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friendofelphie · 2 months

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“Goodness knows, the wicked’s lives are lonely.”

Glinda is, quite literally, Good. She’s not talking abstractly. She’s talking about herself. She saw Elphaba as she was.

So I was listening to ‘No One Mourns the Wicked’ and it just hit me that Glinda has to be absolutely devastated during that number because the best friend she has ever had has just died, as far as she knows, but she promised Elphie that she wouldn’t try to clear Elphie’s name so Glinda just has to stand there and listen to all of these people celebrate the fact that her best friend is dead and I am not okay

#wicked #musicals #poor glinda #gelphie #otp: i hope you're happy #the wizard of oz #friendofelphie #elphaba #oz #wicked witch of the west

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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The Wizard Is Right? (Sentimental Man)

Here is a question: Does a lie have to be untrue for it to be a lie?

I was to say something, fully believing it to be false, and then find out later that it was actually true and I didn't realise it, am I still lying?

I would argue that the answer is yes. A lie is a willing act of deception. But it's interesting how flimsy the relationship between the concept of truth and reality is.

The Wizard Of Oz is a character who lies through his teeth at all times, with one exception that we will come to in a later post. However, a lot of what he says ends up coming true anyway.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (Wicked)

Let's be clear about something. The Wizard is not a politician, he's a conman. That is the point of his character. Oz as a whole parodies the performative nature of rulership, how it is often just as much about convincing people that you are doing a good job than actually making changes for the better.

The joke therein, is that this conman got further than anyone who is trained in the field by playing the system how it actually works, rather than how it should function.

So, no, I am not going to draw any conclusions about individuals in the real world, historical or modern. Likewise, I am not going to claim that the Wizard is an allegory for anyone in particular.

Take that as you will.

As we have been making our way through Wicked, we have been introduced to characters with varying relationships with the truth. Elphaba's mother is having an affair, Galinda and Fiyero are both putting up masks to cover up their true selves, and Elphaba has bought in to the mythology of the wizard.

Then we meet a character who is pure deceit in a crystalised form, Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, the Wizard of Oz.

"I am a sentimental man Who always longed to be a father"

The word sentimental is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as: "related to feelings rather than reason", and the wizard is certainly not that, because he isn't from Oz at all. He was unwillingly plucked from his true home and placed in Oz, a place that was in the midst of a history defining drought. He remained in Oz for a while before he became the Wizard, and he had no interest in returning home at all.

He also, I will remind you, runs a country based on constant surveillance and propaganda, which is a very detached approach.

The wizard knows all of this, he is complicit in it, so he is lying here, right?

But, he is sentimental, and for that I point to the acting. In the version of Wicked that I went to see, the wizard was played by Simon Burke, who gave the character a vibe similar to Matt Smith's 11th doctor. He is enjoying being in power and taking actions that sabotage the future of Oz in order to stay in power. That doesn't seem reasonable to me.

There is also the fact that his idea of crisis aversion is "giving people a common enemy", something he achieves by actively oppressing a specific group of people. This is bigotry and shows a belief on his part that this group of people is somehow less valuable to Oz, which is irrational, and bigoted.

The frightening thing about Oz, is that I don't think he actually knows why he does what he does. I think he thinks of himself as a chess master style ruler, who makes the optimal decision for Oz at all times. I don't think it has occurred to him that the most optimal decision is to not be the one in charge.

The rest of this song is a metaphor about how the wizard sees himself as the father of his country, and by extension Elphaba. This is what those in the business like to call irony.

I that the effect that the wizard has on Elphaba is fascinating. He inspires her. Although it is important to make a distinction between his mirage and his reality. The Wizard has lied to Oz and sold them an idea of fairness and equality that he is going out of his way to enforce the opposite of.

But that myth that he has created directly inspires Elphaba, as she becomes someone determined to make that false hope into a reality.

Final Thoughts

I think its rather funny that the Wizards' lies become self fulfilling prophecies, directly causing events later on in the story. It's like fate itself has this guy's number and sent him a text during the intermission that read "I know where you live."

In related news, the wizard's actual name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, which is absurd, even for a satire.

Next week, I will be looking at a lesser known part of this musical. it's a small song and not that important, I was considering skipping over it. I think its called Defying Gravity. So, stick around if that interests you.

