw that she is so calculating in how to move on the board, that she misses the opportunity to follow her actual heart's desires.

In that sense, I think it's more (canon) accurate that Glinda will always willingly walk into a prison of her own making. Because at least then she knows what to expect. And in a way, that brings safety and control. Even if it comes at the cost of being miserable.

She only steps out of her prison when she realizes Morrible was behind Nessa's death, and tries to salvage what can be salvagable. But by that point, the pieces on the board have already moved too far out of her reach. Her window of opportunity to follow her own heart (and be with Elphie) is gone. And the only logical move, is to walk back into her own prison.

The Wizard doesn't need to keep Glinda as his prisoner. He knows she'll do it herself.

[crows-king]

Doodled some Gelphie ponies for fun (because combining my unrelated interests is my specialty, and for some reason my mind can't stop thinking about this elaborate Wicked MLP AU)~

More details down below!:

Design Details:

They're mostly based on the movie depictions, with some musical and book characteristics mixed in. Elphie has her sharp teeth from the book, and I can never let go of the height difference of the musical OGs lol. (Although I did draw a version with no/little height difference like in the movie, cuz why not~ I like em' both)

Elphie is part changeling (either half or quarter) from her dear old father, The Wizard. It's subtle, and she doesn't have any changeling powers, but her design has some touches of their metamorphosed designs. Like the slightly curved horn and forked ear tips, etc.

Galinda can be easily described as Short n' Sweet (Available now for streaming). Her horn is short and stubby. She often dresses up to hide her blank flank, which she's embarrassed by.

Pony AU Ramblings:

Like in the musical, not many creatures can use magic in Oz. Unicorns are somewhat rare, compared to the other pony species, and almost all can't use magic. They must learn how under the few who do know, like Morrible, which is still difficult to achieve.

Elphaba is unique in that she was born with magic and a lot of it, though she can't control it. Which led her to be ostracized, among her other unique characteristics.

Galinda is the same in that she wants to be a sorceress and learn magic under Morrible. She's insecure about her blank flank, but hides it under her charms and tells others she'll get it when she becomes a full-fledged sorceress.

Everything about the animal plot is the same. The Wizard is an un-metamorphosed changeling that wants to silence and control animals.

[sirazaroff]

You draw Glinda with such innocence and trauma in her gaze, her brain is either empty or too full of informtion.

also i want to eat ur art i love it sm thank you

Glinda, my complex lil idiot child I love her a lot <3 and as my fav she gets the fun treatment™️

I see her as someone who feels very deeply and where her words fail, her demeanor speaks instead. Those sad brown eyes and anxiety brows carry a lot of weight, and I’m sure there’s a certain green bean who’d love to lighten that load one day.

Thank you for the ask :D I hope my stuff keeps you and everyone else well fed!

[the-clock-of-the-time-dragon]

It will forever be hilarious to me that Disney wanted so fucking bad to make a Wicked movie — but couldn't get the rights from Universal — that they literally spent billions upon billions of dollars making SEVEN different films (and a whole season of television; not even including their sequels and spinoffs) more than one of which they even got Idina and Kristen to be in based on the stripped-down premise of "what if the Stock Female Antagonist™ was secretly the Misunderstood Angsty Girlboss Heroine™ all along?" (because Disney execs don't actually care about Wicked, they just saw Green, said "hey! if we can't get the real thing, why not use Our Own (and/or Public Domain) characters?" and simply followed the Marketing Department Road all the way to the bank).

Less funny is the fact they were so successful at it — regardless of the merits (or lack thereof) of any of those projects — that it ended up getting the production of the actual Wicked movie delayed by more than a decade (because it would ironically have looked like a copycat and probably faded into the background if it had come out back when Disney was pumping out knockoffs every fucking year).

