'Wicked' Shows Us Elphaba Wasn't Always Evil — What Happened?

Spoiler alert: This article includes spoilers for Wicked (2024) and potential spoilers for Wicked: Part Two (2025).

For fans of 1939's technicolor classic The Wizard of Oz watching Wicked for the first time in movie theaters this year, it might be surprising to learn that Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West, wasn't always the evil woman that she's known as today. Indeed, her command of flying monkeys, shrill voice, and witchy mannerisms scared an entire generation of children back in the day — but Wicked's Elphaba is much more kind-hearted and relatable.

So what happened between the kindness of Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba and the anger and vitriol of Margaret Hamilton's depiction of the same witch? Well, it's a complicated story explored in the Stephen Schwartz musical, and we expect to see it on the big screen next year in Wicked: Part Two.

As fans of the Wicked musical know, as well as viewers of Universal Pictures's Wicked Part One, Elphaba wasn't always evil — but she was certainly branded as strange and dangerous, outcast by her peers because of her strong sense of morality and her unnaturally green skin. Throughout the story, her growing friendship with Glinda and her protectiveness over her younger sister, Nessarose, allow her to be seen by the audience as warm and friendly.

However, at the end of 2024's Wicked, Elphaba's whole world is shattered when she finds out that the Wizard of Oz is actually a sham. And when she threatens to expose him and his misdeeds, he uses his influence to turn the whole kingdom of Oz against her.

It's at this moment that she decides to use her "wicked" public image to protect herself and those around her, as shown in "Defying Gravity."

As seen in the musical, this turning point leads to a second act in which Elphaba is feared and hated, with those closest to her — like Glinda and Nessarose — turning against her and being forced to separate from her for their own safety.

She's also further vilified when her attempts to help those around her end up backfiring — like when she tries to save her true love, Fiyero, and ends up turning him into a scarecrow instead.

This leads to her final act as the Wicked Witch of the West, which allows her to escape Oz forever.

That's where the Wizard of Oz and Margaret Hamilton's famous depiction of the Wicked Witch comes in, with the witch using Dorothy's arrival in Oz as a tool to fake her own death. Of course, as the classic story goes, Dorothy throws a bucket of water onto the Wicked Witch, melting her on the spot. What we learn through the Wicked musical, however, is that Elphaba actually falls into a trap door and flees Oz with word spreading of her death throughout the kingdom.