Honestly, the first time I watched this movie I felt that their relationship was rushed and the connection was unbelievable. However, I don't ship Elphaba and Glinda (I do believe that Glinda does have romantic feelings for Elphaba ngl), soulmates can be platonic.

So it just really got me thinking why fiyero as the love interest? What makes them fall in love with each other? Then it hit me. They see their own vulnerability in one another and going in depth with this makes me realize "Wicked" is well-written and more complicated.

Let's start at their first encounter. Fiyero was surprised that Elphaba was green but that was a short-lived moment, and there isn't any indication that he's repulsed by her appearance (opposite of the scene when Elphaba first arrives at Shiz). Fiyero is more surprised by the fact that she seems to resent him. His charm isn't working on her, which is entirely new to him because as soon as he arrives at Shiz everyone is fawning over him. He is used to that attention and adoration, not the disinterest found in Elphaba. Therefore, due to his egotistical nature, he tries to get Elphaba's attention because he's intrigued by her (he hasn't fallen yet, I'll get to it). This can be seen when he enters the library, he waves at Elphaba but she rolls her eyes at him. Someone made a great analysis of "Dancing through life" as a "peacock" dance for Elphaba in this sub reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked/s/tCe67rO8ad). I'll talk more about the significance of this song later, specifically the lyrics and how Elphaba emphasizes with it. My main point in this is that Fiyero never made fun of Elphaba, while everyone in her life did (even Glinda at the beginning on the movie). Yes, I know this is bare minimum, so onto the juicy stuff.

I believe Fiyero fell for Elphaba at the Ozdust dance because that's when he saw her vulnerability and strength--a mirror of who Fiyero is and who he wants to be. What I mean by this is that this scene highlights how Elphaba feels isolated; no one will ever dare to get close enough to her, so she will never be known. No one will see her for who she is... but at that moment, Fiyero does. Now, maybe some of you think that's bs. He tells Glinda that Elphaba doesn't care what anyone thinks, and Glinda responds to him that she does; she is just good at hiding it. Therefore, he didn't really understand her; that's what I thought too. However, I realized that comment made me realize that he saw Elphaba for her courage. Yes, she cares what people think, but she still had the courage to be in the center of all of that insecurity. To be in the spotlight of embarrassment, yet there she stood. She could've ran away, but she didn't. I believe the depth of Fiyero saying that Elphaba doesn't care what people think is a reflection of what he wants to have: courage (ironic since we have the cowardly lion but doesn't make it less true). Fiyero wants to have the courage to show who he truly is and stop hiding, stop running away. He realizes that once he looks at Elphaba, being strong and vulnerable. It is now HIM who is in admiration instead of the other way around. Furthermore, Elphaba reflects who he is. As Glinda says Elphaba does care what people think, she's only good at hiding it. This was like a punch in the face to fiyero (from his expression in this scene) because he relates to that so much. He cares what people think because if he didn't, then he wouldn't pretend to be someone he isn't.

Jump to the lion cub scene. Elphaba clocks Fiyero telling him that he's just pretending to be self-absorbed and deeply shallow (proof that he is pretending to be someone he isnt). Then Fiyero gets all of defensive, yet Elphaba clocks him again, saying he's clearly unhappy. He looks at her stunned. Initially, I was confused. How does elphaba come to all of these conclusions and why is fiyero so defensive? Remember "dancing through life" and the lyrics? This song is clearly saying that life is meaningless. "Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters. It's just life..." Okay, what's the big deal? It's in the damn lyrics, everyone heard it... well, idk about you but the first time I didn't even notice it. This is because no one else in the movie (other than the subtle comment of Elphaba) mentioned it. It makes sense because DTL is an upbeat song, meant to distract you from what he's actually saying. It shows how Fiyero is pretending to be a stereotypical prince. He's life of the party as everyone is dancing and smiling with him. However, under the whole facade he's actually unhappy; no one notices except for Elphaba.

It's interesting how he truly SEES her and she truly HEARS him (this is what basically sold me on their ship).

