An unhinged deep dive on Wicked's biggest plot hole.

Comments · 855

• MA

  @margot-forgot · 1 year ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VofJWRpXfGI&amp;t=1613">26:53</a> I actually really like the idea that while the wizard can <i>read</i> the book, it&apos;s only Elphaba that can <i>use</i> it. Because she&apos;s not just of our world, where the language comes from, but also of Oz, where the language has power.

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• PA

  @pageturner242 · 1 year ago

  you keep saying we don&apos;t have time as if your audience wouldn&apos;t absolutely eat up a 3 hour lecture on this

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• HU

  @hunnitbaehunnitbae8804 · 1 year ago

  on another youtube video, i saw a comment that said The Wizard of Oz was from Dorothy&apos;s perspective, Maguire&apos;s novel was from Elphaba&apos;s perspective, ang the musical was from Glinda&apos;s perspective and that really stuck with me

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• ZA

  @zaraamir9165 · 1 year ago

  Elphaba only cries once in the book. They make it a point that she never cries otherwise. When she does, it does burn her.

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• SP

  @sprinkledsunshine · 1 year ago

  Every time Leena says &quot;We simply don&apos;t have time&quot; I&apos;m getting ready to wait another 10 years for a Wicked video essay

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• RI

  @richkee2024 · 1 year ago

  I&apos;ve always favoured the interpretation that the Wicked Witch of the West isn&apos;t defeated by a bucket of water because of a chemical allergy or because she&apos;s not corporeal enough, but because her power over Dorothy (and anyone else in Oz) is through fear and subjugation and any act of defiance and humiliation could reduce her to nothing. A running theme of Baum&apos;s book is that it is your actions toward others which defines you, not what you claim to be. The Wizard can spread the word of his great power all he wishes, but it&apos;s all smoke and mirrors. The Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and Lion perceive themselves to be brainless, heartless and cowardly, even if their deeds prove otherwise, and it&apos;s through acknowledgment by others that they see themselves differently. The silver shoes can only take Dorothy home after she has learned this lesson: the magic of Oz is very karmic and symbolic like that, it&apos;s not a rigid system. Anything can gain or lose magical power depending on the will and intentions of the holder. The Witch is similar to the Wizard in how artificial her power truly is, but unlike him she cannot handle being humbled by a child, so he lives and returns home while she dies in humiliation. The 1939 film adds more to this with the introduction of Miss Gulch as a real-world bully who intimidates Dorothy and her family into giving up Toto. Miss Gulch is only as powerful as her influence over others allows her to be, and so is the Witch. One of my biggest grievances with Wicked (book and musical) is how it trades off much of this whimsical and metaphorical magic for a more literally minded approach.

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• CA

  @CateSchisms · 1 year ago

  elphaba: 🎵 i&apos;m erasing myself from the narrative 🎵

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• HE

  @hexyoutubeaccount · 1 year ago

  &quot;Forgiviness is the theme of the novel but we simply don&apos;t have time&quot; I GOT TIME!!! I&apos;M SAT!!! I GOT THOUGHTS ON THIS!!!!

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• ME

  @meaganmullen8073 · 1 year ago

  Okay so the amount of times you said “we don’t have time for this” specifically regarding Fiyero means we need a Fiyero themed video all on its own correct??

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• TE

  @TearyEyed222 · 1 year ago

  Theory: If elphaba is born of two worlds(mom from oz, dad from Nebraska) , and her coming out green in the oz world makes me think if she traveled to the Sepia world of Nebraska where Dorothy comes from, she’s have a normal skin complexion 🤔with how green shows up on those films without color. Just a thought.

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• IN

  @inbach · 1 year ago

  Just finished the book today, so it&apos;s still fresh: Elphaba does mention in the book the fact that tears burns her skin - both when she cries and when she wipes someone else&apos;s tears (she sees it as a great sacrifice).<br>That being said, the musical treats Elphaba&apos;s &quot;water allergy&quot; very differently than the book. I don&apos;t want to spoil act II for those who haven&apos;t seen the show, but I believe in the show, the water allergy is mostly folklore, and not mentioned or confirmed by Elphaba herself.

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• BO

  @Bored_Barbarian · 10 months ago

  Honestly, after seeing the movie, I’m unsure of how Nessa can read the grimmerie at all considering that was such a big plot point that Elphaba can read it

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