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Glinda the Good Witch Will Change Your Perception on What It Means To Be Truly Good

Not all that sparkles is good



As children, we were taught to distinguish between good and evil, so that we could ultimately choose and follow what—or who—was good. And to make things easier, books and movies made evil characters less attractive than their nice and polite counterparts. There was always something wrong, like a crooked nose or unaligned teeth. On the other side of the fence, being beautiful often equated to being good.


Warning: Spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk.


Wicked challenges this misconception, which has been subconsciously ingrained in us since we were young(er). The story follows the journey of Elphaba and Galinda (later changed to Glinda), more popularly known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, respectively. Elphaba, as we learned from The Wizard Of Oz, has green skin and an intimidating black witch’s hat. On the other hand, Glinda is dressed in pure colors and a sparkly clean dress. Of course we thought Elphaba was evil; of course we believed Glinda was good. 



But Wicked turns the table, gives us their backstory and virtually alters our understanding of what it is to be truly good. In the book and the musical, things begin at a university where both Elphaba and Galinda meet and become roommates. Even then, Galinda was beautiful and popular while Elphaba always had to live with her green skin.


As the story continues, audiences learn that Galinda changed her name to Glinda in order to appease Prince Fiyero, whom she had a crush on. She also bullied Elphaba before they became friends, which only happened because the latter got her in the magic course. When the two finally come face to face with the Wizard of Oz, they are made to choose between taking part in a lie and being accepted, and defying the Wizard and being ostracized.


Glinda ultimately chooses popularity, thereby taking part of the Wizard’s farce of a regime and she tells him how to capture Elphaba. In the end, Glinda redeems herself and warns Elphaba of the plan to capture her and the two eventually forgive each other for past grievances. 



On the surface, Glinda teaches us that a pretty package will not always bear goodness. There is, however, another level to the story as Glinda the Good eventually vows to live up to her name. There is always room for change and redemption, and friendship will often fill that gap.


Don’t believe us? Grab a ticket to see Wicked, which is now showing at The Theater At Solaire. Tickets are available via Ticket World.

Adie Pieraz

grew up with numbers but fell in love with words by the time she reached her teenage years. She likes to surround herself with mellow music, delicious food and funny fail videos.

Alex Lara

is a creative that loves to tell stories through art direction and curating images that capture, inspire and excite whoever sees them.

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