Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Wicked, the film and the Broadway show.When Evil begins, right after Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, is supposedly killed. As a result, the citizens of Munchkinland celebrate his death, with the participation of Glinda the Good Witch. While Glinda is an important part of this celebration and the Wicked soundtrack “No One Mourns the Wicked,” her presence feels drastically different from all the little ones.
Like the rest Evil However, it is revealed that Glinda's past with Elphaba is not as simple as some citizens of Oz thought. In fact, Glinda and Elphaba were enemies who became close friends at Shiz University. This friendship continued to blossom until Elphaba turned her back on the Wizard and Oz, while Glinda stayed behind. From there, Glinda becomes an even bigger public figure, but it's all a facadeand “No One Mourns the Wicked” exemplifies this.
Glinda is actually singing about herself in No One Mourns The Wicked
At the end of Wicked, Glinda's life is lonely
As the Munchkins celebrate their defeat, Elphaba's supposed death is much more complicated for Glinda, who changes her name from Galinda to Glinda. In fact, while the munchkins sing happily of Elphaba's death, Glinda sings of her own tragic fate. In her eyes, she is the bad one and now she is alone.
“And only God knows that the lives of the wicked are lonely. Only God knows that the wicked die alone. It just goes to show that when you're bad, you're alone.”
In the second act, Glinda lost her best friend, Elphaba, and her fiancé, Fiyero. These two are the most genuine relationships in Glinda's life, and by siding with the Wizard of Oz, a terrible man and master manipulator, she has lost them both. Additionally, the Wizard has left the Land of Oz, so Glinda is expected to take his place, despite her not having the talent that Elphaba has. To get to this point, Glinda lied and will probably need to continue those lies. These lies include those about Elphaba.
Put The Wizard of Oz end and beginning of EvilGlinda appears triumphant to many of the citizens. However, in her own eyes, she is the bad one. She betrayed her loved ones. She let horrible things go. She did everything to earn her title as a good witch, but it left her completely alone in the end.
Glinda's point of view explains her tone in No One Mourns The Wicked
Oz doesn't know the truth about Elphaba, but Glinda does
“No One Mourns the Wicked” takes place shortly after The Wizard of Oz end. Until then, Years have passed since Elphaba and Glinda were friends in Shiz. In the public eye, they are enemies, with Glinda working alongside the Wizard of Oz, the man who turned Elphaba into public enemy number one with the help of Madame Morrible.
Although it is Glinda's final decision to stay behind, she still knows the truth about Elphaba. She knows that Elphaba's fight is noble, and she knows that she is contributing to a system that is harming her closest friend, Elphaba, as well as others. She may seem ignorant at first, but Glinda knows very well how the public sees herand she is aware of the lies spread about Elphaba.
Now, Glinda faces the consequences of this, which includes all those celebrating the death of her best friend, who only wanted to help Oz and its citizens – animals and humans.
She knows the truth, but is still on the Wizard's side. Now, Glinda faces the consequences of this, which includes all those celebrating the death of her best friend, who only wanted to help Oz and its citizens – animals and humans. Due to this, when she sings “No One Mouns the Wicked” in Evil there is no genuine joy in Glinda's voice. She is devastated by this, regretful, but still needs to save face. After all, she's prepared to replace the Wizard, and Oz probably won't be able to handle the truth about Elphaba.