[cometblaster2070]

you think glinda sees dorothy and ozma interacting and yk she sees how much they like each other and she's like "ohhhh wait a damn minute WAIT".

she grabs ozma by the shoulders and she's like you hold onto that girl you hold onto her tight and don't ever let go and don't you reject her offer to fly off into the sunset and fight against a tyrannical ruler and ozma's like wasn't planning to do all that but thanks anyways :DDD.

she sees them being all cutesy and in love together and then she's just like

[thebibblebobb]

I disagree with all of the takes about how elphaba was less into glinda than glinda was into elphaba, if only because imo of all the ways to make sense of wickeds bizzare politics "elphaba's just down that bad for glinda", is by far the easiest and simplest. imo.

[a-couple-of-notes]

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.

[werewolfsquadron]

actually if you have a queer reading of Glinda in the Wicked musical/film you're being true to the source material

[usuallydyinginside]

"No One Mourns the Wicked" is about Glinda, not Elphaba

Okay, but hear me out. Wicked songs are so good at saying one thing and meaning something entirely different once you have more context. For instance, "I'm Not That Girl" is Elphaba singing about Glinda initially, then in Act 2 flips to Glinda singing about Elphaba. Because it turns out, Elphaba IS that girl and Glinda is not. When we meet the Wizard, he sings about how he always wanted to be a father. When you get to Act 2, you get the sad little reprise in the background music as he realizes that WHOOPS, he was one and he destroyed his only kid. "Defying Gravity" starts with "I hope you're happy" in the sarcastic sense and ends with them both using the same phrase to genuinely wish one another well.

"Thank Goodness" is set up as a cheerful engagement song where Glinda genuinely means "thank goodness for how great my life is" and ends in a place where she's insisting that she IS happy even as she realizes her engagement is a sham, her best friend is gone, and she's left with the Wizard and Madame M, who she doesn't even like.

You get the picture.

Basically, the whole musical is about subverting what you expect, starting with the base premise of "what if the Wicked Witch was the hero of the story" and digging in from there.

Honestly, I'd never paid much attention to the first song. It's a good opener, sets things up well, but it has some big competition with later songs. However, in the movie the staging and camera choices made me really notice it for the first time. Because you know what? Someone DID pay attention to that song, and you can really really tell.

For those who need a refresher, the lyrics to the chorus Glinda sings are: And Goodness knows The Wicked's lives are lonely Goodness knows The Wicked die alone It just shows when you're Wicked You're left only On your own I was always so busy noticing Glinda's grief over thinking Elphaba was genuinely dead that I failed to notice Glinda's grief over her OWN fate. The movie did such a good job with this because every time we get to the pink lines about being alone, Glinda IS alone. She is standing apart from the crowd who adores her. Standing above them. Standing at the center of a bunch of people yet still, isolated.

Because in the end, we know that Elphaba DIDN'T die alone. We know she wasn't on her own. We know her life WASN'T lonely ultimately. She had her flying monkey and animal friends. She had Fiyero.

And who does Glinda have?

Everyone, but realistically, no one. She is an ideal, not a person to most of Oz, just as much as Elphaba has become the token scapegoat. Where Elphaba is the "Wicked Witch," Glinda is "Glinda the Good Witch" - she is literally supposed to be the embodiment of goodness.

And what does Glinda have at the end of this whole thing (as of this song at least)? A disastrous end to her engagement, the death of her best friend, a sorceress who has hated her, demeaned her, and dismissed her from the start, and a con man who is also just a symbol more than a person.

I think it really hit me when Glinda throws the fire on the giant effigy of Elphaba. Ariana's acting was SO good there, because I'd expected us to see that private moment of horror or regret. What I didn't expect was the sort of determined and almost angry glare at the effigy.

But it makes sense. At this point, Glinda has realized that she lost everything and everyone she actually cared about.

As she so aptly puts it in "Thank Goodness"...

Though it is, I admit The tiniest bit Unlike I anticipated. But I couldn't be happier, Simply couldn't be happier, Well, not "simply" 'Cause getting your dreams It's strange, but it seems A little, well, complicated.

There's a kind of a sort of cost. There's a couple of things get lost. There are bridges you cross You didn't know you crossed Until you've crossed!

