SPOILER ALERT: This text incorporates main spoilers for plot factors and the ending of “Depraved: For Good,” now taking part in in theaters, in addition to spoilers for the “Depraved” stage present.
“Depraved,” created as an origin story for Glinda the Good and the Depraved Witch of the West, units the stage for the world of the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” explaining that not all in Ouncesis what it appears.
“Depraved: Half One” established a lot of the lore — from Glinda and Elphaba’s first assembly at Shiz College to their fateful voyage to the Emerald Metropolis to see the Wizard — and “Depraved: For Good” continues that story, together with introducing how Glinda and Elphaba change into recognized for good and evil, how the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly come to be and introduce Dorothy (and her little canine Toto, too).
Whereas some storylines don’t align completely, many acquainted characters, locations and issues seem alongside the way in which. Right here’s how “For Good” leads as much as “The Wizard of Oz.”
Elphaba / the Depraved Witch of the West
Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), ultimately dubbed the “Depraved Witch of the West,” is on the coronary heart of the “Depraved” origin story. Born inexperienced from a mysterious elixir, she carries magic in her veins because the daughter of a wizard father and a Munchkin mom. Fierce, fearless, and unafraid to talk out towards injustice, Elphaba challenges the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) himself — who, unbeknownst to both of them, is her father — for his cruelty towards animals and twisted politics. Her behavior of standing up for what’s proper makes her an enemy of the state, and the Wizard and Madame Morrible’s (Michelle Yeoh) counter-PR marketing campaign crowns her the “Depraved Witch of the West,” launching her villain origin story and paving the way in which for the long-lasting Margaret Hamilton we all know from “The Wizard of Oz.”
Galinda / Glinda the Good
Whereas Elphaba rises as a insurgent, we watch Galinda (Ariana Grande) rework into Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. In “For Good,” she emerges as a savvy public determine, along with her love of adoration propelling her into a number one position in Oz. Her story largely intersects with Billie Burke’s Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz”: Proper after Dorothy arrives, she seems in Munchkinland to deal with the folks, bridging the storylines between the movies. Whereas not proven in “For Good,” she seemingly follows the identical course: greeting the newcomer after falling from Kansas and sending her on her manner down the Yellow Brick Highway within the Depraved Witch of the East’s footwear.
Nessarose / The Depraved Witch of the East
Nessarose’s story reveals how the proprietor of the long-lasting ruby slippers got here to be. In “For Good,” Elphaba’s sister has change into the governor of Munchkinland, inheriting the position from their father, who died of disgrace over Elphaba’s rising status because the Depraved Witch. However Nessarose proves to be fairly ruthless and, paired along with her connection to Elphaba, she finally earns the nickname of the Depraved Witch of the East (which she’s known as in “The Wizard of Oz”). She ends the movie in the identical place she begins “The Wizard of Oz”: flattened underneath a home.
The Ruby Crimson Slippers
Earlier than Elphaba and Nessarose’s father handed, he gave Nessa a pair of silver footwear that had belonged to her late mom. In “Depraved,” the household heirloom is silver – trademark guidelines at MGM saved them that manner – however throughout “For Good,” they’re quickly reworked to look pink. When Elphaba offers her sister the facility of flight, the silver footwear are blasted with pink gentle, creating the enchanted phantasm of the ruby slippers that might change into legendary in “The Wizard of Oz.”
Boq / Tin Man
Boq (Ethan Slater) begins his “Depraved” journey as Glinda, Elphaba and Nessarose’s classmate at Shiz College. The Munchkin clearly has a crush on Glinda, who gently nudges him towards spending time with Nessa as an alternative. However what begins as a well mannered favor spirals rapidly: Nessa, who genuinely loves Boq, enslaves him in a determined try and hold him shut.
In “For Good,” Boq lastly admits his coronary heart nonetheless belongs to Glinda and tries to go away. Enraged by rejection, Nessa tries to win his coronary heart with a spell, however her botched hex almost kills him as an alternative. In a heartfelt try and treatment the scenario, Elphaba offers him a physique that wouldn’t require a coronary heart and rebuilds him from steel scraps round Nessa’s room. Similar to that, Boq turns into the Tin Man (a la the model Jack Haley made iconic in 1939).
The flicks tease his destiny early and sometimes: when he first meets Glinda in “Half One,” Boq’s stance mirrors the Tin Man’s tilt; later, Glinda tucks a pink handkerchief into his sweater, proper over his coronary heart. He additionally introduces himself to Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) as Boq “Woodsman.” In “For Good,” there’s a scene of him chopping wooden with an ax earlier than his transformation happens. Even his Munchkinland uniform has a silver “M” heart-shaped embroidery stitched on his chest — a closing wink at his Ozian destiny.
Fieryo / Scarecrow
The brainless Scarecrow was previously Fiyero Tigelaar, probably the most eligible bachelor in Oz. The “Depraved” story explains how the Shiz College heartthrob–turned–captain of the Wizard’s Guard turns into entangled in a sophisticated love triangle with each Glinda and Elphaba earlier than assembly his starchy destiny.