But why only Elphaba hears his cries for unhappiness? Well, like I said, they see their reflection in each other. It isn't a far off idea to also think that Elphaba is unhappy. Yes, at this point of the movie her and Glinda are friends and people at Shiz no longer make fun of her, but that doesn't hide who she is. She's still and will always be the green girl. On top of feeling isolated, animals are losing their rights, which she is openly against. Therefore, what is there to really be happy about? Does anything really matter? Does she even matter? While this argument makes sense, it isn't that strong.

To make this argument that Elphaba and Fiyero have emotionally a lot in common, I need to explain them individually (yeah, like I said this movie is actually complicated). Firstly, why does Fiyero feel like nothing matters? It's quite simple. The world of "Wicked" is based off of superficiality. Who is the best at being fake? Pretending to be someone you're not to gain admiration, power, and control. It's the whole message of "Wicked": we should look out for the people who say they are good, not the ones that are viewed as wicked. This can be seen through Glinda, the Wizard, and Madame Morrible.

The point is Fiyero sees the world for what it is: superficial and filled with greed for more. It makes sense for his character because he's a prince. He was most likely raised to embrace people's affection but what is the value because they don't know him? What is the point, if everything is presented to him on a silver platter because of status? Therefore, nothing really matters, so he pretends to be a stereotypical shallow prince because the world calls him to. There is no point on trying to be who he really is or think deeper than superficiality.

How does this connect to Elphaba? Well, she understands how the superficial world works too, and the world is no place for a girl like her. To put it shortly they see that there are roles people need to play, even if it isn't their true selves (Elphaba playing the role as the wicked witch)... but that's just life, so they keep dancing through ;) I think it is romantic and kind of a soul connection when you meet someone that sees the same world as you. It makes characters like fiyero and elphaba feel seen and validated. They realize that there is nothing wrong with themselves, they don't need to change in order to be understood and loved. Actually the scene where fiyero tells Elphaba she doesn't need to act like Glinda after popular speaks volumes to how he saw her for who she is.

Back to lion cub scene. When Elphaba tells fiyero she knows he's unhappy, he looks at her in disbelief and a type of sadness... I bet this is the first time someone has ever saw his vulnerability and called him out on it. Because this has never happened to him, he feels exposed and mocked, so he turns away. But elphaba grabs his hand to show she needs his help and she isn't mocking him.

And my favorite moment has to be when they look down at their intertwined hands because of the significance of the skin to skin contact. Their hands are different by color but are the same by the value in which they hold.

What I mean by this is their shared worldview and how they both were quick to rescue the lion cub. (Also, i do believe the reason why fiyero wasn't affected by the poppies is because Elphaba subconsciously remembered him talking to his horse, so she assumed that he cared about animals.)

This whole scene, to me, was beautifully done, and shows you elphaba and fiyero falling for each other just as they are. The way they look into each other's eyes, and elphaba gently caressing his face PLEASE. It got me thinking how they most definitely have never felt this way before. They have never met someone so like them, yet they are so different in the way they were brought up and how people view them. But they still want each other and they understand each other. Since it is both their first times falling in love elphaba touches fiyero with such tender and care because she's treating him the way she always wanted. Also, she just doesn't want to hurt anyone like how people have hurt her. And fiyero has never hurt her and never would. I bet that fiyero has never been treated with such tender and care either. It overwhelmed him so much he fr needed to GET UP AND RUN AWAY. Elphaba is THAT girl (more irony lmfao). Oh, don't get me started on THAT song. The way she doesn't believe that they'll never get together... babes there is a whole song about him being yours.

If you made it this far, thank you. I basically just word vomited because once I started thinking about them, I couldnt stop. Please let me know your own thoughts and opinions! I'm so hyped for wicked: for good because as long as your mine, no good deed, for good. I CANT BELIEVE ITS ALL ON SOME DAMN LAPTOP.

My friend and I went to the second one of two back to back screenings of WFG yesterday. When we went to the toilet before the movie started, we already came across women who were talking about how awkward "that love scene" had been. And they were right. Only seconds into "As Long as You're Mine", people in the audience started laughing, us included, and we couldn't stop until "the deed was done".