And if that joy, that thrill Doesn't thrill like you think it will Still-- With this perfect finale, The cheers and the ballyhoo! Who wouldn't be happier? So I couldn't be happier, Because happy is what happens When all your dreams come true.

Well, isn't it?

Happy is what happens when you're dreams come true.

It's not Elphaba's fault that Glinda has ended up this way. Glinda chose it every step of the way. Yet, if Glinda had never met Elphaba, (if she'd never known her, you could say), she might have stayed shallow and vain. She might never have been challenged to look deeper and realize how empty it all felt.

So as Glinda sings "No One Mourns the Wicked," she realizes that even if the Munchkins are singing about the "Wicked Witch," she's not.

She's singing about herself.

The one who traded her morals, friendship, and love for a taste of the admiration and power over those who don't really know her. The one who was so worried about being likable that she herself doesn't like who she's become.

Even after she makes things better for Oz and herself by sending the wizard away and getting rid of Madame M, it just leaves Glinda by herself as the leader and source of goodness in Oz. It leaves her on a pedestal she can never step off of.

It leaves her lonely.

Entirely alone.

[wolfienation]

one of my favorite parts of wicked is watching elphaba's idealism and glinda's realism clash. and before anyone says anything, yes glinda is the realist between them. she sang an entire song about it. it just goes over ppl's heads coz they dress it up in bubblegum pink and a jaunty tune.

elphaba is the idealist. she has dreams of how Oz could be a better place, where everyone is accepted for who they are and aren't opressed or marginalized. she becomes a revolutionary because of those values, because she believes in fighting for the rights of freedom and the future.

and the other side of the coin is glinda, who understands innately how the world works. it's not about how much knowledge you have or how good you are at what you do. you can be the most qualified person for the position but if you're not popular with the masses, you're done for.

and those values they each have are constantly clashing with each other. elphaba believes she can fix the system from the outside. glinda believes she can play the long game and fix it from within. they both believe what they're doing is the best way to protect.

they don't see the other's POV until For Good. it's only then when elphie understands that the way she's been viewed has backed her into a corner and hurt her cause. it's only then does glinda choose to believe that the world could be a better place, that if she told the truth, nothing will happen because there must be goodness in the world. and by then, well, by then there isn't much of the song left. it's been written. all they can do is sing.

[crushpunky]

actress!reader reveals what’s on her phone

masterlist | actress!reader masterlist

based loosely on the glamour interview, screen time :)

“Hello, Glamour, I’m y/n y/ln and today we are going to be digging through my phone!” Y/n sang, greeting the camera with a grin!

What’s your screen time?

“Oh my god…” Y/n groaned, running a hand down her face. “4 hours and 35 minutes.”

“That’s not too bad!” The interviewer said with a sympathetic giggle.

“Well that’s good to hear.” Y/n chuckled, swiping through her phone.

What’s the story behind your lock screen?

“Awww, it’s very cute.” Y/n said, her cheeks flushing slightly as a grin spread across her face before she held her phone up to the camera:

“So it’s a picture of me, my wonderful husband, Drew, and our dog Charleston.” Y/n couldn’t help but continue to smile at the photo and the memory of the evening. “This is at a beach in… somewhere in South Carolina, I’m not giving away our secret spot. But yeah, I think it was taken by one of Drew’s sisters and it’s just such a good memory of me and my favorite person… and Drew too.”

Y/n teased as she swiped into her phone for the next question.

How about a little tour of your camera roll?

“Ooh it’s about 90% photos of Charleston.” Y/n giggled as she scrolled through her camera roll:

“Well, we’ve got some photos from set, of course, but I can’t share those.” Y/n explained. “Lots of my friends and their dogs, Drew being a goof, some outfit photos… nothing too crazy.”

“The last picture of Drew?” The interviewer asked, referring to the meme of him she had saved on her phone:

“Oh my god I forgot I had that!” Y/n giggled, genuinely tickled by the meme her and Madelyn had stumbled across. “That’s Drew as Glinda from Wicked, of course. Doesn’t he just look so beautiful?”

Y/n quirked her brows, smiling into the camera as she held up the meme.

