Refresher: Wicked Part 1 in a Nutshell

For those who have watched Wicked Part 1 (2024) and need a refresher on the characters and events before watching Part 2 (2025).

Key Takeaways

• The bulk of the story is told as a flashback while citizens of Oz celebrate the death of the Wicked Witch of the West at Dorothy’s hand
• Elphaba was born with green skin and a natural talent for magic due to her mother drinking a green elixir given to her by the man she was having an affair with (Elphaba’s true father), though she’s been raised as the daughter of the governor of Munchkinland
  • Elphaba is extremely protective of her younger paraplegic sister, Nessarose
  • Nessarose is gifted a pair of silver slippers that belonged to their late mother by their father
• Elphaba and Nessarose attend Shiz University along with Galinda, Boq, and Fiyero
  • Galinda is dating Fiyero, but Fiyero and Elphaba share a secret attraction neither has acted on
  • Boq has a crush on Galinda but dates Nessarose after realizing Galinda has chosen Fiyero over him; Nessarose is hopelessly in love with him
• Elphaba and her roommate, Galinda, initially hate each other, but ultimately become best friends
  • Galinda gives Elphaba a pointy hat, originally as a trick, but Elphaba ends up embracing it as her signature look
• Elphaba is privately mentored by Madame Morrible, the Dean of Sorcery
  • Elphaba eventually convinces Madame Morrible to bring Galinda into their sessions as well
  • Madame Morrible gives Galinda a training wand since she can’t use magic naturally, unlike Elphaba
• The talking animals of Oz are mysteriously losing their autonomy and ability to speak
  • Elphaba and Fiyero free a terrified lion cub who was caged and presented to their class
  • Galinda changes her name to Glinda as a performative show of support for an ousted professor, Dr. Dillamond, a talking goat who had trouble pronouncing her name
• Madame Morrible and the Wizard of Oz bring Elphaba (who in turn invites along Glinda) to the Emerald City and shows them the Grimmerie, a magical tome
  • Elphaba uses the Grimmerie to give all of the monkey guards wings, but also notices that the process causes horrific pain to the animals
  • Madame Morrible and the Wizard are revealed to be covertly turning Oz against the talking animals and had planned to use Elphaba’s natural magical abilities for their purposes, since the Wizard is unable to use any magic and is only pretending through technology
  • Elphaba refuses to be used in their schemes and flies away with the Grimmerie; she asks Glinda to come with her, but Glinda chooses to stay behind
• Madame Morrible pronounces to all of Oz that Elphaba is an evil threat and turns her focus to Glinda as her new protege

Major Characters

Elphaba Thropp

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) was raised as the daughter of the governor of Munchkinland, though neither are aware that her mother had an affair with a mysterious man who is her real father. That man dosed the mother with a green elixir from a vial, something adult Elphaba now cherishes, causing her to be born completely green. As a result, she has been an outcast her entire life, leaving her instinctively defensive and guarded around others while pretending that their opinions don’t bother her, though she always feels the sting of their rejection. This makes her particularly sensitive to those who are unjustly scorned for being different, leading to her becoming a fierce defender of the talking animals who are being targeted by bigots.

While dropping off her younger sister Nessarose at Shiz University, she accidentally reveals her natural affinity for magic, which she can’t control but often uses subconsciously when she is angry. One of the sorcery instructors, Madame Morrible, recognizes her potential and offers her a spot in the university, including private magic lessons and a shot at meeting the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba believes that if she meets the Wizard, he might be able to turn her skin to a normal shade, but even with practice, she has trouble controlling her magic.

She gets off to a bad start with her roommate, Galinda, but eventually, the two bond, and Galinda teaches Elphaba how to become more popular. Elphaba also shares a special connection with Galinda’s boyfriend, Fiyero, but she chooses to hold back her feelings and let him be with Galinda instead.