Why was this scene so unbelievably awkward? I swear it wasn't the cardigan. Did you have a different experience? Is it something cultural? It was a theater in Austria, albeit with many English native speakers from different parts of the world as far as I could tell.

spoilers for Wicked For Good

I’ve never gotten to see the musical and I haven’t read the book, but I’ve become a pretty big fan of the films. I keep getting confused by this one scene. After Elphaba and Galinda fight, the Ozian guards intervene and threaten to take Elphaba away. Then, Fiyero swoops in and threatens Galinda, forcing the guards to release Elphaba. This allows her to escape on her broomstick. Why doesn’t she fly Fiyero out of the situation at this time? In the lovemaking sequence prior, she had flown both of them in the air with very little effort. Flying him out of danger with her would’ve prevented him needing to become a scarecrow. Is this a plot hole in the musical too, or is it just iffy blocking in the movie? Really reminds me of the whole “he could’ve gotten on the door” discourse after Titanic lol

Do you think Elphaba liked Fiyero right from the start and she was denying her true feelings or do you think she genuinely disliked him at first?

I feel like it could be either. I feel like she could've secretly always liked him cause he's the first person who didn't judge her on her appearance or she also could've disliked him cause she initially found him arrogant.

Spoilers for both Part 1 and 2 of the movies

I’m not a Wicked stan so the movies were my first introduction to the story. In Part 1, I feel like the romantic aspect of their relationship was just insinuated. Then all of a sudden in Part 2 they were having a full blown romance and he was leaving Glinda for Elphaba. I wish that the first movie had more scenes that showed secret longing to build up the relationship and allow the audience to understand it better.

Instead, I feel like Part 1 had these spots of filler just for style and didn’t really always focus on the story. Then the rest of the story was crammed into Part 2. Because we didn’t have a good foundation in Part 1, it all seemed rushed. I think what may have been better would have either been having one 3-4 hour movie (like Titanic) or having two movies but where the story is equality distributed.

I was so shook when they ran away to the woods and suddenly were making out. I genuinely was like where did this come from? I heard that it was part of the story but the way it was carried out felt rushed and random. We went from one song and shy glances in part 1 to full blown suggested sex.

Now don’t get me wrong, from my point of view the actors' performances (both in the film and, at least, the two versions of the play I've been able to find online) were very good. Likewise, songs like "As Long as Your Mine", "No Good Deed" or "I'm Not That Girl" really resonate with me; however, I've noticed that… this is a relationship that doesn't exactly thrill me or make me feel a genuine connection with. I can even say the “As Long as Your Mine” scene in Part 2 felt, for me, like… when you think romantically about a good friend that is just such a good friend it feels weird and even not well —if I’m giving myself understood. Does anyone else feel this way? I read others talking about Fiyeraba (probably the worst name for a ship) as if it were “the most beautiful relationship of the last three decades”, and I just wonder: “am I okay?”, why can’t I resonate with this if I’m such a huge fan of romance and emotions?

Without spoiling please. I’ve only seen the first movie. I’ll be seeing the movie on Saturday with my family and my dad is a very conservative person (doesn’t like PDA, always changes the channel during intimate scenes etc.) I just don’t want to feel that secondhand embarrassment while the scene is playing out 😂 and honestly I don’t even know the full details of these 2 characters but just basing it off the trailer and skimming some comments about them. I just want to have an idea before going into it, if possible. Thanks!! Can’t wait to see it 💖💚

Hi, so I’m sorry if this is stupid question that’s been answered before, but since in the musical Fiyero becomes the scarecrow, was he technically a double agent? As in, was he helping Dorothy as well as Elphaba? I haven’t seen the musical in so so long, so if this is explained in the musical I’m very sorry, lol. Thanks!

In part 1 of the musical (and the 2024 movie), I do see the chemistry between Fiyero and Elphaba. I think if circumstances were different, they would've been a great couple.

BUT, it's so weird... how they get together in part 2 of the musical. The song "As Long As You're Mine" is so sensual. Being sensual isn't bad ofc, but that wasn't the foundation of the romance between these characters imo. Elphaba, in her song, "I'm Not That Girl", does mention a "sudden heat", so there's attraction there. However, I really feel like they connected more on an emotional and intellectual level.

Through Elphaba, Fiyero realizes the importance of taking a stand and caring for something, rather than living a carefree and "brainless" life. It's just weird that after Fiyero leaves Glinda, he meets Elphaba and it becomes physical so quickly??? It just feels out of place. And doesn't Elphaba feel at least a little bad that she's with her best friend's "ex"-husband? (Yeah, Glinda basically abandoned her but that doesn't mean Elphaba didn't care about Glinda till the end.)

