Five Best Lesbian Moments In Wicked: For Good

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR WICKED: FOR GOOD AHEAD 

Now that the final song has been sung, wizard dethroned, and bubble popped, the Wicked duology has come to a close. In its wake, these two Jon M. Chu directorial efforts have left plenty of memorable musical numbers, performances, and costumes that people won't forget anytime soon. Also unlikely to slip from people's radar? The underlying queerness simmering under every scene Elphaba and Glinda share. The first film's version of "Popular" had so much extra queer tension in its blocking (they're always sooooo close to kissing), and Wicked: For Good didn't do anything to shake off the idea that these two were more than "roommates."

Now that these films are finished, I thought it'd be fun to break down the best lesbian-coded scenes in Wicked: For Good. They might not register as gay to the general public, but lemme tell you, us lesbians in the theater, we saw it all. Grab your silver/ruby slippers and let's break down the best lesbian-coded moments from Wicked: For Good.

Elphaba and Glinda's First Date...at a Craft Store

The very first Wicked: For Good scene is a flashback to Elphaba and Glinda going on their first date in the Emerald City before that whole "Defying Gravity" business. In this set piece, the pair head into a craft store that, because this is the mystical land of Oz, doesn't just sell cardboard paper and crayons. There's an abundance of oddball items in here with names that will sound familiar to anyone from the lesbian community. Glinda reaches out for a hole-puncher that's called a "carpet muncher" in this realm. Meanwhile, Elphaba is enamored with a vibrating item (supposedly to help stamp objects) the "clam smacker." During their visit, Glinda also refers to herself as a "pillow princess" because she likes to do crafts in bed while wearing her princess get-up.

To most, this is just a cute bonding experience. For lesbian viewers? C'mon, dykes are always going into craft stores on first dates. These lewd object names just seal the lesbian atmosphere, particularly whenever the two keep returning to how important it is to grab "scissors" while they're in this hot spot. 

Elphaba's New Wicked Witch Attire

When Elphaba takes on the "Wicked Witch of the West" mantle, she dons all-black garb that will look familiar to anyone who's seen a certain 1939 Victor Fleming directorial effort. However, the other way she solidifies via her wardrobe that she's a new person? Elphaba's now rocking a carabiner on her waist. This item now dangling from her belt is an obvious sign that Elphaba is a friend of Dorothy (how ironic!). She even shows off the various keys and tools she's carrying on the carabiner to Glinda before this plucky witch's wedding day. How can this be read as anything but a decidedly lesbian moment?

Elphaba and Glinda's Awkward Conversation With The Wizard

Jeff Goldblum's Wizard of Oz is a very bad man on multiple levels, there can be no denying. However, what really solidifies his villainy isn't that he's keeping a bunch of animals locked up or his proclivity for lying. It's his dialogue in the "Wonderful" musical number where he tries to lure Elphaba over to his side (Glinda is also involved in this coercion). The Wizard interrupts his crooning to start asking some very odd questions to Elphaba and Glinda like, "Which one of you is the boy in the relationship? Which one is the girl?" He also, for some reason, believes all queer women know who Tracy Chapman is, as seen by his insistently asking Elphaba for her phone number over and over again. Most cis-het moviegoers will only see The Wizard's duplicitiousness regarding Oz's animals as the reason he's a bad man. However, lesbian audiences will immediately know that The Wizard's tone-deaf questions to these two women really solidify his treachery.

Elphaba And Glinda's Big Gay Musical Number

"For Good" might be the most memorable Elphaba/Glinda musical number in Wicked: For Good, sure. But how could anyone give a cold shoulder to their other big duet, when they harmonize a cover of Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" together? This is one sequence I've been shocked to hear cis-het audiences declare has no gay annotation. For one thing, they're singing lyrics like "Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend" directly into each other's eyes before smooching. For another, Elphaba's explicitly topping and eating out Glinda (all on-screen) for a portion of this musical number, in what's clearly a homage to the mixture of sexual intercourse and singing in the "We Love Each Other Very Much" set piece in 2021's Annette. We also learn that the duo's safe word in rougher sex is "clocktick," while the phrase "mommy" is heard constantly throughout the scene. Juggling all these elements (the sexual imagery, the looks into Elphaba and Glinda's sexual preferences, and the elaborate dance numbers) in a "Girlfriend" cover is an incredible balancing act in addition to being such a dynamite depiction of graphic lesbian passion. "For Good" is the Elphaba/Glinda tune that gets people crying. This graphically sexual "Girlfriend" sequence, meanwhile, also had lesbians crying...tears of joy. 

That Ending

Glinda and Elphaba inevitably have to part ways at the end of Wicked: For Good.  However, the script does see them reunite years later (kind of) in a direct recreation of Portrait of a Lady on Fire's bittersweet conclusion. This explicit homage might be cloying or derivative in other contexts. However, mimicking every inch of Fire's finale (particularly in the camerawork) provides an appropriately bittersweet wrap-up to Elphaba and Glinda's journey. The ones we love and romances that change our lives forever, none of it goes on forever. Nor do these dynamics end how we'd want them to. We must cherish the connections we have in the moment and appreciate how they changed us (for good) once they're over. Just like in Portrait of a Lady on Fire's unforgettable ending, the profound impact two queer women had on each other (even when they can't hold each other's hands again) is astonishingly tangible.

Plus, this direct homage further entrenches Wicked: For Good in lesbian culture. Its ceaseless deluge of references to cornerstones of lesbian history (Tracy Chapman, Celine Sciamma, Marsha P. Johnson, etc) intertwine formative modern-day dyke media with the individuals who made our community possible. This is the artistic prowess of the unabashedly queer Wicked: For Good and its five best lesbian moments that totally happened. I swear.