When Elphaba is finally summoned to meet the Wizard, she brings Galinda (now going by Glinda) along with her to the Emerald City. The Wizard and Madame Morrible present Elphaba with the Grimmerie, a magic tome, and have her use it to cast a levitation spell that gives all of the monkey guards wings. Elphaba quickly realizes, however, that the Wizard and Madame Morrible are using her for her gift because the Wizard can’t use magic, and that they are the ones turning the public against talking animals due to a perceived need to give the people a common enemy to unite against. She rejects them and casts the levitation spell on a broom, flying away with the Grimmerie while refusing to be their puppet. They, in turn, pronounce her to be an enemy to Oz, with only Glinda knowing the truth.

Galinda/Glinda Upland

Galinda (Ariana Grande) is the most popular student at Shiz University and dreams of becoming a sorcerer someday. She wants to train under Madame Morrible, and is chagrined when Elphaba is selected as her private mentee instead, especially since she inadvertently volunteers to share a room with Elphaba. The two become rivals for a while before coming to appreciate each other and Elphaba convinces Madame Morrible to include Galinda in the private tutoring sessions, despite Madame Morrible’s doubts that Galinda can become an accomplished sorcerer. After that, they become inseparable best friends.

When the handsome Prince Fiyero transfers to Shiz, Galinda immediately focuses on him as her perfect match, unaware that he and Elphaba also share a secret connection, though they haven’t acted on it. During their time at Shiz, one of the professors, a talking goat named Dr. Dillamond, frequently has trouble pronouncing the name Galinda, calling her Glinda instead. After Dr. Dillamond is unjustly fired, Galinda can tell that Elphaba and Fiyero are upset, and announces she is changing her name to Glinda as a show of solidarity, although she has little opinion on the matter herself.

When Elphaba is invited to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz, she brings Glinda with her. In the presence of the Wizard and Madame Morrible, Elphaba casts a spell from the Grimmerie before realizing that the Wizard and Madame Morrible are responsible for the oppression against the talking animals. Elphaba rejects them and chooses to leave, but when she asks Glinda to go with her, Glinda decides to stay behind and continue working with Madame Morrible.

Nessarose Thropp

Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is Elphaba’s younger sister. When their mother was pregnant with her, their father was so worried that she would be born green like Elphaba that he made her take precautions that instead led to a premature birth, resulting in Nessarose being born paraplegic and the mother dying in childbirth. Their father (the governor of Munchkinland) makes it no secret that he loves Nessarose more than Elphaba, but rather than allowing this to make her jealous, Elphaba is fiercely protective of her sister. Nessarose is the one initially accepted at Shiz University and sees this as an opportunity to start fresh, free of her family. As a parting gift, their father gives her the beautiful silver slippers that belonged to their mother. Their father also makes Elphaba stay behind at Shiz to watch over Nessarose who is not at all happy about this unwelcome decision. She quickly gets a crush on her Munchkin classmate Boq, though he is enamored with Galinda, who does not return his affection. When he tries to ask Galinda out, she convinces him to ask out Nessarose instead. This endears Nessarose to Galinda, believing she had nothing but good intentions, and Nessarose encourages Elphaba to give Galinda a chance. Although at first Nessarose still thinks Boq asked her out due to pity for her confinement to a wheelchair, Boq states that he did so because of how beautiful she is. Nessarose falls even more in love with Boq, though he isn’t as committed as he claims, and as time goes on, Nessarose starts to have her suspicions about his behavior.

Madame Morrible

Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) is the Dean of Sorcery at Shiz University. She takes Elphaba under her wing when she witnesses her use of magic, giving her private lessons and telling the Wizard about her unique abilities. The Wizard grants Elphaba an audience, and Madame Morrible comes along. Together, they show Elphaba the Grimmerie, which she uses to cast a powerful spell. Elphaba quickly realizes, however, that Madame Morrible has been covertly working with the Wizard to stir up Oz to hate the talking animals as a way to unite Oz against a common enemy even if the animals have done nothing to deserve it. She has been training Elphaba so they can use her as a puppet, since the Wizard does not have magic of his own. Elphaba refuses to work with them, so Madame Morrible turns Ozians against her, framing Elphaba as the new common enemy to unite against. With Elphaba’s departure, Madame Morrible turns to Glinda as her replacement in their scheme.