In “For Good,” Fiyero is torn between the 2 witches: he’s engaged to Glinda and tasked to seek out Elphaba. However when he refuses to betray Elphaba, his fellow guards dangle him within the fields to power a confession. He by no means breaks (what a loyal man), and Elphaba finally saves him by casting the spell audiences hear within the quantity “No Good Deed.”
She chants: “Let his flesh not be torn, let his blood go away no stain / Although they beat him, let him really feel no ache / Let his bones by no means break, and nonetheless they attempt to destroy him / Let him by no means die, let him by no means die.”
Fiyero’s destiny is teased all through each movies: in considered one of his earliest interactions with Elphaba, she tells him to “get stuffed.” Then, after “Dancing By way of Life,” his shadow seems in a crucified pose. Even his inexperienced Wizard Guard uniform ultimately resembles the inexperienced shirt Ray Bolger made well-known because the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz.”
The Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion, voiced by Colman Domingo, is launched in “Half One” as a weak cub whom Elphaba, a fierce advocate for animal rights, rescues throughout her time at Shiz. The younger lion was getting used as a classroom demonstration for contemporary circumstances till Elphaba (with some assist from Fiyero) freed him from captivity. Nevertheless, the lion later blames Elphaba for stopping him from tearing him from his house and forcing him to be taught to fend for himself, which was the catalyst to his cowardly methods.
The Twister
The tornado that introduced Dorothy to Ounceswasn’t the product of Kansas’s twister alley; it was a calculated, engineered occasion by Madame Morrible. Utilizing her weather-controlling magic, she summons the storm that crushed the Depraved Witch of the East as a part of a scheme to attract Elphaba out of hiding and power her again to her sister’s facet, the place she could possibly be captured.
“For Good” additionally spotlights Glinda’s complicity on this scenario through a crushing scene the place she reveals that Elphaba would rush to Nessa’s facet if she had been ever in bother.
Bubble Origin Story
When audiences meet Glinda in “The Wizard of Oz,” she already comes and goes by bubble. However in “For Good,” we see the origin of this transportation machine. The bubble, as offered by Madame Morrible, is a chunk of propaganda, supposed to advertise the magical beliefs of Glinda the Good. In actuality, it’s a mechanical bubble operated by a foot pedal — one other intelligent trick by the Wizard to create the phantasm of magic for somebody who’s in any other case unmagical.
Yellow Brick Highway
The place “Half One” confirmed Elphaba and Glinda serving to the Wizard select the street’s colour throughout their go to, “For Good” opens with the Yellow Brick Highway underneath building. However what “The Wizard of Oz” by no means exhibits is the street’s troubling creation: the bricks are laid utilizing animal labor — a stark swing for creatures who had been as soon as equal members of society. Their pressured work turns into the very path that ultimately guides Dorothy to the Emerald Metropolis.
Dorothy
We see Dorothy — properly, her shadow, or her again, or typically simply her ear — at a number of factors all through “For Good.” Her first look aligns along with her debut in “The Wizard of Oz” — recent off being dropped into Ouncesby a tornado.
In contrast to “The Wizard of Oz,” although, audiences don’t see the confrontation between Elphaba and Dorothy in Munchkinland over the ruby pink slippers. As an alternative, we witness the tip of Glinda directing Dorothy to observe the Yellow Brick Highway. Dorothy walks off in her new heels, with Toto in tow and accompanied by some Munchkins; she ultimately meets the Wizard, reconnecting her storyline with the unique movie.
Later, Dorothy is snatched by a flying monkey and dropped at Kiamo Ko fort, the place Elpahba — who is barely after her useless sister’s footwear — plans to carry her till she surrenders the heels. (It’s right here that Elphaba and Glinda carry out the heartfelt ballad “For Good,” about how their friendship has perpetually reworked them.)
However earlier than that may occur, Elphaba hatches an escape plan, utilizing the widespread rumor about her (“I hear her soul is so unclean, pure water can soften her!”). Then, Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her, “melting” Elphaba and giving her the right cowl to slide away underneath the floorboards.
Viewers with the wizard
In a departure from the Broadway musical, “For Good” brings collectively the 4 important characters of “The Wizard of Oz” — Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion — for a quick look with the Wizard. The encounter is brief, with the animatronic Wizard tasking them to retrieve the Depraved Witch’s broom, however it creates a enjoyable overlap between the 2 movies.
The logistics, nonetheless, are a bit fuzzy: does the Wizard notice Fiyero, his former guard is now the Scarecrow? How did Boq, because the Tin Man, handle to seek out Dorothy on her journey? In principle, that is the place they every ask for his or her coronary heart’s need: a manner house, a mind, braveness and a coronary heart. Is that the identical? Does the Wizard really imagine this may carry Elphaba again to him, or was it merely a intelligent nod to cross-reference the movies?
Wizard Exit
Dorothy seems to be for an escape again to Kansas in “The Wizard of Oz” by catching a journey on the Wizard’s scorching air balloon. There’s an identical scene in “For Good,” as Glinda exiles him away through balloon and observes the woman within the distance making an attempt to hitch a journey.
Flying Monkeys
The flying monkeys in The Wizard of Ounceswere sometimes thought of the Depraved Witch’s henchmen, however “For Good” reveals the origin of their loyalty. Elphaba is their savior; she frees them from captivity within the Wizard’s chambers and their devotion to her stems from the liberty she gave them.
