#hence why trans!glinda desperate to pass works SO WELL

[wickedlyqueer]

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.