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#i’m never not thinking about when the wizard sings #So Elphaba I’d like to raise you high because everyone deserves the chance to fly #wicked #literary analysis #character analysis #wizard of oz #wicked the musical #wicked 2024 #wicked witch of the east #wicked witch of the west #elphaba thropp #oz the great and powerful

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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So, I know that Wicked the Musical is a different beast than Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

They’re different in tone and theme, and they aren’t trying to be the same thing. I usually don’t even think of them in the same breath; Maguire’s Oz is a different world than the one we see on stage.

However, there is one change made for the stage show that I think is a weakening of the story: the decision to have Elphaba fake her death, and run away with Fiyero. I get it, it’s a musical; Elphie melting at the end of her own story is a bummer. But Wicked is a tragedy, and I always thought it was a little bit of a cop-out to give Elphaba a happy ending.

Then I realized something: The book is Elphaba’s story, but Wicked the musical is very explicitly told from Glinda’s point of view. There’s the whole “I did know her once… at school,” thing that turns into an extended flashback.

Maybe Elphaba didn’t fake her death. Maybe the ending of the stage show is Glinda imagining, and hoping, that’s what happened. Perhaps Elphaba turned Fiyero into a scarecrow, and then they ran away together. Maybe it was all Elphaba’s master plan. Probably not. But for Glinda, it’s helpful to imagine — and always, in the back of her mind, to believe that’s what happened.

No one mourns the Wicked. Glinda doesn’t want to mourn. She wants to believe that somewhere, somehow, her friend is still out there.

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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In honor of our very first sneak peek of the movie Wicked, my nostalgia kicked into high gear and I'm honoring one of my earliest fandom crazes with a silly little comic I'm calling "Fiyero Doesn't Get Enough Recognition For All The Shit He's Been Through."

Enjoy Fiyero having the weirdest 72 hours of his life.

#this is the most wonderful thing i’ve ever seen #nessa #doctor dillamond #fiyero #FIYEROOOOOOOOOOO #dorothy gale #the wizard of oz #wicked witch of the east #wicked witch of the west #elphaba #wizard of oz

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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I started A Lion Among Men and I’m going to read it because I’m committed. But god. Is it going to be as big of a slog as it seems like it’s going to be?

#wicked #the wizard of oz #friendofelphie #oz #elphaba #liir #wicked witch of the west #elphaba thropp #gregory maguire #a lion among men #Brrr #cowardly lion #scarecrow #tin man #wicked witch of the east

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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Happy Valentines Day I drew gelphie as snails 🐌

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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To celebrate the first Wicked teaser!

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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So, I know that Wicked the Musical is a different beast than Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

They’re different in tone and theme, and they aren’t trying to be the same thing. I usually don’t even think of them in the same breath; Maguire’s Oz is a different world than the one we see on stage.

However, there is one change made for the stage show that I think is a weakening of the story: the decision to have Elphaba fake her death, and run away with Fiyero. I get it, it’s a musical; Elphie melting at the end of her own story is a bummer. But Wicked is a tragedy, and I always thought it was a little bit of a cop-out to give Elphaba a happy ending.

Then I realized something: The book is Elphaba’s story, but Wicked the musical is very explicitly told from Glinda’s point of view. There’s the whole “I did know her once… at school,” thing that turns into an extended flashback.

Maybe Elphaba didn’t fake her death. Maybe the ending of the stage show is Glinda imagining, and hoping, that’s what happened. Perhaps Elphaba turned Fiyero into a scarecrow, and then they ran away together. Maybe it was all Elphaba’s master plan. Probably not. But for Glinda, it’s helpful to imagine — and always, in the back of her mind, to believe that’s what happened.

No one mourns the Wicked. Glinda doesn’t want to mourn. She wants to believe that somewhere, somehow, her friend is still out there.

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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You’re telling me that SHELL is the Wickedest Thropp of all?!?!?

#shell thropp #son of a witch #wicked #the wizard of oz #elphaba #friendofelphie #liir #oz #wicked witch of the west #elphaba thropp #gregory maguire #nessarose thropp #wicked witch of the east

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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I DREW THEM AS WORMS

Happy Valentines Day I drew gelphie as snails 🐌

#I did this yesterday #i draw a lot of worms anyways #wicked #wicked the musical #gelphie #valentines day #wicked art #art #friendofelphie

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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Is Shell the Wickedest Thropp of all?!?!?

crying bc i realized this is the closest to animated *hell thropp we have (or him in any visual form)

wicked witch of the west's "bratty little brother"

annoying joker/"good-joke johnnycake"-Nanny

toys with his captives

wants to rule over OZ, not the west or east but all Oz

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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The Wizard of Oz 1939

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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Sara Barielles’ cover of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is sooo Elphaba coded

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Wicked

It appears I’ve been living under a rock, because it took until this past summer for me to listen to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John all the way through. Somehow, I guess I’d never heard it before. I fell for the song instantly, and it’s still one of my favorites. Obviously, the song is primarily tied to Dorothy and her journey from Kansas to Oz to the Emerald City, all along the Yellow Brick Road. The song is one giant metaphor and not really inherently about The Wizard of Oz, but whatever allusions to the franchise made by the song are centered around Dorothy. However, my brain immediately jumped to Elphaba’s life, its end, and the absolute tragedy of it all.