Idk. The song "As Long As You're Mine" felt like it cheapened the romance between them. It makes me wish Elphaba ran away alone or with Glinda instead. What are your thoughts? Maybe there are some nuances I didn't understand or smth.

Makes me think about what they’d be like with Liir when he’s a baby.

In the musical, after reuniting, Elphie and Fiyero decide to yeet out of Oz and that’s it?? Fiyero literally said they could never return to Oz??

I’m hung up on how they both just skip town and leave the rest to Glinda, just like that.

I know that we’re supposed to follow the story and the character arcs, seeing how Glinda and Elphaba both have their strength and weaknesses. In their farewell, Elphaba admit that she was reckless, and that Glinda can play at the politics in ways she never can.

However, the event of the story is: they leave their goal of helping to free the Animals to a friend who in all honesty hasn’t shown that much interest in the cause. And it’s supposed to Elphaba’s life passion right??

The worse reading is: she left her life cause for a man.

In the musical Fiyero clearly said they can never return to Oz, and Elphie went w him.

Can anyone help me untangle this?

I'm trying to figure out what this scene with Elphaba and Fiyero in the woods is trying to convey.

Did Fiyero awkwardly repeat what Elphaba said to show that he was tongue-tied over her? Was "I better get to safety" a Freudian slip showing that he's afraid of being vulnerable?

On my first viewing I thought Elphaba said "I must've scratched you" and that the "I better get to safety" line was suggesting that he was literally afraid of her.

When I get into a rabbit hole, I go all the way in, & the connection between Elphaba & Fiyero is my latest rabbit hole adventure/obsession right now, so 🤣...

(A comment on another post thread from u/No-Researcher-104 got me thinking about this, so shoutout to them. https://www.reddit.com/r/wicked/s/g0AsqenLmF)

There's been a lot said about how the story wasn't written well to develop the connection between Elphaba & Fiyero - a position I agreed with... until this line of inquiry & realized the whole story was always there, just not as front & center as many of us might have preferred.

This led me to question when these two started feeling their feelings for each other feellings that grow to the point where ALAYM happens.. Here are my thoughts.

For Fiyero (because in my mind, he fell first & harder):

I think Fiyero's interest for Elphaba started when he & Feldspar crashed into her in the forest in the movie version. (I LOVE how the movie made their meeting much more intentional & personal, & that it happened before them meeting again at Shiz).

Fiyero was absolutely thrown by Elphaba's dismissal of him &  how he couldn't immediately smooth things over with her. I agree with u/SuperordinateRevere 's post in this sub that Fiyero became low-key obsessed with getting Elphaba's attention & winning her over, but I don't know if he felt genuine "romantic" feelings for Elphaba.

ETA (copied from my OzDust post because retyping - ugh!): At the OzDust, Fiyero showed admiration for Elphaba “really not caring what anyone else thinks of her” when she was dancing alone. But when Galinda said Elphaba was pretending not to care & joined her, causing Elphaba to cry openly & reveal her vulnerability, that moment of clarity was NOT lost on Fiyero – that Elphaba pretends not to care what others think, while he pretends not to think about how he doesn’t have to care. And though he felt profound compassion for Elphaba & became more curious about & attracted to her, I still don't think he realizes he might have romantic feelings for Elphaba at this point.

ETA: Then there was the scene when Fiyero tells Elphaba she "(doesn't) have to do that" after catching her trying to flip her hair like Galinda. Now he knows & admits he's attracted to Elphie...but still no romantic love feelings...

... until the cub rescue. Once Elphaba called him out for actually having deeper thoughts & feelings about things, I think he realized he might have deeper feelings for Elphaba, too... & THIS is where I think his feelings started becoming genuinely romantic, because he'd never been seen for his whole self until Elphaba saw him, & whew, the boy fell fast & hard... which is what, I think, led him to ask Elphaba why he didn't fall asleep from the poppy spell. I think he was hopeful she did it because she genuinely liked him (too?).