The Wizard

The so-called Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) came to Oz in a hot air balloon many years ago and established himself as an incredible wizard who can give anyone their heart’s desire. However, he really has no magical abilities, using a variety of contraptions to give the appearance of casting magic. He has been working with Madame Morrible to unite Oz against a common enemy, having chosen the talking animals as their current target. When he hears from Madame Morrible that Elphaba has magical abilities, they conspire together to lure her into his service so that she can cast the spells from the Grimmerie that he is unable to do himself. Elphaba realizes the truth and refuses to be used by them, thwarting their plans.

Fiyero Tigelaar

Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is a Winkie prince who transfers to Shiz University in the middle of the semester. He and Galinda begin dating as soon as they meet, but he also shows an interest in Elphaba, treating her as a person rather than an oddity like most do upon first meeting her. His feelings towards Elphaba are amplified when he helps her free a terrified lion cub who was caged to be put on display for one of their classes, but neither will admit their mutual affection.

Boq Woodsmen

Boq (Ethan Slater) is a Munchkin enrolled in Shiz University. He has an unrequited crush on Galinda, who encourages him to ask Nessarose to a dance to hide her disinterest. Nessarose falls in love with him, and when he realizes that Galinda will never choose him, he tells Nessarose that he asked her out because of how beautiful she is.

Dr. Dillamond

Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage) is a talking goat who is a renowned professor at Shiz University. As talking animals are being oppressed throughout Oz, he is the last remaining one to teach at Shiz until he, too, is forcibly removed. Elphaba, feeling a kinship with him due to their shared experiences of being unjustly shunned from society, befriends him and becomes determined to bring justice to the talking animals.

Summary

Oz celebrates the death of the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo). Glinda (Ariana Grande) is asked if she knew the witch, and she recalls meeting the witch, Elphaba, when they were students at Shiz University.

Many years before, Elphaba’s mother was having an affair with a mysterious man, Elphaba’s real father, who gave her a green elixir on the day Elphaba was conceived. This caused Elphaba to be born unnaturally green and with a talent for magic, though she can’t control it and only uses it by accident when she’s upset. The man assumed to be her father is the governor of Munchkinland, and upon seeing Elphaba, he ostracizes her. When her mother got pregnant a second time with Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), their father forced their mother to eat milkflower out of fear that she would also be born green, which caused Nessarose to be born prematurely. As a result, Nessarose was born paraplegic and the mother died in childbirth. Although the father hates Elphaba, both he and Elphaba share a love for Nessarose.

As adults, Nessarose enrolls at Shiz University and Elphaba accompanies her to drop her off. Elphaba causes a commotion due to her unusual skin color, most notably stirring up conflict with Galinda, already positioning herself as the most popular person at the university. Elphaba grows overly protective of Nessarose, causing her to accidentally unleash her magic in front of everyone. Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the Dean of Sorcery, recognizes her natural magical talent and takes Elphaba under her wing, accepting her into the university on the spot and taking credit for the magical display in order to calm the student body who are shocked and frightened by what happened. Galinda becomes jealous of Elphaba for stealing the spot she wanted at Madame Morrible’s side, while inadvertently volunteering to share a room with Elphaba. The two instantly become bitter rivals.

When Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), the handsome prince from Winkieland, transfers to the school, he encourages his fellow students to go to the Ozdust Ballroom for an evening of fun and dancing. Boq (Ethan Slater), a Munchkin that Nessarose has a crush on, tries to ask Galinda to the party, but she is uninterested in him, so she tricks him into inviting Nessarose instead. Nessarose is so impressed that Galinda would do something she perceives as kind that she convinces Elphaba to ease up on Galinda. Galinda also tricks Elphaba into wearing a pointy black hat to the party, convincing her that it is fashionable while knowing it will cause her to be mocked. Elphaba is touched by these two acts, thinking that Galinda is actually being nice, and convinces Madame Morrible to accept Galinda into their private sessions. Although Madame Morrible doesn’t believe Galinda has what it takes, she reluctantly agrees and gives Galinda a training wand. Galinda, realizing that Elphaba was being genuinely kind, regrets giving her the hat, but it is too late to stop Elphaba from being laughed at at the party. To make amends, she dances with Elphaba, essentially giving Elphaba her stamp of approval in front of the other students, and the two become friends. Meanwhile, Boq realizes that Galinda is going to be with Fiyero instead of him, so he doubles down on pretending to be interested in Nessarose, who has only grown even more enamored with him now.

Throughout all of this, Elphaba gradually begins noticing the unnatural oppression of the talking animals throughout Oz and begins to suspect that some hidden conspiracy is being plotted against them. This is particularly distressing for her, as she has spent her entire life being unjustly rejected from society simply because of the way she was born. She befriends the only remaining talking animal left on the Shiz faculty, a goat named Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage), but eventually he, too, is fired and forcibly removed from the facility in the middle of class. A frightened lion cub in a cage is presented to the class as an example of how animals should be treated. Enraged, Ephaba casts a spell over the class that causes poppies to put everyone but Fiyero – who is immune to poppies – to sleep. Together, Elphaba and Fiyero free the lion cub and release him into the woods, sharing a moment of connection that they keep private, even from Galinda, who has become Elphaba’s best friend by this point. Throughout his time as their instructor, Dr. Dillmond had difficulty pronouncing Galinda’s name, calling her Glinda instead. When Galinda picks up on Elphaba and Fiyero’s distress over the day Dr. Dillamond was fired, she tries to insert herself into their mysterious connection by declaring she will be changing her name from Galinda to Glinda as a way to honor Dr. Dillamond.

Madame Morrible has been writing to the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) to inform him of Elphaba’s gifts. Elphaba has been hoping for an audience with him because he is rumored to give those he meets the greatest desires of their heart. Elphaba tentatively allows herself to hope that he can change her skin to a normal color. Eventually, the Wizard sends a personal invitation to Elphaba to meet him in the Emerald City, and she brings Glinda with her. Madame Morrible joins them during their meeting with the Wizard, who welcomes Elphaba with open arms. They present her with the Grimmerie, a legendary magical tome, and encourage her to read from it. She casts a levitation spell from the Grimmerie on one of the monkey guards, but it has the unintended side effect of giving him, and all of the other monkey guards, wings. Elphaba then realizes that Madame Morrible and the Wizard are the ones behind the oppression against the talking animals, feeling they must unite Oz under a cause by turning them against a common enemy, even if the supposed enemy has done nothing wrong. They planned all along to use Elphaba to further their cause by having her read from the Grimmerie, at which point Elphaba deduces that the Wizard is a fraud and has no magic of his own.

Elphaba refuses to help them and runs off with the Grimmerie. Madame Morrible sends the flying monkeys to capture her and makes an announcement to all of Oz, claiming that Elphaba is evil and must be stopped, turning her into the new common enemy to unite against. Elphaba casts the levitation spell again, this time enchanting a broom to fly. Glinda tries to convince Elphaba to apologize and not lose this chance to get everything she ever wanted, but Elphaba has realized that what she thought she wanted isn’t something she can support anymore. She asks Glinda to join her in her escape, but Glinda decides that while Elphaba is doing what’s right for her, Glinda must do what’s right for herself, and that means staying at Shiz. They sadly part ways, and Elphaba flies away on her broom. Glinda is then taken in by Madame Morrible as her new protege to replace Elphaba.

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