“When are you going to come down? When are you going to land?” I drew this parallel to Glinda and Fiyero’s relationships with Elphaba, and how they were prematurely cut short due to Elphaba’s insistence on rebelling against the Wizard, the drastic measures she took to defend and preserve Animal rights, her attempts to assassinate Madame Morrible, and other acts of her own stubbornness and subconscious belief that she wasn’t worthy of these relationships on the basis of her self-proclaimed state of being “soulless.” There are endless tracks of “What-could-have-been”s for Elphie, Glinda, and Fiyero, had she not cut herself off from the possibility of her relationships progressing further.

“It’ll take you a couple of vodka and tonics to set you on your feet again” was WAY too reminiscent of the many stops Elphaba made leading up to her death, each of which she encountered a person she met at Shiz University. She meets Boq and his family, and proceeds to have drinks with Avaric before flying off again.

“This boy’s too young to be singing the blues,” is rather straightforward, as it can be interpreted as Elphie’s lack of innocence and a proper youth, or Liir’s unconventional circumstances. Throughout all of the chaos of their lives, he still remains with his mother until she meets her demise, but she is, for a mother, uncharacteristically cold to him and refuses to acknowledge that he came from her. Liir grows up in the eerily loveless Kiamo Ko, previously operated and inherited by his deceased father. There is something so painfully macabre about Elphaba and her son living with the late Fiyero’s family. They are all together, but the man responsible for their affiliation with each other is dead (which, of course, Elphaba feels responsible for)…Son of a Witch adds a grimmer connotation to this lyric, as he is alone, without human or familial connection, searching desperately for his half-sister, and traveling with his “speculated” (at the time) mother’s cape tied around his neck, giving into the occasional urge to weep and grieve for Elphie.

The “Ahs” during the chorus don’t hold any direct significance, as they do not serve any lyrical substance, but there is something so haunting about them. The first time they hit, it brings me to when Elphaba shrieks in terror upon realizing Dorothy is standing before her, in the same predicament as herself when she came to meet Sarima. The second most common instance I think of is one of my unfortunate favorites; Elphaba spots Dorothy and her friends on the Yellow Brick Road to assassinate her as per the Wizard’s (let’s remind ourselves, her father’s orders), and she scrambles to devise a spell to bring Fiyero back to her.

“’Fiyero didn’t die,’ she said. ‘He was imprisoned, and he has escaped. He is coming home to Kiamo Ko, he is coming home to me, and he is disguised as a scarecrow because he doesn’t yet know what he will find.’” To me, this is the single most heartbreaking moment in any piece of literature. I know that, in her heart, she believes this to be true because she is so desperate to meet her lover again. The notion that “he is coming home to me” implies that she believes she can build a life filled with maternal love and normality with both Fiyero and their son, Liir. I am a Gelphie shipper through-and-through, but this part of the book really sold me on being able to accept and even hope for a fulfilling, storybook end to Fiyeraba’s existence (i.e. the Scarecrow really being Fiyero; Elphie can find closure, rejoice in knowing she didn’t inadvertently have her love murdered, and they can raise their son together at Kiamo Ko).

I don’t know. I could be taking this a bit too far, as half of my followers are bots and the other half probably won’t see this or acknowledge it ;-;. It just felt good to get this out. I can’t help but think of Elphie’s life each and every time I hear this song.

#she even has a black hat on #for god’s sake #wicked #elphaba #elphaba thropp #the wizard of oz #yellow brick road #elton john #sara barielles #friendofelphie

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friendofelphie · 2 months

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Today is Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday.

Today, February 14, 2024 is Pierre Bezukhov Day.

“They say we are asleep until we fall in love. We are children of dust and ashes. But when we fall in love, we wake up. We are a god, and angels weep. But if I die here tonight, I die in my sleep.”

-Pierre Bezukhov

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812