All Roads Lead To Being For Good

21 September 2025, my friend and I saw this standee before we watched The Sound of Music

My Wicked journey began when I heard the song "Defying Gravity" in the television show Glee in 2009/2010. My online mates told me that I should listen to the original and I searched for it. It was glorious! And it was Idina Menzel, whom I’ve been a fan of since seeing Rent the Movie in 2006. I’ve searched bootlegs of the show in YouTube and watched them over and over. I’ve watched clips of different Elphaba actors. I’ve also watched "Popular" clips. By then, I was obssessulated with the musical. I also read the book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, which was very different from the show. Though I missed the CCP run of the musical in 2013 (I missed out on seeing Jemma Rix, a favourite Elphie), I was able to watch during the Solaire run when the UK touring company went back in Manila in 2017 (Jacqueline Hughes was amazing!). So imagine when it was rumoured that they were making a movie, eons ago - I remember the “Lea Michele should be Elphie” campaign because she looks like Idina. I remember thinking that the world will finally see the show. Then it kind of went into development hell with the changing of directors and screenwriters and not finding cast. This fan was disappointed, yet waited for years for that rumour to be true. It wasn’t until the pandemic, many years after, when it was announced that they finally were making the movies (! - now split into two) because they found the rightful cast - Ariana Grande as G(a)linda, which was full circle for her as I remember seeing that picture of her when she was 10 with Kristin Chenoweth, and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, who I saw in Genius: Aretha and who won the Tony for The Colour Purple - and director, Jon M Chu. I rejoicified.

2016, my Solaire ticket, freshly bought (left); the Time Dragon hovers over Solaire, 05 March 2017 (right)

Yesterday, 19 November 2025, was the opening of Wicked: For Good in the Philippines. It was my first time to watch in IMAX, my ticket booked a month in advance. It was not my first choice but the Director's Club theatre didn’t show it. Mind that it is not the screen when I choose cinemas; it’s the sound. In my experience, regular cinemas sometimes don’t have the surround sound or it just “vanishes” in the middle of the film. But Wicked: For Good is great at IMAX, if I may say so, because of the visuals.

This film is a visual treat. The special effects that were incorporated to the practical sets are something the stage cannot provide. The “Girl in the Bubble” sequence’s camerawork - the mirrors! I love it. The separation of the confetti and the characters in the opening sequence is magical. The colouring and lighting, though the story is a darker tone than the first because it’s years after Shiz and after Elphaba has gone rogue, is enough to see even in the dark forest. I've seen films with dark tones where you cannot even see the character talking but For Good has an equal balance of light and dark. The costumes are fantastic. Elphie’s dress’s design, though a pantsuit, follows the design of its stage counterpart.

Whilst I’m a little annoyed that a couple of the songs did not “follow” another, as with the Broadway recording and stage show, I love the little inserts as it explains the in-between. “As Long As You’re Mine” finally, finally follows through and I’m not going to details because it’s a spoiler. I forgot if the reprise of “The Wizard and I” is supposed to be where it was in the film but it was wonderfully weaved into “Thank Goodness”, with changed lyrics. The changes/updates in lyrics are quite magical! It fits! Also, the two new songs…"There’s No Place Like Home” is like “Anthem” in Chess. It speaks of fighting for your rights and your home, the love for your provenance. “Girl in the Bubble”, meanwhile, is relatable. It’s realising who you are, who you want to be and yet, not able to be because it’s not what people expect of you, thus leaving you in their bubble.

Things I’m really happy about the film are:

1. The world will finally hear “The Wicked Witch of the East”, one of my favourite songs. It was deemed as a spoiler thus wasn’t included in the cast recording.

2. “Let the green girl go!” It made it to the film! It’s one of my favourite lines, along with

3. “We can’t all come and go by bubble.”

4. “I will forever be…Glinda the Good.” This also made it!

5. There’s a couple of scenes that I believe were taken from the book, during Shiz times. Minus Shenshen and Pfanee, though. For those who read the book, their were about 10 people in the circle of friends.

6. The Elphie and Glinda fight scene! Dang! Right out of Broadway!

7. Jeff Goldblum acting the hell out of the revelation!

8. Adding Glinda in “Wonderful”, and basically stripping Elphaba of her part, is just that because her, technically, only full solo song in Act II, though a showcase, is “Thank Goodness”.

9. CHISTERY!!

10. AVARIC!!!! I don’t remember him being in the stage musical but he is in the book. It is cool that he is included in this.

11. The end! OMG! THE END!!!! It was fan service but I love that it was beautifully inserted and wasn’t there just because. It was a very fitting end.

One of the things in the script that I would have liked to be included and was not was when Elphaba asked Nessarose to change the policies since she was now the governor and Nessa replying that she couldn’t harbour a fugitive because she “is an unelected official.” That speaks a lot about who Nessa was, leading to her song.

Overall, Wicked: For Good is a culmination for longtime fans of the stage show and the book. The years of waiting is definitely worth it, worth all the toss-tosses and the flip-flips (I forgot which is which but one is Broadway and the other is West End). But, will my own journey end here? Probably not. I want to cry as I write this. But, as the new verses for “For Good”, written especially for the NBC special that preceded the new film, says: ‘The years go by so fast, the flames keep burning but we know someday it could be gone. It’s nice to know that as the torch gets passed, you will keep it blazing brightly on’, my Wicked journey will keep on going because I have been changed, for good.

*originally posted in my Facebook page; edited to add more thoughts and clarity*