Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Wicked, Wicked: For Good and the musical Wicked Broadway!
EvilThe opening scene shows a hooded knight fleeing the castle as flying monkeys fly over Oz, raising a question about his identity. The first film in the two-part film adaptation of Wicked took the world by storm, breaking box office records and receiving multiple award nominations. Wicked: For Good, which will be released in 2025, has a lot of questions to answer, but curious viewers can answer more by looking at the second act of the Broadway musical. However, someone took the Internet by storm because several answers could be true based on the source material.
In the initial moments of Evila hooded figure rides a white horse away from Kiamo Kothe castle that Elphaba takes over in act 2. This moment will no doubt appear in Evil: Forever, solving the mystery. In the meantime, the identity of the person riding the horse has become a source of debate among fans, with many theories emerging. Some suggestions directly contradict the story of the Broadway musical, requiring significant narrative changes to be true. However, other theories make sense based on the events of the Evil Broadway musicals.
Fiyero is not the character who rides in the opening scene of Wicked
Fiyero is seen in the opening of Wicked just moments after the Cloaked Knight appears
When it comes to the pilot's identity in the intro, the easiest guess is Fiyero. After all, when Elphaba meets him, he is riding to Shiz. So, at the end of Evilhe is riding away from Shiz. (It is unknown where he is going, as this part of the film does not happen in the musical.) However, Fiyero cannot be the pilot for a few reasons.
Firstly, in Act 2 of the Broadway musical, Elphaba turns Fiyero into the Scarecrow to save his life during the Evil song “No Good Deed”. The Scarecrow is seen walking along the Yellow Brick Road moments after the film shows the hooded figure. As the camera continues the same uncut panning movement during this part of the introduction, it is implied that the events are happening at the same time, rather than there being a break in time between the castle and the Yellow Brick Road. Additionally, the horse shown in the introduction is light in color, while Fiyero's horse is black.
In order for the hooded figure to be Fiyero, a large portion of the Broadway musical would need to be changed and he would need several horses. While it's true that Fiyero is not the Scarecrow in Gregory Maguire's dark book, he is also murdered in the R-rated book. If they stayed true to the novel's story, it couldn't be Fiyero. Furthermore, the film aligned so closely with the theatrical version of the story that it seems incomprehensible that they would deviate so massively. Ultimately, the pieces just don't match up with the pilot being Fiyero.
Elphaba escapes castle after faking her death – evil theory explained
The hooded knight in the opening scene could be Elphaba
Since the pilot is not Fiyero, the next most likely candidate is Elphaba. This suggestion seems incomprehensible to anyone who doesn't know the history of the Broadway musical. In both The Wizard of Oz and Wicked, Elphaba dies when Dorothy throws water at her. However, in the musical, she and Fiyero devise a plan to fake her death. He specifically sends her to Kiamo Ko because it was previously his castle, and he knows the grounds have many trapdoors. When Dorothy throws water at her, she falls through the trap door, causing the others to think she has melted into a puddle.
It's plausible that the film could have the pair meet somewhere else rather than Kiamo Ko.
The musical shows Fiyero/The Scarecrow returning to the castle to get her after everyone thinks she is dead. However, unlike Fiyero turning into the Scarecrow, this plot point does not drastically affect the narrative. What matters is that Fiyero and Elphaba are reunited, not the specific location where they return. It's plausible that the film could have the pair meet somewhere else rather than Kiamo Ko.
Could the horse character be Glinda in disguise?
There is reason to believe the camouflaged knight could be Glinda
The other theory often suggested online is that the hooded figure is Glinda in disguise. In the Broadway musical, Glinda is hiding in the castle when Elphaba “dies”. She leaves, unaware that her best friend is still alive. If Wicked's intro scene is right after Elphaba fakes her death, then the person leaving could be Glinda. After all, she wouldn't want to leave her bubble since this means of transportation is exclusive to her and thus would identify her as being present when Elphaba died.
There are two main issues with the suggestion that Glinda could be the cloaked figure. Firstly, in the musical Wicked, Glinda is wearing a ball gown in Kiamo Ko. The person on the horse doesn't appear to have a ball gown under the cape. Secondly, she is present just a few scenes later to tell the Munchkins that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead.
However, some explanations may contradict these arguments. Glinda doesn't necessarily need to be wearing her ball gown in the scene for it to have the same narrative impact. Wicked: For Good could have her wear a different outfit or change into other clothes to escape the castle. Additionally, there are cuts between the hooded figure riding and the scene in Oz, which could indicate a break in time. There is also nothing to say how fast or slow the bubble travels.
As such, Glinda could have set off on horseback, gotten to a safe distance, and then switched to traveling by bubble to get back to Oz faster. None of these suggestions irreparably breaks the established narrative of the Wicked Broadway musical, making it possible that Glinda could be the figure who escapes the castle in the introduction of Evil.