For Elphaba:

I think Elphaba noticed Fiyero treated her like she's like anyone else from the get-go (minus the "foliage" comment), even pointing out her defensiveness, to her hesitant surprise... but I think she had made up her mind about him & didn't give him more interest.

Once she realizes he's also attending Shiz & he does his whole song & dance about DTL while literally flirting with EVERYONE, then connects with Glinda (who "secretly" tells her brand new bestie she's marrying the guy less than 24 hours after meeting him), I think Elphaba relegated Fiyero to being the popular guy who was never mean to her, but who'd also probably be nothing more than a friendly acquaintance & her new bestie's boyfriend. No crushy feelings. No romantic feelings.

ETA: Then there's the scene when Fiyero catches her trying to flip her hair like Galinda. He tells her she doesn't have to do that, & she's not sure what to do with his comment. LOL! She may start crushing on him here, but still no real romantic love feelings...

...until the poppy spell & cub rescue scenes.

During those scenes, Elphaba realized that Fiyero really was deeper, more thoughtful, & more caring than he played himself off to be. She saw that he genuinely cared about something & took caring action... and when she told him as much, I think she realized that he might actually care about her a little, too... which was what opened her to feel real romantic feelings toward him.

I still don't think she knew how to answer Fiyero when he asked why she didn't make him fall asleep because she hadn't yet processed how the spell worked, so she stayed silent... but at that moment, she also realized she did feel romantically attracted to him, & that scared her because she knew who he was for everyone, especially for Glinda. Elphaba couldn't imagine Fiyero would actually be interested in her in THAT way, and that's when she started singing INTG to talk herself out of her feelings for him.

Her opting to bring attention to the cut on his face gave her an excuse to touch him instead of using words to try to explain. His response was him realizing that she had finally come around to liking him, but liking him for who he really was, not his facade.

The train station scene is when they finally acknowledged to each other they had feelings for each other's true (inner) selves, but also acknowledged that they couldn't do anything else about it.

IMO, the changes made for the movie make the Elphaba- Fiyero storyline quite well-developed, & I think it surfaces exactly as it needs to - slowly & with subtlety, not too in our faces because it's not meant to be the main focus of the story.

'Wicked' is about Elphaba & Glinda &.how they evolve as individuals & friends, not about the love triangle with Fiyero... but Fiyero is important because of his role in each of their lives. Both Glinda & Elphaba learn valuable lessons about themselves from Fiyero & he's a major player (pun not intended, but could apply 😏) in how the story plays out.

Thoughts? Alternative perspectives?

There are two parallel scenes: The first time Fiyero is seen by Elphaba and lets her in, and the last time he thinks he’ll see her and lets her go.

I have to believe that this staging was intentional, and Jonathan Bailey did an incredible job bringing Fiyero’s inner turmoil to life in his limited time on screen (largely just through his eyes).

In Part 1, Fiyero’s mask is fully up until Elphaba sees through him. She's the catalyst for his journey to figure out who he is at his core. You can see him fighting it and struggling to come to terms with why it even bothers him, and there's a real fear there.

By the end of Part 2, all pretense is gone, and so is any self-censoring. Fiyero has realized what he values, has made his choices, and must deal with the consequences of being true to himself, just as Elphaba does. You can see his resignation, but also his acceptance. At a great cost, he's moved past the fear of knowing himself.

Okay so I'm new to the wicked fandom and I've never read the book or watched the musical Broadway show so please forgive me if I'm misunderstanding anything in what I'm about to say. Oh and a sort of spoiler I guess for those who haven't read the book or seen the show either and want to be completely surprised - (Warning: long post - sorry)

I just found out that Fiyero ends up with Elphaba which is shocking to mee considering the chemistry between Glinda and Fiyero in the movie! But when I read on a article review of the show on what happens in it, I understood it and found out a lot of other things. I found out that Boq actually loves Glinda but dates/ likes Nessa just for Glinda's sake and that he is the one who turns into a tin man and that Fiyero becomes the scarecrow all because of a spell Elphaba does to save both of them and Nessa is Elphaba's sister and is the one who gets squished under a fallen house (which will most likely be shown in Part 2 of the movie).

