I felt God watching 'Wicked' and I can't stop analyzing the final scene
The spiritual experience of walking away and choosing yourself
I won’t pretend to be an expert on the history of Wicked and truthfully I didn’t know the full plot until the most recent film. I’m very much approaching this artwork from an amateur perspective and I find myself lucky for being able to experience the newness of it all.
It would be a massive understatement to say I was moved on a soul level after leaving the theatre this weekend. I can confidently say I have experienced God inside of an AMC Theatre now.
Spiritual tip: Art is inherently spiritual and if you want to engage with your own spirituality this is a great way to tap into that space.
I could write for hours on the deeper meaning of ‘Wicked’ but I would be repeating takes that so many people have already articulated. ‘Wicked’ sheds light on the experience of marginalized communities and how oftentimes the people who claim to love us will still choose the side of the oppressor. Specifically, Cynthia Erivo, demonstrates the common experience of BIPOC. One of my favorite content creators, Ashley Elizabeth, created a video on her experience watching ‘Wicked’ as a Black, queer woman. You can watch that here.
The movie was spiritual. Point. Blank. Period.
There was one scene I can’t quite get out of my mind and that’s the final scene. Shocker, right?
If you haven’t seen the movie then this might be a bit of a spoiler alert for you, so tread lightly.
In the final scene Elphaba and Glinda are saying goodbye to each other as they’re being chased. It’s the classic “the walls are caving in” type of scene. Personally my anxiety started to increase during this scene because time was so….limited. See what I did there? You can feel the love and the grief that is shared between the two. There’s no questioning that a deep bond has been formed by the witches. Their relational care is demonstrated by deep eye contact and tears streaming as they hold each other in their final goodbye.
In this moment the two individuals are faced with a hard choice. A choice that so many of us face regularly.
Do I choose myself or do I choose the person I love?
Do I choose my higher calling or do I choose comfort?
This scene speaks to the guttural grief of what it’s like losing someone who is still alive.
It’s the mindfuck experience of someone having the opportunity to come with us and they choose not to. It’s a scene that speaks to the beauty and sorrow that is free will.
As humans we have the free will to choose spiritual evolution or remain stagnant.
In this scene it seems so easy for Glinda to make the choice to go with her dear friend. As the observer you wish Glinda would stop caring so much about what other people think. You want to shake her and scream, “For Gods sake!!! Why don’t you just put your ego to the side for once?!”
Glinda does experience character development throughout the movie but it’s like chiseling away at an ice sculpture. Eventually the ice will look like a swan but right now all you feel is tired and hopeless because change is so goddamn slow.
The witches start singing ‘Defying Gravity’ together. Talk about chills!!
Their eyes are locked as they sing the same line to each other:
“I hope you’re happy.”
There is conviction in both of their voices as they repeat this sentiment several times. Glinda feels she is making the right choice. Yet so does Elphaba.
Glinda and Elphy are faced with the harsh reality of their core values clashing in a significant way.
Elphaba has demonstrated she will go to the ends of earth for social justice.
Glinda has demonstrated that she will do the right thing, but only to her social advantage. Glinda demonstrates performative activism and white saviorism. She is the modern day greedy influencer who only does a good deed if they get to post about it.
Both Elphaba and Glinda are looking at each other in this scene and saying, “Why would you do this? How could you make this choice?”
Yet there is a radical acceptance that both people cannot and will not change each other. Both witches are swallowing a hard pill in their final moment together.
Elphaba’s pill is by far a harder pill to swallow.
When will someone fight for her?
Their final moments together speak to spiritual ascension and choosing a different path than the people we love. Inevitably there will be a choice point when we are in relationships with people who aren’t on similar paths as us. In my personal experience this is one of the hardest truths I’ve had to grapple with on my spiritual journey.
Not everyone will go with us.
In fact, I’ve noticed walking toward your truth requires the shedding of people who aren’t seeking similar spiritual progress. Past versions of me tried to force people on the same path as me. As you can guess…that has never worked in my favor. You simply can’t force a sleeping person to awaken or there are consequences. I realize now that I did this to try and avoid grief. Yet there is grief either way you spin it.
You either grieve the loss of self or the loss of someone you love.
Elphaba has a strong inner authority for justice and what her soul purpose is. Her connection to self shines through in the movie. She never wavers and is quick to discern right from wrong.
There is no world that exists in which Elphaba will choose the side of the oppressor. It was never an option to stay back and conform with Glinda.
Glinda is faced with a choice of morality. Do I do the right thing for the people I love orrrrrrrrr the right thing for myself? Her individualism shines through.
Elphaba disagrees yet understands her thought process on how she would arrive at such choice. If you’ve seen the movie then you know about the monumental Elphaba wink that happens in this moment. GOD MY HEART BURST AT THAT GESTURE.
You can tell Glinda can’t comprehend why Elphy won’t just listen to her. In the song Glinda sings, “Just tell them you’re sorry.” Glinda wants Elphy to stay for her own comfort. Elphaba knows this choice would ultimately require self sacrifice.
Their true value systems are put to test.
Elphy explains she can’t want what Glinda so deeply values, which is to be accepted by others for an inauthentic version of self.
We all could be more like Elphy. Especially those of us with privilege.
Elphy represents a version that I believe all of us could embody if we lived from a lens that values community over individualism.
Elphy teaches us that choosing yourself is anything but easy. In fact…the road less traveled will always be harder because being ostracized is a requirement to walk this path.
Nothing changes if nothing changes though. Elphaba is the catalyst for change in Oz because she trusts her inherent intuition that exploitation is not the answer.
This final scene reminds me of Bell Hooks ‘All about Love’ in which Hooks describes love as an action. Glinda says she loves her and you might believe she does through physical gestures and words of affirmation.
Glinda loves her, right?
Yet when push comes to shove…Glinda bows back and chooses the path of least resistance. I can’t help but reflect on the definition of love as an action.
Does Glinda truly love her if she’s not willing to fight for her?
I’d love to know what you think.
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