In the center of Evil it's the friendship between Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba and Ariana Grande-Butera's Glinda, even as their story turns into a complicated mess of romantic entanglements with other characters. EvilThe cast also includes the rogue prince Fiyero, brilliantly played by Jonathan Bailey in the film adaptation, who immediately begins a romantic relationship with Glinda upon arriving at Shiz University. However, those familiar with the source material and relevant tropes can probably understand what Elphaba and Fiyero's growing connection and the Wicked Witch's future forlorn song "I'm Not That Girl" mean for the story.
At least in the musical adaptation, where time is limited for his individual character development, I largely see Fiyero's role in the story as putting pressure on Elphaba and Glinda's relationship. The political perils the characters find themselves in in the second half of the series, which we hope will be the plot of Wicked Part Twoare made worse by the decisions they make because of the love triangle. However, in relation to the other characters and their subplots, I recently realized that the romantic conflicts at play Evil They are very confusing and orderly at the same time.
Wicked's main cast is on a chain of unrequited love
Glinda, Nessarose and Boq are on the path to heartbreak - only Elphaba and Fiyero get any solace
The main characters of Evil are actually on a shockingly organized love list that is unrequited. Elphaba's younger sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) believes she has found her happy ending when she meets Munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater). However, Boq only asks Nessa out to impress Glinda, with whom he is in love. In turn, Glinda suggests that Boq invite Nessa because she is not interested, only has eyes for Fiyero. Despite their initially superficial relationship, Glinda's feelings for Fiyero are genuine, and she still wants to be with him even when she discovers there is more to him.
However, Fiyero's feelings for Elphaba only grow, and when the opportunity presents itself, he leaves Glinda for her best friend without much deliberation. Fortunately, this is where the chain of unrequited passions ends, although I can't say that Elphaba and Fiyero aren't affected by what is ultimately a miserable love story for everyone. In addition to the more obvious consequences with Nessa and Boq, leading to the Tin Man's death Evil origin story and him leading a violent mob against Elphaba, Elphaba and Fiyero have to deal with their relationship always in Glinda's shadow.
Wicked's themes include how these personal stories have larger consequences
Wicked's characters make decisions with far-reaching ramifications because of love
Even if Elphaba and Fiyero run away, leaving Glinda to rule Oz EvilIn Elphaba's ending, Elphaba will always be haunted by the fact that Glinda believes they are both dead. When the story places much more emphasis on the two witches' relationship, this becomes especially evident to the audience. However, The stories of lost love are even more tense when Elphaba and Glinda are already playing a dangerous game of public perception, and romantic indiscretions can tip the scales further one way or the other. Viewers don't see much of how later events affect the citizens of Oz, but the films can change that.
In a moment of anger, after Fiyero abandons her, Glinda suggests spreading the rumor that Nessarose is in danger to trap Elphaba - with dire results. Nessa's increasing jealousy and loneliness causes her to become the Wicked Witch of the East, while Boq's poor handling of the situation with Nessa leads him to become the Tin Man, a figure famously associated with a lack of love. Each decision is another straw on the camel's back, leading to more death and destruction. And given these characters' varying political power, a series of high school crushes suddenly mean more in Evil.