You’re very honest about your love of Tik Tok, would you mind sharing some of your favorites?

“We’re gonna have to dig deep into the archives… the personal collection.” Y/n teased, scrolling through her numerous saved Tik Toks.

“Well, I’m not shy to admit that I am a bit of a fangirl and do have quite a large folder of saved edits.” Y/n giggled, her cheeks flushing as her eyes landed on an especially entertaining edit of Drew. “Now I’m gonna preface that… yes, a lot of these are of Drew or myself or our characters. I can’t lie, I do have a bit of an addiction.”

As she watched it, she bit her lip and let out a flustered giggle. Behind the camera, the interviewers laughed at y/n’s reaction, causing her to scroll onto the next edit:

“Oh my god I forgot about this one!” Y/n squealed. “I was showing this one to Drew and Madelyn last night and we were in actual tears at the comments!”

“I just want to say, shout out to the editors and commentators on Tik Tok for being so unabashedly horny.” Y/n said, pointing to the camera with a cheesy grin.

What have you been listening to lately music wise?

“I mean… the people already know.” Y/n rolled her eyes playfully as she opened up her Spotify before turning it to the screen:

“I told y’all I was a Swiftie and I wasn’t lying.” Y/n raised her eyebrows as she dove further into her playlists and collections.

“Playlist wise, I have my go-to jams, showtunes, classic rock, rap and hip-hop… a little bit of everything.” Y/n smiled.

"I also like to make playlists for each of my characters," y/n explained. "It really helps me to get into the mind of the character and kind of... explore aspects of them that might not be surface level or obvious."

What’s the vibe on your Pinterest?

“Ooh yay! I love Pinterest.” Y/n squealed as she opened up Pinterest excitedly. “Pinterest is actually the most underrated app, I use it everyday for work, memes, funsies.”

“Fun fact, a lot of my nails and fashion genuinely come from Pinterest.” Y/n explained. “My stylist and I have a shared board and are constantly sharing new ideas.”

“Is your Pinterest public?” The interviewer asked, to which a mischievous grin spread across y/n’s lips.

“No it is not, I like to be at least a little bit mysterious and I feel like Pinterest is pretty personal.” Y/n nodded.

Who was the last person you texted or called?

Y/n giggled, not even needing to open the app to check as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Drew. He texted me right before I got here, which we always do right before either of us have an interview.” Y/n grinned, closing her phone.

“Well thank you so much for having me, Glamour, and I hope that you all enjoyed looking into the depths of my phone!” Y/n said, waving to the camera before turning to the interviewer.

“That wasn’t quite as scandalous as I thought it was going to be.” Y/n teased, winking to the camera one last time.

[sirazaroff]

I just had to come in and say your Gelphie's are some of the best I've seen. I love your style, and I really love the sweetness that comes from how you draw their relationship. Thank you for the great art!

Thank you!! I know I’m very new to this fandom but I’ll give you all the best of me, promise <3

They’re just so sweet man I dunno what to say! The layers to their onion shaped relationship, I really just wanna get into the tiniest of details, whether it’s a rewrite of canon scenes, what ifs, or lil made up moments to showcase their dynamics in.

I know they don’t make the best of choices (cough Glinda cough) but their love was the most genuine and honest parts about them. They would’ve loved just doing laundry and taxes together if given the chance 🥺

[forlornfig]

Reread wicked again. I love the musical with all my heart but the book has something really special to it. It goes against the whole chosen-one trope and instead details the lives of children, students, adults moving through the world while facism rises around them. And like regardless of what their views are- they’re pretty powerless to stop it. They can only experience it.

I understand that this may make the plot seem slow or oddly paced but it’s not really about the hero’s journey, it’s about ordinary people’s lives. Elphaba is NOT the hero, or even the anti-hero. We might agree with her morals over other characters but she actually accomplishes very little. Almost every moral crusade she undertakes fails. She dies as just one of the many symbols of the resistance. The most productive rebellions we hear about comes from the Vinkus allyships and that happens in the background. Even the succession of munchkinland is a controversial event for its citizens.

