When I first watched Wicked last November, I was coming off an overnight shift and didn’t fully appreciate its brilliance while I dozed through a good chunk of the second half.

Since then, every rewatch I’ve had has made me appreciate and love these characters and story more.

So, this week when I got to go see Wicked: For Good early with my girlfriend (who has watched the first twice as many times as I have), I was excited for another fantastic film; which, spoiler alert, it was.

At the heart of this story (split into two parts to represent both acts of the eponymous 2003 play) is a friendship. A friendship that many of us have probably experienced. 

Like they warned us in elementary school, when you become older, you lose friends and see less of the ones you still have. I have noticed many people I thought I would be close to for life suddenly disappear as life evolves. Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda are older in this film and have much less time for each other as their own world evolves.

In many movies I can’t help but notice the issue of relationships not having enough time to be built emotionally. Even when I look at my favourite films of all time, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, I have complaints about the lack of build between characters – that isn’t the case for Wicked: For Good.

Grande, who, based on this performance, should be an Oscar winner by 2027, immediately portrays a sense of conflict between appealing to the masses and feeling guilty for her friend. Elphaba soon after has small moments of affection for Glinda despite her public image. It created a sense of love that I can’t help but cling onto.

My favourite song of the film “No Place Like Home,” was very Disney-esque and gave me a nostalgic feeling of old animated films I grew up with. This song also represents the banishing of talking animals from Oz which is, to me, the deepest part of the story. 

When the two characters come together for a fantastic performance of “Wonderful,” along with the Wizard, there is a strong sense of connection between the two. This number looks beautiful, especially in IMAX (which I was lucky enough to see it in). 

The Wizard’s iconic throne room is filled with green and pink lights which compliment the colour scheme the films have followed and we see an exciting crane shot which gives you the roller coaster level excitement with the blasting colours and fantastic music.

Later, Elphaba is reunited with Glinda, and for the first time in the film, she is all smiles. This part gave me nostalgia for the first film that came out just over a year ago. It reminded me of how the two characters used to be and how I really enjoyed rewatching the first part with my girlfriend throughout the year. So, seeing the two characters happily together for a moment brings back the good memories I have with the first film. 

It might seem sudden that Elphaba and Fiyero are running off together if you’re unfamiliar with the story. This relationship, however, is also a perfectly crafted one. You catch moments throughout the first film of Fiyero’s wandering eyes to Elphaba during conversations with Glinda. Some of the most vulnerable moments from Elphaba in the first film are with Fiyero. This is what I love about this film: Elphaba's relationships don’t get a lot of time to build, but with the allotted time they do get, they are packed with emotion.

This new relationship forms beautifully as Erivo and Bailey belt out an emotional ballad in “As Long As You’re Mine” which again, looks beautiful as little lights and bursts of love dance around the screen. This bond continues to fuel the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba. For the first time, Glinda is angry. She is angry at Elphaba for “stealing” her fiancé and gets her own version of “I’m Not That Girl” (a song Elphaba sings in the first film). 

My favourite thing in the whole story though, is that she isn’t actually that angry. Glinda has some kind of understanding that this is how things are meant to be and it’s a moment that made me feel upset for her but warm inside as well. A character growing into this level of maturity is awesome to see and inspires me to be a bigger person in my own life. The most ridiculous fight you’ll ever watch happens between Glinda and Elphaha which sent the people in my screening into a frenzy of laughs.

The scene gets serious fast when guards arrive before Fiyero, who makes the save for Elphaba. 

The turning point for Glinda here is huge and was my favourite part of the film. Despite Fiyero pointing a gun to Glinda’s head to force the guards to set Elphaba free, Glinda still cries and screams for the guards not to hurt him. The love Glinda has in her heart shines through this scene, and I found it really moving. While the first film is Elphaba’s, I think this moment and what follows show us that this one is Glinda’s.

Elphaba returns to her hideout and belts out an angry rendition of “No Good Deed” and for the first time, we really see the Wicked Witch. This is another thing I love about this film. I am a nostalgia guy, I love callbacks to old films and Wicked being a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz allows this film to intersect with Dorothy’s story. There are some great sights of Dorothy and Toto walking along the yellow brick road that made me feel super warm inside as I really enjoyed that story as a child.

After conflicts are resolved, Elphaba understands the sacrifice she must make. However, Glinda has arrived to talk her out of it, which leads to the titular song, “For Good.” 

Erivo and Grande perform like it’s their last time as these characters. Their performances are fantastic, and you wouldn’t believe the number of sniffles and cries I heard in my sold-out showing. This moment is what the whole story leads to, because these films are about two friends who go separate ways, but always have that love for each other in their hearts.

The conclusion is bittersweet and allows viewers a chance to take in and also say goodbye to this wonderful pair of characters. 

What that ending is, you’ll have to go see yourself as the film hits theatres this week, but I know I’ll be at another showing again.