#i just really love how cynthia and ariana play this scene

[shadehunters]

Ugh that's such a good point and I hadn't even thought of before. And to further add on to this I love this scene because it shows that they can match each other.

I mean think of Elphaba here; she's been on the receiving end of other peoples insults her entire life, so much so that's she's built up a pretty thick skin about it. She's expecting the shitty comments about being green, she's expecting that they'll be dumb and not very well though out. She knows what people are going to say, because they've probably already said it to her face plenty of times.

But here, Glinda gets in a quip that's actually clever. Which I don't think Elphaba is expecting, and the look on her face is grateful but I also think she's impressed. Finally she's met someone she can verbally spar with who can actually meet her at her level.

To me, when the camera pans to Elphaba's little half smile she's almost saying "that was well played" with her face, because it is genuinely exciting to her to have someone, even if she "dislikes" her, that she can go toe to toe with.

WICKED (2024) dir. Jon M. Chu