Wicked isn’t a book about good saving the day, or about compassion unifying the country.

At the end of the book, Elphaba and Glinda are divided by morals, Fiyero died for a cause he was never that much a part of, and Boq and the others have retreated into the background to protect their own. The wizard leaves yes, but he leaves behind a society in political turmoil. Munchkinland is facing re-annexation, the Vinkus is under attack, the Animals and the Quadlings have been shoved almost out of existence. The wizard can’t even be called the true Villain because his leaving does miraculously turn society back to “good”.

Wicked is about radicalism and facism can very quickly become the norm for a society through a series of tiny and almost ignorable steps for those not directly affected. It’s about waking up and realizing that all of a sudden you can’t remember the last time you saw an Animal walking free through the city.

[hamletthedane]

I know I’m joking about how Wicked Part 2 is going to be insane compared to Part 1, but it actually is so interesting when viewed as separate second part of the story -

Because hear me out - imo, the end of Act 1 sets up where the lines in the sand are for the three key characters:

Elphaba chooses to follow her morals and reject the system, even to her own isolation and destruction. Her line is her dedication to “making good.”

Glinda, her foil, openly admits that she cannot turn down the allure of the system’s power and stability, even at the sacrifice of her morals and her closest friendship. Her line is her power and popularity.

Fiyero, further foiling Glinda, is the person who would have blindly said yes to Elphaba’s offer. He is completely, unquestioningly devoted to Elphaba - even to a fault - believing that she will always be good and choose the right thing (as she “doesn’t care what others think”).* His line is his unwavering loyalty to Elphaba.

*admittedly, this is less evident at the end of Act 1, but it’s made VERY clear within the first 5min of Act 2 so I’m counting it as an Act 1 arc

But then Act 2 forces them to respect the line they’ve decided to draw in increasingly devastating ways, and eventually forces them to violate their lines or have the lines destroy them:

Elphaba’s sacrifices turn her into a complete pariah, forcing her to lose everything she had and worked for in an instant. She fights every day for what she believes in, even though she sees it’s fruitless and only leading to the destruction of everything she loves. But Elphaba stands strong even against the Wizard’s temptation of leaving behind her failing cause. However, she’s finally pushed over her edge when one of the two people who still believed in her “goodness” dies for that belief. And it drives her to throw away every good intention and dive head-first into a pursuit of power and control. She must ultimately be influenced by Glinda to once again choose self-sacrifice for the greater good, giving up her power and dreams of normality in Oz. “Now it’s up to you, for both of us”

Glinda builds great political capital and becomes one of the most important, beloved characters in the nation. But nothing is real: she’s engaged to a man who clearly doesn’t love her, she’s openly decrying a woman who she clearly still loves herself, and the system she operates in troubles her even as she benefits from it. Elphaba again tempts her to leave, and Fiyero’s clear willingness to jump ship should be an even greater temptation, but she can’t leave it behind. Not until the very end of the story does she finally recreate the Ozdust dance: acting against her own self-interest to save Elphaba and take up the fire of her cause

Fiyero, to his credit, is the only person who cannot be pushed from his line. The very first chance he gets, he follows Elphaba blindly, despite hearing all these terrible things about her. Then he willingly sacrifices himself for her and her cause, and they torture him to (a fate worse than) death for it. And even when Elphaba really does go evil, he still believes that she will ultimately choose good. His loyalty to her is not well rewarded (see: fate worse than death), but he makes his sacrifice willingly. His belief destroyed him.

What I really like about the play’s story is that from all these different starting goals and motivations, every character is forced to give up everything that is dear to them - including their fundamental selves - by the end of the story. Yet, they all three still continue to overlap and influence each other in ways that lead them all to a choice of “making good” in the end. SO excited to see that played out on screen.

[pinkgoeswellwithgreen]

Thanks to @liv0 for finding these. Can we talk about the fact Glinda fell asleep on Elphie's lap and Elphie fell asleep on Glinda's shoulder and it is the most casual thing in the world to them!?