But I just want to talk about the love triangle between Glinda Fiyero and Elphaba. So from what I know based din whag I've read Glinda likes Fiyero because he's a prince and he's a charming and he at first liked Glinda for the same reason because she was cute and popular and I guess that makes sense why they have that chemistry in the movie. But Elphaba though she originally seems to despise him, believes there's more to him than what is shown and Fiyero soon understands that and is why he starts to fall in love with Elphaba. Than when Glinda finds this out she's not mad that they like each other but rather movies on and try to perfect herself - which is fair I guess but then after the events of Wizard of Oz, Elphaba fakes her death and runs away with Fiyero and it's assumed that Glinda knows but she isn't mad but instead secretly misses and pretends not to mourn for the Wicked as the Ozians really do. Now, I understand why Elphaba and Firyero like each other and I know they know Glinda only liked Fiyero because he too was popular and charming and I know Glinda wasn't mad but she instead thought she was the reason as she decided to change her name from Galinda to Glinda but didn't Elphaba think that he was Glinda's love interest or even if she knew they didn't really love each other couldn't she have told Glinda out of liking/ marrying Fiyero in a good way? Couldn't Fiyero have told Glinda that he didn't like her (in a good way)? Pls forgive me if I sound mean or harsh or if like I'm only defending Glinda. I do see the reason for why the ships go the way they did. And I assume after the events of Wicked/ Wizard of Oz, when Elphaba and Firyero are a couple, Glinda and Bow might be a thing too. But from what I've read it doesn't seem like Glinda had any closure from it. And seeing the trailers for the movie there is one seen where Glinda wants to be included with something Fiyero and Elphaba are doing so I'm certain she was hurt when she found out that her love interest (whether it was true love or not) and her best friend have a thing. And I don't believe she gave the Shoes away silver slippers away as revenge for Elphaba but just to help Nessa if she thought they could help her walk or just for a good intention and she kept Elphaba's alive status a secret because she's a good person and still appreciates Elphaba. And I realise that the reason that Elphaba and Glinda have a fight/ seem like enemies in Wizard of Oz is because Elphaba is mad at her for giving Nessa the shoes and I think they do make up before Elphaba disappears (for good) with the song For Good.

I know that director John will include extra things to make it all make sense and I know that would all be shown in Part 2 next year but I can't help but feel bad for Glinda. I don't blame Elphaba for liking Fiyero - not at all. It is true love to see good potential in someone if they seem egotistic but I don't know if the couple give Glinda that closure. But actually it just clicked that Elphaba in some way I guess does apologize when she sings For Good but I do hope that this is expanded more in dialogues in Part 2.

This is just my opinion and I know the Movie can change things/ expand on things but let me know what you all think please.

Because Fiyero died and ended up being stuck as a scarecrow for the rest of his existence....

When they're talking in the woods is both a sweet and quiet moment.

Jonathan Bailey said in an interview that while playing Fiyero, he was very much aware that when you’re attracted to someone, you will always have them in your peripheral vision. This got me thinking of “Dancing through life”. When he walks in, Elphaba looks at him, he waves but is rejected by her again, which you can tell really bothers him. He plays it cool and flirts with everyone like he isn’t bothered, even if he is.

Then it cuts to Elphaba watching him, which is exactly when he starts singing, then does a cartwheel, and kicks a book in her general direction (can’t make it too obvious). He knows this would get her attention. That’s what he wants. Her attention. Then the camera cuts to Elphaba still watching him. He then flirts with more people and makes the librarian fall in love with him. He’s telling her he has game. She’s missing out. Then he starts singing and dancing.

The funniest bit is that when she isn’t looking at him, she’s immersed in a book, so when Fiyero is dancing on books and kicking books around, it’s like he’s blaming her rejection of him on the books, so is punishing the books, lol.

Also, not that long after Elphaba goes outside, does he also go outside with everyone following him, almost like he’s following her? Since we see her inside once Nessa approaches her right at the end, I’m guessing she saw the crowd leaving with Fiyero leading and went back inside to get away from them. We are led to believe Fiyero went back inside to see Glinda, but I think he was looking for Elphaba.

“Dancing through life” = Fiyero is such an attention-seeking loser who falls madly in love with this beautiful green girl from the beginning!

Edit: I know the book stomping and general brainless symbolism is for another reason we will explore in part 2 but I still find the book stomping funny in this context.