Episode Forty Seven
Oz isn’t just emerald and glitter; it’s a lesson in how stories get made and weaponized. We jump from Gregory Maguire’s Wicked to the Broadway phenomenon and the record-breaking film to unpack how a green-skinned girl became a political problem, a best friend, and a cultural icon. Along the way, we contrast the novel’s darker theology and politics with the musical’s friendship-forward heart and the movie’s big-screen mythmaking, asking what each version chooses to spotlight—and why.
We dig into the performances that make the film crackle: Jeff Goldblum’s attention-hoarding Wizard, Michelle Yeoh’s velvet-gloved operator as Madame Morrible, and Cynthia Erivo’s fierce, aching Elphaba who refuses to be managed. Peter Dinklage’s Dr. Dillamond turns prejudice into a gut punch, while Glinda’s arc reveals how image and approval can be tools of control. Fiyero, Boq, and Nessarose complicate the love and loyalty map, showing how small compromises can snowball when a regime needs a villain and a headline.
Beyond the screen, we step through Universal’s Wicked Experience in Orlando—costumes, set pieces, and a guided path from Shiz to Emerald City—proof that modern fandom doesn’t end with credits. Then we broaden the lens: why monster stories surge in a perfection-obsessed era, how propaganda reframes dissent as danger, and what it costs to speak when silence is safer. We’re saving the “is it a kissing story” verdict for the sequel, but the first film already hits where it counts: who gets to define good, and will your friends still stand close when the posters call you wicked?
Tell us: book, musical, or movie—who nailed Oz for you? Subscribe, rate, and share to bring more listeners into the Emerald City conversation.
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Goodreads | Amazon
Our Thoughts
Our Thoughts on Wicked.
“They needed the power. What they didn’t need was the brain that Elphaba came along with. They needed the gullibility and the the needing to be liked. That was Glinda.”
“I immediately want to be want to be angry at people for referring to Elphaba as the wicked witch. Like there’s nothing wicked about her, right? Like I I immediately want to be upset at people who uh balance that with Glinda the Good, you know.”
“I mean, I think that the musical, the the the the movie did a good job of portraying a lot of the vibe of the musical so far. Like we haven’t seen the second half, we can’t speak for the second half, but the first half I thought did a wonderful job of portraying like the magic and the otherworldliness that is Oz.”
“the whole friendship thing between Glinda and Elphaba, which is very different than what was in the book, that part of the musical apparently really resonated with female audiences, and that’s what kind of drove the musical to becoming increasingly more and more popular”